Buenas Tardes Amigo is fantastic. Great stuff. Baby Bitch is my favourite on first listen; I love sad sounding songs that have a different quality of emotion in the lyrics — probably why I love the early Morrissey solo records — and the bitterness in that gives it the complexity of drama I gravitate towards. Spinal Meningitis is stark, stark, stark, no insincerity near it. I wonder if that song was fed from a place of anger more than anything else. I expected to dose thicker on the humour and while it's very much present I don't think it's flippant or indulgent in the main, to me operating mostly as an alleviation, the gluttonous nothingness of Candi excepted. The HIV Song feels like the aforesaid light-hearted alleviation, I guess of early 90s news cycles, and Don't Shit Eat Where You Eat is a decent track on which to end. Everything else is great, I think.
Excited to return to this, have many friends who are way more into Ween than me but I've always appreciated them. Never quite internalized the humor to the point where listening to eg HIV song is like...pleasant, but it feels like the price you pay for Voodoo Lady, Roses are Free, What Deaner Was Talkin About, etc
I should've given specific mention to What Deaner Was Talking About actually. Brilliant non-Beatles Beatles song.
My friend Spencer who was once an absolutepunk dot net poster once told me something to the effect of, half of Ween's songs are dogshit, 1/4 are average, and 1/4 are all time great Beatlesesque achievements of songwriting. I would probably adjust the proportions somewhat but it's definitely essentially true lol
I liked most Ween songs I’ve heard, don’t think I’ve ever listened to a full album. Excited to check it out
This is on aquarium drunkard rn, mentioned a record we discussed so: If you’re wondering where to head after Dadawah and Heart of the Congos, this ain’t a bad next step. Man from Higher Heights is a roots reggae jammer shrouded in mystery. Released in 1983 with no mention of players or lineup, the album is credited to legendary Rastafaian drummer and bandleader Count Ossie, who died in a car crash seven years earlier. Whatever the case, the album’s potent brew of reverent nyabinghi rhythms, synth, brass, and sinuous fuzz guitar will elevate you above the heat and humid murk to your own higher heights. | j annis
obviously familiar with Sam's Intro (who isn't?) and some other Mystic Revelation of Rastafari songs when I was on my reggae discovery journey earlier in the summer. thanks so much for sharing this! will absolutely be playing soon. guess I need to get on Aquarium Drunkard
This is good. Sorta unpredictable song-to-song, but the sequencing somehow works? (so far) Freedom of 76 is smooth as hell.
The run of Candi, Buenas Tardes Amigo, and The HIV Song is pretty rough. Improves immediately when What Deaner Was Talkin About comes on i really enjoyed Baby Bitch and Voodoo Lady too
just finished my first listen. on first inpression I’d agree with this sentiment lol I definitely enjoyed this more than my initial listen of The Mollusk, which was a bit too offkilter for me, but maybe I need to return to that too. and I can see myself throwing this one on and just skipping the tracks I didn’t like on relisten (Candi feels like more of an interlude if anything, but it is pretty bad lol). overall a very solid pick for the week
I would never blame anyone for not liking the bottom tier of Ween songs, but I would also pity anyone who couldn't get over them to the point that they couldn't get into the great stuff. I don't know quite know why, maybe getting really into Phish the last 5 years, but when I listen to this record (which I haven't yet for the purposes of this thread!) even the stupid shit rolls over me pretty easy, and I'm not reaching to skip. It all very much feels like part of the whole
yeah I was kinda hoping we didn’t have anyone far too reactionary in here that would say these songs are outright offensive or making light of serious things, which would be very easy for someone who’s dying to be offended to say but so far you’ve all been pretty great about understanding that it’s in no way meant to make fun of the topics being discussed.
I was very concerned someone might take this record or at least parts of it the wrong way. almost didn’t recommend it but then I realized that you all are smart and perceptive enough that I could.
I’m by no means a big Ween fan btw. this particular album has just always stood out to me as one more people should hear. so I figured it would be perfect for this thread.
I want to preface this by saying this is not meant to sound like a bad review - the Khun Narin record really helped me sleep this last week. I’ve been having trouble sleeping, with my mind wired as soon as my head hits the pillow. I started putting it on and just focusing on the rhythm section really helped me switch my mind off and doze off. I’ve listened to it during the day and have enjoyed it as well. Really not something I think I would have found otherwise, so it’s a refreshing and interesting style for me. Thang Jai Thang Jao is a standout for me. I like how it pretty effortlessly switches tempos. The thing that really attracts me to this music is the rhythm section. The guitar style is fun, but the bass and drums really stand out to me. There is something hypnotic about it.
I know it's basic and not on this record, but "Ocean Man" is one of the best singles ever imho. Wish I still had the music video I made covering it to share with you all before it was callously nuked form YouTube
I don’t know why but this Ween album is making me anxious as fuck haha. Had to take a break after the first 5 songs. The opener rules, dunno about the others. Will continue when I’m off work
I think there's 35-40 minutes of gold here and that's plenty enough for me to love it. This and the James Blood Ulmer record are two of my favourite picks from this thread.