Ween

He has gradually moved from being this more outsider artist, experimental person, to making records that, like are pretty straightforward indie Americana albums.

Although I, I feel like the reference point for him is still more Ween 12 Cold- Golden Country Greats than it is like '70s Neil Young.

You know, there is still that like edge of, I don't wanna call it parody, but like a somewhat like left of center approach to like bluegrass country music, twangy indie rock, which I think actually plays to his benefit.

I think it makes this record more interesting than it would've been if he was just doing like a straight kinda M.J. Lenderman type record.

It's actually pretty a low-key record.

I- You mentioned, uh, 12 Golden Country Greats.

I would also maybe bring up White Pepper, which was seen as, like, kind of the, quote, "normal Ween record."

Right.

But also, like, I think it's also really cool, like, the range.

Because you go from there to, like, Bowie to jam bands like The Dead and Ween.

I'm curious to hear about your history with Ween in particular.

Yeah, I grew up in Pipersville, Pennsylvania.

My mom and stepdad... really loved ween followed them around a lot my stepdad kyle actually grew up hanging like friends with them for a long time i was very surrounded by people that were very much in the ween scene when i was a kid and yeah i mean i just grew up listening to to ween all the time it's like the music of my childhood that's some crazy music to be with me i think that my favorite song my favorite song says mr won't you please help my pony when i was like

five but

yeah i grew up listening to ween i'm from where ween is from surrounded by people that love ween and the grateful dead and fish so and now i live in the town where So, but yeah, and I still, I still, I just, you know, I've always come back to it.

I think Ween's awesome.

You know what? It-

Well, it's like that Ween song for the, um, [lip smacks] for SpongeBob, the, the shoe tying song.

"Ocean Man"? Oh, the shoe t- yeah.

No, no, no.

Real cool, yeah.

Where he literally does put like both legs up and something falls down.

Maybe it's another episode where he does that specific dance, but that's a good Ween song.

[laughs]

You know, I was just talking to someone, a musician.

This band is, um, called Grumpy, and they, they have a new album out, and I saw some random video where they were saying, "What, what's your-- What album has influenced you the most?" And it was Ween, The Mollusk, and I, I also loved that album when I was in high school and, and college, and I was thinking about how over the course of my life, I've met many poets and writers who kind of, like, grew up listening to punk rock, and punk music was, like, their kind of, their, their first entry into art and music and the world of culture, and it was a politically radical sort of be bold, be brave, don't be afraid of, of asserting your beliefs in the face of, you know, people who wanna put other people down or i- who are- whatever punk is against.

But I never had that.

And I didn't grow up listening to punk.

And I always was jealous when I would be later in my life and I'd meet people who grew up listening to punk music and going to shows and being political as like a way of breathing for them.

And it was just not my experience.

So when I discovered Ween, that was my version of, oh, this band is completely insane and absurd.

They're jumping around in genre.

He said it was just like a black and white photo, like said something to the effect of like, yeah, like it didn't quite like feel great today or like have it or whatever, whatever.

But what was funny was the song he chose was a Ween song, Baby Bitch.

Oh, wow.

So it was

Love this.

And some of the other bands on here, we've got Conjunction Junction from Better Than Ezra, I'm Just a Bill by Deluxe Folk Implosion, got Pavement's version of No More Kings, Ween, Shot Heard Round the World, Lemonheads, My Hero Zero, Biz Markie singing the Energy Blues.

Anyway, fun album.

I forgot to mention it in episode 195 or 196.