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If i wanted to give ween a try where should i start?
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Nov 30, 2012 06:26
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 11:09 |
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Hard question to answer since they're so all over the place. Album wise, I would (and I think a lot of people would too) tell you to start with The Mollusk. It's often cited as their best album, it's Dean Ween's favorite they did, and it really is one of the finest psychedelic rock albums ever recorded. From there I don't know which albums to tell you because the ones you like the most will vary depending on whatever your music tastes are. So here's a rundown: GodWeenSatan, The Pod, Pure Guava - Early Ween albums are like a completely different band. They're lo-fi, amateurish, druggy, bizarre, and loaded with a mixture of emotions ranging from songs dealing with sadness and anguish, to songs that are basically for comedy. Their experimentation with genre hopping is still here, but not as prevalent as later albums. Some people listen to them and instantly connect with them, and for other people (like me) it takes longer for these to grow on you. But now The Pod is one of my favorite albums of theirs. I found that these albums were easier to appreciate if you already respect Ween as musicians from the later stuff, but there are certain types of people who can listen to an album like The Pod and just get it. So what do I know. Chocolate and Cheese - The bridge album between early Ween and later Ween. Lots of genre hopping, a switch to a full studio production and real drums. You can hear them truly blossoming as artists here. The genre hopping began to really take hold. Styles range from rock and roll to psychedelic to acoustic/folk to soul to a Spanish ballad about a Mexican guy getting revenge on the murder of his brother. 12 Golden Country Greats - A solid country album, recorded with actual Nashville session musicians. This is probably their most polarizing album. I've seen a lot of people who insist it's one of their best, and others who say they almost never listen to it. This album runs through just about every style of country music and is basically a playful homage/tribute to country music that also satirizes it. The Mollusk - Almost universally considered to be their best. A tongue-in-cheek psychedelic rock album. It's the closest Ween has come to making a concept album. Almost every song on it relates to the ocean in some way. If you do psychedelic drugs, listen to this album on them because you won't regret it. Also you'll feel like a pirate after listening to it. White Pepper - People often call this their most "normal" or "commercial" album. It has a lot of pop songs on it. Of all their albums (barring Country Greats) it's probably the least "druggy" sounding. Gene started getting into cocaine here, as evidenced in the lyrics... Quebec - A pure work of art. This is their darkest album, with almost every song being about Gene Ween's depressed mental state and substance abuse. He went through a divorce while they made this album, and the music is driven by feelings of depression, paranoia, and anxiety. Lots of "druggy" psychedelic stuff here. Like The Mollusk and Country Greats, this album is actually pretty consistent with the way it sounds. Shinola Vol. 1 - A rarities compilation that's as good as any proper album of theirs. It's a bit scattershot of course. But it has lots of good material, made up of songs that span their entire career. It has full band numbers like "Gabrielle" and "Monique the Freak" as well as drum machine ridden early Pod-like songs like "Big Fat gently caress" and "Tastes Good on Th' Bun." La Cucaracha - The album that got made after Gene went to rehab. It's bizarre and all over the place. Highly inconsistent. Some people like it, a lot of Ween fans call it their worst album. Also, here's a rundown of individual songs that could help determine if you'll like this band or not. Maybe. Gabrielle Transdermal Celebration Buckingham Green Mutilated Lips The Arugs Even If You Don't Baby Bitch Your Party Flutes of Chi Ocean Man If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All) And everybody's favorite, Push th Little Daisies weirdojace fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Nov 30, 2012 |
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Nov 30, 2012 07:19
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Every one of those songs is incredible (because Ween is incredible, of course). The end of The Argus is such a beautiful piece of music. I still think Buckingham Green is probably my all-time favorite Ween track. Those are all really great recommendations, though. I'd definitely start with The Mollusk/Quebec/Chocolate and Cheese/White Pepper, I think they're the most accessible. Having a good feel for Ween and already enjoying them makes getting acclimated to the crazy early stuff (The Pod) much easier. Or at least that's how it worked for me. e: shoutout to a fun little ditty from the release in the thread title (aka the Quebec demos), Oh My Little Country Cottage. gonna learn to play the flute and kill myself. nasboat fucked around with this message at 07:46 on Nov 30, 2012 |
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Nov 30, 2012 07:43
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Thanks for that weirdo, I'll let you know what I think. I'm going to start with the Mollusk. I'm really feeling the songs you listed off. Gotta love finding great new music 
hobbez fucked around with this message at 08:55 on Nov 30, 2012 |
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Nov 30, 2012 08:47
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Good! Glad you're digging the songs. Keep listening because Ween grows on you. Like a parasite.
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Nov 30, 2012 10:42
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weirdojace posted:how to get into Ween Good post. This should go in the OP. Add a note that this: quote:And everybody's favorite, Push th Little Daisies Is sarcasm 
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Nov 30, 2012 11:59
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Oddly, La Cucaracha was the first album of theirs that I heard (thank God for working in college radio), and I guess if you aren't too familiar with Ween, you can really dig it. Especially songs like "Woman and Man" and "Object" were awesome. "Learning to Live" annoyed the gently caress out of my roommate... so I played it as often I could. That's probably why I was just an usher at his wedding rather than the best man, but that gave me free-reign to hit on the bridesmaids, so it was win-win.
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Nov 30, 2012 14:12
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I think La Cucaracha has a bunch of good tracks - just as much as other albums. Really the only terrible songs are Friends and Spirit Walker. Sweetheart is the standout track on the album for me. It has a good breezy seventies feel about it.
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Nov 30, 2012 16:03
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La Cucaracha is probably their worst, but a bad Ween album is still a good album. A friend of a friend of mine was in a band who played at a children's party. They played "Bananas and Blow", but changed it to "Bananas to Go".
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Nov 30, 2012 16:57
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The Pod was my first ween album, but mostly because this song was my first song, and it blew my loving mind and more or less instantly converted me. I found The Pod on youtube and listened to it all the way through then and there in my dorm room and it's still my favorite ween album. also weirdojace posted:Album wise, I would (and I think a lot of people would too) tell you to start with The Mollusk. It's often cited as their best album, it's Dean Ween's favorite they did, and it really is one of the finest psychedelic rock albums ever recorded. I thought it was Gener's favorite, unless it's both their favorite or I'm just wrong.
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Nov 30, 2012 18:07
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Chocolate and Cheese was my first Ween album, which I heard back when I was in high school. In a lot of ways it's still one of my favorites, and still has a ton of my favorite songs by the group ("Freedom of '76," "Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?," "Roses Are Free," "What Deaner Was Talking About," "Voodoo Lady," "Buenos Tardes Amigo" and good christ I should stop since I'm listing about half the album here). Maybe it's not the best starting point, but it sure as hell got me hooked almost immediately.me your dad posted:Really the only terrible songs are Friends and Spirit Walker. The only problem I have with the album version of "Friends" is that the EP version is infinitely better, so I can't help but feel disappointed whenever the Cucaracha version pops up when I'm listening to music on my computer. Actually, to be honest, I think part of the reason I was so disappointed in La Cucaracha is because The Friends EP was almost perfectly "all killer no filler." Then the album drops and it has poo poo on it like "Shamemaker."
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Nov 30, 2012 22:56
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me your dad posted:I think La Cucaracha has a bunch of good tracks - just as much as other albums. Really the only terrible songs are Friends and Spirit Walker. See, I actually enjoy Spirit Walker. I found it to be a playful satire of autotune. The album version of Friends sucks, the EP one is way better. The thing about La Cucaracha is that a lot of the individual songs are good, but the album is so all over the place that it just doesn't flow at all. There doesn't seem to be a mood transcending it, like the rest of their albums. But yes, a bad Ween album is still a pretty enjoyable album. safety dan posted:I thought it was Gener's favorite, unless it's both their favorite or I'm just wrong. Maybe it's both their favorites. I know Dean has said The Mollusk is his favorite on multiple occasions. The only interview I saw with Gene where he was asked what his favorite album was, he said "Oh I dunno. I like them all." But it was from a long time ago. TheNintenGenius" posted:The only problem I have with the album version of "Friends" is that the EP version is infinitely better, so I can't help but feel disappointed whenever the Cucaracha version pops up when I'm listening to music on my computer. Actually, to be honest, I think part of the reason I was so disappointed in La Cucaracha is because The Friends EP was almost perfectly "all killer no filler." Then the album drops and it has poo poo on it like "Shamemaker." Aw man I forgot about The Friends EP in my post. Yeah, it's actually pretty good. Those were all just songs recorded during the La Cucaracha sessions, too right? Supposedly they recorded like 50 songs during that time. I'm really curious to hear what they've been keeping locked away. But yeah "Slow Down Boy" and "King Billy" are personal favorites of mine. weirdojace fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Nov 30, 2012 |
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Nov 30, 2012 23:10
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King Billy is such a kick rear end song. I'd love to hear it slowed down a slight bit. It'd be absolutely perfect.
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Dec 1, 2012 01:58
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"Object" is a killer campfire song. You know, if you want to make all the women uncomfortable for the hell of it. La Cucaracha really isn't that bad, it just has a messed up flow because of poo poo like Shamemaker. I have seen Ween twice and both times they did an extended jam version of "Woman and Man" that was just killer.
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Dec 1, 2012 02:11
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I'm not sure this is the right place to ask, but Ween did a surprise show in the basement of a sushi bar in Charlottesville, VA called Tokyo Rose. Anyone have this show? I can't find it online. I saw them right before I got into them, so I'm really interested to hear it. Let me know if so. They allow pretty free distribution of their music, so I don't think this would count as  Also, I'm not sure if it's been mentioned here yet, but there's a book out that chronicles the making of Chocolate and Cheese. It's a good, quick read.
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Dec 1, 2012 02:28
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Ween endorse the taping of their shows and posting them online, so yes, it would be fine. Not sure about a bootleg from that show. But according to Browbase, it was on August 6, 1997. Here's the setlist: http://brownbase.org/setlist.php?show_id=583
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Dec 1, 2012 02:42
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Yep, saw that, just can't find the show anywhere, wasn't sure if the thread had any active traders that knew anyone that had it. I was amazed at Dean's guitar playing, as well as how quickly they went through a bottle of Jack Daniel's.
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Dec 1, 2012 02:54
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Not sure. Maybe the people on BrownTracker or the Ween forum would know.
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Dec 1, 2012 03:10
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Dad rock. Awesome version of Big Jilm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbs0tQkSL-4 me your dad fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Dec 1, 2012 |
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Dec 1, 2012 13:15
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That's an awesome version of Big Jilm, and a great recording of it too. Is that entire concert recorded like that?
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Dec 1, 2012 21:48
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weirdojace posted:That's an awesome version of Big Jilm, and a great recording of it too. Is that entire concert recorded like that? Yeah - it's available in lossless format, too. Here's a great version Don't poo poo Where You Eat, from the same album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z9ht8tbMKQ I said it before in this thread - the songs done live by the poo poo Creek Boys represents some of the best material the band has ever put out. By 1996 my interest in current Ween had faded a bit and I was only listening to older stuff. I kick myself though for missing out on one of these shows. I also missed a chance to see Mr. Bungle live in 1996 with mushrooms on hand. Life's a bitch when you make stupid choices. me your dad fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Dec 1, 2012 |
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Dec 1, 2012 23:13
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me your dad posted:Yeah - it's available in lossless format, too. Here's a great version Don't poo poo Where You Eat, from the same album: Live at Stubb's has a really awesome performance of Big Jilm as well, where they just start interrupting each other screaming "BIG JILM!!" towards the end of it- Stubb's is probably my favorite live album in general by a wide margin, and there's a load of "best of Ween" material on there.
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Dec 2, 2012 01:10
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The Live in Toronto with the poo poo Creek Boys version of What Deaner Was Talking About is the ultimate version. Awfully pretty.
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Dec 2, 2012 22:50
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Leyburn posted:The Live in Toronto with the poo poo Creek Boys version of What Deaner Was Talking About is the ultimate version. I really wish that album got a wider release. It's one of those ones where if I'm listening to it it's very hard to take my attention away, probably because their non-12GCG songs don't sound much like they did before or since. "Piano Man" was a nice touch as well.
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Dec 3, 2012 08:26
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A local record store had Live in Toronto on vinyl in stock for the longest time and I just never got it. It's gone now and I really regret not getting it now.
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Dec 3, 2012 11:24
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weirdojace posted:A local record store had Live in Toronto on vinyl in stock for the longest time and I just never got it. It's gone now and I really regret not getting it now. You can buy it from the Ween site
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Dec 3, 2012 19:15
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Its out of stock. 
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Dec 3, 2012 19:38
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Well dang. I thought they had some on Friday.
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Dec 3, 2012 19:41
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Pure Guava is out of stock too, and it's the only Ween studio album that I don't have on vinyl.
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Dec 3, 2012 22:33
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There's a ghetto French pressing that's of Pure Guava on a single LP that's fairly easy to track down.
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Dec 4, 2012 17:26
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ethan posted:La Cucaracha really isn't that bad, it just has a messed up flow because of poo poo like Shamemaker. I have seen Ween twice and both times they did an extended jam version of "Woman and Man" that was just killer. I think Shamemaker's a pretty good Smash Mouth parody. Don't know that makes it a good song, but they nail it.
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Dec 7, 2012 19:12
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Help! I cant find a Ween song I don't like.
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Dec 7, 2012 21:57
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I always skip the Fruit Man, that song is pretty terrible, and a retread of things they did a million times before and better, at that.
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Dec 7, 2012 23:20
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BigFactory posted:I think Shamemaker's a pretty good Smash Mouth parody. Don't know that makes it a good song, but they nail it. For some reason it reminds me of a Jay Reatard track. global tetrahedron posted:I always skip the Fruit Man, that song is pretty terrible, and a retread of things they did a million times before and better, at that. But they've only done a few other reggae songs and they're all awesome 
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Dec 8, 2012 02:27
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me your dad posted:For some reason it reminds me of a Jay Reatard track. Did Jay Reatard do a lot of Blink 182 parodies?
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Dec 8, 2012 04:38
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A SHAMEFUL CAT posted:Did Jay Reatard do a lot of Blink 182 parodies? I don't know why I have the association, honestly. I guess it's loosely something like this track that does it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT2GKw1UeA0 I'm not familiar enough with Blink 182 to make the association. Anyway, RIP Jay Reatard. me your dad fucked around with this message at 12:40 on Dec 8, 2012 |
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Dec 8, 2012 12:37
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General Ween question, I'm looking for a song that has a squeakily played penny whistle or something in the solo part, but I can't for the life of me remember which song it was. Can someone help me out?
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Dec 14, 2012 18:30
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Roses are Free?
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Dec 14, 2012 23:03
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Abu Dave posted:Roses are Free? Nah that ain't it.
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Dec 15, 2012 02:20
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 11:09 |
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From the Caesar tapes? Oh my little country garden? Maybe something off the Mollusk? Know how it goes, or any words? Since Ween deliberately parody (and execute) a lot of different styles, do you know what kind of song it is?
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Dec 15, 2012 02:31
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