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.
Plasicage
Skinny Puppy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Such a plastic fantasy
Can't escape
Not allowed
Not a peep from down below it seems
The corner room is taken
You can curl up underneath
Free the burn if not mistaken
So what is your intention and why do I have the creeps?
Come live the dream
Sorry sight on the horizon
Keep it short
Keep explaining
This aversion coming on
What reaps the face
Of a child in such distaste?
And puts it up for all to see
Slithering to get away
All is not lost
What is it at will remain?
Shake the pistol
Put it down
In our tyranny's parade
Fall shifted lost
From a state of I'll decay
Feed the rot or put it off
For forever and a day
Throw it away
Never mind what's bright and clear
Grind it up to spit it out
Bind it up to share the fear
Throw it away
Left alone to hit rock bottom
Get a grip
Throw the chip
Twist the reason
Generation
Twist the reason
Generation
Twist the reason
Generation
Twist the reason
Generation
The lyrics of "Plasticage" by Skinny Puppy tackles the twisted state of warfare and the consequences of such events, both to the victims and the society itself. The idea of war is introduced as a "plastic fantasy" - a manufactured illusion that has no tangible reality, yet its effects are pervasive and destructive. The song questions the intention of those in power, those who wage wars with little regard for the human cost. The lyrics highlight the stark contrast between the luxury of power enjoyed by the ones starting the war and the reality of those affected by it. The chorus urges the listeners to take action, to shake off apathy and fight against the tyranny that allows such atrocities to continue.
The second verse emphasizes the negative consequences of war on children, wondering what kind of world would allow such a thing to occur. The imagery of a child's face distorted by the horrors of war and put up for display for all to see is a powerful condemnation of societal indifference to violence.
The song is an indictment of the ongoing cycle of violence and the apathy of those who enable it. Its lyrics are a call to arms, urging the listeners to take action against a system that perpetuates destruction and devastation.
Line by Line Meaning
War is this cloud
The cloud of war is overshadowing everything
Such a plastic fantasy
The idea of war is glorified and unrealistic
Can't escape
There seems to be no way out or escape from war
Not allowed
It is like war is forced upon people
Not a peep from down below it seems
The people are silent and do not dare to speak up against war
The corner room is taken
Those in power have taken control
You can curl up underneath
People can hide or cower in fear
Free the burn if not mistaken
People should speak out and take action against war
Either way it plays for keeps
The consequences of war are dire and permanent
So what is your intention and why do I have the creeps?
The singer questions the motives of those who push for war and feels uneasy about it
Come live the dream
The idea of war is sold as a dream or grand adventure
Sorry sight on the horizon
The outlook for the future is bleak and ominous
Keep it short
The true nature of war is hidden or minimized
Keep explaining
Those in power are constantly justifying and defending war
This aversion coming on
The singer is feeling repulsed by the idea of war
What reaps the face
What is the cost and impact of war on individuals
Of a child in such distaste?
Children are innocent victims of war
And puts it up for all to see
The horrors of war are exposed for everyone to witness
Slithering to get away
People try to escape or avoid the reality of war
All is not lost
There is still some hope left
What is it at will remain?
What will be the enduring legacy of war?
Shake the pistol
The singer urges people to put down their weapons and stop fighting
Put it down
Stop engaging in war
In our tyranny's parade
The oppressive system that perpetuates war
Fall shifted lost
The situation has changed and become chaotic
From a state of I'll decay
From a deteriorating state
Feed the rot or put it off
Address the underlying issues or ignore them
For forever and a day
For all eternity
Throw it away
Discard the glorification of war
Never mind what's bright and clear
Ignore the obvious solution or alternative
Grind it up to spit it out
Destroy something without thought or care
Bind it up to share the fear
Keep encouraging fear and division
Left alone to hit rock bottom
Abandoned and facing the worst possible outcome
Get a grip
Take control or responsibility
Throw the chip
Reject the idea of war completely
Twist the reason Generation
Manipulate and deceive younger generations about the true nature of war
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Wes B
Warm is this cloud
Such a plastic fantasy
Can't escape
Not allowed
Not a peep from down below
It's seems the corner room is taken
You can curl up underneath
Free the burn
If not mistaken
Either way it plays for keeps
So what is your intention
And why do I have the creeps?
Come live the dream
Sorry sight on the horizon
Keep it short keep explaining
This eversion coming on
What rapes the face
Of a child in such distaste
Then puts it up for all to see
Slithering to get away
All is not lost
What isn't and will remain
Shake the pistol put it down
In a tyranny's parade
Fall shifted lost
From a state of ill decay
Feed the rot to put it off
For forever and a day
Throw it away
Never mind what's bright and clear
Wind it up to spit it out
Buy it up to share the fear
Throwing away
Left alone to hit rock bottom
Get a grip
Throw the chip
Dario Palčić
I must admitt that this is one of rare SP albums that I don't use foreward button often... backward is more often... congratulations guys... hope to hear something new again soon from you...
Red ЯΞLIC
Seriously?? This album was way better than "The Process"
Fuzzyskinner
Love this album, omg. Long time fan and keep enjoying their work. Old and new SP is great. Greater wrong of the right was so-so but then Mythmaker and now Weapon. So good.
Starr Jeffers
They never disappoint me
Ameer Triggs
Something tells me they never will.
Stu@Tas
Amazing, I love the Weapon album, and this track kicks.
photondance
This song is best at maximum volume, with earphones.
Ryan
Blasting full surround on the Bose.
pomer racer
puppy has always been perfect earphone music
pomer racer
photondance well a kick ass system is hard to beat too but yea