| "My Name Is Mud" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Primus | ||||
| from the album Pork Soda | ||||
| Released | 1993 | |||
| Length | 4:46 | |||
| Label | Interscope | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Primus | |||
| Primus singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "My Name Is Mud" on YouTube | ||||
"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".
In the book Primus: Over the Electric Grapevine, when discussing "My Name Is Mud", bassist Les Claypool explained that "the whole notion of the ... song is basically about a couple of tweekers"—one of whom is the titular Mud [1] —"who are hanging out, and they get in a fight over something stupid, and one of them kills the other one. Kind of a River’s Edge –type vibe." [2]
"My Name Is Mud" (like the rest of Pork Soda) was recorded in the band's rehearsal space, which was a series of UltraSound Audio-owned warehouses located in San Rafael. According to Claypool: "We ended up taking over three [of UltraSound's] spaces—we stuck [guitarist Larry LaLonde] in one, [drummer Tim Alexander] in one, and me in another. And we set up video cameras, so we could see each other. And we tracked Pork Soda through a Gamble console, which is our live console, onto [ Alesis Digital Audio Tape (ADAT)]. It was one of the first ADAT records." [3] "My Name Is Mud" was produced by the band themselves. [4]
The music video for "My Name Is Mud" was directed by Mark Kohr (who would also helm the videos for two other Primus singles: "DMV" and "Mr. Krinkle"). [5] According to Les Claypool, the video is composed of three distinct visual threads: The first is the band performing the song in silhouette. The second is Claypool, in character as Aloysius Devadander Abercrombie A.K.A. Mud, burying a dead body while spitting chewing tobacco and singing at the camera. The third is set in a spa "where ... beauty is voluptuous. Where big people are beauty, and skinny people are not." [6]
The outdoor scenes were filmed around the Palo Alto area, near Interstate 280. During the first day of shooting, the band was caught in a massive rainstorm. "We ended up having to actually bag it," Claypool later noted, "which was a big deal ... scrapping the day almost killed the entire thing. It was freezing-ass cold, and the generator kept dying because somebody put diesel into a gas generator." [6] Larry LaLonde noted something similar: "I remember it being super cold and raining [when we filmed the outdoor scenes]—just standing on the field, freezing to death. That was a tough one to make. It was pretty uncomfortable." [7] The mud bath scenes were shot in Calistoga, California, and the graphic designer and musician Bob C. Cock (who also appears in the music video for Jerry Was a Race Car Driver) cameos in this portion of the video, where he drinks soda containing the pig head from the cover. [6]
During Primus's Woodstock '94 performance of "My Name Is Mud", the band was pelted with mud, [8] which band drummer Tim Alexander noted was done "not in a mean way, but kind of a rock ’n’ roll way." [9] About a minute into the song, the band stopped playing and Les Claypool told the crowd, "Well I opened a big-ass can of worms with that one, didn't I? The song is called 'My Name Is Mud' but keep the mud to yourselves, you son-of-a-bitch." He also told them that throwing mud was a "sign of small and insignificant genitalia". [10] At that point "we got them to stop," Claypool explained in a 2014 interview with Greg Prato, "and we were able to continue and do our show." [9] In the same interview, Claypool joked that he "still [has] mud in those speaker cabinets." [9]
| "Me Llamo Mud" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Primus | |
| Released | November 30, 2010 |
| Label | Prawn Song |
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [11] | 9 |
Leslie Edward Claypool is an American rock musician. He is the founder, lead singer, bassist, and primary songwriter of the band Primus. Listed as one of the greatest bassists of all time by Rolling Stone, his playing style mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends, and slapping.
Primus is an American rock band formed in El Sobrante, California in 1984. The band is currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool and guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by drummer Jay Lane, though the latter two had departed the band by the beginning of 1989, and were replaced by LaLonde and Tim "Herb" Alexander respectively.
Timothy Wayne Alexander, also credited as "Herb" Alexander, is an American retired musician best known as the drummer for the rock band Primus. Prior to Primus, Alexander was the drummer for Arizona's Major Lingo from 1985-1990. Alexander has been in Primus across three stints; he initially left the band in 1996 and rejoined in 2003 before leaving again in 2010 and re-joining in 2013, again departing in October 2024. Alexander has played in several projects with Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan including the bands Puscifer and A Perfect Circle. He earned the nickname "Herb" from his Primus bandmates after carrying a fanny pack full with herbs like ginseng that he would distribute.
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.
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, 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."
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. In 2015, Primus frontman Les Claypool ranked Frizzle Fry as his favorite Primus album.
Pork Soda is the third studio album by the American rock band Primus. It was released on April 20, 1993, by Interscope Records and Prawn Song Records. The album was certified gold in September 1993 and platinum in May 1997. The 2005 re-issue comes in a digipak and contains a booklet with lyrics printed to nine songs, omitting "Pork Soda" which consists of a series of unintelligible rants. Claypool explained the term "pork soda" was meant to refer to how Primus - a band that, in his eyes, wasn't suitable for radio play - was "an acquired taste, like a meat-flavored soda would be".
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.
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.
"Southbound Pachyderm" is a song by the American rock band Primus. It was released on their fourth studio album Tales from the Punchbowl (1995). It was also released as a single, and a stop-motion animated video was made for it. The song is about the extinction threat faced by elephants, rhinos and hippos.
"Shake Hands With Beef" is a song by the American rock band Primus. It was released on their fifth album Brown Album (1997). The song was also released as the first single from the album.
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.
"Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" is a song by the American rock band Primus. It was released as the third single from their 1991 album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Unlike its preceding singles "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "Tommy the Cat", "Tweekers" did not feature an accompanying video. The song opens with Larry LaLonde on guitar and a reserved bassline from Les Claypool, from there alternating between his trademark slap bass and a quiet section for the vocals.
"Welcome to This World" is a song by the American rock band Primus, from their third studio album Pork Soda (1993).
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.
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.
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.
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