Meat Puppets II

I think this is pretty rubbish. The songs don't have much form to them at all, they're just kind of loose and chaotic. I don't like the singing at all. It's so whiny and weak and nothing. It's kind of telling that the best track is the instrumental one.

This scuzzy, varied and occasionally beautiful album continues to surprise me, 15 years since I thought I'd check out the band that wrote the best bits of Nirvana Unplugged. On a good day, it's in my all time top 10.

Woof, vocals rough. The instrumentals were pretty good, but not good enough to redeem.

Not only do I hate this but I hate anyone who likes it.

Like being stuck at a party with an annoying know it all who thinks that they’re much cleverer and edgier than they are. Or talking to an ‘artist’ who has no clue, and turns out they’re a real estate agent and cross fit trainer. Boring, annoying and really not worth anything.

I sometimes think the requirement to get on this list is to have an album that is anti-melody. I suppose the art of Rock n Roll is being anti-establishment and not sounding like old people. If that’s the requirement for this list, then this album qualifies. I just enjoy melody with my protest poetry. This album had a mixture of out of tune guitars and screaming vocals, ala Nirvana without the heroin. But then it had some beats that had me tapping my fingers. So there’s something there… 2.1/5.

Yes, yes and yes. Give me that dissonant noisy goodness. This is just so raw and honest that I can’t find it anything less than perfect.

One of the best American Guitar albums ever made.

Man this was a rough one and I'm only giving 2 stars because the Instrumentation was pretty good, because otherwise I cannot point to one song on the album I enjoyed, I thought it was really bad actually. I think there's fun to be had for sure but the lead vocalist cannot sing for shit and that ruins almost every song on here I genuinely was considering giving it the lowest score for that but upon reflection it has energy to it, the instrumentation is good and I respect what it's going for but none of the songs are good so going to slap it with 2 stars baby.

This is a foundational album. It sees the Meat Puppets soften their punk/hardcore edge and introduce elements of country rock. The result is an incredibly textured album that is punctuated by the half screamed lead vocals. As a whole it just works. It's fascinating how much I can hear the rumblings of grunge in this album. I knew I would have to reckon with the Meat Puppets eventually, but I am very glad I did.

9/10 fantastic album it’s just so fun and weird I like Up on the Sun a little bit more, it’s got a more proggy edge to it but yeah both these albums are great

We're all just a bunch of Meat Puppets controlled by the evil corporate government and secret societies. They all tell me that I should give this five stars... "Thank you, sir. May I have another...

Wasn't convinced by this but it grew on me. The singers voice can be quite grating. I listened again this morning and enjoyed it much more. Think I preferred the slower songs. Recognised "lake of fire" but not sure where from. Highlights: Split myself in two Plateau Aurora borealis Think I'll probably be back! 3.5 but feeling generous

Love this - besides the big songs that Nirvana made famous, the whole album is a mish-mash of punk psychedelia, country rock and generally good vibes. It's especially more unique due to it's rough edges, which kind of puts in a class of it's own.

fleshy fingerbobs

pleasingly weird but so noodly

Compare this album's average rating of 2.97 against Nirvana's Nevermind rating of Nevermind at 4.41 and come up with a head scratcher. Nirvana was essentially a Meat Puppets cover band and because some guy bit into the wrong end of a shotgun, they have the third highest rated album on this list. Nirvana is and was overrated. Meat Puppets are all over the place and can't follow a musical thread. 3/5.

Well consider me one of the people that learned today that Plataeu and Lake of Fire are not Nirvana songs and instead come from the Meat Puppets. This album is weird, mixes genres that normally aren't in the same room together, and is notably unpolished, and it stands out for all of those reasons. I think the 3 songs that appear on MTV Unplugged are probably the best here, but I enjoyed the other jamming bluegrass stuff the Meat Puppets performed here. My favorite is probably Aurora Borealis.

I actually like a lot of this better than Nirvana, and that's saying something.

Lots of interesting things going on in here.

There's been quite a few albums my group has gotten where I've found myself thinking about Kurt Cobain and, more specifically, his last list of his 50 favorite albums. Pretty often, I find myself wanting to refer to it when I'm listing an album's accolades: "Not only did ROLLING STONE name this one of the 500 greatest albums of all time, but Kurt Cobain dug it enough to write it down on a list!" That sorta deal. And I find myself wondering, why **do** I keep doing that? Do I really hold Cobain's opinion in the same high regard that I apparently do ROLLING STONE? Which, even as much importance as I throw on it, I still recognize as just being a list like any other. Well, this is the first time I've thought about Cobain's favorite albums list and it's actually mattered. After all, Cobain did have Nirvana cover three songs from it during their MTV Unplugged special. They even had two of the band members join them. Like, really, consider: out of 50 minutes, Nirvana spent 1/5th of it, ten straight minutes playing the Meat Puppets' music. They must have meant something to him. And even if it weren't for that, I think I'd still always think about the Meat Puppets in relation to Nirvana. I mean, as far as I know, Nirvana's the big (or maybe only) reason why they got picked up by a major label. (Just like the Butthole Surfers — although in their case, Nirvana was absolutely the only reason.) However, this album was released **long** before Nirvana blew up, so let's just rewind the clock and allow me to ask myself the simple question: what even **is** its deal, anyway? To begin with, I wasn't expecting it to be as... Country and bluegrass as it was. Like, the three songs Nirvana covered probably should've clued me in, and it's not like I was expecting Snot, but I really did think that, on average, the tempos here would be a little bit quicker than they are, y'know? That said, though, I did like what I heard quite a bit. You can attribute that to how much I do like country music, so a lot of this clicked pretty snugly with me. Particularly on the instrumentals — which, that's another thing I didn't know there would be, but they're so nice. "I'm A Mindless Idiot" especially, goodness. And hey, most of this album being country and Americana tinged does a big favor to the songs where they **do** get louder and/or faster; they're a nice change of pace. So, hey, I suppose you can call me "pleasantly surprised" with this whole endeavor. I can't be 100% on what Kurt might've seen in it, but whatever he did, hey, I'll probably agree. (And it's actually funny I keep bringing up Kurt and his favorite albums list, 'coz as it turns out, this album isn't actually on there. Yeah, surprisingly. Public Enemy's IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS is, but not the album he devoted time on his band's big MTV special to. Crazy.) But even that aside, this gets a pretty big thumbs up from me and... Aw, heck. I'll give a 5? Why not? Maybe it's just because I wanna keep my streak of 5's up, but I really can't think of anything that'd make me wanna bump it down. Maybe the lead singer's vocals if I wasn't already pretty used to that kind of tone. And I suppose it didn't exactly wow or amaze me like so many other 5's do, but, hey, I'm wanna be generous with an extra point. This music vibes, bangs... And whatever other words the kids these days use to describe music (I'm still 26). It wouldn't make **my** list of favorite albums, but it's one I'd be happy to come back to.

Wow, this is what keeps me doing 5 albums a week Probably annoying to read, but worth saying. My only exposure to the MPs beforehand were the legendary nirvana covers in their unplugged show. Which I thought would sound better to me, but I actually prefer the Meat Puppets originals I loved this album and was completely hooked from ~start to finish. The music is complex, but not over the top, lyrics weird and deep. Genre spanning song selection. The influence on later bands is super clear - grunge, 90s/00s punk (Climbing had to of inspired some CAKE songs) We’re here sounds like an REM song, New Gods belongs on Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Im A Mindless Idiot sounds like a Led Zeppelin song, What To Do more CAKE 😂, 100% Of Nothing sounds like a Phish jam. And god damn, this came out in 1984 lol… if I played this next to Poison or Guns N Roses, Id shit myself.

Great hillbilly punk.

I was listening to this and really enjoyed Plateau but it wasn't until Lake of Fire until I realized Nirvana was covering these guys during their Unplugged set. Great complexity and an album I had never heard before. I'm glad I gave it a second listen and found a lot more as I went further in. I feel a strong 4 right now but something tells me if I had the time for another listen it would bump it up, so I'm going for it.

A very interesting fusion of country and punk. A meaty sound. I was never a huge fan of Nirvana, but the covers they did from this. Just never chased it down. I need more time with this. If I was back walking home from school listening to this, I would love just getting lost in this. I had an album by a Canadian band The Sadies back then, similar kind of sound. I'm a Midless Idiot is hitting a sweet spot.

Rules. That is all. 5 stars.

Foundational album - This is actually a must-listen. Helped to establish a sound that defined a generation (or something). 5/5

So cool to listen to such an influential sound. Glad they got some credit from Nirvana but probably deserve more.

Now we're cooking! This is a top like... 3 SST release, right?

A feverish, confusing album unlike any other. I really enjoyed it, and have gotten a lot of my several relistens. It somewhat chaotically traverses genres in between songs to the point one cannot predict where it will go at any point in the album. I've yet to hear any band even attempt this approach to an album. For its highly unique and effective style, I love what it does.

interesting to learn that nirvana was just a meat puppets cover band

Great album.

damn good album

Really fantastic stuff. Creative song writing. Edgy. Unique. Dig it.

5/5

Meat Puppets. Funny how I never knew that Lake of Fire by Nirvana was first by these guys. This album is from 1984, but it sounds more like the 90s. I guess I can hear the punk sound in this first track a bit. I've never heard any of their music, let alone listened to one of their albums front to back. This will be fun. Diggin it man! Plateau sounded a lot like Lake of Fire. Ooooh Teenager(s). I like that one! great intro.

Killer

Excellent stuff, really unique for its time

Somehow the meat puppets have always been just outside my radar. I missed out, this was great. I'll definitely listen again.

Laid back indie rock whose influence you can hear in many bands that came after, especially one in particular.

i had never listened to this album, though i was aware of the meat puppets before this as a big nirvana influence and one of those "weird" bands like ween. this totally exceeded whatever expectations i had for it. the great instrumentation, the genre exploration, the eccentric and odd vocals, the art on the cover, everything was just wacky and cool. i definitely understand how people wouldn't like this, but it kinda made my day. listened to it twice and added a bunch of songs to my current playlists. favorites: tracks 1-2, 4-5, and 8-13

Avant-garde

Fuck yeah. I was so happy to see this on the list. This is a great mashup of a lot of stuff that I love. Just an acid fueled backyard singalong vibe.

My wheelhouse

Бля ну просто классика нахуй

Oof, that was great. So many great ideas put coherently together within only 30 minutes of music. I can see why it has to be on this list and the influence it might have had on generations of musicians. It's also actually the first time I listen to the original versions of Plateau, Oh Me and Lake of Fire; that was fun.

It's honestly a perfect album.

Although the production on this album was some of the worst I've ever heard in my life, I can absolutely understand why an album like this is on the list. This is unique and solid songcraft and I absolutely see the historical significance.

Easy 5 and new favorite album!

BL: This album is absolutely one of my favourites of all time. From the first time I heard plateau when I was maybe 17 approaching 18, working a job in a kitchen far out in the middle of the woods I felt some kind of deep resonance with it. \"There ain't nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop, and an illustrated book about birds\", has got to be one of my favourite lyrics of all time, period. The guitar in this album is phenomenal and the tones created are truly unique. This was the best time of year to get this album too, quickly approaching the summertime and the first day of the year I'm wearing shorts to work. The summer vibes from this album are immaculate, and I'm glad this is the first album to mark the start of the summer 2024 listening season. It is also around the year anniversary since I started my journey. Very cool stuff. AL: Nothing much to add besides this holds up and only continues to age like a fine wine FT: "Plateau", "Aurora Borealis", "Climbing", "Lake of Fire" 5/5

An album that I hadn't spent too much time before but short enough to listen a few times today. I enjoyed it very much.

I love this era of music. Reminds me of The minutemen or the strapping fieldhands, or the gibson brothers. Punk bros who are influenced by country music and just get in and pick like crazy to some pretty uptempo stuff. i love it.

I imagine if an early 70's Jerry Garcia did a collaboration with Minor Threat it might sound a little like the Meat Puppets. The band is a 5 star band, this album might fall a little short of 5 stars for me but I'll round it up.

Great record that showcases their ability to thrash or twang. Never gets old.

I really enjoyed this album. It's sort of crazy and off the wall, with tons of different sounds and styles. And the one singer's voice can take a while to get used to. But I really loved listening to it and listened to it twice back to back.

This was unlike anything I had heard before. I liked it!

I had no idea how influential this album was to Kurt Cobain until I listened to it.

Seminal record. Just an absolute classic from an underrated band.

Nirvana did covers of "Oh, Me", "Plateau", and "Lake of Fire", but I think that Meat Puppets did it better.

I've only heard of Meat Puppets from the Nirvana Unplugged album, which means I was already familiar with three songs off this album. I've always wanted to check them out because of that and I'm loving this so far. I wasn't expecting so much rockabilly/country in their sound. Combined with some fuzzed out grunge guitar and punk style, it adds up to an awesome sound. It's just rough and loose enough to sound feral and weird but the musicianship and songwriting are still excellent. The country/folk instrumentals on this are fantastic. This is one of my favorite albums from the list in a while. Great songs and a unique style. I’m curious to dig into the lyrics a little more.

This album is lightning in a bottle, I have always loved it. It taps so many areas that interest me and pulls them together in a way nobody else had done before, punk, country. Beat poetry, psychedelic and a touch of humor. All beautifully played. I do think It’s one of the greatest albums.

so mcuh fun. holy shit

If it wasn't for Nirvana I would have never heard of the Meat Puppets. Now they show up on this list. It is Effing great! Standouts: Plateau, Lost, Magic Toy Missing, Aurora Borealis, Climbing, Oh Me, Lake of Fire, What to Do (bonus), 100% of Nothing (Bonus) Others: Split Myself in Two, We're Here, New Gods, I'm a Mindless Idiot, Whistling Song 4.5

So so good.

Great album, realized I already knew a couple of the songs as Nirvana had covered those on their Unplugged live album.

Love it

What a fun album. It’s punk. It’s rockabilly. It’s country rock. It’s just a boatload of fun.

I feel like so many of these 80s bands just flew under my radar. Probably because I was like four years old when this came out. But I think even my four-year-old self would have liked this. It's whimsical and light without ever becoming cloying, with some great tunes and lovely noodley little guitar bits. Just a perfectly formed album.

Phenomenal. Never gets old, so great and never duplicated. One of the best albums ever recorded. 10/10

One of the most important albums in my life. The Whistling Song is my song until the day I die.

I was sitting there listening to this album thinking, \"wow, this sounds very similar to some of the early Ween stuff,\" low and behold the Dean Ween and Meat Puppets at one point did tour so that slight hunch was correct. Yeah, bloody loved it. A quirky but upbeat album, good stuff. Wish there were a few more vocal tracks is all, just to hear more great stuff from them! Stand out songs: - Plateau - New Gods - What To Do - Aura Borealis - I know I said I wanted more vocal tracks but this is good stuff right here!

Good

Excellent! 4.5/5

Just great! I knew it before but listening to it always makes fun

A fine album with real artistic approach. The instrumentals really bring a depth to the best songs Nirvana wrote

Ooh. That was good. This is an interesting little album right here. Meat Puppets aren't a super influential band or anything, but I think there's enough popularity to warrant this album being included. There's also enough quality for inclusion, as I think this album is pretty good. The style is pretty unique. I like the blend of various influences like punk, country, and psychedelia. It works pretty well. The singing is certainly interesting, but I think there's a charm to it. The songs are solid. Perhaps the biggest impact of this album was that three of its songs, "Plateau," "Oh, Me," and "Lake of Fire" were part of Nirvana's MTV Unplugged show, where they were joined by the two main members of Meat Puppets for the performance. That's neat! I haven't heard Nirvana's Unplugged album yet (I'm waiting for this generator to give it to me), but it's pretty cool that these guys influenced and got to work with Nirvana. Those songs are great by the way, as are the other ones on the album. Overall, this is a nice album that I enjoyed. 4/5.

Erster Song ist schon etwas hart, aber dann öffnet sich das Album in seiner Breite und inspiriert zum späteren Grunge, grossartig!

Another Great One! They opened for Stone Temple Pilots. Lake of Fire!..Fantastic!

This is a solid album by a great band. Just a year away. From becoming the most underrated band of the 80s

Some catchy tunes

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. This is far more sophisticated and complex. No wonder Cobain was a fan. I don’t love some of the whiny vocals, but they knew how to play. Enjoying the instrumentals very much.

i love it when music is bad <3 highlights: we’re here; new gods; oh, me; lake of fire (dec 10 2023)

The lead singer sounds like he’s constantly on the verge of tears, which is pretty apt because that’s how I was living at Villanova when I first got into the album

Ich mein wenn nirvana drei lieder von dem Album covered kanns nicht schlecht sein

4 - There was a lot of unique stuff on this album, most were good, some were great, some sucked. Cool to learn a few classics were from this too

Favorite Tracks: Lake of Fire Plateau

Pretty great and influential album. I wonder how well known it would have been had they not been highlighted by Nirvana's unplugged concert however. That's how I heard of them, along with most people I would imagine. They were definitely ahead of their time either way, hard to believe this was released in 1984! Sure the singing is a bit rough in places, but the guitar playing and songwriting are brilliant.

Despite the singers' admittedly Unique singing voice, this is still some pretty decent folk-tinged punk. Solid 4 for me.

I’m at a 4. I can see why Kurt Cobain liked these guys. They’re just kind of honest. That is to say, this album isn’t overly produced to hide any flaws – it actively welcomes them at times. There are moments where the vocals are hanging onto the beat by a thread, and to hear something like that in 1984, when everyone is trying to hit on masterpieces to compete with Thriller or any of the other stiff competition of the era, is rather welcomed. It’s also just a really fun blend of genres with a bit of variety – this album kinda bounces back and forth in time and goes all over the place. There’s some 70s rock tropes in here, the punchiness of 80s drums, a bit of garage/grunge influence that would be more present in the 90s, and even an occasional soundscape reminiscent of late-2000s indie rock. It’s not necessarily ahead of its time or anything, or super innovative, but it sounds pretty damn good. I can’t say this ever got into 5 territory for me – it certainly flirts with it a few times, namely on the tracks that are perhaps more well known as part of the MTV Unplugged performance, but it never keeps a consistently high mark on the other songs. There’s not any bad tracks here, though. It’s a fun album, and it’s a rather quick 30 minutes, even with about a quarter of it taken up by instrumentals. Obviously, this album’s influence on Kurt Cobain may be its legacy in the long run, but it’s rather good in its own right. Pretty solid 4.

Enjoyed this album. Kind of like a punky, raw vocal, MJ Lenderman, but back in the 90s.

Really good! First time listening to these guys.

This might be a controversial pick - but I just love alt-country stuff - early Wilco like AM and Summerteeth, Son Volt, Drive-by Truckers. Lots of similarities to those guys in the Puppets, though just alot of more punk on top of it. This was one of Cobain's favorite bands - they played a bunch of their songs on MTV Unplugged. Yeah, some of these songs are pretty annoying at first (and second and third listen), but overall I'm super into it. The instrumental tracks are the highlights for me - Aurora Borealis, Mindless Idiot, 100% of Nothing. Pretty close to a 5 for me.

VERY surprised by the diversity in this album. I really enjoyed it and can see how they could be an influence for a lot of other bands.

Enjoyed it!!!

This is the first time hearing Meat Puppets, and just realized how impactful they were to the scene. Some of the top songs, and due to it inspiring Nirvana, it would be lake of fire and plateau. Such a great and trippy experience

I really enjoyed this. And I've never heard the originals that Nirvana covered.

Lots of people reviewing this record didn't listen to it. Yes his vocals are bad and yes some of the tracks are noisy. But this record has heart. Big time.

I did not listen to them ever, but I get why they were one of Kurt Cobain's favourite bands.

Ik kende een paar nummers - uiteraard via Nirvana - maar best wel een wijs album. Ik snap waarom Kurt Cobain fan was. 3.8

4.0