In the early days of their career their dark, heavy, oppressively slow sound made them innovators of genres like sludge, grunge, and doom metal. The Melvins' music is influenced by Flipper, Black Flag's My War-era hardcore punk and Black Sabbath-style heavy metal, but their idiosyncratic approach, bizarre sense of humor, and experimentation make neat categorization difficult. Singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne (aka "King Buzzo") and drummer Dale Crover are constant members while several bass guitarists have cycled through the group. The Melvins usually performed as a trio until 2006 when two members of Big Business became permanent members of the band.
The band was named after a grocery clerk at the Thriftway in Montesano, Washington where Osborne was employed. Melvin was the most-hated fellow employee and the band felt it to be an appropriate name. Like SF noisenik predecessors Flipper, their love of slow tempos and sludgy sound were a strong influence on grunge music, especially Nirvana and many other bands from Seattle. Their protegés, however, tended to use more conventional musical structures with this sound.
Though the group has received mostly positive critical notice, Crover's drumming has been especially praised; Patrick Kennedy describes his work as "astonishing, powerful, and daring."
While never finding and most likely never even seeking great mainstream success, the Melvins maintain an impressive schedule of new albums and tours, including a collaboration with Fantômas in The Fantômas Melvins Big Band, two releases with former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, and in 2004 the Melvins collaborated with ambient artist Lustmord for Pigs of the Roman Empire. In appreciation of their devoted fans, the Melvins have released various collectables through the years that have included two-headed dolls, an eight-track tape, and a plastic fetus in a jar.
Fellow Aberdeen resident Kurt Cobain (a good friend of Crover) was a huge Melvins fan and helped them transport their equipment to a few shows. Cobain also auditioned to join the band on bass, but he didn't make it, reportedly because he was so nervous that he forgot all the songs. Cobain maintained his relation with the band. Later he produced and played on some songs (guitar on "Sky Pup", percussion on "Spread Eagle Beagle") on the band's major label debut, Houdini. Dale Crover is also attributed as playing on the Nirvana debut album, Bleach, and on "Incesticide". In addition, Dave Grohl (ex-drummer for Nirvana) co-wrote and played drums for Isabella on Buzzo's Melvins solo album, King Buzzo.
Venus In Furs
Melvins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Whiplash girlchild in the dark
Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him
Strike dear mistress, and cure his heart
Downy sins of streetlight fancies
Chase the costumes she shall wear
Ermine furs adorn the imperious
I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears
Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather
Shiny leather in the dark
Tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you
Strike dear mistress, and cure his heart
Severin, severin, speak so slightly
Severin, down on your bended knee
Taste the whip, in love not given lightly
Taste the whip, now bleed for me
I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears
Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girlchild in the dark
Severin, your servant comes in bells, please don't forsake him
Strike dear mistress, and cure his heart
The Melvins’ song “Venus in Furs” is a cover of the original song by The Velvet Underground. The lyrics are about submission, dominance, and S&M. Opening with the line “shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather,” it sets the tone for the rest of the song, which depicts a woman dressed in leather and her male servant, Severin. The whiplash girlchild is the dominant mistress, who commands and instructs Severin to submit to her and “cure his heart.” The lyrics suggest that the submissive desires the pain inflicted upon him, as he is willing to “taste the whip” and “bleed for” her.
The lyrics also describe Severin’s exhaustion, as he says he could “sleep for a thousand years” and dreams of different colors made of tears. The song touches on the idea of escapism through submission, as Severin wants to escape reality and enter a dream world where he can fully embrace his fetishes and desires. The chorus repeats the same lines, emphasizing the idea of submission and the power dynamic between the mistress and servant.
Overall, the song is a dark and eerie exploration of S&M, dominance, and submission. It reflects on the intense emotions and desires that come with exploring these themes through the lyrics of Severin and the mistress.
Line by Line Meaning
Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
The boots have a bright and lustrous surface made of leather.
Whiplash girlchild in the dark
A girl who is like a child but has a whip and is in the dark.
Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him
The girl comes with bells and serves the singer and he asks not to abandon her.
Strike dear mistress, and cure his heart
He urges the woman to hit him hard and cure his heart.
Downy sins of streetlight fancies
A soft fluffy form of sins created by the streetlights' fantasies.
Chase the costumes she shall wear
The singer follows her as she puts on dresses and costumes.
Ermine furs adorn the imperious
The powerful individuals wear furs made from ermine.
Severin, severin awaits you there
A person named Severin waits for her there.
I am tired, I am weary
The artist is exhausted and drained.
I could sleep for a thousand years
The artist could sleep for a very long time.
A thousand dreams that would awake me
A thousand different dreams could wake him up.
Different colors made of tears
Tears have different colors and are associated with different emotions.
Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather
The singer desires to kiss the shiny leather boots.
Shiny leather in the dark
The leather remains shiny even in the dark.
Tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you
The belt with a long strip of leather that attaches to the waistband and mortises between the buttocks of the singer is expected by him to be used to hit him.
Severin, severin, speak so slightly
The artist tells Severin to speak gently.
Severin, down on your bended knee
Severin is asked to kneel down.
Taste the whip, in love not given lightly
The singer asks to be whipped with love and care, not easily given.
Taste the whip, now bleed for me
The singer demands that Severin whip him and wants to see him bleed.
Severin, your servant comes in bells, please don't forsake him
Severin's servant comes with bells and he does not want to abandon her.
Strike dear mistress, and cure his heart
The mistress is encouraged to strike him and heal his broken heart.
Contributed by Jeremiah H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
John Beers
Perfect! ❤
Bryan Lowery
That's a Melvins interpretation alright! HARDCORE.
Ichabod Heranow
This is a great cover, completely in the spirit of the Velvet Underground of 1967. John Cale had been an experimenter with drone, noise, and free improvisational weirdness before joining with Lou Reed and others to create a rock band that involved such experimentation. (Listen to "Sister Ray" from White Light, White Heat or even a couple of the other songs on the Banana album, and you'll see that this is totally in the spirit of the VU.
Archie Mac
"banana album" lol
Jason Peter's
Ichabod Heranow Velvet Underground meant for early 90s
Henrik Gunnarsson
it harbours the spirit but that doesn't stop it from being complete fucking shit
James Frye
Yes, but it's not even really a VU cover after the first ten seconds!
Xavier Volti
I always come back to this expecting a different result. It’s always the same. I think that’s f*cking mental! Luv this tish.
luisfelipecamargo backinfulleffect87
Venus in furs becoming the european son.
Bestialo Culapsus
I like the part where they take Bowie, Bono, Suzanne Vega, Elton J and the other bunch up in the studio and wrote this!