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.
You've Never Been Right
Melvins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're babies, not alive
The mirror, and why we change our names
Becomes clearer, not alive
The rabies, and what we think is right
We're babies, not alive
The mirror, and why we change our names
The lyrics of Melvins's song "You've Never Been Right" explore themes of identity, self-doubt, and confusion. The opening lines, "The rabies, and what we think is right" suggest that the singer is struggling with some kind of inner turmoil or madness (rabies). The following lines, "We're babies, not alive" could be interpreted as a commentary on the singer's feelings of powerlessness and vulnerability. They may feel like they are still "babies" in terms of understanding themselves and the world around them, and therefore, not fully "alive."
The next set of lyrics, "The mirror, and why we change our names / Becomes clearer, not alive" continue the theme of identity exploration. The "mirror" here could represent self-reflection or introspection, and the fact that the singer is questioning why people change their names suggests that they are grappling with questions of self-identity. The final line, "Becomes clearer, not alive" could be interpreted in a few different ways. One possibility is that seeing the truth about oneself (in the mirror) can be both clarifying and depressing, as it forces the singer to confront darker truths about themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
The rabies, and what we think is right
Our belief in what's right can be like an uncontrollable disease that consumes us.
We're babies, not alive
Despite being alive, we're still naive and inexperienced in understanding the complexities of the world.
The mirror, and why we change our names
We examine ourselves in the mirror and feel uncertain about our identity, prompting us to change our name.
Becomes clearer, not alive
Despite having few answers, the reason why we change our name becomes clearer to us as we continue to search for our true identity.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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