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.
This Is the Life
Mudhoney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I painted the sky with aerosol
Plugged the hole in your pockets with credit cards
And clouded your eyes with sitcoms
I put the "con" in "convenience," and I string you along
Don't worry your head 'cause there ain't nothing wrong
Don't worry your head 'cause there ain't nothing wrong, oh
I make tiny, starving fingers sew your comfy running shoes
And I make more money than any man could ever use
Been called a cool mother fucker, but I'm not that mean
You see I'd gladly leave the dregs of the earth to the meek
Don't worry your head 'cause there ain't nothing wrong [Repeat x 4]
Ohh
Whoo
This is the life [Repeat x 7]
For me [Repeat x 3]
The lyrics to Mudhuney's "This is the Life" are a critique of the American consumerist culture, which is built on the exploitation of the working class and the destruction of the environment. The first line, "I built forty million miles of strip-malls" refers to the incessant building of shopping centres and commercial buildings, which destroy wildlife habitats and contribute to climate change. The second line, "And I painted the sky with aerosol" refers to the pollution caused by factories and cars. The third line, "Plugged the hole in your pockets with credit cards" refers to the encouragement to accumulate debt through credit cards, which keeps the consumer economic wheel spinning. The fourth line, "And clouded your eyes with sitcoms" is a criticism of the media that distracts the masses from the issues that matter.
The chorus, "I put the 'con' in convenience, and I string you along. Don't worry your head 'cause there ain't nothing wrong" addresses the manipulative system of capitalism, which convinces individuals to believe that everything is fine, despite the fact that they are being exploited. The next stanza, "I make tiny, starving fingers sew your comfy running shoes. And I make more money than any man could ever use" criticizes the use of child labour and the extreme wealth gap between the working-class and the upper class. The following line, "Been called a cool mother fucker, but I'm not that mean" refers to the societal perception and glamorization of individuals who make large amounts of money.
The song ends with the repetition of "This is the life" and "For me," highlighting the selfishness and blindness of those who benefit from the economic and societal system in place.
Line by Line Meaning
I built forty million miles of strip-malls
I have constructed an absurd amount of large shopping centers.
And I painted the sky with aerosol
I polluted the atmosphere with spray paint and other chemicals.
Plugged the hole in your pockets with credit cards
I encouraged you to spend beyond your means by offering credit cards.
And clouded your eyes with sitcoms
I filled your mind with inane television shows to distract you from real problems.
I put the "con" in "convenience," and I string you along
I manipulate you to believe that convenience is worth the cost, while benefitting myself.
Don't worry your head 'cause there ain't nothing wrong
I encourage you not to question my actions or the state of the world.
I make tiny, starving fingers sew your comfy running shoes
I exploit low-wage factory workers to produce affordable products that you consume.
And I make more money than any man could ever use
I profit off of your consumption and exploitation more than necessary.
Been called a cool mother fucker, but I'm not that mean
I may be praised for my success, but I am aware of the negative impacts of my actions.
You see I'd gladly leave the dregs of the earth to the meek
I do not care about the most vulnerable members of society, and prioritize my own success.
This is the life
This is the lifestyle I have chosen and thrive in.
For me
It may not benefit you or the world, but it benefits me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DANIEL PETERS, MARK MCLAUGHLIN, MATTHEW LUKIN, STEVEN TURNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind