Mudhoney's early releases on the Sub Pop label, particularly their debut single "Touch Me I'm Sick" and the Superfuzz Bigmuff EP, were massively influential on the Seattle music scene. More than almost any other release of the era they inspired the dirty, high-distortion sound that would become grunge. Later on, Mudhoney also mixed heavy blues rock and punk rock into their sound at various stages. Although the band has found little commercial success during its long career, which has yielded ten studio albums, it has inspired countless grunge and alternative rock musicians.
Band history
Mr. Epp and the Calculations
The very beginnings of Mudhoney start out in Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. While at Bellevue Christian High School, Mark McLaughlin (later known as Mark Arm) and some friends started Mr. Epp and the Calculations, a band named after a math teacher of his. The band was more a joke band than a real band; their first "show" was in class singing Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" and using rolled up maps as guitars because they couldn't play real instruments. "Mr. Epp" finally played their first show three years after they formed in 1981. Around this time Mark Arm and a friend of his, Steve Turner formed a more serious yet still humorous band, Limp Richerds. Mr. Epp appeared on KZAM-AM radio and were introduced being called "the worst band in the world". They played their last show on February 3, 1984 with Malfunkshun at the Metropolis in Seattle.
Green River
Green River was formed in 1984 when Mark Arm and Steve Turner pulled together and recruited Alex Vincent, who had previously played with Turner in Spluii Numa. Looking for a bass player the band asked Jeff Ament to join their band. Ament had recently arrived in Seattle with his band Deranged Diction who had come out of Montana. Another one of Turner's former bandmates, Stone Gossard, also decided to play with them. Steve Turner left the band after the recording of Come on Down due to his distaste in the heavy metal leanings of the band. He was replaced by another Derranged Diction member, Bruce Fairweather. After recording two EPs and a full-length album, the band decided to call it quits in 1987. Gossard, Ament, and Fairweather went on to join Mother Love Bone. Following lead singer, Andrew Wood's death, Gossard and Ament went on to form Pearl Jam and Fairweather joined Love Battery. Arm reunited with Steve Turner to form Mudhoney.
Sub Pop (1988–1991)
Steve Turner wanted to start a band that actually rehearsed before they played. He and Mark Arm began working on some music along with Bundle of Hiss drummer Dan Peters. The trio decided that Matt Lukin, who had recently left Melvins, should join them as the bassist. They named themselves Mudhoney after a Russ Meyer film that none of the band members had actually seen.
Mudhoney's partial success led to a number of other Seattle bands, such as Soundgarden, Nirvana, and Tad, gaining some recognition. In the early '90s, Sub Pop was not making very much money. As a result, many of its bands left the label to search for backing by major labels. Mudhoney decided to stay and they released their second album, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge in 1991. However, after this album was released they were offered a deal with Reprise Records and they left Sub Pop Records to join their new major label in 1992.
Reprise (1992–1999)
As grunge was becoming more mainstream, Mudhoney shifted away from their early grungy music sound. Many of the bands that they were friends with (Nirvana and Pearl Jam) were having huge success and gaining popularity worldwide. Their first album on Reprise was Piece of Cake, which was an album that sounded much more like garage rock than grunge. Despite the fact that the band had signed on to a major label, they still kept their quirkiness and non-careerist attitude with them.
In 1995, when grunge was in its last days in the mainstream, Mudhoney decided to go back to the sound that they used to have. With their album My Brother the Cow they managed to mix both their early heavy dirge songs and some of their more punk rock songs on the same album. The song "Into Your Shtik" is said to be a song which bashes Courtney Love, saying that she should blow her head off too like her husband Kurt Cobain. The album is a fan favorite and is considered one of their finest albums. Two years later they released Tomorrow Hit Today. The album showed that Mudhoney still had their garage rock roots in them as well as including new blues rock type songs.
In 1996, Mudhoney appeared in the comedy movie Black Sheep, starring Chris Farley and David Spade. Mudhoney was shown playing at an MTV concert and then speaking with Farley backstage.
After a few years of touring, Reprise decided to release Mudhoney from their label. One of the reasons was Mudhoney's record sales had reached a career low despite the fact their live shows were drawing more people than ever before. Subsequently, bassist Matt Lukin called it quits, saying that he didn't like touring. The band released March to Fuzz, a retrospective compilation of songs from throughout their career. Many fans thought that the band was going to stop playing music altogether, although they did play a few shows around the Northwest area.
Return to Sub Pop (1999— )
These shows were doing so well that Mudhoney decided to resurrect their careers. They found permanent bassist Guy Maddison (of Monroe's Fur, Lubricated Goat) who had played with Mark Arm in one of his many side projects, Bloodloss. After Arm and Turner spent time with their side project, The Monkeywrench, the band recorded and released Since We've Become Translucent in 2002. In late 2005, the band opened Pearl Jam's South American tour, with concerts in Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In March of 2006, the band released the well received LP, Under a Billion Suns. The band has promoted the album by touring in Europe and the U.S. with bands such as Jennifer Gentle, The Holy Soul and Comets on Fire.
Into The Drink
Mudhoney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Messing all the time
Messing, sugar, messing busy
You're messing in my mind
Well, I don't got what you want
And I don't care what you think
Better back off, back off, back off, baby
Into the drink
Into the drink
Into the drink
I don't need your judgment
And I don't believe your lies
I don't feel your lousy love
I got rights to exercise
But I don't got what you want
And I don't care what you think
Better back off, back off, back off, baby
You'll get dumped into the drink
Into the drink
Into the drink
Into the drink
Your useless piece of weaponry
Will never shoot me down
If I didn't do it, no one could
So waste another round
Well, I don't got what you want
And I don't care what you think
Better back off, back off, back off, baby
If you don't, into the drink
Into the drink
Into the drink
Into the drink
The lyrics of Mudhoney's song "Into The Drink" depicts a person who is fed up with the constant meddling and manipulation of their partner. The use of "messing" in the lyrics suggests that the partner is playing games and causing chaos in the relationship. The singer is aware that their partner's actions are affecting their mental state and warns them to back off or they will be dumped "into the drink."
The phrase "into the drink" is used metaphorically to represent the end of the relationship. The drink could represent the unstoppable tide of life, and being dumped in it means that it's game over. The singer's message is that they are not interested in their partner's judgment or lies but rather staying true to themselves and exercising their rights.
Overall, the lyrics of "Into The Drink" describe the singer's determination to end the toxic relationship and to maintain their independence and integrity.
Line by Line Meaning
You're messing, baby, messing hard
You're causing trouble, honey, and you're doing it intentionally and with great effort.
Messing all the time
You're constantly stirring up conflict and confusion. It never seems to end.
Messing, sugar, messing busy
You're causing trouble all over the place, darling. You're keeping yourself busy with it.
You're messing in my mind
You're affecting my thoughts and emotions with all of your chaos and drama.
Well, I don't got what you want
I don't have what you're looking for. I can't provide what you need.
And I don't care what you think
I'm not interested in your opinions or thoughts on the matter. They're irrelevant to me.
Better back off, back off, back off, baby
You need to distance yourself from me and stop creating problems. Get out of my way.
You'll get dumped into the drink
If you don't back off, you'll be thrown into a difficult and potentially dangerous situation.
Into the drink
This threatening situation I'm referring to is the metaphorical 'drink.'
I don't need your judgment
I'm not interested in being evaluated or criticized by you. I don't value your opinion.
And I don't believe your lies
You've deceived me before, and I'm not willing to fall for your untruthful words again.
I don't feel your lousy love
Your supposed love and affection doesn't resonate with me. It's not meaningful.
I got rights to exercise
I have freedoms and entitlements that I'm going to utilize. You can't hold me back.
Your useless piece of weaponry
Whatever weapon you're using to try and harm me is ineffective and pointless.
Will never shoot me down
Your attempt to damage me won't be successful. You won't defeat me.
If I didn't do it, no one could
I'm my own person, and I'm responsible for my actions. No one else can take credit for what I've accomplished.
So waste another round
You can keep trying, but it won't make a difference. Go ahead and waste your time and energy.
If you don't, into the drink
If you don't listen to my warning and continue causing trouble, you'll end up in trouble yourself.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DANIEL PETERS, MARK MCLAUGHLIN, MATTHEW LUKIN, STEVEN TURNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tim the Hermit
Friggin love this song, and Mudhoney! They were the most UNDER-rated band of the "grunge" era!
Uruguay Underunderground
the invented grunge
lethrneck4
@neets 1 theyll always be the kings of that entire seattle scene!
neets 1
They were grunge.
Agustin Rodriguez
Flop was another underrated grunge band
Connie Rain
Back in time, the 90's to when bands didn't take themselves seriously and had fun
Scott Prince
Such a great time,Soo much good music man!!!!
James Naked
One of the Best Rock Songs in Rock n Roll history
Vito Doria
I was disappointed when Mudhoney failed to play this at the 2014 Big Day Out in Melbourne. This is in my Top 20 favourite songs ever!
Awesome video clip too!
Denise Freitas
The golden era.