The album's musical arrangements, by vocalist Danny Elfman and guitarist Steve Bartek, completed the group's evolution into a new wave rock band. Only a Lad features complex and frequently changing time signatures and keys, often incorporating harmonies borrowed from jazz and 20th-century classical music, all hallmarks of Elfman's songwriting. Elfman claimed that many of the songs were inspired by newspaper articles he had read at the time and were "written as in-your-face facetious jabs." "Little Girls" courted controversy for its lyrical satire of relationships between older men and young women. In later years, Elfman would joke on stage that the song was about how his girlfriend was so "very, very little" that "she fits in the palm of hand." The most explicitly political track, "Capitalism," takes aim at "middle class socialist brat" protestors who "whine about the revolution" whilst themselves appearing to live in comfort. Similarly, "Perfect System" satirizes a leftist utopia where society is manipulated to achieve happiness through "uniformity" and "continuity." Discussing the songs' themes, Elfman commented that the intention was "to be angry and keep a sense of humour at the same time", explaining "the songs themselves may not be delivered real seriously, but there is a point which I intend not to be taken lightly" and that people should not "be forced to believe" any social or political agenda. In 2014, Elfman reflected that the album was "basically fun of everybody, and didn’t see anybody as being protected". He elaborated: "To me, all organized political groups have a sense of absurdity to them. It’s open to be mocked or satirized. If anything, I consider myself part of nothing, and any organized group was fair game to mockery, from my vantage point." A number of early live songs were recorded for the album but ultimately went unreleased, including "Teenage Monster," "I've Got to Be Entertained" and "Cinderella Undercover." On the cover of the album, the drawing of a cat by Louis Wain that previously appeared on the cover of the Oingo Boingo EP is visible on the shirt of the Boy Scout. The cover is a parody of the Boy Scouts of America 1960 official handbook cover, illustrated by Norman Rockwell. The music video for the opening track "Little Girls" features Elfman dancing inside a surreal, empty suburban house, joined by dwarfs and teenage girls. The band members are later seen staring complacently in shop windows and drinking tea while Elfman's character walks down a street with an apparently underage girl. The song and video was banned in Canada.
Reception
Only a Lad was highly praised upon release, though its success was limited to the band's Southern California region. With the backing of Los Angeles radio stationKROQ-FM, it established Oingo Boingo as a permanent fixture on the regional music scene. Oingo Boingo were already known for exploiting their negative press coverage; the song "Imposter" was a response to "a couple of assholes at the LA Times." Rock criticRobert Christgau criticised Only a Lad as having "catchy vocals and spoiled overarrangements" at the time of its release. Danny Elfman would later reflect in 2006 that he "loved bad reviews, something's got to fuel us." The National Review named "Capitalism" as one of the "50 greatest conservative rock songs." It is featured in the 2005 film'. "Only a Lad" is a playable track on the PlayStation 2 video game '.
