Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XCV--Butthole Surfers: Pepper

Every now and again a song comes along--like say, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)"--and it is infused with more than a little magic and it leads to One-Hit Wonder groups like Edison Lighthouse.  Nothing wrong with that--my favorites playlists have plenty of One-Hit Wonder bands.  On the flip side, though, are those not so commercial bands who develop quite the loyal following over the course of a number of years, and then out of the blue have that one big, deal with the devil hit of their careers.

And that would be the case with this week's tune.

Formed in San Antonio, Texas in 1981, Butthole Surfers are best known for being experimental in their music and outrageous in their live performances.  While in recent years they've become more traditional in the studio and onstage, their early years were marked by a diverse set of musical styles and stage shows that were described as decadent, violent, and bizarre, and which gave then a devoted if small following.  Although together for more than thirty-five years now, the band has only released eight albums in that time, though they toured regularly.

Released in 1996 on their Electriclarryland LP (the title is a take off on Jimi Hendrix's famed Electric Ladyland album), "Pepper" would go on to become the only commercial hit of Butthole Surfer's career, reaching #29 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Sometimes a song defies an easy classification, and "Pepper" is one such song, though it's another one of those songs that could easily have devolved into little more than a novelty song--and it did nothing of the sort.  Basically a song about people who are touched by brushes with death (and nobody seems to know what the hell the "Pepper" has to do with it), it's verses are spoken in sync with some nice and rhythmic drums and the choruses are catchy as all hell with driving guitars.  I'm not sure Friday Night Jukebox has ever featured a song quite like this one--listening to it is a true visceral pleasure.  It's definitely different, but in the end it works and becomes a song one isn't likely to forget.

Lyric Sheet:  "Some will fall in love with life and drink it from a fountain/That is pouring like an avalanche comin' down the mountain..."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee