Inspired by the groundbreaking music of Chrome, Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Portion Control, The Legendary Pink Dots, and others, Skinny Puppy experimented with electronic recording techniques and methods. the band composed multi-layered music generally using keyboards, synthesizers, found sounds, drum machines, live percussion, tape splices, samplers, and conventional rock music instruments. Whereas many contemporary remixes and re-edits of songs were created in order to make a song more suitable for dancing or different radio formats, Skinny Puppy approached remixing and re-editing as an artistic process of reinterpreting compositions, often using remixes to push their sound into styles of ambient, dub and techno. Skinny Puppy's often informal, improvisational approach to musical composition is indicated by use of the term brap, coined by them and defined as a verb meaning "to get together, hook up electronic instruments, get high, and record".
Skinny Puppy's first two proper releases, Bites and Remission, fall somewhere between the found-sound chaos of early Cabaret Voltaire and the abrasive, futuristic synthpop of the Units or Crash Course in Science. While the intense synth programming, abstract rhythms, and surreal samples--all Puppy trademarks--are present here, the albums owe as much to new wave as to industrial.
A subsequent EP, Chainsaw, featured a remix of Bites's "Assimilate" that earned the band some attention from club DJs. 1986's Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse earned Skinny Puppy greater attention, as "Dig It" and "Stairs and Flowers" became alternative club and college radio hits; the video for the former was played occasionally on MTV. The album is arguably less club-friendly than its predecessors, as the band continues to refine a claustrophobic, almost surreal sound that buries rhythm and melody. The follow-up, Cleanse, Fold, and Manipulate treads similar territory.
VIVIsectVI was a breakthrough for the band, with "Testure" becoming their biggest club hit to date, and the album itself was received warmly by college radio. The title of the album was a pun intended to associate vivisection with Satanism (ie. the "666 sect"). The album shows SP integrating more political and social themes: "Testure" is an animal rights song; "VX Gas Attack" concerns the use of chemical weapons; "State Aid" promotes sexual abstinence to stop the spread of AIDS/HIV.
Ogre had become very interested in Ministry and Al Jougensen's side projects, and he persuaded the rest of the band to allow Jourgensen to produce Rabies. While "Worlock" (a track Jourgensen didn't produce) remains an industrial club classic, the album was received coolly, as many thought Jourgensen's heavy metal guitar-based signatures did not compliment SP's more complex, intricate sonic sculptures. The band briefly disbanded afterward.
They reformed and returned to their electronic roots with Too Dark Park, a hallucinogenic album that owes as much to psychedelia as industrial music. Two years later, "Last Rights" covered similar territory, culminating in the epic sound sculpture "Download." Although their sound had moved away from industrial dance, these albums expanded the band's audience, and provided the template for many industrial bands of the 1990s.
Following "Last Rights", the band, poised for a major breakthrough in the wake of Nine Inch Nails' commercial success, left their longtime label Nettwerk for American Recordings. Their highly anticipated followup was unfortunately marred by personal tragedy - the death of Dwayne Goettel - and the band's inability to agree on a direction for the record. Numerous producers, including Martyn Atkins (PigFace/Invisible Records founder) and Roli Mosimann (Swans), came and went without success; finally the band regrouped with longtime collaborator Dave "Rave" Ogilvie to finish "The Process". The band expanded their range, working with gothic pop and heavy metal, alongside their familiar electronic textures. While seemingly rushed to completion following Goettel's death (it sounds half-finished in parts), it is an interesting change for the group. Unfortunately American Recordings, tired of waiting for the record, did little to promote it. Skinny Puppy broke up afterward.
With interests in filmmaking, they made a number of music videos, each attempting to further the theme and concept of the composition at hand. Most of these videos received little air play by major music video networks such as MTV (USA) and MuchMusic (Canada) and some were outright banned. For example the video for "Worlock" was universally banned because it is a "non stop gore fest" of clips from various horror movies. Because none of these clips were authorized for usage in the video it has never been commercially available.
Their concerts have been marked by their bizarre and bloody conceptual performance art, which for every concert was planned with the intention of challenging the notions of all who observed. Their music had some acceptance in dance clubs because of its danceable beats, but had little play on commercial radio. Skinny Puppy had little commercial success outside of Canada, but their influence on industrial music is immense.
The band began with the intention of doing something "raw" and "real." Ogre's vocals, one of Skinny Puppy's most recognizable features, are typically roughly growled snarls of half-sentences and fragmented stream of consciousness. Lyrical themes included animal rights, politics, religion, horror, drug abuse, disease, and environmental degradation; these themes were often lyrically and conceptually intertwined. Other core aspects of the Skinny Puppy sound include the mixture of heavy sampling and experimental noise with softer musical styles sometimes approaching synthpop.
Post-punk politics are a recurring theme utilised by Skinny Puppy. Some say the meaning of their name is that their music and lyrics give a view of the world from the eyes of a starving animal. They have long had an interest in animal rights; this is most obvious in their song Testure, which is about vivisection and other animal testing being scientific fraud. During many of their concerts Ogre would take the role of "scientist" and experiment on a stuffed animal. In 1988 they were arrested for their mocked-up vivisections, and found it ironic to be arrested for a parody of what was happening for real across the street from their concert. During their TGWOTR tour, criticism of the Bush regime was a recurring theme, particularly during their performance of VX Gas Attack, a song about atrocities perpetrated by Saddam Hussein, originally released while he was still considered an ally of the United States.
The last two studio albums are points of contention for old school Puppy fans. During the recording of The Process, the band broke up. Even more tragically, Dwayne Rudolph Goettel died, from an apparent heroin overdose at his parent's home, soon afterwards. Some people say that cEvin, Nivek, and Dwayne didn't connect as well on this album as they had earlier because their respective musical interests were diverging at the time, others claim it was the heroin.
Key and Ogre later reunited as Skinny Puppy for a one-off concert in Germany in 2003. Afterwards, they decided Skinny Puppy should continue as an ongoing project. The newly reconstituted Skinny Puppy released The Greater Wrong of the Right in 2004, their first studio album in 8 years, and have been continuing since, constantly evolving their sound.
There have been a number of Skinny Puppy side projects, both before, and after the breakup in 1995. The Tear Garden is a collaboration between cEvin and Edward Ka-Spel (and later most band members) of The Legendary Pink Dots. Other noteable side projects include Download, Hilt, Plateau, Cyberaktif (a collaboration between Key & Goettel and Bill Leeb, a.k.a. Wilhelm Schroeder), Rx (one-off collaboration between Ogre and Martin Atkins), ADuck (Goettel's side project), A CHUD Convention (one-off collaboration with a;GRUHM...), Ogre's contributions to Pigface, Ogre and Mark Walk's band ohGr and solo releases from cEvin Key.
Blue Serge
Skinny Puppy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Whims condition as night falls
Spills disease mental sores
Mine exploding you fucking liar
Lines form short mans views
Cassandra's curse prophets eyes
This controls my mind
After supper o much fatter
How to reconcile this matter
Lies disfigured one on top no distinction soaking sing
A screaming phrased in ill contempt
Not worth it
This controls my mind
So whose resolve can't stop them now
Raving mad so very small
Kisses dust storm wave good-bye
Have no need to scrape so high
The lyrics to Skinny Puppy's "Blue Serge" convey a dark and unsettling perspective on humanity and its destructive tendencies. The opening lines about the ocean calmly lowering bodies as offerings suggests a desensitized society that views death and tragedy as commonplace. The following lines describe the mental toll of this environment, with mental disease and sores being spilled and exploded by the societal forces at play. Soon after, we hear the singer's anger, accusing someone of being a liar, followed by the contrasting imagery of "short man's views." The reference to Cassandra's curse and prophets' eyes possibly allude to the idea that those who see the truth in this environment are shunned and looked upon as if they're lying themselves. The lyrics go on to suggest the idea of mind control, perhaps referencing the societal pressures that force one to eat more than they probably should, leading to feelings of guilt and the constant struggle for self-acceptance. The song culminates in a final image of a person disfigured, with no distinction from those who remain soaking, singing.
Overall, the song seems to be reflective of the darker aspects of human behavior, both on an individual and societal level. The lyrics paint a picture of a world where death and tragedy are normalized, and those who speak out against the system are silenced or ignored. The idea of mind control and societal pressures also seems to be a significant theme, one that can leave individuals feeling trapped and conflicted in search of self-acceptance. The lyrics come across as a call to action to open our eyes and minds to the harmful patterns of society, instead of just being another helpless victim.
Line by Line Meaning
Worn out gone ocean calmly lowers bodies offering
The ocean gently accepts the dead bodies that have been worn out and discarded
Whims condition as night falls
As night approaches, our unpredictable emotional states become more prominent
Spills disease mental sores
The disease of mental illness causes emotional wounds that are difficult to heal
Mine exploding you fucking liar
My emotions are overwhelming me and you are responsible for lying to me
Lines form short mans views
Our perspectives shape our understanding of the world, and shorter lines of vision limit that understanding
Cassandra's curse prophets eyes
Those who can see the truth are often cursed for it, like the prophet Cassandra in Greek mythology
Sees the truth they perceive as lies
People often deny or ignore the truth because it conflicts with their beliefs or desires
This controls my mind
My thoughts and emotions are being manipulated and controlled by an external force
After supper o much fatter
Eating a lot after dinner has caused me to gain weight
How to reconcile this matter
I need to figure out how to make things right and find balance
Lies disfigured one on top no distinction soaking sing
Dishonesty has caused someone to rise to the top, even though they are not distinguished, and their despicable behavior has permeated everything
A screaming phrased in ill contempt
The anger and frustration is expressed in a way that is disrespectful and hostile
Not worth it
The effort or sacrifice is not worth the outcome
So whose resolve can't stop them now
Who has the determination and strength to continue despite obstacles and challenges?
Raving mad so very small
The intense emotions and chaotic thoughts make me feel insignificant and powerless
Kisses dust storm wave good-bye
Letting go of the past and moving on from the chaos and destruction it caused
Have no need to scrape so high
I don't need to strive too hard or reach too high, as sometimes it's better to be content with what you have
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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