Baker’s Dozen 002 — Ween

Ween. Where in the hell do you even start with trying to encapsulate this band’s career in merely 13 tracks? The ultimate rock and roll chameleons that effortlessly move between massive riff arena rockers, spacey psychedelic jams, filthy country songs, earnest love songs, and music that’s just plain off kilter and weird. Jacks of all trades, masters of all. Some songs sound like they were recorded in the garage on an electric razor and for others they had the finest studios in America at their disposal. Ween may not be for everyone, but they have never committed the sin of being boring. The caveat I always add about Ween for the uninitiated is this: this is music that emerged in the 1990s and it’s very crass and crude at times and they’d likely never get signed to a major label in 2022. With all that said, hail Boognish, let’s get brown with New Hope, Pennsylvania’s favorite sons. You can listen along here on Spotify.

1. “The Stallion (Pt. 3)” from 1992’s Pure Guava. This is the album that got me into Ween. “Push th‘ Little Daisies” is the song I heard that inspired me to buy the cassette, but that’s probably among the “worst” songs on the album to be honest. “The Stallion (Pt. 3),” however, was among my favorites on that record back then and still is to this very day. Kind of psychedelic and trippy, but it also sounds like it’s being sung by someone taking hits off of a helium balloon before stepping up to the mic. This was also when they were still more or less a duo (there are some guest musicians on it though.) Some folks hold the early Ween albums at arm’s length, but I heartily embrace them, especially Pure Guava. How this was ever released on a major label is beyond comprehension though.
2. “Mutilated Lips” from 1997’s The Mollusk. A buddy of mine, Gnome Chomsky as he referred to himself on social media before going off the grid, covers this song when he plays solo acoustic sets and it got me to hear this tune in a different light. It’s become a favorite ever since I heard the effort he poured into it. Not that it needed his help, it’s just what made the song “go off” for me. Kurt Vile has said it’s his favorite song “maybe ever” if me and Gnome Chomsky aren’t enough to convince you.
3. “Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)” from 1994’s Chocolate and Cheese. C&C is the album of theirs that probably has the most popular acclaim and it’s not hard to see why. I could’ve easily put just about any song from that record on this list. This extremely dark track is a real winner though and if you can’t get down with some really dark humor then Ween is probably not the band for you.
4. “Flutes of Chi” from 2000’s White Pepper. Beatles influenced Eastern(ish) psych filtered through a Ween sensibility. At once mind expanding and still subtly off kilter. Ween are, sadly, written off by a lot of people as a joke band and while they are very funny at times, songs like this are so good and have such staying power. They simultaneously honor and subvert their influences on tunes like these.
5. “Piss Up a Rope” from 1996’s 12 Golden Country Greats. In true bizarro world Ween fashion, just as they were gaining some popular/mainstream steam from Chocolate and Cheese, they put out an earnest, albeit severely twisted country record. This song is vulgar, crude, funny, and yet still really good. If you changed the lyrics it would absolutely smoke anything coming out of Nashville at the time and probably would’ve been huge. But Ween is all about fucking with your expectations, so here we are. I know I certainly never expected to hear the lyrics “wash my balls with a warm, wet rag” sung at The Mother Church of Country Music…but I did several years ago.
6. “Freedom of ‘76” from Chocolate and Cheese. On a personal note, after getting into Pure Guava upon its release, this song was the first single (or at least the first song I heard) from their follow up and it was everything PG wasn’t: polished, professional sounding, smooth, etc. It felt like a big misstep to my young ears at the time. Joke’s on me though. I was wrong. BIG TIME. Great tune.
7. “Little Birdy” is the second tune I’ve included from Pure Guava. This is the album opener and I love its warped sound like it’s playing at a lower RPM than it should be. I always bang the drum for how strange the 90s were in general and feel like this really showcases that. Not only did this song not dissuade people from becoming Ween fans, it was the album opener for the record that saw them gain a national audience.
8. “You Fucked Up” from 1990’s God Ween Satan. A true arena anthem inasmuch as an arena anthem can contain the phrase “you fucking Nazi whore.” As I’ve said earlier, some folks struggle with the first few Ween albums, but this is 90 seconds of lo-fi glory.
9. “Tried and True” from 2003’s Quebec. I’ve probably gone in on a few too many light psych Ween jams for this playlist, but they’re just so damn good at the genre. This song will 100% get stuck in your head. An earworm you’ll gladly welcome in.
10. “Voodoo Lady” is another entry from Chocolate and Cheese. I really struggled with how many songs to include from this album and at times had chosen “Baby Bitch,” “Buenas Tardes Amigo,” and “Roses Are Free” instead of this one, but felt like this was the best inclusion both in terms of variety and being catchy. This one will get your ass shaking for sure.
11. “Pollo Asado” from 1991’s The Pod. This will be the most headscratching inclusion for probably just about everyone, but I love this song so much. It’s basically a series of faux transactions of ordering Mexican food over a simple, but beautiful guitar line and drum machine. I don’t know why it speaks to me so much, but it never gets old. I’m not sure I’ve ever made a Ween mix and not included this song. I also low key love how the change for the orders is never correct.
12. “Ocean Man” from The Mollusk. It’s such a great record and there were so many songs I could’ve included from it, but how could I leave out the song that appeared in The Spongebob Movie? I can’t find the tweet, but I remember some tweet where someone was talking about seeing a Ween show and sitting next to an unsuspecting family that had come to see them based on nothing else other than hearing this one song in that movie. They all probably learned a lot about life and expectations and doing your homework that night.
13. “Your Party” from 2007’s La Cucaracha. I had a really difficult time leaving off “With My Own Bare Hands,” but I simply couldn’t leave off “Your Party,” which just so happens to be the greatest yacht rock song ever recorded. And if you don’t believe me, then why does David Sanborn play sax on it? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

I hope those of you unfamiliar with Ween do a deep dive on this fantastically weird band. If I had to pick three records for you to listen to in their entirety, then I suggest Chocolate and Cheese, Pure Guava, and The Mollusk. They’re also a phenomenal live act and just about any of their live records is also a great intro: Live at Stubb’s, Live in Chicago, and Live in Toronto Canada are particularly great IMO.