Ween fans already know what to expect with Shinola, Volume 1: Gene and Dean Ween (a.k.a. Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo) take another stab at the music world’s fat underbelly. This time out, the Weeners mix jazz, underground, grunge, British pop, house music, Jewish prayers, grind music, R&B grooves, obscene lyrics, spaceship sound effects and killer musicianship in at least 15 genres. Really, it’s all in there. And really, it all works. The pair manages to take the smallest idea and make a big, big song out of it. “Big Fat Fuck” is a prime example. A loop of drugged-out vocals repeating “Big fat fuck / feeling like a big fat fuck” is laid down over an endless synthesizer riff, with bits of blazing guitar thrown in. That’s it. Over and over, they groan it, they moan it, like a sex addict in the middle of a psychotic break. And it’s hypnotic. (It’s also embarrassing, because you inevitably start singing along.) That’s followed by “Gabrielle,” an upbeat ditty with a “gotta dance now” feel and more of that blazing guitar. Later on, there’s “Someday,” a dreamy ’60s British pop ballad, and then “Did You See Me?” a mushroom-induced slow-mo psychedelic trip. Each equally well done, each leaving you with the distinct feeling that you’ve just been punk’d by Gene and Dean, not for listening to Shinola, Volume 1 but for enjoying it so much. As awesome as these guys are as musicians, they’re even more talented as satirists. Are they laughing with you? At you? It’s hard to tell. As long as they keep delivering this kind of music, who cares?
This article appears in Aug 17-23, 2006.