| Spanking Machine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 16, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989 | |||
| Studio | Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, Washington, U.S. | |||
| Genre | Grunge [1] [2] | |||
| Length | 35:44 | |||
| Label | Twin/Tone | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Babes in Toyland chronology | ||||
| ||||
Spanking Machine is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Babes in Toyland, released on April 16, 1990. [3]
The working title of the album was Swamp Pussy, which later ended up becoming the opening song on the album. The album title was later changed to Spanking Machine, after the "spanking machine" from an episode of Leave It to Beaver titled "The Price of Fame". [4]
The album was recorded and produced by Seattle musician and producer Jack Endino [5] at Reciprocal Recording in Seattle – where other bands such as Nirvana and Mudhoney recorded – and was released in April 1990 by Twin/Tone Records.
"Dust Cake Boy" was a different version than that previously released on 45 by the Minneapolis-based Treehouse Records in 1989. It was recorded in 1988, before the band's sessions with Jack Endino, at Technisound Studio and produced by Brian Paulson. The single was backed with "Spit to See the Shine". A promotional video for the song "He's My Thing" was also recorded, though the song was never released as a single. Recorded during a live show at Minneapolis' First Avenue, the video was recorded on a 16 mm camera by Mike Etoll.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 6/10 [9] |
| The Village Voice | C+ [10] |
| Vox | 8/10 [11] |
Spanking Machine received generally positive reviews from critics, with Mark Deming of AllMusic stating:
[Spanking Machine] sounds like the blueprint for the music [Courtney] Love would make during Hole's first incarnation [...] that Spanking Machine is a more compelling and emotionally powerful work [and] Kat Bjelland's songs pull no punches. [6]
Other bands interested in the underground music scene – most notably Sonic Youth – were fans of the album, so much so that Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore invited the band to perform on Sonic Youth's 1990 European tour [12] to promote their latest album, Goo . The band also performed alongside Sonic Youth at 1991's Reading Festival, [13] [14] which was documented by Dave Markey's music documentary, 1991: The Year Punk Broke .
Rolling Stone ranked Spanking Machine at number 27 on its list of the 50 Greatest Grunge Albums in 2019, writing that Spanking Machine "was a perfect marriage of crunchy Midwestern punk and wry Northwestern malaise." [1]
All songs written by Kat Bjelland, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Swamp Pussy" | 2:24 | |
| 2. | "He's My Thing" | 2:56 | |
| 3. | "Vomit Heart" | 2:48 | |
| 4. | "Never" | 3:16 | |
| 5. | "Boto(w)rap" | Bjelland, Lori Barbero | 2:31 |
| 6. | "Dogg" | Barbero | 3:53 |
| 7. | "Pain in My Heart" | 3:59 | |
| 8. | "Lashes" | 3:46 | |
| 9. | "You're Right" | 3:07 | |
| 10. | "Dust Cake Boy" | 3:31 | |
| 11. | "Fork Down Throat" | 3:54 | |
| Total length: | 35:44 | ||
Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 1987. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Kat Bjelland, along with drummer Lori Barbero and bassist Michelle Leon, who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992.
Ultramega OK is the debut studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on October 31, 1988, by SST Records. Following the release of the EPs Screaming Life (1987) and Fopp (1988), both for the Sub Pop record label, Soundgarden signed with SST and went to work on their debut full-length. The resulting album contained elements of heavy metal, psychedelic rock, and hardcore punk. The band supported the album with a tour of the United States, as well as its first overseas tour.
Fontanelle is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Babes in Toyland, released on August 11, 1992, by Reprise Records. It was the band's first release on a major label, and their first recording to feature Maureen Herman on bass.
Kinderwhore is a fashion style most notably worn by some female grunge and alternative rock musicians in the US during the early to mid-1990s. The style is characterized through the combination of cute, feminine fashion items like babydoll and Peter Pan collared dresses, with more adult aspects like smudged red lipstick and dark eye makeup. It has its origins in the mid-1980s band Pagan Babies, which featured future Babes in Toyland vocalist/guitarist Kat Bjelland and future Hole vocalist/guitarist Courtney Love, who lived together and shared clothes. Following the band's disbandment, the two's subsequent bands achieved significant mainstream success and led to the fashion being popularised amongst the general public and being referenced by high fashion designers including Marc Jacobs.
1991: The Year Punk Broke, released theatrically in 1992, is a documentary directed by Dave Markey, featuring American alternative rock band Sonic Youth on tour in Europe in 1991. While Sonic Youth is the focus of the documentary, the film also gives attention to Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., Babes in Toyland, Gumball and The Ramones. Also featured in the film are Mark Arm, Dan Peters and Matt Lukin of Mudhoney, and roadie Joe Cole, who was murdered in a robbery three months after the tour ended. The film is dedicated to Cole.
Kim Anand Thayil is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil remained as the original members of the band until Cornell's death in 2017, and the band's subsequent split in 2018. Thayil was named the 100th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2010, and the 67th greatest guitarist of all time by SPIN in 2012. Thayil has won two Grammy Awards as a member of Soundgarden.
Screaming Life is the debut EP by American rock band Soundgarden, released in October 1987 by Sub Pop. Screaming Life was later combined with the band's next EP, Fopp (1988), and released as the Screaming Life/Fopp compilation album in 1990.
Katherine Lynne Bjelland is an former American musician. She rose to prominence as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative rock band Babes in Toyland, which she formed in 1987. She has been noted for her unusual vocal style alternately consisting of shrill screams, whispering, and speaking in tongues, as well as for her guitar playing style, which incorporates "jagged" tones with "psychotic rockabilly rhythms".
Nemesisters is the third and final studio album recorded by Babes in Toyland. It was produced by Tim Mac, and released May 9, 1995, by Reprise Records.
Katastrophy Wife was an American rock band formed by Kat Bjelland and her former husband Glen Mattson in 1998. Bjelland also fronted the punk rock band Babes in Toyland between 1987 and 2001. The band currently consists of Bjelland on lead vocals and guitar and her boyfriend, Adrian Johnson, on drums. The band released two albums, Amusia (2001) and All Kneel (2004). A third album was due for release in 2008, but was later cancelled. In May 2014, a 10th anniversary reissue of All Kneel was released as part of Record Store Day. In 2015 Kat Bjelland joined fellow Babes in Toyland band member Lori Barbero and new bass player, Clara Salyer in a reunion tour.
To Mother is the first EP by American punk band Babes in Toyland, released July 1, 1991 by Twin/Tone Records. It consists of outtakes from their previous release, Spanking Machine, which were re-recorded and produced by John Loder in London in 1990.
Painkillers is the second EP by American alternative rock band Babes in Toyland, released in June 1993. It consists of outtakes from their second studio album, Fontanelle (1992), as well as a 34-minute single-track live recording of the band's April 1992 performance at CBGB in New York City.
Dystopia is a compilation album consisting of earlier albums, Spanking Machine, To Mother, and the Handsome & Gretel single recorded by Babes in Toyland. It was released in 1994 by Insipid Records.
"Dust Cake Boy" is the first single by Babes in Toyland from their debut album, Spanking Machine. It was released on black 7" vinyl and features the final version of the song, along with an earlier version of the song "Spit to See the Shine" as a b-side, which was later released on the 1991 EP, To Mother.
"Bruise Violet" is the third single by American alternative rock band Babes in Toyland and the second single from their 1992 album Fontanelle. It was released on purple 7" vinyl and features early or not produced versions of the song.
Pagan Babies were an American rock band formed by Kat Bjelland and Courtney Love in 1985. Love had initially conceived the band in Portland, Oregon with Bjelland under the name Sugar Babydoll, and the group was joined by bassist Jennifer Finch upon their relocation to San Francisco. The group would go through several lineup and name changes before recording a four-track demo under the Pagan Babies name with drummer Deirdre Schletter and bassist Janis Tanaka.
The Best of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland is a CD/DVD compilation featuring songs by Babes in Toyland and Kat Bjelland's other projects, including her work in Crunt, Katastrophy Wife, and Pagan Babies. It was released in 2004 by WEA International in the United Kingdom.
Babes in Toyland was an American punk rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland, with Lori Barbero (drums) and Michelle Leon (bass), who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992. Courtney Love had a brief stint in the band in 1987 as a bass player before being kicked out and forming Hole in 1989.
"House" is the second single by American punk band Babes in Toyland. Released by Sub Pop Records and limited to 3,500 copies, 1,500 were released on black vinyl for the Sub Pop Singles Club, and the remaining 2,000 on special gold (yellow) vinyl. This is the band's first non-album single. It features the b-side "Arriba."
"Handsome and Gretel" is the third single by American punk band Babes in Toyland. It was released on 7" vinyl, and its songs later appeared on the band's second studio album, Fontanelle.
