Anyone else heard this yet? I just had my first listen and I...need to listen some more.
Often, I think Ween are brilliant. They easily transcend the "novelty" label. While I enjoy their more tripped-out, disturbing stuff ("Spinal Menengitis" etc.) my favorite tracks are the ones that are just plain good, catchy pop songwriting, if still not totally normal ("Even If You Don't," "Transdermal Celebration").
This new album is more the former kind...it's similar to Chocolate and Cheese, in that it's low-fi and mostly odd, with a lot of functional, no frills backing tracks. I have to say, only one song struck me as catchy and enjoyable the first run-through, "Friends." The rest will take some work. Some songs verge painfully close to Weird Al territory; all schtick, with the "cleverness" sounding forced. Overall, this didn't excite me at all the way Quebec and White Pepper did on first listen.
I never see Ween mentioned much here. If there are any other fans out there, I'm curious to hear what you think.
I used to be smitten with Ween, until I saw them live a couple of times. That whole indie-hippie-jam thing really gets on my nerves. I still think their early albums are (mostly) great. And usually I can find at least a couple of excellent tracks to latch onto from their newer records. My favorite album is The Mollusk, but I think my favorite song is "Gabrielle" which is also my wife's name. I will eventually pick the new one up, if I see it used.
_____________________________ Weep to Water the Trees.
"This is my main concern with Obama; what if he has been groomed since childhood to blend in with the zionists and infidels? What if he has been led along by a radical islamic terrorist organization and positioned to become an influential politician?
What if Obama gets into White House and turns out to be some crazy muslim terrorist? What do we do then? We'll be pretty screwed. It could happen." -- by some fucking nutjob
Posts: 1996 | Location: The Noog, TN | Registered: 08 April 2007
Originally posted by FragileKidA: Ween's new one is here.
Thanks FKA, you just saved me a few bucks. I don't think I'll ever have to listen to that again. Yuck.
_____________________________ Weep to Water the Trees.
"This is my main concern with Obama; what if he has been groomed since childhood to blend in with the zionists and infidels? What if he has been led along by a radical islamic terrorist organization and positioned to become an influential politician?
What if Obama gets into White House and turns out to be some crazy muslim terrorist? What do we do then? We'll be pretty screwed. It could happen." -- by some fucking nutjob
Posts: 1996 | Location: The Noog, TN | Registered: 08 April 2007
I have to give the album a few more listens, but what i've heard, i'm not too fond of. I hate some of the juvenile crap they try to pass off as music. I want them to grow out it.
I adore "the mollusk", and "white pepper" though. There definitely a great band.
Originally posted by Merciless Jack the Rippah!: I used to be smitten with Ween, until I saw them live a couple of times. That whole indie-hippie-jam thing really gets on my nerves.
The thing is, Ween don't like that either. They've said they don't really identify with their fans, or have a relationship with them. They just make the music they want to make, and that's kind of the market they've fallen into, and they're not necessarily thrilled with it.
I've only seen the Live In Chicago DVD, but they sounded great on that. Gene's vocals were solid, Dean's guitar playing was god-like. I was surprised at how professional they were on-stage. Maybe that was because it was being filmed but I had the impression it was their standard MO, at least in recent years. I'm sure some of their smaller dates get a little raucous, though.
Originally posted by FragileKidA: Ween's new one is here.
Thanks FKA, you just saved me a few bucks. I don't think I'll ever have to listen to that again. Yuck.
My thoughts exactly. This thing is awful, just awful. And I am a HUGE Ween fan. I mean, apart from their forst two albums, which were really just a couple kids screwing around in their garage, they've made a string of amazing albums, but this is just piss-poor. I hope they aren't washed up.
Posts: 3829 | Location: NE Indiana | Registered: 14 April 2005
I'm a long time Ween fan, own the albums, the bootlegs, the Moistboyz discs, seen em live many times, and I personally love this disc. The Bad News Bears stuff that creeps in is great, and for me, while I do prefer the version of Friends on the album over the EP, I still think it's the weakest track on the disc.
"If it were beneficial, their father would produce children already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become profitable in every respect." -Jesus, from the Gospel Of Thomas
Originally posted by Smenkharon: I'm a long time Ween fan, own the albums, the bootlegs, the Moistboyz discs, seen em live many times
Thanks for recusing yourself
_____________________________ Weep to Water the Trees.
"This is my main concern with Obama; what if he has been groomed since childhood to blend in with the zionists and infidels? What if he has been led along by a radical islamic terrorist organization and positioned to become an influential politician?
What if Obama gets into White House and turns out to be some crazy muslim terrorist? What do we do then? We'll be pretty screwed. It could happen." -- by some fucking nutjob
Posts: 1996 | Location: The Noog, TN | Registered: 08 April 2007
I'm liking "Friends" a lot. It reminds me of "Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese"--both have choruses that are totally inane and nonsensical but so catchy they almost sound profound. I'm not sure if I explained that right, but "Friends" hits a certain vibe from the "old Ween" that I haven't picked up on from them in a long time.
I took the time to listen to this album, and i'll rate it a 7 out of 10. There are many highs and lows on the album. Sometimes they are just really good, sometimes they sound cheesy and mainstream-like in a bad way. Their juvenile side is not what i like the most. Best songs are Fiesta, Friends, My own bare hands (God i love this vulgar rock song) and Sweetheart in the summer.
