Through the years, the band went through many line-up changes, with Ben and John being the only constant members since the band's inception. Screeching Weasel officially broke up for (roughly) the third - and allegedly final - time on July 6, 2001.
The band did a few surprise shows between 2001-2009.
Ben Weasel reformed the group in March 2009 with a new line-up, and without John Jughead. Ben had released solo albums that were the same just in his name. John finally settled for T-Shirt money for being an original member of the band and a royalties for a handful songs he co-wrote, and let Ben play as Screeching Weasel with the hundreds of song lyrics and music has written.
Former Members include renowned punk rock record producer Mass Giorgini on bass guitar, Dan Panic (born Dan Sullivan) on drums, and Danny Vapid (born Dan Schafer,on guitar or bass, depending on the band's necessity. Dan is currently fronting The Methadones and formerly of Sludgeworth)
Members of Screeching Weasel have gone on to form bands such as: The Methadones, The Mopes, Even in Blackouts, and Sweet Black And Blue.
Screeching Weasel has also included members of Green Day, Sludgeworth, Common Rider, Squirtgun, and Teen Idols.
During one of the band's many break-ups, Weasel and Vapid also formed the Riverdales. Additionally, Ben Weasel released a solo record in 2002 entitled Fidatevi.
In 2004 Ben Weasel rescinded all of the Screeching Weasel and Riverdales masters from Lookout! Records in the wake of long-running financial and personal conflicts. The masters were subsequently licensed to and reissued by Asian Man Records.
On December 7, 2010, it was announced that Screeching Weasel will release a new album on March 15, 2011, the band's first album in eleven years. The album will be titled First World Manifesto and will be released on Fat Wreck Chords. It will contain 14 new songs and is produced by Mike Kennerty of The All-American Rejects. It was announced that the label will also be releasing the back catalogs of Screeching Weasel, the Riverdales, and Ben Weasel.
On March 18, 2011, during Screeching Weasel's South by Southwest Festival performance at the Scoot Inn in Austin, Texas, Foster reached from the stage and slapped a female audience member who had spit on him several times. This sent off a fire storm web frenzy from all of the self -righteous non Screeching Weasel fans. Ben apologized for his actions, but all of the perfect people who never loose there cool were not satisfied.
Ben and his hired band had a falling out. He found out who his true friends and fans were. After over a year of spending time with his family and raising a new baby, he released Carnival of Schadenfreude EP in 2011 with huge interest and has resumed his music career again full swing.
My Brain Hurts
Screeching Weasel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I watch the minutes tick away
My brain is melting like a
chocolate ice cream bar
Like characters on TV
these people look like maggots
to me and I wonder what the
hell is wrong with me
she's straight out of a magazine
she sits beside me
breathing different air than me
The perfect generation sees that I'm
infected with disease and
everything just crumbles
and there's nothing left
If I want to do something right
I gotta do it myself or someone
else will fuck it up
It isn't all black and white
and now it's time to stop
and figure out reality
No one knows what they're
talking about if what they're talking
about don't making any sense to me
I gotta figure it out
cause I don't want something
to believe in
The song "My Brain Hurts" by Screeching Weasel is an honest and cathartic exploration of the frustration and confusion that can come with the daily grind. The lyrics describe a feeling of being disconnected from the world around you, as if the people and events happening around you are in a completely different reality. The singer watches time slip away and feels his brain melting away like a melting chocolate ice cream bar. The imagery continues as he describes the people around him looking like maggots to him. This shows that the singer is overwhelmed and disgusted by the world around him, which only adds to his sense of disconnection.
The singer also expresses a feeling of being infected with a disease that the "perfect generation" can see, but cannot understand. This could be interpreted as a sense of being an outsider or misunderstood by those around him. The singer cherishes self-reliance and the idea that "if I want to do something right, I gotta do it myself or someone else will fuck it up". This is another example of the singer's disillusionment with the people around him and his distrust of their abilities.
Overall, "My Brain Hurts" is a relatable song to those who feel disconnected or frustrated with the world around them. The singer's frustration and confusion can be read as a commentary on the alienating effects of modern life.
Line by Line Meaning
Time gets wasted every day
Every day, valuable and irretrievable time is being wasted
I watch the minutes tick away
I am aware of the time slipping away without any productivity or achievement
My brain is melting like a chocolate ice cream bar
My brain is deteriorating and losing its efficiency
Like characters on TV, these people look like maggots to me
The people around me are so repulsive that they are akin to maggots in my eyes
and I wonder what the hell is wrong with me
I am bewildered as to why I have such an aversive reaction to normal people
Milk-fed little beauty queen, she's straight out of a magazine
A coddled, pampered beauty queen who seems like a manufactured, artificial product
she sits beside me breathing different air than me
We are vastly different and cannot even breathe the same air
The perfect generation sees that I'm infected with disease
The idealistic people around me see me as flawed, diseased, or undesirable
and everything just crumbles and there's nothing left
All around me, everything falls apart and there seems to be no hope
If I want to do something right, I gotta do it myself or someone else will fuck it up
To ensure that something is done correctly, I need to take matters into my own hands and not rely on someone else, who may mess it up
It isn't all black and white
The world is not simple and straightforward; many things are uncertain and ambiguous
and now it's time to stop and figure out reality
It is imperative to pause and reflect on the real world and separate it from illusions or fantasy
No one knows what they're talking about
People talk a lot of nonsense and drivel
if what they're talking about doesn't make any sense to me
If I cannot understand or make sense of what someone is saying, then it is likely nonsensical
I gotta figure it out cause I don't want something to believe in
I need to find answers because I cannot accept something blindly; I require reasoned evidence or explanation
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: BENJAMIN M. FOSTER, BENJAMIN M FOSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind