Album of the Week: The Mollusk

Good news, everybody! Reba McEntire has a new Christmas album out! It's called The Ultimate Christmas Collection, and it was just released a few weeks ago. We are getting pretty close to the Christmas season, so with gentle hands and a heart of a fighter, we press play and let the sweet sounds of Record Club's favorite country mother soothe us with Christmas cheer. (More pressingly—this Friday, November 11th, Grannies Gone Wild Day, when we celebrate the 17th anniversary of the day that "Grannies Gone Wild" first aired. Please join me in rewatching this old chestnut.)

In all seriousness, the Annual Record Club Christmas Album Vote will be released as a survey two weeks from today. So look out for that. In the meantime, here is a secular album for you! Listen to it after you check out the archives, read over the goals, and rewatch "Grannies Gone Wild," and then let us know what you think! It's Record Club, baby!!!! Merry Christmas!!!!

WEEK 197 — November 6-12, 2022

What we're listening to this week (Sunny's pick):

ALBUM: The Mollusk

ARTIST: Ween

RELEASED: June 24, 1997

LOCATION: New Hope, Pennsylvania

WHAT GENRE IS THIS: Art rock, neo-psychedelia, alternative rock, experimental rock, progressive rock (these are all more or less accurate)

WHY SUNNY PICKED IT: "RC synchronicity. An old roommate recommended it to me, calling it a 'Wednesday fixer.' Later, an acquaintance shares that he can't stop listening to 'Ocean Man.'"

TRACKLIST:

1. I'm Dancing in the Show Tonight
2. The Mollusk
3. Polka Dot Tail
4. I'll Be Your Jonny on the Spot
5. Mutilated Lips
6. The Blarney Stone
7. It's Gonna Be (Alright)
8. The Golden Eel
9. Cold Blows the Wind
10. Pink Eye (on My Leg)
11. Waving My Dick in the Wind
12. Buckingham Green
13. Ocean Man
14. She Wanted to Leave (Reprise)

LENGTH: 43:54

WHERE TO LISTEN FOR FREE: YouTube

READING SOME SHIT: Two for you today. First: Steve Hyden gives you a sort of primer for Ween on the AVClub back in 2011 (and Hyden's Twitter bio is "the Ween of American rock critics," so it seems like he's the man to write such a thing). Second: Did you know Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, was influenced by The Mollusk in creating that legendary cartoon? Hell fucking yeah.

PREVIOUSLY ON RECORD CLUB: The excellently-named Storm Thorgerson did the excellent album cover art for The Mollusk. He's done a lot of album covers over the years. Most famously, he's responsible for Dark Side of the Moon. But in terms of Record Club albums, he's also designed the covers of A Trick of the Tail and Electric Warrior (plus non-RC albums for RC alumni O.A.R. and Phish). He did not design the cover for Reba McEntire's Read My Mind, but he should have.

Happy listening, fam! Have a great week!