February 14, 2025
You’re here! This is quite literally the first article, post, blog, whatever you wanna call it on my silly lil’ website! Anyways, I didn’t want to review one of my favorite albums, ‘cause that’s stinky, lame, and boring! So how about Antipop by Primus?
I’ve actually been wanting to talk about this album for a while since I first listened to it a couple years ago as the story around the album and how this particular album fits in with the rest of the band’s discography is sorta interesting, at least to me anyways.
So lets get on with the background, this was Primus’ last album before they went on a bit of a hiatus, not releasing another album till 2011 (for reference, Antipop released in 2011). This album is sorta to blame for their hiatus since Les Claypool said that the band had “...reached the end of our creative rope.” when it came to making this album. In fact, Claypool has gone onto say that it’s his least favorite Primus album. And that there was a lot of tension between the band members when producing the album, and that the closest they came to breaking up as a band was because of Antipop!
Boy, this album sounds like a freaking disaster, huh? Well, you’re probably looking at my reaction in the corner. And indeed, it’s no St. Anger or something stupid like that. It’s actually... Listenable? It’s also... Not bad? What?! Yeah, spoiler alert the album isn’t actually horrible. Now I’m sure some of the credit for this falls on the producers of the album. Yes, producers. The list of producers includes Primus themselves, Tom Morello, Stewart Copeland, Tom Waits, Matt Stone, and finally... Fred Durst... Urgh.
Anyways, onto the music! How is it? Well let’s start at the first track...
It’s... It’s just some sample that sounds like it was played in reverse, then a raspy voice says “1, 2, 3” and then the next track...
Starts. See what I did there? Huh? I’m playing with the format of this article :3 Anyways... This is the first track produced by Tom Morello. And I think this is a good track to open up an album on! It’s got a good intro and it really sets you up for what this album has to offer! A more... Commercially heavy version of Primus than we’ve heard before, if that makes sense. In fact that’s Tom Morello on the guitar. And one thing about Primus is there’s always been more of an emphasis on the bass guitar rather than lead/rhythm guitar (except some KILLER solos from Ler). But in the tracks where Tom Morello is playing, it’s his guitar that’s sorta “stealing the show” in my opinion. But that doesn’t really matter. It’s overall a pretty decent track with a catchy chorus and some admittedly light slap bass work. C’mon Les, step it up!
This is the track produced by South Park co-creator Matt Stone. And both South Park creators were fans of Primus and got them to compose the South Park opening song. Anyways, I mention that because I can imagine Stone telling Claypool: “Hey, I really like Harold of the Rocks, you should make a song kinda similar to that”. And that’s Natural Joe! It’s a song that tells a story about some guy in a similar manner to Harold of the Rocks. Except Les Claypool says “bitch-a” a lot and it’s about a guy that goes out to buy Scotch and porn, lovely. Still a good track though, and I got my beloved slap bass back! And some pretty good drumming by Brain at the end of the song.
This is the track produced by... Fred Worst... Ugh... This track is gonna be HORRIBLE, isn’t it? Well, it was the album’s leading single, and the only track from this album that got a music video so... Who knows? Lemme give it a listen.
...
WHAT THE FREAK FRED DURST DOESN’T RUIN EVERYTHING HE TOUCHES?!?! Yeah! Apparently he’s also a fan of Primus! Apparently all he really did was encourage the band to go back to their more aggressive roots from Frizzle Fry or Sailing The Seas of Cheese. There was probably more done than just that but apparently it resurrected the band’s enthusiasm, so that’s good! And you can hear it too, this does sound more like a song that Primus actually wanted to make while still feeling like it belongs on Antipop (spoiler alert: a pretty directionless album). Lacquer Head might be the song that defined the sound of this album, but I don’t know I’m just guessing.
This song is one of the more experimental songs on this album. And... I like it! A lot! It’s always been a standout track to me and has become my favorite track off this album, so I may be biased. I love the kinda creepy sounding intro and I really don’t mind how long it goes on for either, I’m a freakin’ TOOL fan after all! The most interesting part of this track is that it sounds like it laid the groundwork for one of Les Claypool’s side projects during Primus’ hiatus: Oysterhead. Seriously, while listening to this song I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that the intro to this track sounds like something straight off of The Grand Pecking Order. Once Les yells out “I think I’m blinded by the sun!” it does go back to that good ‘ol Antipop sound though. Great track though! Still my favorite off this album.
I’ll be honest. Starting with this song, the album starts to get a little boring. Well, by Primus standards anyways. I’m honestly not really sure what this song is supposed to be about. My best guess is that it’s about someone who wants special treatment since they have cancer and will only live another year? I honestly have no idea. Either that or it’s making fun of cancer treatment, which... Why would you make fun of that? Let me do some searching...
So, some say it’s about man made religion, or the song’s talking about apocalypse cults, or it’s a message to think for yourself. I have no idea, the only one that probably isn’t right is the apocalypse cult one... And my theory too. Who knows, it’s not like every Primus song makes a ton of sense (like Frizzle Fry, excellent song though :3).
Hey, who the hell put a Rage Against The Machine song on this album? Ohhhh... That’s just Tom Morello playing, okay. In fact, looking into the lyrics it almost looks like a RATM song too! Like it was some kinda unused material Tom Morello that Primus decided to adapt. The song’s about how the government is, get this, corrupt. And, get this too, is out of touch. I know, bold statements only here on APB. And the “protagonist” of this song is “not a fool” and is aware of both of these issues in society. If it was unused RATM material, I sure as hell see why, it’s just a kinda “grass is green” type of political song. Then again, I guess Primus never really leaned hard into political songs, they’ve only dabbled in it. Or I just haven’t noticed their other political songs :p.
This song always went in one ear and out the other for me personally. This song seems to be something about true friends and such. I think the song is about that one really weird friend you have that makes no sense but will always stick by your side and help you out when you’re at your lowest. While that friend is ALSO dealing with their own issues and wants somebody to return the favor to them. Some other people online have also stated it’s a song about the band and how Primus is the “dirty drowning man” but eh, I don’t really know. This is another weird song.
The silly song!!! This song’s about... A bull, a bull named Bodacious. I’m not even kidding. This song is most similar to say... Fisticuffs or Golden Boy from Brown Album. Or even Mrs. Blaileen from Punchbowl. As in all of those songs are purely just a story. But Ballad of Bodacious is literally a song about a bucking bull and then he breaks every bone in Tuff Hedeman’s face (true story too). Now, the thing about this song is it doesn’t have much to it, y’know? You can really feel the band grasping for any creativity left on this song with the lyrics, it just kinda repeats itself after the Tuff Hedeman verse. The other “Primus story” songs didn’t really have this issue, at least not that I remember anyways. Still not a bad song but... It’s not all that.
What the hell kinda intro is that? And who the hell even said that? And can I meet him cause we have something in common...
Ahem, anyways. I’m at a loss. Seriously, I don’t really know what this song’s supposed to be about. The first verse suggests the song’s about desensitizing everyone and broadcasting war on TV. And then the chorus is about a play actor who just sucks but they have big ambitions of becoming a real star. I have no idea how those two are connected in anyway to be honest. Oh, and welcome back Tom Morello, once again de-emphasizing the bass guitar. Okay I’m not hating on Tom over here, but I’ve noticed that the focus is usually placed more on his guitar whenever he’s playing. Either that or Les’ bass riffs aren’t as interesting anymore. Probably because I’m just used to them, cause it’s still complex and whatnot, just not as crazy as other Primus songs. Overall, okay song.
Okay, we’re back. This sounds like a good heavy Primus song! And the lyrics too! They make no sense but in a classic Primus kinda way, y’know? I hope I don’t sound like a hypocrite. Now, the song is likely a metaphor for something but it also just sounds like a song about fishies in the ocean hehehe yayyyy fishy :3. Maybe it’s about a brine pool? With the way it’s talking about clambering over corpses. Maybe, I don’t actually know. Some say it’s a metaphor for going against the grain again “I’ve been fightin’ gravity since I was two”. Or that the song’s about how people will fuck you over to be the “chosen one”. I don’t know, I still prefer my fish theory :3. Good song! With good bass.
The Courtney Love song! I’m kidding, it’s probably not about that. Or it probably is. Primus themselves never confirmed nor denied it apparently so... Yeah it’s up to speculation. Looking at the lyrics though, it’s definitely at least inspired by Kurt Cobain’s story, but definitely not directly based around it, if that makes sense. The song is about a man who marries a gold digger woman that just isn’t good for him. And when he reaches out for comfort from his wife, she basically gave him the middle finger then the man killed himself. After that, the wife finds profit in her husband’s death and takes full advantage of that. About the only real Kurt Cobain comparisons that are there in the song are the “...he wasn’t looking for fanfare or fame. But it all came around just the same.” and “...two barrels of steel.” lyrics. Aside from that? It’s just a song about an attention seeking gold-digger. And what a good damn song it is too. It tells an interesting story that doesn’t repeat itself like Bodacious. And the music is both unique from this album while also sounding just like Primus. No wonder it’s Les’ favorite song off this album! And they definitely saved the best for last with this album, it’s a great way to send off after a few pretty “eh” songs. Again, by Primus standards.
Wait, what? That’s not the end? Nope! There’s a bonus track! And this track actually originates from Primus’ first ever release, Suck on this, from back in 1989. Short story, it’s just a live album and most of those songs made it onto Frizzle Fry and Seas of Cheese. And then Pressman landed on Pork Soda, and finally The Heckler landed here, on Antipop (Jellikit is still hanging out in Suck on This limbo, however). I feel like Primus put this on here for the fans, ‘cause I honestly don’t see it fitting anywhere else on the album. And with it being one of two songs from Suck on This that didn’t have a studio version yet, it feels like a treat for any super fan that sat through the entirety of Antipop. Anyways, the song, is it any good? Hell yeah it’s great! It’s obviously gonna have a more classic Primus sound since... It literally is a classic Primus song. I think they did the right thing putting it on Antipop though, I don’t see it fitting on their other albums personally. And while I also didn’t see it fitting super well on Antipop anyways, it still manages to sound like it belongs on this album at the same time. It’s weird, but it’s a great song that deserves to be on here!
So, I may have been a little hard on some of the songs but here’s the thing about Antipop, it’s not like offensive or anything. And surely doesn’t deserve to be written off entirely. The worst Antipop song is just kinda forgettable and the best songs are actually really really good. I honestly remember this album more than Brown Album or even Punchbowl... I’m sorry. The whole of the album is a little directionless, but it doesn’t feel totally lost either. The “directionless” feeling was most likely a product of all the different producers and artists helping out on the album (it’s actually the same issue that Oysterhead had in my opinion). It’s one of those things where the album is still pretty good, it’s just not as good by the band’s standards, y’know? It’s absolutely worth a listen, well, you were supposed to be listening to it while you were reading this anyways if you read my introduction over on the left but oh well! I can’t control you.
If you got to the end of this, let me know! Shoot me an email and tell me what I did wrong, I’m new to this whole writing thing. Anyways, hope ya read whatever other junk I have to write later! See ya!