Before starting the band Mindless Self Indulgence, James Euringer launched a solo album in 1995, called Mindless Self-Indulgence, which he had produced by himself and was limited to 500 copies. Contrary to popular belief, this was not an album by the band Mindless Self Indulgence, however, Steve Righ? played guitar for the track "Bed of Roses".
Another large influence in the band's music comes from early 1980s culture. Frequently the music contains samples of early 80's hip-hop or rock, as well as Atari-style beeps and tones. Their second album as a band, 1999's Tight, was even allegedly mixed on Atari equipment. Many of Urine's dress styles consist of the juxtaposition of popular 1980s clothing or bastardized versions thereof.
Later in February 2000, MSI launched the album Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, featuring 30 tracks that were sorted alphabetically. Kitty (Drummer) designed and ran the official site of MSI when the album came out.
After Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy , Vanessa YT (Bass player) decided to leave MSI to start a family. Her replacement in the band was Lyn-Z (Bass player).
Mindless Self Indulgence is distinguished from mainstream punk, however, by their incorporating lyrics about being gay and related topics into nearly all of their songs - even titling one of their songs Faggot. Also, Euringer and Steve, Righ? (Guitarist) possess wide vocal ranges, stretching from tenor to high falsetto. The band also has no qualms about using words deemed offensive by some, such as nigga (Jimmy Urine argues that he doesn't say the word out of anger, and often it is more or less used in the sense that it is used in the hip-hop world), and faggot heavily in many of their songs. Many critics have used their word choice to dismiss the band as juvenile.
And although this may be the case, with some songs being of a 'juvenile' subject and tone, they also use clever lyrics and stance to give meaning to songs, such as You'll rebel to anything, which is a song that talks about how punk culture is being exploited by misdirected youths as a way to be unique or get noticed.
In keeping with their confrontational posture, Euringer has been arrested for pulling his penis out of his pants and attempting to set his pubic hair on fire, allegedly succeeding on one such occasion. Other notable stage antics include him drinking his own urine, inviting audience members to punch him in the face and/or throw objects at him, making out with both genders during the show, and roaming through the audience after the set blaring hip-hop music from a boom box perched on his shoulder.
The band's energetic live shows have gained them much recognition. The band is known to stay after the show has finished, signing whatever fans want until not one person is left wanting an autograph. They also take photographs with all desiring fans. They have opened for a number of popular bands, including System of a Down, KoRn, Staind, Sum 41, Mushroomhead, Insane Clown Posse, My Chemical Romance, and Rammstein. They have also played many large musical festivals including Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans in October of 2003 (and in Memphis, TN after Hurricane Katrina in 2006), as well as headlining the Mojave tent at the 2004 Coachella Festival, and the main stage of 2007's Give It A Name. They also headlined the second stage of the Projekt Revolution tour in Summer 2007.
Their DVD, called Our Pain, Your Gain, was released on September 11, 2007, featuring one of their concerts in New York.
On 29th April 2008, their 4th studio album, If, was released. The standard edition contains 15 tracks, the deluxe edition has the same tracklist and a bonus DVD. The Clean version has 16 tracks, Uncle being the additional track. The International edition (UK version) has 21 tracks; 3S as bonus track and four Never Wanted To Dance remixes.
On 25th October 2012, they began a Kickstarter to crowdfund their next studio album, which reached its goal by December 24th of that year. Digital downloads for their fifth studio album, How I Learned To Stop Giving A Shit And Love Mindless Self Indulgence, were released on 13 March 2013. There are three different versions of the album, with each including the standard 13-song tracklist as well as bonus tracks. The Kickstarter exclusive downloads include the bonus tracks Angel, I Am Not Here to Make Any Friends, and Last Gay Song. The Kickstarter exclusive digipak CD includes the bonus track Sex for Homework. The tour edition CD includes the bonus track Seven Minutes in Heaven. The Metropolis Records released CD includes the bonus cover, The Logical Song (originally by Supertramp).
After the 2014 tour concluded, Mindless Self Indulgence began a hiatus from touring to spend time with their families. On 18 September 2015, the band released the supposed "lost" album Pink, a 19-song album of remastered versions of the "Pink Demos" from 1990-1997, including covers Personal Jesus (originally by Depeche Mode and Girls On Film (originally by Duran Duran). The album includes redone versions of tracks from the self-titled EP from 1995. It’s also known that there are 31 “lost” tracks from 1990-1997 (“Pink Demos” era), and that 15 of those tracks were added onto Pink, then also implying that there are another 16 “lost” tracks that could be released in future, however chances are slim due to recent events.
On It
Mindless Self Indulgence Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You need a uniform
So you won't be ignored
You are affected
And so you're accepted
It's time you invested in a bottle of poison
You think you could afford a fuckin bottle of asprin
Boo fuckin hoo you're not the only one whose live's a piece of shit
And yet miraculously somehow we all seem to deal with it
Did anybody think that you would really seriously slit your wrists
In fact I think that everybody thinks you're seriously full of shit
You think you're saying something relevant as you connect the dots
You never reaqlized you have to get in line to suck a cock
You're telling me that fifty million fans are never wrong
I'm telling you that fifty million fans are fucking morons
In "On It", Mindless Self Indulgence mocks people who pretend to be depressed or seek attention by complaining too much. The song blasts those who use these tactics to seek acceptance or wish to belong to a particular group. The opening lines say "You don't mean it" and "You need a uniform so you won't be ignored," suggesting that some people might pretend to be affected or depressed to get attention. The lyrics talk about buying a 'bottle of poison' and not whining to people anymore. While the song is satirical, it suggests that people need to stop being overly dramatic and take control of their lives.
The song is also anti-establishment, as the lyrics suggest that anyone can buy a uniform to be accepted, which shows that society plays a role in homogenizing individuals. The song's message is that it's essential to avoid being a part of the crowd and stand out by being oneself. The words "Boo fucking hoo, you're not the only one whose life's a piece of shit," underline the point that everyone faces struggles, and it's important to deal with them and not play the victim. Overall, the song takes a bleak view of modern society, calling people out for seeking acceptance at the cost of individuality.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't mean it
Your words lack sincerity
You need a uniform
You crave conformity to avoid rejection
So you won't be ignored
You fear being overlooked or forgotten
You are affected
You're easily influenced by external factors
And so you're accepted
You conform to gain approval from others
It's time you invested in a bottle of poison
You should drink poison to stop complaining
So we don't have to hear about you bitchin and moanin
Stop complaining and whining all the time
You think you could afford a fuckin bottle of asprin
You should be able to buy some aspirin to deal with your problems
Boo fuckin hoo you're not the only one whose live's a piece of shit
Stop feeling sorry for yourself, we're all struggling
And yet miraculously somehow we all seem to deal with it
Despite our difficulties, we still manage to cope
Did anybody think that you would really seriously slit your wrists
No one believes you when you threaten to harm yourself
In fact I think that everybody thinks you're seriously full of shit
People see through your lies and excuses
You think you're saying something relevant as you connect the dots
You believe your ideas are important and meaningful
You never reaqlized you have to get in line to suck a cock
You're not as unique or important as you think you are
You're telling me that fifty million fans are never wrong
You're defending yourself by pointing to your popularity
I'm telling you that fifty million fans are fucking morons
Popularity doesn't equal intelligence or value
Lyrics © JAMES IS A GIRL MUSIC C/O CITRIN COOPERMAN, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JAMES EURINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind