A band comprised of Dean Ween (real name: Mickey Melchiondo) and Gene Ween (real name: Aaron Freeman), two ritual hallucinogen abusers and visionary recording artists. They hail from New Hope, Pennsylvania.

wEEn formed in 1985, when Deaner and Gener were in 7th grade together. They released their first record, god WEEN satan - the oneness in 1991, and followed it up with their first tour - 15 deeply stoned dates in Holland. They released their sophomore effort, The Pod, in the same year. 1992 saw their third record, Pure Guava.

Two years later, after extensive touring, they released Chocolate and Cheese. For the supporting tour, wEEn abandoned their "Deaner, Gener, and a DAT deck" lineup and put together a backing band, consisting of Andrew Weiss (who had previously been a member of the Rollins Band and had mixed wEEn's first two albums) on bass and Claude Coleman, Jr. on drums.

They released 12 Golden Country Greats in 1996. Intended as an intermediary record to bridge the gap between Chocolate and Cheese and their next album, 12 Golden Country Greats is a collection of 10 wEEn country compositions. The record features extremely talented studio musicians who have recorded with the likes of Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. Some of these musicians, as well as other "hired gun" country players, joined wEEn on the supporting tour.

Their next major release, The Mollusk, came in 1997. Comparisons to the Beatles album Yellow Submarine were inevitable. For the tour, wEEn assembled a new backing band: 7-year Eagles veteran Glen McLelland on keyboards, Dave Dreiwitz on bass, and Claude Coleman, Jr. returning to play the drums.

In 1999, wEEn released Paintin' The Town Brown: Ween Live '90-'98, a double live album. The second disc of the album contains only three songs, extended versions of "Poop Ship Destroyer", "Puffy Cloud", and "Vallejo".

wEEn continues to write, tour, and record. their fans recognize them not only as preachers of the word of the boognish, but as rock prophets in their own right.

wEEn proves that one can be brilliant by being retarded (and that one can be retarded by playing around with tape speed).

Ween is mostly known for their only charted hit, "Push Th' Little Daisies", and has as a result been pigeonholed as a novelty act.

That wouldn't be such a bad assessment, really, if the term didn't have such negative connotations; you can hear a new musical idea in every one of their songs.

They can write something like "The Goin' Gets Tough From The Getgo", an unbelievably catchy 808-backed rap performed in a light yet obviously fake british accent (a trademark of theirs), the chorus to which goes:

When the goin' gets tough from the getgo, go man go
Oh brother, not another muddy funster gotta go now.

And then "Mister, Would You Please Help My Pony?", with the following lyrics sung over (under?) demented, ridiculously high-pitched guitar lines:

Mister, would you please help my pony?
He's over there behind the tree
He's down in the dirt could you help him?
I think it's his lung

And then "It's Gonna Be (Alright)", which lyrically consists of almost nothing but love-related cliches, but is somehow legitimized by the lyrical bizarreness of the surrounding material.

But the best part is they have the musical skills to back it all up -- strongest in my mind is their excellent sense of melody and counterpoint.

Ween (?), v. i. [OE. wenen, AS. wnan, fr. wn hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. wn, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. wns, and D. wanen to fancy, G. wahnen, Icel. vana to hope, Goth. wnjan, and perhaps to E. winsome, wish.]

To think; to imagine; to fancy.

[Obs. or Poetic]

Spenser. Milton.

I have lost more than thou wenest. Chaucer.

For well I ween, Never before in the bowers of light Had the form of an earthly fay been seen. J. R. Drake.

Though never a dream the roses sent Of science or love's compliment, I ween they smelt as sweet. Mrs. Browning.

 

© Webster 1913.