Search - Butthole Surfers :: Weird Revolution

The three faces of Gibby and Paul

B. Reese | Seattle, WA USA | 08/30/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In my mind there will always be at least two incarnations of the Butthole Surfers. The first is the twisted, drug-soaked noise rock of their earlier works, where Gibby's electronically altered voice was complemented by the frenetic guitar work of Paul Leary, joining together in a cacophony guaranteed to make even the most grounded curl up in the corner in a fetal position. This is the Butthole Surfers from the days of Rembrandt Pussyhorse, Psychic Powerless ... Another Man's Sac, or better yet, Locust Abortion Technician.

Then there's the newer Butthole Surfers, with Gibby rapping his now understandable lyrics over a highly electronic background, followed by a little guitar weirdness from Paul and a catchy chorus. This is the Butthole Surfers of Independent Worm Saloon, Electric Larryland, and, somewhat regrettably, Weird Revolution.
There's nothing innately wrong with the music on this new album. It's alternately catchy, fun, and humorous. However, it's lacking the very quality touted in the title--weirdness. At times it's easy to forget you're listening to those acid sweating guys from Texas whose live shows were as violently scary as they were fun to watch. Some songs on this CD could easily be confused with other alterna-rockers like (sorry Gibby) the Bloodhound Gang, who specialize in frat-boy rap-rock and, while clever, don't necessarily break any new ground.

If you've never listened to the Butthole Surfers and enjoy what passes as "alternative" music these days, you'll enjoy this album. It's got just enough edge to annoy your parents, enough rock to distinguish it from N'Sync, and enough electronics to make it danceable. If, however, you teethed on the Buttholes' more psychotic earlier offering, Weird Revolution is going to do nothing for you other than make you wish it were still 1985 (and that's a sad, sad thing to wish).
Gibby, Paul, Butt-heads like myself still have faith in you. Please, please take some more drugs and get back in the studio! We're jonesing!"

Wierd new world

Chet Fakir | DC | 12/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"How could the Butthole Surfers, the greatest post modern punk band in existance not change? Electric Larryland was the tolling funeral bell for the old Butthole Surfers sound. That album was inconsistant and scattershot, the Surfers obviously didn't know where to go. "Should we write songs with the old punk rock esthetic in mind, should we do pop music, WHAT!?!?" After all, how many ironic gross out guerilla punk songs with distorted gibbytron vocals can you do? How many times can you redo Psychic Powerless... or Locust Abortion Technician? At the time of Electric Larryland the Buttholes sounded bored with their old sound and clueless as to what direction they should take. And who wouldn't be? They'd taken their sound as far as they could and were obviously losing interest. So they took some time off, recorded an unreleased album, got kicked off their label and went back in the studio to record this, one of their most oddly accessible and forward looking albums in a decade. This is a Butthole surfers album to be sure, there's that Gibby sensibility to the oddball lyrics, there's still that Paul Leary guitar. But the music is not punk rock or rock anymore, rather the Buttholes are making semi-accesible electronic pop all the while subverting it to their own ends. The music is an ironic look at modern rock, contemporary conventions and a good humored swipe at electronica. Check out the ridiculous lyrics and twilight zone guitar on Intelligent Guy and tell me these guys want to be taken as "serious" pop musicians a la Britney Spears. Or on Get Down: "I mean get down get down get down get down, yee haw!" These guys are masters of the humorous and ironic piss-take. The idea of a band with the name of Butthole Surfers "selling out" is in itself ironic isn't it?



If they had continued to do the same thing as on Electric Larryland or Rembrant Pussyhorse they would have stagnated and it would have been false to the aesthetic the Butthole Surfers have always been about, which is to follow their own muse and subversive direction, fans are welcome along for the ride, or be damned. Personally I find the new direction to be refreshing and Weird Revolution to be the best thing they've done since Independent Worm Saloon. The one thing I can say about the Butthole Surfers is that they rarely been boring and they've never stood still. Only time will tell whether the Surfers have found a legitimate new direction for their music or an aesthetic dead end and I'll be there to find out."

This ain't your father's ...

ClownSon | Fairfax, VA | 09/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Compared to other old-school BHS albums, I'd have to agree with the other reviews- that Weird Revolution is nowhere near as weird as Rembrandt Pussyhorse, or even Hairway to Steven. However, compared to the current grotesque crop of clone-heavy 98N'StreetBackSyncBoysOnTheBlock/BrittneyAguilera/etcAdInfinitum bubblepop that gets overplayed on every major US radio station, these guys are still the acknowledged masters of weird. Yes, they've traded in their hard grunginess for a little more techno polish- a trend that arguably started somewhere around Pioughd. However, they don't seem to have lost weirdness as much as gained technical sophistication. The main reason I'm writing this review is in response to that Bloodhound Gang comment. That was the cruelest cut of all, and for the record, the Bloodhound Gang wishes that they had as much creativity and style as Gibby & Co. I've been a Surfers fan for many many years- I even still have my original Cream Corn on vinyl! (Yes, kids- VINYL!)- and I was not disappointed by this album. Like any/every band, they have evolved throughout their long career- every album has been slightly more polished and produced than the last, and this latest is no exception."