Why Ween's Birthday boy is the perfect sad song

[@WarforParadise]

Ween is the most underrated band of all time. Every Album that they have made are all true masterpieces.

[@spaceKadz]

I wish I could buy the CDs, but they're $15-$40 lol.

[@cannedsas]

I personally wouldn’t call Pure Guava or La Cucaracha a masterpiece

[@vivimos_en_una_sociedad7758]

​@@cannedsasthat's cause you're a braindead tool

[@ReneSkunk777MC]

You're absolutely right. Ween doesn't get enough credit that they deserved and I extremely agree with you. Any person who listens to "Ocean Man" and just "Ocean Man" is (I guess) missing out their repertoire.

[@MeanManu]

WEEN is god !!!! ... actually Boognish is God !!

[@bustedxpils1288]

Crazy they made that song I didn’t know till today 😭

[@rettymartinez]

Finding a 12 minute video about my favorite song is the best thing that could've happened today

[@comicmischief3548]

Noel Gallagher did write don’t look back in anger and all the other oasis songs. Liam Gallagher is the main singer. That is one of the few hits that Noel sang, I understand it’s confusing with them being brothers. No hate I love ween! Great video.

[@johnschnettler1236]

This song is actually about Gener’s girlfriend before Sarah, Barrett Christy. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, she’s one of the most accomplished professional female snowboarders of all time. Way to go Gener, Barrett was a babe!

[@DingaLingu]

Ween has so many biblical and esoteric messages and themes hidden in their poetry its magick

[@thehonorablereverendaddiso1943]

GodWeenSatan is my first and favourite album by Ween. They may have made better, or more tight albums after this, but it holds too great of a spot in my memory to be knocked off this ranking. Thank you so dearly for this

[@thehonorablereverendaddiso1943]

@@milkpants Np, Dudemang

[@shartbake1134]

I love Pure Guava

[@nyancat7053]

@@shartbake1134 The pod is way better htan Pure guava (In my opinion

[@seacrawlerrecords623]

It's gotta be The Pod or Chocolate & Cheese for me

[@area51l]

Another key part of the raw emotion is not just in the lyrics, but in the delivery. The way Gener has this sort of pain and whininess to his voice... you can FEEL it. And the way the notes descend during the "I'm going down" is such a beautiful example of word painting - when the music reflects the literal meaning of the lyrics.

[@rustorian]

Love this song. Birthday Boy, it got me through a breakup which took place right what do you know right before my birthday. Ween was one of the few bands I could listen to without thinking about her because she never liked them. So I was listening to GWS and that song came on and hit me right in the heart.

[@eddiedingle767]

Birthday Boy got me through a big breakup. It hits me deep

[@TouchDirt]

My now wife flew with me out to Oregon to see em play a few years back. She'd never seen ween before and had never seen me cry before, that changed real quick as soon as Birthday Boy started.

[@eequalsmc4614]

Birthday Boy is perfection

[@cannedsas]

Gene’s performance of Birthday Boy on their final show before the band’s breakup is gut wrenching.

[@tunedime]

Tried and true is fire aswell

[@eequalsmc4614]

💎

[@AlgonSoft]

Wow. Listening to Birthday Boy without that *deep fried* amp noise for the first time was very strange.

[@stitchball3698]

Goddamn. When that binding of Isaac track hit I fell in love man, favorite game of all time with my favorite band. Keep up the great work

[@ChingoChango]

a song born from true sorrow... how can you not love it!

[@VX-3000]

Dude, what a great breakdown. I've found my way back to this song a few times, and always at poignant ones -- there's something almost frantic or manic in its nearly subdued (albeit busy) presentation, almost like speaking through white noise or "echoing" from a void where no sound can be returned. There's something so raw and tragically real about that, but you'd have to go through it in your own life to know it. And just the sheer confliction and confusion in the lyrics alone... I'd put this up there with anything from 'Blood on the Tracks' as one of the greatest heartbreak songs ever. Check out the Elliott Smith and Mary-Lou Lord live cover :)

[@ianblackburn2645]

When cup man started playing I thought I clicked a different video by accident

[@musicminute2004]

Same here

[@jergenx]

I had these emotions when I first heard it too, thanks for putting words to it

[@AlgonSoft]

"Conveying the emotion of crying, conveying the emotion of being at your lowest, conveying the emotion of being a disorganized mess because your world is crumbling about, is not easy to write down because you can't write it down in the moment (...) To convey such an emotion through writing, let alone sound, is a pretty tall order in it of itself" You perfectly described why me and many others love Weezer's Pinkerton. It's such an emotionally raw album, where Rivers' personal life was crumbling around him: relationship issues, trouble with his bandmates, depression and loneliness, physical pain (due to the recovery from surgery on his leg, which had him record with needles sticking through it), it all leaves with an album that, at first glance, seems like a typical "Tfw no GF" album, but when you get deeper into it, you feel Rivers' pain and emotion running through every track (specially in my two favorite moments of the album, "Across the Sea", where being at the bottom of the barrel, he recieves a letter from a fangirl, and clings onto its affection for dear life as the only light of his existence; and "Butterfly", where he looks back at the album, and all the people he has hurt due to his selfishness and his misery, and apologizes to them and himself). I know this is a video about Ween, and I thank you for covering what's easily the best song in this insane record, while also tackling why it's the best song, something I could never truly put into words.

[@WellfullyAw]

Pinkerton is an amazing record

[@rowecofilms6788]

Birthday Boy always gave me a very Guided By Voices vibe

[@oggymation3875]

yess! very reminiscent of “smothered in hugs” in my eyes another song that destroys me

[@22zanners]

Got to hear it live in Madison last week, I cried a little.

[@rts45hardison62]

Weens song The Argus pulled me out of a Coma I had been in for 17 days.

[@Outliers4Life]

this song gives me the same feeling that Self Control by Frank Ocean does. Its guitar driven and very minimalistic. and the lyrics are not triumphant at all. beautiful shit. also love how Baby Bitch references this song. gotta love when artists do that.

[@LunaCypher334]

Thanks I love your look on this song! It's meant a lot to me, even more because there was a gwar cover of it, and gwar was a band my early 20's heartbreak person liked as well. It's crazy how personal it feels to me, but you're right it's a in-the-moment heartbreak that so many people can relate to, and that's what makes it such a great song. On my way to listen to it now, but I saw your video, thanks for making!

[@DankBlastBeats]

Ween - The best band you've never heard of.

[@triton199]

You've earned my subscription with this one. Ween is criminally underrated and there are almost too many songs that exemplify just exactly why thats the case. I dont know of any other band that has the same kind of range as ween in terms of being genre and topic spanning both lyrically and stylistically. From a song about Argus Panoptes of greek mythology, to a singalong about cocaine and bananas, to the auditory madness of morning glory. not to mention geners crazy vocal range and abilities, from freedom of 76 (the jane pratt show version is fantastic) to the live versions of someday and touch my tooter, to tried and true or object. and Deaner is imo the greatest guitarist alive. you cant watch the live DVD solo from buckingham green and not see that the dude is unbelievably talented.

[@anthonybernero9720]

This song relates to any broken relationship. But for me, my best friend told me that he didn't want to be my friend anymore. Coincidentally, this was also on my birthday, close to two years ago, now. He broke my heart, man. And it still hurts so goddamn much. I saw Ween last week in WI, (celebrating my birthday) and they just had to fucking play it, didn't they. People were all around me slow dancing n shit, and there I was in the center, just sobbing and crying my eyes out. I broke down again when they played Fluffy at the end. It was so powerful, and it brought up the same emotions. It wasn't until later that I learned it's about Dean's dog who is no longer with him. But that night, it was about my dawg who is no longer with me. I know that I should call him, but I don't know what to say. And I'm afraid of what he will say. It just really, really sucks, y'know?

[@milkpants]

Thanks for sharing, songs like this can be really impactful to an individual and it's always nice seeing what it means to different people. But if you're still contemplating calling them, I think you should, life is too short for words to go unspoken, and rejection, while unpleasant, lasts but a moment. Cheers!

[@anthonybernero9720]

@@milkpants Thanks, mang. I don't think I have any more tears to shed, what have I got to lose? I'll call him this weekend.

[@milkpants]

@@anthonybernero9720 I'm glad to hear, I hope all goes well!

[@vivimos_en_una_sociedad7758]

​@@anthonybernero9720get trolled

[@NipplesOfDestiny]

My top Ween songs agter listening for 20 years (excluding hits) 1) Movin' away 2) Big Jilm 3) Object 4) Ice Castles 5) Spinal Meningitis

[@eggie6417]

I got emotional whip lash when I first heard Birthday Boy, in a very goofy album, it was weird hearing a very slow and melancholy song

[@afxmnstr]

12 country greats is a powerful breakup album.

[@jasonlovell3685]

Great vid dude, deserves way more views

[@chumlife]

4:56 That's Enough, Milk Pants.

[@chumlife]

@@milkpantsShhhhhhh. Baby's Sleeping.😮‍💨😮‍💨

[@MeanManu]

Nice breakdown, this song always tears me up

[@Atlas_Mohler]

Great video!!!!

[@scherryvalentine9673]

There is Ween coloring book out there somewhere and one of the pages is Birthday Boy with Gener in a birthday hat with stomach wide open and guts falling out. It’s not as disturbing to look at, as this description sounds.

[@scruffy6911]

The weirdest thing about ween is that they were always being sincere.

[@chaosofthegalaxy3094]

Damn I saw your Todd Alquist video and now this looking for Birthday Boy. Subscribed :)

[@newjerseychungus]

ok this is facts

[@maroonmousep2345]

always wondered why i could hear echoes at the end

[@ClimekCrap]

Nice channel man, keep it up

[@carolineday1481]

How the fuck did I find my exact fucking niche u captured it so well

[@SpiraltTheOne]

i love ocean man

[@di55olve]

I’ve been listening to this song for at least once every day now and man it gets better each time

[@BoneDaddy69420]

ween is such an amazing band, and they don't get nearly enough recognition for how great their discography is and how much versatility they bring to their sound.

[@shartbake1134]

I listened to birthday boy while coming down on mushrooms and it felt like it took 3 hours for the song to finish.

[@danielgourdikian7263]

great video

[@invertedcrown]

paaaain!

[@erinp1081]

I agree with your assessment . Also though, if you could save yourself.

[@구아바-w4u]

Jesus you explained it the exact way I do

[@tylerstetsko8147]

Nice.

[@pubuapubua]

Birthday boy was the sadest song of my life. My girl went of to college and i stood around with my thumb in my ass. But what i get from this haunting melody is hope; hope that i too could find a way to be a non-dipshit...

[@fliesandspiders]

great vid thanks

[@malice4422]

It will be my birthday in 3 hrs, my ex and i broke up 3 weeks ago, but she just texted me essentially asking if the breakup is permanent and shes kinda going crazy wanting me back one day, or at least in her grasp. Im so tired of the push and pull

[@CCWV-97]

Some seriously brown editing. I appreciate your opinion on the chaotic vibes on the original. I do recommend sharing the version on the GWS live to the newbies. Hail Boognish.

[@VoodleBand]

Pain !

[@yomamapie5807]

I love ween... I'm not a pothead though.

[@Denimchicken.]

Just mushrooms? Or what 😂 just playing

[@dougyuck]

you don't need drugs for 48 hour ween discography binges. ween IS the drug

[@Sleeveusalone]

WEEEEEEEEEEEEENNN!

[@sgt.purp1e]

All Hail Boognish

[@scherryvalentine9673]

I think Elliot Smith may have covered this song.

[@arareanddifferenttune3130]

Hail Boognish

[@RichardBuzzy]

Volume switches are very jarring in this vid

[@pizzatime8773]

it wasnt sarah he broke up with he got with sarah during pure guava

[@milkpants]

Oh shit ur right

[@KingBoner]

might have been Nicole

[@punpunpunyama9271]

judging by your thoughts on birthday boy i have a feeling you'd like daniel johnston's music

[@milkpants]

Yes I am an avid Daniel Johnston listener, it's brilliant

[@radiognomeinvisible]

@@milkpantsListen to Ed’s Redeeming Qualities. Drivin on 9, Buck Tempo, More Bad Times… make sure you listen to the ones sung by Dom Leone.

[@KellerTheKiller]

I like the live version more

[@rollamcnut]

Ween is powerful, Birthday Boy is proof. The Boognish provides. Now do The Argus

[@thejamnasium6447]

I wrote Birthday Boy for ya babe

[@C.SchitzPopinov]

You really got to work on mixing audio evenly. It’s hard to get into this when I have to keep turning up and down the volume.

[@Chiddyboo12]

The first time I heard Baby Bitch I thought it was Elliott Smith.. Felt like a dipshit when I found out it was Ween.

[@anthonybernero9720]

I don't understand why the first thing everyone mentions is Ocean Man. What's the deal with Ocean Man?

[@milkpants]

I don't remember my mindset at the time but it's just their most commercially popular song, it wasn't super well known when it came out but it was used in the 2004 spongebob movie. Spongebob's creator Stephen Hillenburg really liked Ween, he has said "The Mollusk" album which ocean man comes from was a great inspiration for spongebob overall.

[@lobot1000]

Where did you draw the parallel between slow down boy and tears for fears?

[@StONed-yx5qq]

WEEN has no sad songs…..

[@christiangasior4244]

Bizarre audio

[@milkpants]

Honestly thats a kinder word than I'd use, iirc I only had a laptop mic at the time and didn't sound mix.