The Butthole Surfers, despite being widely acclaimed, and having performed since the early 1980’s have never made a huge impact in the mainstream of music. This is partly because of the band name, a name that has proved too much to handle for many a music magazine and radio channel, but more so, the unique, uncompromising and chaotic music that the Butthole Surfers is famous for is not exactly easily accessible or has any mass market appeal. Despite all this, it is almost unavoidable that a band which such a reputation and influence stay around for three decades without making an impact on popular culture. Most people will probably be aware of the band through the video game Guitar Hero II, where their high energy single “Who Was in My Room Last Night” is featured as one of the playable songs or through their, to date, only number one single “Pepper.
While these songs probably define the Butthole Surfers to many people, they are not really representative of the discography of the band. Their roots are far more experimental and wild than one would think listening to their most popular work. So, for anybody who wants to explore one of the most interesting bands in the world, here is a list of my 10 favorite Butthole Surfers songs.
10. Pepper
The second single from the album “Eletriclarryland” is the only Butthole Surfers song to reach the #1 spot on the billboard list. The song is a mix of rap like verses and a sung chorus that many say is similar to “Loser” by Beck. To many old fans of the band, the popularity of this single marks the definitive shift towards a more commercialized side of the band, a shift that started with the release of their previous album “Independent Worm Saloon“.
9. Lady Sniff
From the first full length album “Physic Powerless … Another Man’s Sac“, this track shows off the tape mixing that the Butthole Surfers used extensively in their early years. The song is a dirty blues track, with snarling lyrics, mixed with sound clips of chickens, springs, a man spitting, etc. Released in 1984, this song displays much of the madness and crude humor that build the bands reputation when they started out.
8. Who Was in My Room Last Night?
The first track from the first major label album “Independent Worm Saloon” is a fierce roaring heavy metal based song that kicks the album off with a blast. The move to a major label and a the shift towards a more focused production paid off in the way of more publicity, the music video for the song features a cameo by Flea from the “Red Hot Chili Peppers” and was aired on MTV (!), but the biggest step into the mainstream came when the song was included in Guitar Hero II in 2006.
7. Sweat Loaf
From the famous intro, to the churning version of the guitar riffs from Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” and the trademark sound of madness this track showcases the twisted dark humor of the band perfectly. This track gets the honor of opening “Locust Abortion Technician“, considered by many to be the best Butthole Surfers album
released.
6. Whatever (I had a dream last night)
From the soundtrack of the Romeo and Juliet movie, this song highlights the great variety that can be found in the Butthole Surfers catalog. This haunting pop ballad is far removed from the screaming chaos the band is more famous for. Despite the mellower style, this song is as dark and moody as anything out of the earlier recordings.
5. Jimmy
Possibly called Jimmy, the opening song from the excellent “Hairway to Steven” is not actually named in the original release. All the songs on the album instead are represented by crude cartoon drawings. The name withstanding, this songs is a master piece that manages to hold the listener captivated for the full 12 plus minutes of the song. The track starts out as a raw and wild explosion and trails into a long series of rolling waves of sound, compressing the feeling of tripping on LSD into a 12 minute off kilter symphony .
4. John E. Smoke
Another classic from “Hairway to Steven” that is a favorite among many fans of the band. This song has some great examples of the ranting lyrics style of Gibby Haynes as he tells the warped and twisted story of John E. Smoke. The music takes a secondary role to the vocals in this song, weaving in and out of the story supporting the wonderful weirdness of the song. Songs like this one is the closest the Butthole Surfers would ever come to reach the goal of guitarist Paul Leary who once said he wanted to “make music that makes you want to cut of your fathers legs and eat them”.
3. Whirling Hall of Knives
A lot of fans of the band will disagree with this pick, this song is not often considered to be among the essential Butthole Surfers songs, but to me, this drudgey, churning song is the Butthole Surfers at their finest. Paul Leary’s unique guitar style is in the forefront as the songs is driven forward ever so slowly by a weird off beat wall of guitar that gives the song an amazing amazing texture. You can almost see the song flowing by as slowly as a wave of molasses.
2. Creep in the Cellar
As all the top three songs in this list, this song is also from the album “Rembrandt Pussyhorse”, probably the most experimental of all the Butthole Surfers albums, and in my opinion their best. “Creep in the Cellar” is probably the best know track of this album, possibly with the exception of the cover version of “American Woman”. This song seems almost normal on the surface, but just like the lyrics it’s as if the song itself hides a creep in the cellar. The quirky backwards violin track that plays throughout the song underscores the feeling that madness is about to break out at any moment, which it does if you proceeded to listen to the entire album.
1. Sea Ferring
Top honors in this list goes to another song on “Rembrandt Pussyhorse” that might not be among the first to get picked when people want to present the Butthole Surfers music. The songs gets the top spot though because it brings together so many elements of the Butthole Surfers sound without the song ever seeming unfocused. It has Gibby screaming and messing around, it has the quirkiness and weirdness of Paul Leary’s guitar, it even has some bouts of King Coffey and Teresa’s drum pounding, and still managing to deliver a beautiful melody that holds the song together from start to finish.
With this list I have tried to present as many sides of the very varied Butthole Surfers sounds as possible, I hope you enjoy exploring this remarkable band and give these quirky and often hugely unaccessible songs the chance they deserve.
