Mr. Bungle is the self-titled debut studio album by the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on August 13, 1991, through Warner Bros. Records. The album cover features artwork by Dan Sweetman, originally published in the story, A Cotton Candy Autopsy in the DC Comics Piranha Press imprint title Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children.
The album mixes a variety of musical styles, including ska, circus music, heavy metal, free jazz, and funk. At the time, the band’s label Warner promoted the record as being Mike Patton‘s “seriously weird new project”.
The lyrics in the album are broad in themes, ranging from more comedic tones to dark and sexual references. Slowly Growing Deaf was “inspired by the ironic need to wear earplugs while listening to music and also people’s inability to listen”, according to bassist Trevor Dunn, and also marked as the first song in the Sleep trilogy, with parts two and three being featured on the band’s second album.
Squeeze Me Macaroni is a song featuring strong sexual themes being illustrated through food metaphors. Egg is about asociality. Stubb (A Dub) is about Trey Spruance‘s dog, Stubb. The Girls of Porn is about pornography and masturbation.
Love is a Fist is about domestic violence. Dead Goon is about an asphixiophile, whose actions leads to the narrator’s death due to asphixiation. Quotes from David Lynch‘s 1986 film Blue Velvet are strewn throughout the album.
Tracklist:
- Quote Unquote
- Slowly Growing Deaf
- Squeeze Me Macaroni
- Carousel
- Egg
- Stubb (A Dub)
- My Ass Is on Fire
- The Girls of Porn
- Love Is a Fist
- Dead Goon
Mr. Bungle
Mike Patton: vocals, keyboards, production (credited as ‘Vlad Drac’)
Trey Spruance: guitars, keyboards, production (credited as ‘Scummy’)
Trevor Dunn: bass, production (credited as ‘Trevor Roy Dunn’)
Clinton McKinnon; tenor saxophone, production (credited as ‘Bär’)
Theo: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, production (credited as ‘Theobald Brooks Lengyel’)
Danny Heifetz: drums, production (credited as ‘Heifetz’)
Additional personnel
Yeesus Krist: backing vocals
Maximum Bob: backing vocals
Kahli: backing vocals
Jennifer: backing vocals
David Shea: turntables
John Zorn: alto saxophone on “Love Is a Fist”, production
Technical personnel
Matt Murman: engineering assistance, digital editing
David Bryson: engineering, mixing
Bob Ludwig: mastering
Troy Blakely: management
Stan Diamond: legal representation
Kristin Yee: band management
Anthony Lee: album sleeve design
Lisa Wells: band logo typeset
David Louapre: album cover and interior art
Dan Sweetman: cover and interior art
Jay Marshall: cover and interior art
P. Earwig: inside double panel art
