Milo here.
Let’s keep the chugging MMM bulldozer goin’ eh, even if the last one sucked.
Today, we’ve got another favourite of mine, Shake Hands With Beef, lead single from my favourite Primus album (as plebby as that may sound to some) Brown Album. Check the vidja b’low:
Though I’ve never been able to call myself a massive Primus fan, the quirkiness in their music, as well as the virtuosity of the members, is something I’ve never been able to dismiss. Here, in what I’d call my favourite Primus song, we have these two factors shown off in spades.
Bassist, vocalist and creative force Les Claypool channels his offbeat sense of humour, shown in the blatantly euphemistic lyrics, and his absolute mastery of the bass, something that makes him worthy of being my favourite bassist (sorry Flea!), into something overall more accessible and radio-friendly than some of Primus’ earlier, and indeed later, material. With a solid structure behind his songwriting, the song is allowed to have pop appeal and a certain toe-tappability that makes it much more of a fun listen than something like the murkier, just as great, but admittedly more experimental My Name Is Mud, for example.
That being said, however, this ain’t no Foo Fighters or Chili Peppers song we’re talking about, with the song having the instrumental quirkiness of a haberdashery full of frogs. Though the infectiously erratic bassline, which is mirrored by a stellar guitar performance with an excellently grungey tone, has me swaying like I’m at the “Magic Under The Sea” prom in an 80s movie and Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time is playing, the skittish and masterful drum performance by replacement drummer Bryan Mantia keeps that swaying at a rigid and tempered pace, giving the track a brown Primus flair, woven from corduroy and gravy granules.
MORE PRIMUS SHIZZLE:
The Seven: First Impressions – Milo
Lots of hugs, kisses and lacerations
Milo.
Stuff and That. 