Classic or Dud: "Ladies and Gentlemen..WEEN!"

Ween, not Beck! ;-)

I'm with Dave Q to a large extent, though comparing them to Bruce Springsteen is a bit like saying a really good filet mignon is on par with Del Taco meat product. Regardless -- ever since friend EJL raved about them to me back in 1991 and made all of us listen to them, I've always found at least a little time for them somewhere. Haven't seen them live in a long while, since 1996 or so, but my sister, who claims them as her fave band, takes up the family slack there. Long may they wibble.

O my goodness. Their fans are effing lunatics. I saw them play in 97 during their "Push the Little Daisies" fame, and all the front row of people did was yell and curse and flash body parts and even urinate on stage, and this was in front of 2k people! They have got some of the most messed of fans on the face of the earth, and I love it.

I hold that Pure Guava, Chocolate and Cheese, and The Mollusk (esp. The Mollusk) are three underrated masterpieces.

I know New Hope, PA (from whence the Weeners sprung) quite well ... their vibe is very much of that town. If anyone cares - - it's a nice day-trip from Philly.

Travel Tip. Just avoid nearby Peddlers Village or Lahaska. Its like and overpriced version of New Hope without the charm. It's Martha Stewarts Wet Dream. But it funny to see an entire city who's only import/export is antiques. 300+ antique shops...in...a...row...

Speaking of Rollins picks, anybody remember Die Cheerleader?

"Sarah" or "She's My Baby" for sure. Very beautiful songs.

My favorite thing about Ween, among the countless other reasons, is that they're the only band that can be so retardedly stupid (in a good way) one minute (aka "Pumpin' for the Man", which is also a very appropriate song to listen to if you work hard for $5.50/hr), and the very next be playing a completely gorgeous amazing song the next (aka "Sarah", which is just stunning), with ZERO tongue-in-cheek factor.

IMHO, they're the REALest band this side of Fishbone, and I personally believe every album they've made so far has been even more amazing than the next. Plus, they're one of the best concerts I've ever experienced.

Some more serious good non-threatening upbeat songs with very-little-to-zero mention of prostitutes for piscesboy:

"Exactly Where I'm At"
"A Tear for Eddie"
"Freedom of '76" (okay, a little silly, but still beautiful)
"Take Me Away"
"Buckingham Green"
"Flutes of Chi"

And if the phrase "novelty band" had existed back then, you'd better believe the Beatles would have been one. "Buffalo Bill" anyone?

come on this is the *fabs*
we're talking about here -
have some respect.

Ween rule, and they are also a beam of guiding light for anyone who's former bandmates live 400 miles away and all you gots is a 4-track, drum machine, mic, and a few guitars.

Jeez, here I am looking at all the mp3s I have of this band, and I'm thinking why the hell doesn't anybody like them??? These songs are fucking fantastic!!

1. Sarah
2. She's Your Baby
3. It's Gonna Be Alright
4. Cold Blows the Wind
5. If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All)
6. Right To the Ways and Means of the World
7. Exactly Where I'm At
8. Buckingham Green
9. Chocolate Town*
10.It's Gonna Be A Long Night

*(it is often presumed that this song is a reference to anal sex, but I contend that it is a tribute to Hershey Pennsylvania)

"You Were The Fool" and "It's Gonna Be Alright" are without a doubt the 2 best "serious" Ween songs. Definitley both are in my top 5 ween songs, and they're both fucking gorgeous.

You mean the Prince cover?

1 Madonna "What the Fuck Do You Think You're Doing?"
2 Millie Jackson "The Fuck You Symphony (Live)"
3 The Coup "Lazymuthafucka"
4 Beck "Fuckin' With My Head"
5 Sleater-Kinney "Write Me Back, Fucker"
6 Liz Phair "Fuck and Run"
7 Missy Elliott "They Don't Wanna Fuck Wit' Me"
8 Fischerspooner "Fucker"
9 Tupac Shakur "Fuck 'Em All"
10 Ol' Dirty Bastard "You Don't Want to Fuck With Me"
11 50 Cent "Fuck You"
12 Jay Z "Fuck That"
13 Three 6 Mafia "Get the Fuck Out My Face"
14 Ween "Where th' Motherfucking Cheese At?"
15 Jon and Al Kaplan "Put the Fucking Lotion in the Basket"
16 Trey Stone and Matt Parker "Shut Your Fucking Face, Uncle Fucker"
17 Peaches "I Don't Give a Fuck"
18 Rage Against the Machine "Fuck Tha Police (Live)"
19 Dub Narc "Fuck Shit Up"
20 Eamon vs. Sinead O'Connor "Fucking Compares 2 U (DJ Fancy Dan MiX)"
21 D'Angelo "Shit Damn Motherfucker (Live)"
22 Magnetic Fields "How Fucking Romantic"
23 Belle and Sebastian "Fuck This Shit"
24 Bernie Mac "Motherfucker"
25 Black Sheep "For Doz That Slept"

If I may suggest:
26. Eminem - "Just Don't Give a Fuck".

Classico amigo.

Of those bands, how many name said demon god "Boognish?"

They were classic the first time I heard "You Fucked Up" and the were classic the last time I heard the 6+ minute long version of "Where'd the Cheese Go?" on their fan-request live album. Which was this afternoon.

I do have to disagree vehemently that they've anything in common with They Might Be Giants other than being a band with a core of two guys both of whom have severely under-noticed musicianship and songwriting ability. I completely get why some folks don't "get" either or both of these bands, but I still maintain that it's really easy to overlook facts like the fact that Dean just fucking shreds.

Fact.

On a related note: Moistboyz... C or D? Cause I had reservations (though I probably still wouldn't have said Dud right off), but now I have heard Moistboyz III on vinyl, and I'm gonna have to say Classic.

It's late.

Moistboyz -- I enjoy them, my sister, the ultra-Ween fan mentioned above, LURVS them.

It goes like this (scale from 1-10):

GodWeenSatan - 7
The Pod - 8
Pure Guava - 7
The Mollusk - 6
White Pepper - 5

Yes I would say that, I would say that.

Ha ha. Thanks Ned!

I have it on VERY good authority that the haze on The Pod has less to do with Scotchguard than it has to do with the fact that both Dean and Gene had mono during the recording of it.

There is a toss up for my favorite Ween song. It's like a battle... Captain Fantasy vs. Doctor Rock.

FITE!

Do it before you get Chocolate and Cheese, too. Cause when you get Chocolate and Cheese it'll be the only thing in your CD player for quite a while.

"AIDS"

On the other hand the new in-studio live one does feature a couple moments like this in spite of the recording quality being terrific.

Get it? GET IT???? Everybody thought the other guy killed his brother, but it was actually the narrator of the song!! And now he'll never tell anybody the real truth, because now he's gonna kill him too!!

What a classic song. Best Ween song ever (and therefore one of the greatest songs ever written)!

"Piss Up a Rope" alone trounces everything on Quebec!

Bah!

I also don't get the preoccupation so many folks have with "Buenas Tardes." To me it's one of the few Ween songs where the joke just isn't funny after repeated listens. That, and it's too fucking long for what is a seriously weak punchline/twist after you already know the story.

"Mister Would You Please Help My Pony" on the other hand rocks, is bittersweet and funny as fuck.

He coughed up snot in the driveway, and I think his lung's fucked up.

Man I changed my mind. Three way battle for best song.

No wait, four way battle: "Sketches of Winkle".

She was a meditative hooker all strung out on Sinatra.

o.nate otm.

I remember buying Pure Guava in high school (b/c of “Daisies”) on tape, listening to on the bus, walking around the neighborhood, in my room, everywhere. Twas in love. Thinking about it now, it was the first of many sprawling, sloppy records I would become enamoured of as the years unfurled. I could sing every word, without messing up, of any song from that record...and that’s not true of many others I was into in ‘92/‘93/’94. (somehow I never got around to buying the earlier stuff)

So then Chocolate & Cheese came out and I flat out HATED it. It was too competent and not funny enough and there were other musicians involved that were pros. Owned this for perhaps a month before hocking it. (I did love Freedom of ’76 and a few others) Then I sorta gave up on ‘em.

When White Pepper came out I decided to give it a chance...only to discover that it was more boring than C&C had been (“Even If You Don’t” was the only song I liked). Heard C&C in a store recently and it sounded a lot better than it did when I was 17. Eventually I’ll give ‘em another go....

That's the criticism I don't get unless you just mean the engineering/production was too competent. The musicianship has improved, yeah, but they were always competent musicians. Part of what I find so brilliant about them is how they've managed somehow to hide that from people so much. I mean the guitarwork on "Sketches of Winkle" is very competent. (To be honest the early Ween stuff is also amazingly well-recorded for something done on a four track too. Pure Guava especially.)

Absolutely -- the 1991 Trouser Press entry for them summed it up perfectly: "poorly disguised musical skills"

GodWeenSatan The Oneness 8.8
The Pod 9.8
Pure Guava 10.0
Chocolate And Cheese 9.0
12 Golden Country Greats 9.7
The Mollusk 10.0
Painting The Town Brown 8.1
White Pepper 8.3
Quebec 8.6

And I suppose if they ever release a 4-CD boxed set with all the best b-sides and rare tracks, that would obviously be a 10.0.

Oh shit, also..

Moistboyz III 8.3
Z-Rock Hawaii 8.8

Haven't heard the first 2 Moistboyz records yet.

But it's NOT a joke!! It's an honest-to-God straight-up murder ballad! Ween are honestly trying to emulate certain styles of music that they happen to enjoy! Hell, with a couple exceptions, I bet you will not laugh out loud ONCE during the entirety of Chocolate and Cheese and all the albums afterward. You want to laugh, go listen to "The Stallion Part 1" or "Nan" or "Common Bitch" or "Up on the Hill."

competent? dean is a great, really expressive, blues-rock guitarist, and gene is a spectacularly elastic singer, and if they tried to hide it on their records it was always plainly evident from their live shows. i haven't paid close attention in several years, but i used to love 'em partly BECAUSE of those skills.

I heard Push Th' Little Daisies and just thought it was wierd, heard Voodoo Lady and kinda liked it. For some reason I was always very suspicious of them, and I don't know why. I bought Quebec for some reason and it didn't move me very much. A year later I tried the Mollusk and it totally blew me away. I still think it's their best album. I gradually got a few more albums, and I discovered that the more albums I heard the more I liked them overall. It is very hard to get a sense of this band from only a couple of albums. A few days ago I went on a binge and bought everything I was missing, so I've been drowning in Ween. I haven't listened to anything else in about two weeks, which is something that has never happened with me. All day long at work on the ipod, all night long on the stereo. At some point, the wife is going to put a stop to this.

I dunno. I originally got involved with this band in a kind of collegiate-stoner scene and sense, thanks mostly to a friend who geeked out on them more than I can ever dream to. What keeps them from every being a "joke" band -- and what I think has been spelled out by the progression of their albums -- is that no matter what kind of song they're attempting, they tend to commit to it absolutely and entirely. Often they're joking, but it's incredibly rare that they're actually parodying a sound. This is possibly why Chocolate and Cheese works well for me: it was the first moment where the really leapt beyond the fun of their recording process, and the songs managed to come out fully functional without really changing much at all. "Freedom of 76," or "Joppa Road" -- the lyrics joke (a little), but is there really anything about these songs that doesn't function really well within the styles they're adopting? And from there to, umm ... "Ocean Man?" It's only really after The Mollusk that I feel like they've dedicated themselves more than I like to their "proper" songwriting, and in the process lost a little of the imagination and breadth of the stuff before.

I'd actually say the same of a lot of the lyrics, but that's a little more complicated -- something about how a "weird" song will read as funny, intentionally off, even when it can more interestingly be read as (theoretically) serious. E.g. as a light example, what makes "Freedom of 76" so far removed from a "real" tribute to Philadelphia? (And for a heavier one, isn't it kind of fun to imagine "Mister Would You Please Help My Pony" as an actual situation and problem? Kid's pony is in mortal peril!)

Anyway yeah: it helps to try not to read "weird" as "funny," because in a lot of cases, with these guys, it's actually just wonderfully imaginative, especially when it comes to the songs and the sonics -- which are rarely half-assed "joke" performances, and are often written for total earnest effect. I'm surprised more people don't cover these songs, to be honest: I know Phish have adopted "Roses are Free" as practically theirs, but there are loads and loads of great fascinating songs beyond that kinda begging for various interpretations.

The White Album reference from before is a really terrific one -- styles and novelties thrown on out of sheer imagination, and delivered in a way that's not "kidding" but fully-committed and just incidentally fun. And if you think everyday Ween fans are freaks, then whoah Jesus you should have seen the crowds that showed up for their country tour! I have some some weird-ass people in my life, but nothing tops the country contingent at their Chicago show for that one.

Axes: Bold as Boognish - 5.5
God Ween Satan - 9
Pod - 9.5
Pure Guava - 7.5
Chocolate & Cheese - 7
12 Golden Country Greats - 9
Mollusk - 8
White Pepper - 7
Quebec - 5.5
Shinola - 7

flies on my...........DICK!!!

Classic

I wish them the best of luck in everything they do.

yesssssssssssssssssssssssss.

ween are better now at singing and playing guitar but worse at making records.
-- ¨?¨?¨?¨?¨?¨? (chaki.time...), June 20th, 2006 1:17 PM. (chaki)

Let us all anticipate the new Ween FRIENDS EP (due 06/19) and untitled album (due sometime this fall)!

http://www.chocodog.com/chocodog/ween/ween_new/ween_thefriendsep.jpg

Roxor.

"what deaner was talking about" is the shins but better

HOLY BALLS I AM SEEING THEM LIVE ON SUNDAY.

taste the waste!

My cat's name is Captain Fantasy.

"Don't Laugh (I Love You)" is all the twee most people will ever want.

Jesus Christ
Pain
Take one
Yeah! Pain

Last time I saw you, I was holding your hand
And I couldn't wait for you to leave
I knew right then that it was over and done
And I couldn't believe that I was free

Help me now, I'm going down
And I don't know if I'll be ok
I'll be around, I'll be in town
If you need a place to stay

When the wind blows and there's a chill in the air
I hope that someone is taking care of you
I'm alright, yeah, I'm really ok
Just so you know I'm always there for you

Help me now, I'm going down
And I don't know if I'll be ok
I'll be around, I'll be in town
If you need a place to stay

Just had a thought, could "Buckingham Green" be a reference to Lindsey + Peter? Or is it just a cool English-sounding name?

I always thought that it was a reference to the Buckingham Green Shopping Center located a few miles down the road from New Hope, PA.
http://www.buckinghamgreen.com/images/pagelayout20_04.gif

Seeing these dudes tomorrow again! Hope they go light on the La Cucaracha album, the only dud in their catalog IMO...

Where did the motherfucking cheese go at?

(i don't know)

Ween, the eternal:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-0129-ween-20110129,0,6390254.story

ween, the clusterfucking (from what I hear): http://www.straight.com/article-369810/vancouver/ween-completely-blows-it-bizarre-vancouver-show

Hope they go light on the La Cucaracha album, the only dud in their catalog IMO...

people keep putting down La Cucaracha, but the two tracks I have heard from it (Woman And Man and the divine Your Party) are both amazing.

Particularly Your Party, which is plainly the best song ever recorded by anyone.

are there really standouts from that album? maybe i'll give it another shot.

dirty vicar otm. "woman and man" is ween's "sympathy for the devil." the sax on "your party" kills. "spirit walker" could have been on 'white pepper.' "friends" is one of their best songs. all in all have to say this album is better than 'quebec'

single version of Friends >>>>>>>> album version of Friends

I think quebec is maybe their best, so I cant agree with that, but La C isn't as terrible as you've probably heard
I dig "Blue Balloon" quite a bit, it's a really dumb song but I like it

by the way it's 2012 now and they still haven't released a follow up, now I'm getting sad (especially considering how prolific these guys used to be)

solo Gene Ween coming soon...

http://www.aaronfreeman.net/

If I'm reading this correctly, it's produced by the same guy who did 12 Golden Country Greats...

this is actually pretty good. completely dissimilar to Ween outside of maybe a few tracks on White Pepper. just kind of a lush, upbeat pop album, kinda of intentionally campy, but really catchy and fun

a lush, upbeat pop album, kinda of intentionally campy...

It's an album of Rod McKuen covers. So there you go.

classic Deaner:

me and carlos sort of collaborate-------I think enough time has passed where I can finally tell my favorite Ween story of all-time.
The businesses and the people involved have long since closed their doors and moved on for good and hopefully the people involved (and Carlos himself, if it comes to that) will have a good sense of humor about this story.

In 2003 Ween released our album “quebec” on Sanctuary Records. We worked on the album for 2 years in our beach house in Holgate,NJ, a rented house in the Pocono Mountains of PA, the garage behind Aaron’s house in Pt. Pleasant, PA, my upstairs guest room, and finally Andrew Weiss’s living room in NJ. We also worked at Water Music in Hoboken, NJ and Graphic Sound Studios in Ringoes, NJ. It was not a great period in our personal lives, Aaron was going thru a divorce and I was partying way too hard myself—it was some dark shit. The record is one of my favorites, but it is a depressing album lyrically. It was not an easy record to make either, as evidenced by the amount of places we worked, trying to find the right environment. There are demos available online that I posted where you can hear the process at work, we racked up our normal batch of like 6 dozen songs or more before whittling it down to what was finally released, 15 tunes.

I am a huge fan of Carlos Santana. He is one of my favorite guitarists of all-time. He is playing better these days than ever before in my opinion. His music is more radio friendly, for sure, but as a guitarist he has aged like a fine wine. Only Neil Young, Prince, and a small handful of others can make that claim as they become members of the AARP.

We were working in Andrew’s living room on the song “Transdermal Celebration”, our drummer Claude Coleman had just gotten into a horrific car crash and left us w/o a drummer for the recording and ensuing tour. Eventually it worked itself out where the record took so long to complete that Claude made enough of a recovery to do the world tour with us supporting “quebec.” In the meantime though, even though Claude had played on some of the demos, drumming on the album was left up to me, Josh Freese, and Sim Cain. “Transdermal Celebration” had been recorded 3 times by this point, with a drum machine, with Claude playing drums, and the final take on the album which features Josh Freese. It was the eventual single from the album. So, we’re in the middle of this session and I get a phone call from my roadie (nameless) who also worked for a backline company (nameless) that supplied amps, drums, lights, etc. to bands touring in the Northeast. My roadie told me that Carlos Santana’s equipment (including his guitars) had arrived via a trucking company that night at their depot. Carlos was recording an appearance on “Good Morning America” the next morning and his equipment was to be delivered to the set in NYC in a few hours.

What needed to be done was immediately clear to me, I had an opportunity to play the solo on “Transdermal Celebration” through Carlos Santana’s amplifier and guitar. I had one shot at it, it meant taking a hard disk recorder to a storage space where all of Carlos’ stuff was sitting in transit. I arrived at 2am. We (very carefully) unpacked his equipment and set up his stage gear and in one take I recorded the guitar solo for “Transdermal Celebration” (the one that appears on the album, playing thru Carlos Santana’s guitar, pedalboard, and amplifier. The whole thing took 10 minutes and we were terrified we were going to get caught. A lot of people would have lost their jobs. We got the fuck outta there really fast after that. So the solo on “Transdermal Celebration” was played thru all of Santana’s shit in what resembled an early morning bank heist or something……….

Of course a story like this requires visual proof, so here it is. Don’t tell anyone about these please.

-Dean Ween 6/14

an afterthought: regarding the Carlos post, i'd like to add that we handled his equipment as if it were the Mona Lisa. We photographed the way his roadie had his cables wrapped and positioned and put everything back exactly as it was found. The whole process was over as quickly as it happened. Also, the respect that I have for Carlos and the depth, spirituality and stamina of his playing is held by me in the highest regard. I am not just a fan of Carlos, I am a believer and follower of everything he has done, and yes that includes the pop singles. I felt it was important to have this be known, there is no one I hold in a higher regard. Also, I have a lifetime of experience of handling equipment, as did the other person involved, it wasn't two drunk buffoons manhandling a legend's gear, the furthest thing from it. I think it's important to clarify that. -DW

http://i.imgur.com/RhJNhiY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/85V2fsv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UyUfy1F.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OY1ppaX.jpg

haha that's incredible.

Classic.

Amazing. I'm calling the cops

new freeman album is vintage

It's definitely at least rather good, possibly moreso.

yeah I guess I better order a copy

didnt know he had a new album out.

"one more" is genius. wonder if gene's picked up some serious chops?

I think a lot of these songs would be better with Dean on them and I'm kind of surprised how very tame this is (given some of his comments), but there's definitely a high level of craftsmanship here, I think this'll hold up well

They're back

http://ween.com/

will probably just be a one-off thing

hope it's because they want to do it and not because they need the money.

i mean, that's cool too, i just want these guys to be happy

Freeman is still workin on LP2. Hopefully they can continue with both.

Always thought "Your Party" was really funny, doesn't actually make me laugh but the image of a certain type of wealthy adult it paints is so perfect. No idea if there is a genre or band that makes music like that.

When I was first getting into Ween, I was reading that a lot of their lyrics were extremely offensive and I only have 6 albums and I didn't run into much of that.
The only thing I can think of is the "The HIV Song" and "Slow Down Boy" (which sounds like Anthony And The Johnsons and repeats "his love is young")

Mister Richard Smoker, certainly?

yeah given their reputation that's the only song I can really think of that's outwardly offensive. They have a lot of vulgar tunes but I can't imagine people being bothered by them...they're not like Zappa, for instance

even "The HIV Song"...I mean, don't you have to read into that a bit? it has no lyrics!

Piss Up A Rope?

I agree that 'Your Party' is one of their funniest songs. Almost any serious-minded, rapturous embrace of banality is good for a laugh, I find, but the hushed lyrics and decadent music kick it up a notch. You'd think he were singing about a coke-fueled orgy rather than a casual get together where everyone is wearing chinos and eating salmon puffs.

You fucked up, you bitch, you really fucked up
You fucked up, you fuckin' nazi whore
Well, you dicked me over but now you'll pay
You fucked up, ahh!

You fucked up, you bitch, you really fucked up
You fucked up, you sloppy little shit, bitch, ahh
Well, you dicked me over but now you'll pay
You fucked up, ahh!

In "Your Party" it does seem to me as if they are the sort of people who go to upper middle class swinger parties but this is just a nice quiet one for them. Reminds me of that film The New Age starring Peter Weller and Judy Davis, but without the spiritual crisis.

Re: the other topic, I wouldn't waste any time arguing with someone who found Ween offensive. It's a subjective thing but also that's kinda what they were going for at times.

I had read about them being accused of sexism and racism, not just gross stuff.

OK sexism I guess I can understand, but racism?

even sexism is hard to make a strong case for. the point of You Fucked Up is the narrator's inarticulacy in the face of specific emotional hurt, not anything about a gender.

i thought the point was the narrator's "inarticulacy" in the face of being a fucking moron with nothing to say about anything

I seem to recall it was about one of the teachers in their high school who had given them a hard time in class, they were 14/15 when they wrote it; maybe best not to stare too deeply into that particular lyrical pool.
'Don't Get 2 Close 2 My Fantasy' on the other hand...

yeah I honestly can't tell if that one's really sinister or "Buckingham Green"-type lyrical nonsense

It's dark and gross, but it's not sinister.

it's certainly sinister - that's the whole point, really - but i can't imagine many being offended by it

I mean, the narrator is sinister, but Ween aren't trying to promote pedophilia or anything.

Spinal Meningitis is probably the worst one they have along those lines...not offensive but really really bleak. I heard someone try to cast it as them making fun of people with the disease but I can't read it that way at all.

That's the first one that comes to mind when I think 'potentially offensive Ween song'.

it goofs on horror for sickly lols. that solo tho.

^ apt description of every Ween song ever

who is expected to be offended by Spinal Meningitis, very stupid Christians?

Parents of children with spinal meningitis?

People who can't, or at least don't like to, deal with unpleasant subjects bluntly?

social justice worriers?

it's not blunt, though. it's expressing careful, crafted empathy to sufferers of, or adjacent to, the condition.

if parents of children with spinal meningitis were fans enough of Ween to make it to an album track on their fourth LP, they had probably been through enough tough times to find mordant charm and gallows humour in the song

getting xposts on zing but can't see them obv

although I just checked and it was track two side one, they didn't have to make it too far

was thinking it wasn't until side two

That song is really disturbing (regardless of being offensive or not), gets to me in a way that none of that type of music does.

yeah I have a real difficult time listening to it. kinda hate that they perform it live so much.

The 33 1/3 book on Chocolate and Cheese gives a lot of insight to how they think about they're lyrics. Jumps from from the sincere to the stoned through a range of quite personal points of references. It's kind of what makes their lyrics great; once you tune into the language and attitude you start to understand it.

'their lyrics'

yeah I have a real difficult time listening to it. kinda hate that they perform it live so much.

Don't get this tbh.

what part of it? it's a song about a small child going through medical treatment - it disturbs me

You're obv. a lot more sensitive than me!

Disturbing is a feature, not a bug.

Yeah it's nothing against them, just hits me in a weird place is all

The first time I heard Spinal Meningitis I wondered if I had made a huge mistake by getting into Ween and could ever listen to that song again

Don't get this tbh.

― Larry 'Leg' Smith (Tom D.), Wednesday, June 8, 2016 12:59 PM (Yesterday)

eh, most people have a vaguely-defined threshold past which enjoyably weird & creepy becomes upsetting, not funny at all. first time i heard "22 going on 23" by the butthole surfers, it threw me quite forcefully over that line, and i've never since wanted to hear it again. to say nothing of throbbing gristle's "hamburger lady"...

You will probably not be surprised to learn I love both those songs.

Kind of draw the line at "Slug Bait" though.

yeah, there's no shortage of unpleasant tg lyrics

I was thinking of that Butthole Surfers song. There's a few things about it.

In the sample a woman talks about being sexually assaulted and having bad dreams about it. According to them it was a woman who kept phoning into a radio show with different made up stories that contradicted each other. They said the track is a big fuck you to her for making up all these stories. But listeners have no way of knowing this unless they know this trivia and it simply sounds like they are using the account of a woman who's been sexually assaulted for shock value and listeners are likely to feel sympathetic towards her.
Even if a most of her stories were made up, it's very possible she was sexually assaulted and/or suffered from mental illness.

There's also the Lisa Germano song

The song 'A Psychopath', which samples a real 911 call where a woman confronts an intruder in her home,[6] was inspired by an experience Germano had as a child, when she was riding her bike and a strange man exposed himself to her.[5] The song was written about the general feeling of powerlessness that women can experience, especially with regard to sexual predators.[5] She obtained the 911 call recording from a rape centre (with their permission), after originally encountering it in a documentary about violence.[1] She was initially hesitant to use the recording, thinking it was "too intense", however ultimately decided it was something worth saying.[4] Germano has said that making the song was scary and very upsetting, and that she had trouble sleeping after recording it.[1]

Obviously Germano is well meaning but I wonder if the woman in the sample was asked, because if not, I don't think she should have used it.

Then there's some sampled interviews about people's horrible lives in Swans.

Even if all this stuff was used with the best construcive intent in brilliant music, a lot of people wouldn't like their traumas to be used like that.

re: "22 Going On 23" thank you for explaining that. I like the song a lot better now. Definitely felt uncomfortable the last few times I heard it.

i don't listen to them at all as far as their CDs go - last one i probably heard all the way through was the pod when that came out - but sometimes i will flip through stuff on youtube and i feel like i can point to some of their genre homages and say: okay, that's better than any phish/neutral milk hotel/destroyer/of montreal/paul mccartney/etc song i've ever heard.

and they are also weird in the way i can listen to a song by them and say: okay, that's better than any latter-day tears for fears song i've ever heard.

who else could i even say that about?

i feel like i can point to some of their genre homages and say: okay, that's better than any phish/neutral milk hotel/destroyer/of montreal/paul mccartney/etc song i've ever heard.

― scott seward, Tuesday, March 7, 2017 6:12 PM (two minutes ago)

yup, same here. also with you on the listening approach. a song here, a song there, but i never sit down & listen to a ween album.

oh wait, shit, you had mccartney in there?

haha, well, just thinking of examples off the top of my head. i've heard some mccartney-esque ween that i would probably rather listen to than a lot of mccartney though.

a ween tribute album done by serious singer-songwriter types playing the songs straight with modern digital folk-rock production would be cool. to me.

Ween are one of those bands where the live recordings almost always shred the studio albums. Archive.org has a zillion live shows you can download for free, some of which have stellar sound quality. You could spend months and months going through those.

it's funny that two burnout kids who met in typing class ended up like living a rock and roll fantasy... they really turned into an amazing live band

yea especially since they weren't exactly talented chaps to begin with. I doubt anyone who heard their early recordings was thinking "it's rough, but damn they've got potential!"

i did! kinda. i mean i thought god/ween/satan and the pod were really ambitious but i guess that's not that early. they obviously had song-writing ability.

i kinda think of them as an oingo boingo i would listen to. and later a jam band i would listen to. even though i only listen occasionally on youtube. i can even imagine seeing ween on acid would be fun.

i do see weird (science) parallels. O.B. even had acoustic interludes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYfjDyGPt4g

i have never actually listened to an oingo boingo album. did ween ever have horn sections on their later albums?

scott you should check out the white pepper some time. it is a stone-cold kinks are the village green preservation society / who sell out-level classic

i did! kinda. i mean i thought god/ween/satan and the pod were really ambitious but i guess that's not that early. they obviously had song-writing ability.

oh no, I'm talking about the stuff they did before that - GodWeenSatan was the culmination of like six years of writing and recording

does the Cake cult intersect with the Ween cult at all? seems like it might.

was not aware there was a cake cult

there really is.

Trust me on this: all of Ween's pre-GodWeenSatan albums are TERRIBLE. But they do make you appreciate what an astonishing leap in songwriting chops they made in such a short time.

which reminds me, the recently released front-to-back live recording of that album from 2001 is GREAT. don't think I'll ever listen to the studio album again.

just stumbled upon my copy of All Request Live, I forgot how good it was. still think it's hilarious that they let the fans vote on the tracklist, who responded by filling it with a bunch of bizarre non-songs like "Pollo Asado". it's actually quite nice because practically nothing on here is part of their regular live set, other than maybe "Cover it With Gas and Set it On Fire". and the Pizza Hut jingle rules. can't believe they passed on it.