... the greatest outtakes/b-sides/whatevurrrrs collection that I have ever feasted my ears upon.
As I speak to you children, Ween resides in the studio, preparing a new album and tour for the latter half of 2007, hopefully a delicious treat for those obsessives waiting since 2003's "Quebec", a fine album which perhaps isn't quite as brown as Ween promised. My only question? When's the second volume of "Shinola" cumming out? Yes, it's true. In 2005, Ween delivered an oft-unappreciated, damn near perfect album without recording any new music.
So...if one were a song, precisely what would one have to do in order to be rejected from a Ween record? Think about it: The words "AIDS" and "HIV" repeated over and over, set to an utterly gleeful jingle made the cut. A nine-minute funk romp about cunnilingus wasn't too tasteless. Even that three minute start-stop computer noise entitled "The Fucked Jam" was invited to the party. And yet these twelve unique tunes, covering just about every side of Ween's mastery, are condemned to an eternity of underappreciation on a *hesitate* odds `n sods release.
Gaboo!
While "Tastes Good on th` Bun" is a solid mood-setter, it's buy no means indicative of the fun to come. The disgustingly processed drums and anti-melodic vocals would fit in on "The Pod" better than an ostrich at an abortion clinic, yet the devilishly catchy "Boys Club" steals the show, about as homoerotic Ween will get without blatantly urging the listener to "go find yourself a nice peace of ass." Or, on second thought...
"I Fell In Love Today"? Sleazy as balls!
"Big Fat Fuck"? Mischievous as tongue!
"The Rift"? Long as hair!
"Gabrielle"? Catchy* as Thin Lizzy! (*=ten times better than Thin Lizzy).
Of course, while many reviewers find themselves using the word "parody", the appropriate word here seems to be "homage"; as if Ween's sincerely digging through a bag of musical influences soaking in oatmeal that they wish to share with you, dear bi-nippled reader. "Did You See Me?" is the song I'm referring and mid `70's Pink Floyd seems to be the band in question. The song is utterly perfect at what it is - the way the layered minor chords fade in, the bubbly keyboard line, the undeniably affecting, murky vocal melody, and that big ol' build-up of love at the end. I WANT TO INVITE GENE AND DEAN TO MY BIRTHDAY PARTY.
On a scale of 1-10, how does Ween do it? And so consistently. The aforementioned "Did You See Me?" is nicely complimented by the stoner vibes of "How High Can You Fly?" and "Transitions", two other fine songs in their own right. But I'd like to devote a full paragraph to "Israel", since it's one of the most goddamn infectious Ween "songs" I've heard in eons. Reasons why this song is great?
1. That main melody constantly building up elements (flute, voice, etc.) is catchy enough to solve the Arab-Israeli Conflict. 2. Some dude is reading a Jewish prayer. He makes me chortle. Say hi to Jewish prayer-reading guy, kids! Hi, Jewish prayer-reading guy! Let me buy you a drink! 3. 50-55 seconds: siren. 4. The subtle background words at the end of each verse.
And holy shit, the last two songs are as great as anything we've heard. "Monique the Freak" is one of those satanic Prince homages (*there's that word again*) that Ween simply can't get enough of. Just lay some sly grooves and sliver with them groovy horndog funk juice. Six minutes of vocoder fun, sprinkled with guitar motifs and light pan dripping. That riff at 1:17 makes me see Jesus.
"Someday", however, is a dropkick elbow punch to the elbow-testicle of anyone who claims that Ween is incapable of beauty and sensitivity - it just so happens to be their own perveted brand of beauty and sensitivity. Those ridiculous background vocals? More perverted than the old man dressed up in a flight attendant uniform at Hooters. The spoken word repetition? Jesus Christ, don't even get me started. That Walt Disney coda? You guessed it.
"Sunday Monday Tuesday Is Pizza Day...Pizzy Day..."
Of course, the studio albums are essessseessseential, but don't pass up this hard-to-find rarities collection. Or I'll collect your rarities! Oh! That's why she said! No, but seriously.
Verdict: A worthy offering to Boognish. i/10 (square root of -1, imaginary number).
And since you've been such a good class, here's what happens when you translate the lyrics to "Transitions" into German, back into English, into French and back into English again:
A lot of people look back at the 90s and think of the grunge era of the early 90s with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Others think back on the late 90s and the teen pop of N Sync, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys. This is definitly not the case for me.
My favorite 10 bands/artists that were arguably at their "peak" during the 90s (no particular order):
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin is one of my very favorite albums of the decade and the rest of their 90s output is almost as great. In fact I think every single album they released in the 90s is a great album from A Priest Driven Ambulance to The Soft Bulletin. One of the best things about these albums is how different they are from each other. As different as all of their albums are they all share the same spark of creativity. The same sense of true psychedelia. They were pushing themselves forward into new territory throughout the decade. They never allowed themselves to get into a rut.
For someone who has yet to hear the Lips I would recommend starting out with The Soft Bulletin and 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and then work your way back through gems like Clouds Taste Metallic. If you are more of a noisy rock guitar kind of guy or gal then you might want to start with A Priest Driven Ambulance and make your way towards the newer stuff.
Radiohead - I don't really like their debut album Pablo Honey much at all. To me it sounds too much like all the other bands in tired the "alternative" genre of the time. But The Bends is great and OK Computer is legendary. These two albums I consider to be so good that if I were ranking instead of listing my top 10 they would likely be #1. But choosing 10 is hard enough without putting them in order. My only reservation about placing them on this list is that I'm not really sure I consider the 90s to be the peak of Radiohead because I love their output from this decade so much.
Oasis - While this is an extremely unpopular choice among the type of indie snobs that this blog is aimed at (and I'm sure the other contributers on this site will be turning up their noses at this selection) I don't really care. I think they are an excellent band that writes insanely catchy tunes and certainly they were at their peak with 1994's Definitely Maybe and it's more poppy follow up 1995 (What's The Story) Morning Glory? I also like Be Here Now as much of a mess as it is. It's over the top nature I now find to be quite endearing. Especially in this era of emo nonsense.
Along with Noel Gallagher's perfect songwriting in the 90s his brother Liam brought the perfect rock voice to the band. To me Liam Gallagher is arguably the best rock singer of the decade. In fact I suppose I'm arguing it right now. His delivery can make the most insipid lyrics (and no doubt most of Oasis' lyrics are very insipid) and the most tired tune and turn them into something that grand. When he sings "Tonight I'm A Rock N Roll Star" I believe that he really means that. He's not being ironic, he really means it. To me this sort of attitude is what's missing from so much of the music of the past, I don't know, 30 years.
The Olivia Tremor Control - I didn't start listening to the Olivia Tremor Control until a few years ago but I now consider them to be near the very top of my list of great 90s bands. They've only released two albums and they came out in 1996 and 1999 so clearly they fit the criteria of their peak being in the 90s. While they only released two albums they were both so great and so epic in scope that I consider them to be one of my absolute favorite bands.
Their music is some of the most psychedelic pop rock music I've ever heard. There are seemingly infinite layers of sound going on in their tunes. The arrangements and instrumentation are always surprising. Certainly they take their cues from The Beach Boys and The Beatles and they often called retro but I never feel like I'm hearing any attempt to recreate the magic of an earlier time when I listen to them. I hear something far greater than just some recreation. I hear music that is timeless, from some place where time is just an idea.
If you are new to the Olivia Tremor Control I would start off with their first album 1996's Dusk At Cubist Castle and once that has been thoroughly digested move on to 1999's Black Foliage. I suggest this because if you get both of them at once I think you may be overwhelmed. Both of their albums deserves it's own gestation period so to speak. I think they are equally great with Dusk At Cubist Castle probably being easier to get into at first but Black Foliage being even more layered and intricate.
Beck - Beck was undoubtedly one of the most innovative and important artists of the 90s. 1994's Mellow Gold is widely known mostly for it's hit single "Loser" but it's actually filled with great inventive tracks that have a delicious DIY type weirdness to them. If you want to get really weird and really DIY with Beck then you should check out his lesser known album Stereopathetic Soulmanure which is brimful with insanity.
Of course Beck became known as more than a one hit wonder with 1996's Odelay which was more polished than his earlier work and won much wide acclaim. While my friend Mozart Breath doesn't care for it much I think it's quite a wonderful album and it holds up quite well with time.
Believe it or not I'm one of the few Beck fans who doesn't love 1998's Mutations. For some mysterious reason I've just never been able to get into that album.
Primal Scream - To me Primal Scream is one of the most underrated bands in the world. It doesn't seem like many people here in the US listen to them or even know who they are. Admittedly their last couple of albums haven't been mind blowing but Screamadelica and Vanishing Point are two of my very favorite albums of the 1990s. 2000's XTRMNTR is awesome too, but I'll keep this focused on the 90s, alright?
As you may gather from my list I'm quite the "psychedelic" music fan. Not psychedelic as if it's some specific genre of music from the 60s but in the sense that I enjoy music that tickles the brain a bit. Using this wide open to interpretation definition of psychedelic I'm not sure there are many albums that are more psychedelic than Screamadelica and Vanishing Point. Primal Scream's music is often a trip, even if you're not tripping. Although that may help your appreciation.
Spiritualized - Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space is an album of pure Godliness. It's one of my top 10 albums of all time and it's the main reason I am including them on this list. Like Primal Scream I feel that they have lost the edge that made them great with their recent albums but back in 1997 not too many could touch them.
Their earlier albums are fantastic too and I know they are preferred by some hardcore Spiritualized fans but to me Ladies & Gents is some sort of perfect culmination. Spiritualized is another British band that is too often overlooked here in the US.
Blur - Yes I've got both Oasis AND Blur on my list. Got a bit of a hard on for the "Brit Pop" do I? Aye. Blur is a bit hit and miss for me but I really like a lot of their stuff and I find myself enjoying them more and more as time goes by. I prefer their late 90s albums Blur and 13.
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is just a tremendous album. There's something about it that's magical and timeless. While I'll always choose Olivia Tremor Control over Neutral Milk Hotel when it comes to a clash of the Elephant 6 titans (which I'm sure will be an event at the next Wrestlemania.) I really love both of them for different reasons. I'm not usually someone who cares much about lyrics but Jeff Mangum has a way with words that really draws me in. It's actually a lyric from On Avery Island that may be my all time favorite lyric. It's "How Strange Is It To Be Anything At All." Somehow that sums it all up for me.
Ween - An extremely underrated band. Too many people think they are merely a "joke" band. While some of their songs are funny, they are far more bizarre than hilarious. Bizarre being much more interesting to me. They are the combination of extreme musical talent with even more extreme imagination. This combines to create masterpiece albums like 1997's The Mollusk. If you've never given Ween a real shot before I suggest you really listen to their music with an open mind starting with the aforementioned The Mollusk.
You may have noticed I've named quite a few albums from 1997 on this list and for some reason quite a few albums from that year really stand out for me above all others. Definitely my favorite year of the 90s as far as music goes with albums like Radiohead's OK Computer, Spiritualized's Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, Primal Scream's Vanishing Point, Ween's The Mollusk, The Flaming Lips' Zaireeka, Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind, and Cornershop's When I Was Born For The 7th Time.
When one thinks of the epic rock duo known as Ween, there is no question that a Simon & Garfunkle comparison DOES NOT come to mind. With that, I present to you what I feel are Ween's most mystical recorded moments, specifically three. I am observing those moments in which the endless sniffing of paint fumes and gasoline paid off in the creativity department. As we all know, Gene Ween is known primarily as the vocal guru of the group, as where Dean Ween is in charge of performing the guitar heroics for the most part.
The first song that transcends space and time, was originally included on their major label 1992 epic with Elektra Records entitled "Pure Guava." The song in question is "The Stallion Part Three," which was a continuation in the epic Stallion Series that started on 1991's "The Pod." What "The Stallion Part Three" has to offer is a painfully high pitched vocal that would no doubt make Geddy Lee blush, and no doubt this is a vocal enhanced by a good old fashioned analog four-track pitch shifter. The lyrical flow, which almost feels improvised, falls out of Papa Gener's mouth like Syd Barrett at his deranged finest, and top it all off with a fractured lead by Deaner that somehow manages to keep the bizarre emotional appeal of the song intact.
"The Stallion Part Three" presented in a live setting:
Song number two, is so mystical that it includes a vague lyrical reference to a talking pig begging some woman to get a dog back on the porch and off the path. I am of course talking about "12 Golden Country Greats" epic album closer "Fluffy." As many Ween fans know, Dean and Gene look back on this record with great fondness. Interesting to note that "12 Golden Country Greats" was recorded in Nashville with top notch and well known session musicians who have worked with many of the greats of Country Music. Even though "12 Golden Country Greats" was released a full eleven years ago, it still very much sustains an air of timelessness to it and is surprisingly light on novelty on the whole.
Observe "Fluffy" in fully realized Progressive Rock glory:
Finally, this brings me to "Mutilated Lips" which was one of the better cuts on one of Ween's very best records, of course I am referring to 1997's "The Mollusk." Dean Ween has been quoted as saying that this very well may be his favorite of all Ween albums, at least thus far. "Mutilated Lips" gives me a warm feeling inside, it lets me know that it is very well possible for Psychedelic Rock to still be a contemporary form of music, and free of any ridiculous retro appeal. The lyrics are gloomy, and Gene's dramatic prose is in full effect. There is a beautiful almost Jazz Rock quality that almost gives the song a gentle feel. Lyrically, all three songs mentioned are pure imagination, almost like a Salvador Dali painting set to words and music.
Enjoy "Mutilated Lips" on a short-lived MTV show before they moved their studio operations to Time Square:
...But what are your most mystical moments by Ween? Do you happen to have a favorite mind blowing cut?
