Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People | ||||
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Video and EP by | ||||
Released | October 7, 2003 | |||
Recorded | June 2003 | |||
Studio | Rancho Relaxo, Sebastopol, California | |||
Genre | Space rock, progressive rock [1] | |||
Length | 28:18 (CD) | |||
Label | Interscope, Prawn Song | |||
Producer | Les Claypool, Primus (CD) Reuben Raffael, Zoltron (DVD) | |||
Primus video chronology | ||||
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Primus audio chronology | ||||
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Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People is a career-spanning retrospective DVD plus bonus EP by American band Primus, released on October 7, 2003. The title was inspired by a crayon-made story book written by guitarist Larry LaLonde's son, [2] and the cover depicts a sculpture made by long-time Primus collaborator Lance "Link" Montoya. The DVD features all of the band's music videos to date, plus short films and live footage from as far back as 1986, whereas the bonus EP features five new songs written and recorded specifically for this release. When promoting the release, bassist Les Claypool remarked that "It seems of late that bands are adding supplemental DVD material to their album releases to promote record sales. We've done the opposite. We've added a supplemental audio recording of brand new music to an extremely comprehensive DVD of classic visuals." [3]
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People shows the return of drummer Tim Alexander to the lineup, who had previously left the band in 1996. He joins Claypool and LaLonde in performing on the EP, as well as providing commentary for the DVD. Claypool has claimed that two of the five new songs on the EP were written within the first 45 minutes of the lineup working together again, [2] and "Pilcher's Squad" was said to have been written and recorded within a single afternoon. [3] This is also the only Primus release to feature one of the band's earliest drummers, Tim "Curveball" Wright, filmed performing "Sgt. Baker".
* Optional commentary track featuring Les, Larry and Tim.
The DVD also includes an illustrated discography and slideshow of promotional photographs. Easter eggs include a short video clip of Bob Cock in heaven and an interview.
All lyrics written by Les Claypool. All music written by Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde and Tim Alexander.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "The Carpenter and the Dainty Bride" | 6:35 |
2. | "Pilcher's Squad" | 1:54 |
3. | "Mary the Ice Cube" | 4:37 |
4. | "The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion" | 7:16 |
5. | "My Friend Fats" | 7:55 |
Total length: | 28:17 |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In his review for AllMusic, Greg Prato predicts that "while hardcore fans will want to hear what Claypool and the boys have been up to lately in the recording studio, the main attraction of Animals is its exceptional DVD." He notes that "early on, it appeared as though Primus was more about songwriting, before later reinventing itself as a Grateful Dead-worshipping outfit that loved to put jamming before songwriting", and that "fans hoping that Primus would return to streamlined songs will be disappointed, as the band has picked up right where it left off" on the new EP. [4]
All lyrics written by Claypool, all music written by Primus, except "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band.
Album
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200 [5] | 44 |
DVD
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
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Australian Music DVDs (ARIA) [6] | 22 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [7] DVD | Platinum | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Primus is an American rock band formed in El Sobrante, California in 1984. The band is currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by drummer Jay Lane, though the latter two departed the band by the beginning of 1989, and were replaced by LaLonde and Alexander respectively.
Timothy Wayne Alexander, also credited as "Herb" Alexander, is an American musician best known as the drummer for the rock band Primus. Alexander has played on the majority of Primus's discography, including some of the band's most well known albums such as Frizzle Fry (1990), Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991), Pork Soda (1993) and Tales from the Punchbowl (1995). Alexander has been in the band across three stints; he initially left the band in 1996 and rejoined in 2003 before leaving again in 2010 and re-joining in 2013.
Sailing the Seas of Cheese is the second studio album and major label debut by the American rock band Primus. It was released on May 14, 1991, through Interscope Records. It spawned three singles: "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver", "Tommy the Cat", and "Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers".
Suck on This is a live album by the American rock band Primus, released in 1989. At the time of recording, the featured lineup of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim Alexander had only been playing together for "about two months". This release, along with Jane's Addiction's self-titled live album, are seen as popularizing the then-underground alternative metal genre.
Frizzle Fry is the debut studio album by American rock band Primus. It was released on February 7, 1990, by Caroline Records. Produced by the band and Matt Winegar, the album was recorded at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco in December 1989.
Tales from the Punchbowl is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Primus, released on June 6, 1995. It was the band's last album with Tim Alexander before he rejoined Primus seven years later, and again in September 2013. It was certified Gold on July 20, 1995.
Prawn Song Records is an independent record label owned by Les Claypool of Primus. The name and logo are a parody of Led Zeppelin's label Swan Song Records.
Sausage was a short-lived alternative/funk rock band featuring a reunion of the 1988 lineup of the San Francisco Bay Area band Primus. They released the album Riddles Are Abound Tonight in April 1994 through the Interscope Records imprint Prawn Song Records.
"My Name Is Mud" is a song by American rock band Primus. It was released in 1993 as the first single from their third studio album Pork Soda. In 2010, Primus released a new version of the track sung entirely in Spanish under the title "Me Llamo Mud".
"Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" is a song by the American rock band Primus. It was released as the first single from their 1995 album Tales from the Punchbowl. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996. Of the band's three members, only guitarist Larry LaLonde showed up at the event. The award went to Pearl Jam for their song "Spin the Black Circle".
They Can't All Be Zingers is a greatest hits compilation album by Primus. It was released through Interscope Records on October 17, 2006, the same day that their DVD, Blame It on the Fish, was released.
Cheesy Home Video is the first home video from Primus, released in 1992 on VHS in conjunction with the band's first covers EP Miscellaneous Debris. The video includes three music videos interspersed with live footage filmed in the United States and Europe from the Roll the Bones tour, and interviews with the band at home and on Les Claypool's boat, hosted by Bob Cock.
Videoplasty is the third home video by Primus, following 1993's Cheesy Home Video and the fan club exclusive Horrible Swill. Videoplasty was released at the end of 1998 to complement the band's recent covers EP Rhinoplasty, and is composed mostly of highlights from a live show performed on October 14 that year at The Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, California. This live footage is interspersed with montages of clips filmed during previous tours and at other recent shows, footage shot backstage and in the studio, animations by bassist Les Claypool, and the band's then-current music videos, spanning the previous two years back to the recording of the Brown Album and presented in approximate reverse-chronological order.
Green Naugahyde is the seventh studio album by rock group Primus, released by ATO Records and Prawn Song on September 12, 2011, in Europe, and on September 13, 2011, in the United States. It is the band's first album since 1999's Antipop, and features their first new material since 2003's Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People EP. It is the only Primus album to feature Jay Lane on drums, as he left the band in September 2013.
Reid Laurence "Larry" LaLonde, also known as Ler LaLonde, is an American musician. He has been the guitarist for the rock band Primus since 1989, where he is known for his experimental accompaniment to the bass playing of bandmate Les Claypool. Previously, he played guitar for several groups including Possessed and Blind Illusion. He also has collaborated more recently with artists such as Serj Tankian and Tom Waits.
"Mr. Krinkle" is a song by American rock band Primus. It was released as the third single from their 1993 album Pork Soda.
"Tragedy's a' Comin'" is the first single from Green Naugahyde, the seventh studio album by rock band Primus. It marked the band's first new material since 2003's Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People EP. It is their first single in 12 years.
Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble is the eighth studio album by American rock group Primus. The album is a re-imagining of the soundtrack of the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The album was released on October 21, 2014. It is the first full-length album with Tim "Herb" Alexander since 1995's Tales from the Punchbowl.
The Desaturating Seven is the ninth studio album by American rock group Primus, released on September 29, 2017. It is the band's first album of original material since 2011's Green Naugahyde, and is the first LP featuring original material written with drummer Tim Alexander since 1995's Tales from the Punchbowl.
Conspiranoid is a three-track EP by the American rock band Primus, released on April 22, 2022. Released on vinyl and CD, this EP includes the band's longest song to date "Conspiranoia", clocking in at eleven minutes; it was released as a single on April 5, 2022, alongside a music video created by Cage Claypool, the son of Primus vocalist and bassist Les Claypool.