Wikipedia

Metaphysical Graffiti

Metaphysical Graffiti is the fifth studio album by the Dead Milkmen, released by Enigma Records in 1990.[2][3] The album title and cover art, the latter designed by the band's drummer Dean Clean,[4] parody the 1975 album Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin.[5][6] Two tracks ("Do the Brown Nose" and "If You Love Somebody, Set Them on Fire") appear on Death Rides a Pale Cow.

Metaphysical Graffiti
Studio album by
The Dead Milkmen
Released1990
RecordedFebruary 1989 – January 1990
GenrePunk rock, comedy rock
Length52:09
LabelEnigma[1]
ProducerBrian "Bongwizard" Beattie
The Dead Milkmen chronology
Beelzebubba
(1988) 		Metaphysical Graffiti
(1990) 		Soul Rotation
(1992)

The album peaked at No. 164 on the Billboard 200.[7]

Production

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Like Bucky Fellini and Beelzebubba, Metaphysical Graffiti was recorded in Austin, Texas, and was produced by Brian Beattie.[4][8] Gibby Haynes, of Butthole Surfers, appears on "Anderson, Walkman, Buttholes and How!"[1]

The video for "Methodist Coloring Book" had to be reedited before MTV would agree to play it, due to imagery the network was worried may be offensive.[9] Enigma printed and mailed coloring books to promote the track.[10]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [11]
Chicago Tribune    [12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [13]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [14]
Ottawa Citizen     [15]
Select3/5[16]

People wrote: "When the Milkmen played their first punk parodies in the mid-1980s, they sounded appropriately fresh. Now they sometimes seem to be as dated as the music they ridicule."[17] The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "more screaming, more production and less melody."[12] The Ottawa Citizen called it "funny, loud, fast and violent."[18]

The Los Angeles Times wrote that "parody is in safe hands with the Dead Milkmen."[19] The Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph called Metaphysical Graffiti "a savagely sarcastic collection of commentaries on greed and religion."[20] The Washington Post thought that "Milkmen albums usually turn on the existence of a single standout tune-'Bitchin' Camaro', for example, or 'Punk Rock Girl'-and this outing doesn't seem to have one."[21]

Track listing

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All songs written by The Dead Milkmen

  1. "Beige Sunshine" – 3:37
  2. "Do the Brown Nose" – 4:41
  3. "Methodist Coloring Book" – 2:38
  4. "Part 3" – 2:20
  5. "I Tripped Over the Ottoman" – 3:05
  6. "The Big Sleazy" – 4:08
  7. "If You Love Somebody, Set Them on Fire" – 2:01
  8. "Dollar Signs in Her Eyes" – 3:37
  9. "In Praise of Sha Na Na" – 3:25
  10. "Epic Tales of Adventure" – 2:55
  11. "I Hate You, I Love You" – 1:58
  12. "Now Everybody’s Me" – 3:55
  13. "Little Man in My Head" – 3:48
  14. "Anderson, Walkman, Buttholes and How!" – 3:25
  15. "Cousin Earl" - 6:36

References

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  1. ^ a b "TrouserPress.com :: Dead Milkmen". www.trouserpress.com.
  2. ^ "Spilled Milkmen". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. June 29, 1990 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Dead Milkmen | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  4. ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (September 14, 1990). "Don't Have a Cow, Man, It's Just the Dead Milkmen". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  5. ^ Auxier, Randall E. (May 22, 2017). Metaphysical Graffiti: Deep Cuts in the Philosophy of Rock. Open Court Publishing. ISBN 9780812699692 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Fischer, Blair R. "Imitation as the snidest form of flattery". chicagotribune.com.
  7. ^ "The Dead Milkmen". Billboard.
  8. ^ "Fun Fun Fun Fest Interviews: Saturday". www.austinchronicle.com.
  9. ^ "ICONOCLASTIC MILKMEN PERFORM JULY 2". Deseret News. June 29, 1990.
  10. ^ Popson, Tom (4 May 1990). "Exceedingly awful guitar players wanted". Chicago Tribune: Take 2.
  11. ^ Metaphysical Graffiti at AllMusic
  12. ^ a b Herrmann, Brenda (10 May 1990). "Recordings". Chicago Tribune: 17F.
  13. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. pp. 802–803.
  14. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 319.
  15. ^ Erskine, Evelyn (3 Aug 1990). "The Dead Milkmen Metaphysical Graffiti". Ottawa Citizen: D6.
  16. ^ Finlay, Leo (November 1990). "Reviews: The New Discs". Select (5): 98. ISSN 0959-8367.
  17. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Metaphysical Graffiti". PEOPLE.com.
  18. ^ Barr, Greg (8 June 1990). "THE DEAD MILKMEN". Ottawa Citizen: C3.
  19. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (17 June 1990). "Pop Eye". Los Angeles Times: 69.
  20. ^ "Dead Milkmen plan to deliver in Englewood". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph: D1. 29 June 1990.
  21. ^ Jenkins, Mark (3 Aug 1990). "Look at What's In With the Outsiders". The Washington Post: N16.



 

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