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.
Fascist Jock Itch
Skinny Puppy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
War torn
Night harms right away
Decompose
??? featureless fear
Aryan yahoo
Mission sliver
Never saw sweet problems
Carry your vast disease
Carry your vast disease
Victim of the world
??? climb
And the base fate
This week
Coming fate
Burning up ??? gas
Fix, fix, fix
Fear turning your spurning words
Withdrawal feeling burning turning furning fist
In the face
In the face
In the face
Heaven
In the face
In the flame
Normal destination
Normal destination
??? to forget
Better off dead
Better off dead
Aryan stillborn
Aryan yahoo
Pain
Real
Really fucking
Hey, over there
With your normal hair
With your normal place
You're fucked
Wait it out
Go away
???
Burning up in ??? gas
Express ???
Acute
Then rest
What? Hahaha distortion ugliness
Walls torn
Nylon
Decompose
Not
??? in your brain
Nervous
Never caught
Waiting, waiting
Aryan yahoo you're baiting me
Go ahead
???
You're baiting is the same
Must remember not to become ???
??? overcome
Wider stigma
Confess go ???
What are you on, son
What do you mean
You become
Everything ??? cover
I'm alive
I'm alive
???
Aryan yahoo
What you gonna do
When you don't remember
Bastard using you
Force fed crackers
The lyrics to Skinny Puppy's song Fascist Jock Itch create a haunting, dark experience that demonstrate the violence and intense fear felt by those facing fascism. The lines "This'll get on your nerves, war torn night harms right away, decompose" allude to the constant fear and uncertainty felt by individuals residing in nations under fascist regimes. The featureless fear described in the lyrics is the apprehension that people live with, which leads to their dehumanization and allows them to be mistreated by the government. "Aryan yahoo, mission sliver" depicts the inescapable hatred demonstrated by those in power towards minorities, showcased by the ridicule of the "Aryan yahoo."
"Prison world, carry your vast disease" explains that the oppression caused by fascism not only harms individuals' physical bodies, but it also leads to a disease of the mind. The singer of the song symbolizes the people who have become this way and calls them "victims of the world." The lyrics "Fear turning your spurning words, withdrawal feeling burning turning furning fist" represents the societal psychological effects of fascism, which leads to the development of anger and the need for destruction.
The song's chorus "In the face in the flame normal destination, better off dead, Aryan stillborn" shows that individuals may feel hopeless while navigating fascist regimes. The end of the song no longer speaks of oppression but shifts the focus to the individual because awareness is the ultimate solution to defeat fascism.
Line by Line Meaning
This'll get on your nerves
The following lyrics will irritate you
War torn
The world is ravaged by war
Night harms right away
Dangerous things happen immediately at night
Decompose
To rot or break down
??? featureless fear
Unclear reference to a fear that lacks distinct features
Aryan yahoo
Racist individual who is a fan of Yahoo
Mission sliver
A small but important objective
Never saw sweet problems
Difficult situations that on the surface seem positive
Prison world
The world is a prison or oppressive place
Carry your vast disease
The person addressed (or society at large) spreads harmful ideas or actions
Victim of the world
People are helpless and at the mercy of the cruel world
??? climb
Unclear reference to climbing
And the base fate
An event of significance or destiny
This week
During this particular week
Coming fate
An event of significant destiny is approaching
Burning up ??? gas
Unclear reference to burning gasoline
Fix, fix, fix
Get to work and fix the problem
Fear turning your spurning words
The fear of being rejected or criticized prevents one from speaking out
Withdrawal feeling burning turning furning fist
Physical and emotional pain caused by withdrawal symptoms
In the face
Confronting or challenging someone directly
In the face
Confronting or challenging someone directly
In the face
Confronting or challenging someone directly
Heaven
A paradise or ideal world
In the face
Confronting or challenging someone directly
In the flame
Being burned, either literally or metaphorically
Normal destination
A common or predictable ending
Normal destination
A common or predictable ending
??? to forget
Unclear reference to something one cannot forget
Better off dead
Life is so bad that death would be preferable
Better off dead
Life is so bad that death would be preferable
Aryan stillborn
Racist individual who was never truly alive
Aryan yahoo
Racist individual who is a fan of Yahoo
Pain
Physical or emotional suffering
Real
Authentic or genuine
Really fucking
The thing being described is extremely obscene or intense
Hey, over there
Addressing someone who is nearby or not in the same room
With your normal hair
Mocking someone for having typical or unremarkable hair
With your normal place
Making fun of someone for being ordinary or average
You're fucked
Things will not turn out well for you
Wait it out
Be patient and things will improve
Go away
Leave or depart
???
Unclear reference to something
Burning up in ??? gas
Unclear reference to burning gasoline
Express ???
To convey or communicate something
Acute
A problem or situation that is severe or intense
Then rest
After dealing with stress or hardship, one can finally relax
What? Hahaha distortion ugliness
Unclear reference to something comedic or absurd
Walls torn
Barriers between people or ideas have been destroyed
Nylon
A synthetic polymer used in textiles
Decompose
To rot or break down
Not
Negating whatever word or phrase comes next
??? in your brain
Unclear reference to something inside one's head
Nervous
Feeling anxious or worried
Never caught
Avoiding being caught or punished for something
Waiting, waiting
Impatiently waiting for something to happen
Aryan yahoo you're baiting me
Racist individual who frequents Yahoo is intentionally trying to provoke a reaction
Go ahead
Proceed with whatever action is being considered
???
Unclear reference to something
You're baiting is the same
Your attempts to provoke or frustrate me are nothing new
Must remember not to become ???
Don't let oneself become caught up in something negative or harmful
??? overcome
Unclear reference to overcoming something
Wider stigma
Increasing the negative perception of something or someone
Confess go ???
Confess to going somewhere or doing something
What are you on, son
Asking someone if they are under the influence of drugs
What do you mean
Asking for clarification
You become
Transforming into something different
Everything ??? cover
Unclear reference to something that is hidden or obscured
I'm alive
I am still alive and have not given up
I'm alive
I am still alive and have not given up
???
Unclear reference to something
Aryan yahoo
Racist individual who is a fan of Yahoo
What you gonna do
Asking what one plans to do in response to something
When you don't remember
When someone forgets something important
Bastard using you
Someone is taking advantage of you
Force fed crackers
Being given something that is considered unpleasant or unenjoyable
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
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