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.
Pro-test
Skinny Puppy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
While waiting to do nothing
Where within the space can anything feel certain
Look into the future
Make out the word speak
Send in the spies to watch them
Unable to do something
Sitting on an armchair fenced in their creation
Look up to be there
Anywhere is somewhere
Itchy past scratch the itch
In the streets
Hit me in the streets (hit me hit me)
In the streets
Hit me in the streets (hit me hit me)
Feel about a nation so precious is the freedom
Carousel the brass ring reach into a black mass
So its corroded so it's polluted
We all want some of it
Maybe all the people now left without no loving
Where within the strength gone better see it coming
Get off the fence trip
Rip up the garbage
Make it up to the earth bitch
In the streets
Hit me in the streets (hit me hit me)
In the streets
Hit me in the streets (hit me hit me)
In the streets
Hit me in the streets (hit me hit me)
In the streets
Hit me in the streets (hit me hit me)
Hit me hit me hit me hit me
Be a politician eroding all your freedoms
Down the rabbit hole cracks money markets fall
Through a looking glass time becomes too fast
All to benefit the rich
So keep eating from the apple
Edges from the center
Shaken to the core until it doesn't matter
No one to turn to
No where to run to
Better the bomb to blow it
(Hit me) Hit me in the streets
(Hit me hit me) In the streets
Hit me in the streets
(Hit me hit me) In the streets
Hit me in the streets
(Hit me hit me) In the streets
Hit me in the streets
(Hit me hit me) In the streets
Hit me in the streets
The lyrics to Skinny Puppy's song Pro-test appears to touch on themes of urbanism, social unrest, and the ever-evolving political climate. The opening lines suggest a sense of ennui amidst hopelessness in today's society, where everything feels uncertain and people are apathetic. It criticizes the government's approach to technology and information, spying on citizens in the name of national security, and manipulating the public through propaganda. The song condemns those who are passive and unwilling to act, despite the chaos around them, and urges them to take action and overthrow the corrupt system. The line "be a politician eroding all your freedoms" highlights the concept of political corruption, while "keep eating from the apple" alludes to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, who were tempted by the serpent to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Line by Line Meaning
Hit me on the street
I want to be challenged and provoked by the world around me
While waiting to do nothing
In the midst of my aimlessness and boredom
Where within the space can anything feel certain
I am searching for some sense of stability or predictability, but cannot find it anywhere
Look into the future
I am trying to anticipate what is to come
Make out the word speak
I am attempting to decipher and interpret the messages being communicated to me
Send in the spies to watch them
I feel like I am being monitored or surveilled by those in power
Creepy are the people
I find those around me unsettling or disturbing
Unable to do something
They seem incapable of effecting change or taking action
Sitting on an armchair fenced in their creation
They are complacent and passive, trapped in their own personal worlds and unwilling to challenge the status quo
Look up to be there
I am attempting to elevate my perspective or my position in life
Anywhere is somewhere
I am open to exploring new places and experiences
Itchy past scratch the itch
I am haunted by unresolved issues or uncomfortable memories from my past
Feel about a nation so precious is the freedom
I recognize the value of living in a free and democratic country
Carousel the brass ring reach into a black mass
But the pursuit of wealth and material success has corrupted that freedom and turned it into a grotesque spectacle
So its corroded so it's polluted
The ideal of freedom has been tainted by greed and selfishness
We all want some of it
Despite its flaws, we are all driven by a desire for the freedoms that our society promises
Maybe all the people now left without no loving
I fear that our society has become too individualistic and hollow, leaving many people feeling isolated and unloved
Where within the strength gone better see it coming
We need to recognize the dangers of our current trajectory and take action before it's too late
Get off the fence trip
We can no longer remain neutral or passive in the face of our society's problems
Rip up the garbage
We need to reject the corrupt systems and institutions that are holding us back
Make it up to the earth bitch
And start working towards a more equitable and sustainable world
Be a politician eroding all your freedoms
I am wary of those in power who may be working to undermine our personal liberties and freedoms
Down the rabbit hole cracks money markets fall
I see the economic system as unstable and unsustainable, and fear that it is on the brink of collapse
Through a looking glass time becomes too fast
In the face of these looming crises, time seems to be slipping away too quickly
All to benefit the rich
And I suspect that those with power and wealth are the ones who will ultimately come out on top
So keep eating from the apple
Despite these problems, we continue to buy into the systems that perpetuate them
Edges from the center
We are being pushed to the margins of society and excluded from the mainstream
Shaken to the core until it doesn't matter
We are being worn down and broken by these ongoing crises, to the point where we may no longer care about anything
No one to turn to
I feel alone and unsupported in trying to make sense of all of these problems
No where to run to
I feel trapped and powerless in the face of these challenges
Better the bomb to blow it
And as a result, I may even feel like the only option left is to try and destroy the system entirely
(Hit me) Hit me in the streets
Through all of this, I am still desperate for some kind of jolt or provocation to help me break free from the status quo
(Hit me hit me) In the streets
I am looking for something or someone to challenge me and help me build a more meaningful life
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@KaMui1987
exactly,
the arrangements - especially in the percussions - are often similar!
Even though a lot of 80s bands in the EBM and Industrial tend to have the kick/snare 4/4 stomp.
i'm a big fan of 80s EBM and Industrial, but i also got an affinity for 80s electro funk and b-boy stuff.
Arthur Baker, Hashim, Egyptian Lover, C-Bank, Aleem, Johnny O...
Great!
@nsbmelitistcvnt
The cure 1 limp Bizkit 0
@spacemiezy
Ahahah
@susii7739
LMFAOO
@mickeyd7283
🥶🤭aaaaaahhahahahahaa
@damnrealisho
#$pitt@k3
@isaiasxaviercurcio8386
KKKKKKKKKKKKKKK AGORA QUE EU ENTENDI
@dnbsoldier7259
I can't believe this song is almost 20 years old, now. I remember my goth girl roommate coming home with Greater Wrong of The Right and playing it for me like it was yesterday. I hadn't heard any Skinny Puppy in quite some time because I had gotten deep into the rave scene after my initial love for industrial (which never went away, I was just more focused on the dance culture). I was blown away by the album and immediately became a Skinny Puppy superfan. I went back and listened to all of their old material and fully appreciated the brilliance of the band. They toured for the album that year, and I caught them live for the first time at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. That sealed the deal for me. That show was incredible and I met a bunch of cool people there. I've seen them 5 times, now. Sadly for the last time in Denver last May for their final tour. Thanks to the Kevins and all of their collaborators over the years for all of the awesome music. RIP D.R. Goettel
@Synathidy
I think this is seriously the sickest amalgamation of human art in history right here. The track and the dancing are wicked SICK!!!
@erikhermansen3431
This is my goto video when I find myself taking life too seriously.
@thebarbaryghostsf
I still can't believe how much shit puppy got for this song from their fans. EBM and old school Electro-Breaks go hand in hand. They are just from two different scenes. Musically they are hardly different.