Rudimentary Peni (1980 - present) emerged from the anarcho-punk scene in th… Read Full Bio ↴Rudimentary Peni (1980 - present) emerged from the anarcho-punk scene in the UK in the early eighties as one of the most novel and recognizable acts of the era.

Lead singer/guitarist Nick Blinko is notorious for his witty macabre lyrics and dark pen-and-ink artwork, prominently featured on all of Rudimentary Peni's albums. Blinko is also rumored to have written the band's Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric album whilst resident in a psychiatric hospital, having suffered from mental illness most of his life, as such, the subject matter of the album relates to the delusions Nick was experiencing at the time, particularly the idea that he was said Pope. Nick's subject matter has been influenced by the work of H.P. Lovecraft who he had studied after having delusions of the macabre element of life and hereafter. Bassist Grant Matthews has also written a number of songs for the band, though his lyrics primarily focus on sociopolitical themes. The band also features drummer Jon Greville.

Very few photos exist of the band, as their albums feature Blinko's drawings, but artist and record label owner Pushead published a few photos of the band in an early edition of his magazine.

The band had early connections with Crass, and released their Farce EP on Crass Records. Though they stopped performing in the 1980s after bassist Grant Matthews was diagnosed with cancer, they continue to record and release material today, though they rarely give interviews. Nick Blinko has also become increasingly popular in the Outsider Art scene, and wrote an autobiographical novel entitled "The Primal Screamer", revered amongst his fans to be a literary masterpiece.

Musicians of a variety of genres (from thrashcore to death metal to apocalyptic folk) have taken influence from the work of Rudimentary Peni. There is even an all-girl high school cover band that does all Rudimentary Peni. The legend created by Rudimentary Peni is part in thanks to their evasion of media coverage and the spread of misinformation.

A new album, No More Pain EP was released on May 5th 2008. Nick Blinko has also finished a new untitled novel, due out sometime in the near future.

Cosmic Hearse
Rudimentary Peni Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Floating round the Universe
Fucking in our Cosmic Hearse
You Know time don't ever End
Can't evade those dead Zen Men
You're the meat in Big Buddas Dinner
One day you'll eat us all Up too
One day is now.

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of Rudimentary Peni's "Cosmic Hearse" immediately paints a picture of a surreal and unexplainable world - one in which humans are mere travelers floating around the universe, making love in a metaphorical hearse. The lyrics suggest that time is infinite and that no matter how much one does or doesn't do, one cannot escape the inevitability of mortality. The 'dead Zen men' mentioned provide an eerie warning that death is an essential function of life, perhaps regarded as the ultimate goal of those enlightened by spiritual practices.

As the song progresses, the state of humanity's existence is further described in vague and metaphorical terms. The line, "You're the meat in Big Buddhas Dinner" indicates that beings much larger and more enlightened rule the universe, holding a position of carnivorous authority over humankind. The final line, "One day is now," might be taken as encouraging listeners to recognize that the present is the only thing they have, and that all the worldly possessions and achievements do not matter in the face of cosmic inevitability.

Line by Line Meaning

Floating round the Universe
Traveling aimlessly throughout existence

Fucking in our Cosmic Hearse
Engaging in sexual activity while careening through the cosmos in our death vehicle

You Know time don't ever End
Awareness that temporal limits do not exist

Can't evade those dead Zen Men
Inability to escape the wisdom of enlightened corpses

You're the meat in Big Buddas Dinner
Being consumed by an omnipotent being in a cycle of life and death

One day you'll eat us all Up too
The inevitability of one's own consumption of others

One day is now.
The present is already that day, the cycle is continuous

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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