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.
Twenty Four
Mudhoney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If he had a dime for every time (one dime)
Someone tried to change him (change)
He'd get drunk for twenty four more (twenty four more)
Yeah
I got trained to fight for the chain (yeah)
I got a dime and time to kill (time to kill)
Someone's always trying to change me (stupid heads)
I've been drunk for twenty four hours (really drunk)
I'll stay drunk for twenty four more (yeah)
Yeah
The lyrics of Mudhoney’s song Twenty Four is a reflection of the struggles that people experience when trying to change their lifestyle. The song brings out the idea of addiction and the constant temptation to succumb to the same patterns over and over again. In the first stanza, the artist sings about being drunk for twenty-four years, and this line represents an individual who has been trapped in addiction for a long time. The second line, “If he had a dime for every time someone tried to change him,” shows that the person appreciates that people have tried to help change his situation. However, the artist then sings, “He’d get drunk for twenty four more.”
The second stanza highlights the same theme of being trapped in addiction, and the verse also speaks about the desire to escape the situation unsuccessfully. In the lines, “I got trained to fight for the chain (yeah), I got a dime and time to kill (time to kill),” the artist paints a picture of someone who is fighting an already lost battle. The last lines of the song, “I’ve been drunk for twenty four hours (really drunk), I’ll stay drunk for twenty four more (yeah),” illustrate that the addiction has taken control of the person's life, and they have given in completely.
Overall, the song speaks to people who are going through similar situations and offers a message of hope, and that’s it's never too late to get help and start on the road to recovery. The artist is also sending a message that when people offer help, it's important for us to accept it and not reject it.
Line by Line Meaning
He's been drunk for twenty four years
For a really long time, this person has continued to be in a state of drunkenness for the past twenty four years.
If he had a dime for every time
If this person was given ten cents for each occurrence of someone who attempted to change them, they would be a bit richer now.
Someone tried to change him
It is often the case when someone tries to change this particular person's ways, which is a problem for this person.
He'd get drunk for twenty four more
If given the opportunity, this person would continue to be intoxicated for the next twenty four years straight.
I got trained to fight for the chain
I was trained for proper ways of making money and working hard in order to become successful.
I got a dime and time to kill
I currently have ten cents and ample time available to me, without any urgent obligations to attend to.
I've been drunk for twenty four hours
For the past day, I have had a lot to drink, resulting in an excessively inebriated state.
Someone's always trying to change me
It is a common occurrence for someone to try and change this person, which tends to be highly disagreeable to this particular individual.
I've been drunk for twenty four hours
For a whole day, I remained heavily intoxicated with a lot to consume still left in me.
I'll stay drunk for twenty four more
For the next twenty four hours, I shall continue to be intoxicated to my heart's content, without a care in the world.
Contributed by Austin A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.