Where should i start with Primus?

'sailing the seas...' is one of those records that's obviously going to appeal to soulless, bland musos, but is actually a really fun record with great songs.

man skip primus FROG BRIGADE is where it's at. you'll thank me laterz.

s & d :: desert sessions is a thread I keep reviving and receiving very little interest, so I'm reaching out to its members' home threads.

couple of weeks ago i was asked to dj a 40th birthday bash.
only proviso : play some PRIMUS.
i had none in my archive, but had recently spotted the Zingers comp in a local charity shop.
dashed back to get the cd for a massive 50p.
listening to the cd on the way home i realised this was easily the worst thing i had ever heard.
dropped 2 tracks in the set, birthday boy was happy, i got paid.
best 50p i ever spent.
still the worst band i have ever heard.

lol, they're not for everyone. what two tracks did you play? I haven't actually listened to them in many years, but just binged the first 3 records in response to the desert sessions news. while it's TRUE that they probably aren't responsible for any lost contributions to the great american songbook, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed a great deal of it.

loving the dedication to the desert sessions (i only have volume 9/10).

the two tracks were:

- jerry was a race car driver
- to defy the laws of tradition

what an awful band

agreed.
truly dreadful.

the worst aspects of Zappa and the Red Hot Chili Peppers distilled to their sickly essence

I haven't listened to Primus in literal decades, but if I was forced to dj two Primus tracks, they would probably be My Name is Mud and Shake Hands with Beef, those are non-noodly and have a groove.

I liked Frizzle Fry and Sailing the Seas of Cheese at the time. They were fun live back then, too. I saw them at least four times between 1990 and 1992 — once co-headlining with Tad, once opening for Fishbone, once opening for co-headliners Public Enemy and Anthrax, and once opening for Jane's Addiction and the Pixies.

Yeah, I'm fine with my memories of Frizzle Fry and Cheese, they're fine cartoon weirdo rock. I saw them with Fishbone and U2 and probably once or twice on their own (though never on purpose after those two albums).

they were really everywhere in the late 90s

er early 90s

New song! It's called "Conspiranoia," it's almost 12 minutes long and it owes a lot to Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGujAiMmjJQ

Def Rush/Floyd vibes... Herb is ill on this

I can't really think of the last time I listened to Primus on purpose, but I did pay attention to their search for a new drummer, which tey turned into a smart social media event/contest. They picked this dude named John Hoffman, and he seems like a lot of fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUa505JZVnE

Interviewed Hoffer for the 'Gum

https://www.stereogum.com/2304936/new-primus-drummer-john-hoffman/interviews/qa/

Aw, that's nice.

I'll watch any band auditioning drummers even if I hate the music, and it was very smart of them to tap into muso social media for this. It's nice to see that out of a bunch of insanely talented and capable drummers, all dying to play in a band that lets them play a lot of notes and also pays well, most of them didn't sound 100% right for the band. Cool to hire a relative unknown who isn't associated with other bands, and (I'm sure) willing to clear his schedule.

Yeah. I was thinking the two Herb-style clinic monster guys, Thomas and Gergo, would have been really great if Primus was an arena-sized band like Rush or Kiss or whatever, but Hoffer's unique style is just perfect for theater sized shows. Unequivocally the best choice of the 9 finalists.

Good call, and assuming they still make new music, I played the "close your eyes and see if it sounds like a record" game and he definitely did. More than some of the drummers who came off as particularly killing if you were watching the video. Probably has a lot to do with dynamics, Les seemed happy that he wasn't playing too loudly and blending in the room.

This audition series has been the best thing I've seen on youtube for quite a while. Every single one has been thoroughly entertaining. Incredible talents all!

Seriously. I wish they'd release the other three auditions, but I think it's only going to be the 9 and then Gergo & John in the finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFtaNtSYNYA

This final episode is so good. When the other drummer dismisses Rush as "cheesy," oof ...

Really an instructive video about "chops" vs "feel." Gergo is just an absolute beast, his fills are ridiculous, but it's really apparent that Hoffer is the guy for the job. I really think he's going to be in Primus for 20 years if Les' fingers hold out

Gergo also did not seem like a good hang.

1: why do i think of primus as "no wave" in 2025?
2: it seems that despite my high falutin' ass-backwards experimental tastes, it transpires the most played song in my iphone is primus's "mephisto and kevin"

I think in the Primus oral history, Les says that’s the worst song they ever did

jorts

i'd love to see les in a band with arto lindsay on guitar and sharon topper on vocals

why do i think of primus as "no wave" in 2025?

I don't know about No Wave, but I do hear echos of some harmolodic stuff, particularly Jamaaladeen Tacuma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ekyz6IDQlY

The O.G. 1984 Primus demo tape with the drum machine finally leaked. Not a drop of "thrash" in this. Band sounds like Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Mofungo and Belew-era King Crimson. It absolutely rules!https://t.co/Nqs8lklwn0

— Christopher R. Weingarten (@1000TimesYes) June 19, 2025

They really should have included Doktor Avalanche in the drum auditions