A discography film
Ween
Two kids from New Hope, a demon called the Boognish, nine albums from four-track cassettes to Nashville session men, and a long, strange second act.
Scroll to play the film. The pictures are made of dots: move over them, and play a sample to see them move with the music.
1984
Two kids in New Hope
Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo met in 1984, as eighth graders in a typing class at the junior high in New Hope, Pennsylvania. “We didn’t like each other,” Freeman said later. “He was a jock, and I was more of a trench-coat guy.”
By 14 they were making music together every day. The band’s own story says a demon-god called the Boognish appeared to them and told them to form Ween, so Freeman became Gene Ween and Melchiondo became Dean. They recorded with one tape deck for the drums and another for guitar and vocals, and put out cassettes on their own Bird O’ Pray label.
- Their first show was a 1986 talent show at New Hope-Solebury High School, with Dean on guitar and Gene singing over pre-recorded drum tracks.
- The summer after high school they opened for the band Skunk at a party in Maplewood, New Jersey. Dave Ayers of Twin/Tone had come to see Skunk, and he signed Ween that night.
Sources: Wikipedia: Ween, Relix 2012, MAGNET 2007, Qobuz (TiVo), So It Goes 2024. Photo: Greg Neate, CC BY 2.0.
November 16, 1990
GodWeenSatan: The Oneness
Twin/Tone · produced by Andrew Weiss
“Marble tulip, juicy tree / It’s where I want to be”
Ween’s first album came out on Twin/Tone, the Minneapolis independent, and ran to 26 songs. Dean called it a “greatest hits” of what the pair had written in their first six years.
It was produced by Andrew Weiss, then better known as the bassist in the Rollins Band, who also added piano and bass. Gene sang, and Dean played nearly everything else: guitars, drums, bass, drum machine and keyboards.
- Ween recorded over old cassettes, so Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” starts playing near the end of “Birthday Boy”.
- In 2001 Restless reissued it as a joking “25th anniversary edition”, though the album was 11 years old. The band played it in full that September, and the show came out in 2016 as GodWeenSatan: Live.
Sources: Wikipedia: GodWeenSatan, Trouser Press, Wikipedia: Ween, Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
September 20, 1991
The Pod
Shimmy-Disc · produced by Andrew Weiss, recorded on a four-track at the Pod, Solebury Township, Pennsylvania
“Ok, what is the carne asado? / That’s the beef”
Kramer, who ran Shimmy-Disc, took to Ween after their first New York show, at the Pyramid Club. They broke their Twin/Tone contract to go with him and never called Twin/Tone again.
The album was recorded on a Tascam four-track from January to October 1990, at the Pod on Van Sant Road in Solebury Township. The liner notes say the pair inhaled five cans of Scotchgard along the way.
- The cover is The Best of Leonard Cohen (1975) with a photo of part-time bassist Mean Ween’s head pasted over it.
- “Pollo Asado” grew out of Gene’s short spell working at a Mexican restaurant in New Hope.
- Aphex Twin listed it among his ten favourite albums.
Sources: Wikipedia: The Pod, MAGNET 2007, Trouser Press, Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
November 10, 1992
Pure Guava
Elektra · produced by Ween, recorded at home on a four-track
“Push th’ little daisies and make ’em come up”
The Pod won Ween a deal with Elektra, and the major label didn’t change how they worked. Pure Guava came from the same home sessions as their indie records, and it was the last album they made on a four-track.
“Push th’ Little Daisies” became a modern-rock hit and turned up on MTV’s Beavis and Butt-Head. In its video the profanity is covered by a squealing Prince sample.
- “Push th’ Little Daisies” reached No. 21 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks and No. 18 in Australia, and is still the band’s highest-charting single.
- “Big Jilm” was inspired by a salesman at the car dealership Dean’s father owned.
- In 2013 Spin ranked it seventh among the 40 weirdest post-Nevermind major-label albums.
Sources: Wikipedia: Pure Guava, Wikipedia: Push th’ Little Daisies, MAGNET 2007, So It Goes 2024, Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
September 27, 1994
Chocolate and Cheese
Elektra · produced by Andrew Weiss, Ween’s first album made in a professional studio
“Fairmount Park in the summer / Lookin’ good on the street”
Ween left the four-track behind for a professional studio, with Andrew Weiss back as producer and Claude Coleman Jr., who joined that March, on drums.
The songs range from Philadelphia soul to AM-radio folk. The album is dedicated to John Candy, who died while it was being made.
- “Freedom of ’76” is a tribute to Philadelphia, where Gene was born. In 1995 its video, and the one for “I Can’t Put My Finger on It”, were shown on Beavis and Butt-Head.
- The cover designer was asked to make it look like an Ohio Players album.
- The 30th-anniversary edition in 2024, remastered by Bernie Grundman, added 15 unreleased demos and outtakes.
Sources: Wikipedia: Chocolate and Cheese, Wikipedia: Ween, Stereogum 2014, Stereogum 2024, MAGNET 2007, Qobuz (TiVo), Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
July 16, 1996
12 Golden Country Greats
Elektra · produced by Ben Vaughn, recorded at Bradley’s Barn, Mount Juliet, Tennessee
“Like a Japanese cowboy or a brother on skates”
In November 1995 Ween went to Bradley’s Barn, outside Nashville, with producer Ben Vaughn and veteran session players including pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins, Charlie McCoy, drummer Buddy Harman and the Jordanaires, Elvis Presley’s backing singers. The hired players did almost all the playing; Gene and Dean sang.
Not everyone signed on. One keyboardist turned them down: “I prefer not to work on blue material.” It is the only Ween album that keeps to one genre, and despite its title it has ten songs.
- “Japanese Cowboy” sounded so much like “Chariots of Fire” that Vangelis’s people sued, and he is now credited as a co-writer.
- A Muhammad Ali recording at the end of “Powder Blue” was cut from later pressings after Ali’s people found out about it.
- The 2026 deluxe edition restored the two songs dropped in 1996, which completes the twelve.
Sources: Wikipedia: 12 Golden Country Greats, UCR 2011, Shore Fire 2026, Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
June 24, 1997
The Mollusk
Elektra · produced by Andrew Weiss, recorded in a Jersey Shore beach house and in New Hope
“Ocean man, take me by the hand, lead me to the land”
Ween began The Mollusk in a house they rented for the winter at the deserted end of a Jersey Shore island. The pipes froze and burst, flooding the place and ruining their gear; the tapes survived only because they were on the kitchen table, and Dean moved everything to a rental house in New Hope.
The result is a loose, sea-themed record of shanties, prog and pop. On release it was a critical and minor commercial failure, but Dean later called it “the only record that I ever felt really confident about.”
- Storm Thorgerson, who designed Pink Floyd’s covers, made the cover from photographed and painted sea creatures. After hearing the record he offered to do all the promotional art at no extra charge.
- SpongeBob’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg, asked them for a shoe-tying song for his cartoon before it aired. They wrote “Loop De Loop” in one night, and “Ocean Man” later played over the closing credits of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004).
- Dean says “Ocean Man” became “our most lucrative song because of Spongebob.”
Sources: Stereogum 2017, Georgia Straight 2007, Live for Live Music 2018, Wikipedia: The Mollusk, Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
May 2, 2000
White Pepper
Elektra · produced by Chris Shaw and Ween, recorded at Bearsville’s Turtle Creek Barn, Woodstock, New York
“I love you, even if you don’t”
For their last Elektra album Ween worked with Chris Shaw, on one of only two Ween albums Andrew Weiss didn’t produce. The title folds together the Beatles’ White Album and Sgt. Pepper, and the record is their cleanest pop: strings, backing singers and almost no swearing.
Some fans found it too polished. It reached No. 121 on the Billboard 200.
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park directed the video for “Even If You Don’t”.
- Rolling Stone compared its lack of profanity to “Barry White making a concept album about celibacy.”
Sources: Stereogum 2020, Getintothis 2020, Across the Margin 2020, Wikipedia: White Pepper, Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
August 5, 2003
Quebec
Sanctuary · produced by Andrew Weiss
“But the mutants that I see shine their beauty unto me”
Elektra dropped Ween when their lawyer asked for an advance on the next album, and they moved to the independent Sanctuary. The two years of sessions were hard: Gene was divorcing, Dean by his own account was partying far too hard, and drummer Claude Coleman Jr. was badly hurt in a car crash, so Josh Freese filled in.
The record is goofy in its first half and mournful in its second, and many of its songs are about the divorce. It reached No. 81 on the Billboard 200.
- Dean recorded the “Transdermal Celebration” solo on Carlos Santana’s guitar, pedals and amp, without asking. The gear was parked overnight in a trucking depot before a TV taping, and he cut the solo in one take at 2 a.m.
- He and a roadie photographed how every cable was wrapped so they could put it all back, handling the gear “as if it were the Mona Lisa.”
Sources: Stereogum 2023, UCR 2014, Stereogum 2020, Wikipedia: Quebec, Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
October 23, 2007
La Cucaracha
Rounder · produced by Andrew Weiss, recorded in a 200-year-old farmhouse in New Hope
“We had the best time at your party”
Ween’s ninth album came out on Rounder, which delighted Dean: “I always wanted to be on the same label that put out all those early George Thorogood records.” They made it with Weiss in what they called “a moldy 200 year-old farmhouse” in New Hope.
It runs from a piano lullaby to grunge, dub reggae and old-time country, and reached No. 69 on the Billboard 200. It is still their last studio album; Gene later said it “was a big clue Mickey and I were finito.”
- The jazz saxophonist David Sanborn plays on the closing song, “Your Party”.
- Weiss wanted the 11-minute “Woman and Man” in a single take. The band spent about ten nights on it and recorded roughly 500 minutes of the song.
Sources: JamBase 2007, Georgia Straight 2007, American Songwriter 2014, Wikipedia: La Cucaracha, Lollipop 2026, Genius. Sample: a 30-second preview from Apple Music.
2012 onwards
Gene retires, and returns
On May 29, 2012, Aaron Freeman told Rolling Stone, “I’m retiring Gene Ween.” Dean learned about it with everyone else and posted that it was “news to me.” Freeman, who was getting sober, later said, “I HAD to leave the Ween organization to stay sober.”
In November 2015 Ween announced reunion shows in Broomfield, Colorado, and on February 12, 2016, they played together for the first time in four years. They toured until August 2024, when they stepped away from the stage “for the foreseeable future” because touring had become too hard on Dean’s mental health.
- The archive keeps coming. The Golden Wastes EP (August 2026) holds four 12 Golden Country Greats outtakes, and Boognish Provides (October 2026) collects seven unreleased shows from the Chocolate and Cheese tour on 14 CDs.
- “Kim Smoltz”, a song from the Mollusk sessions, was first played live at the second Broomfield show. It is due on record on Shinola, Vol. 2, 21 years after Vol. 1.
Sources: Exclaim! 2012, Consequence 2012, Consequence 2015, Live for Live Music 2026, Relix 2024, Consequence 2024, JamBase 2026a, JamBase 2026b, Stereogum 2026. Photo: Eagledj, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Ween · Wikipedia, "Ween"
- Relix 2012 · Jesse Jarnow, "Staying Brown: Gene and Dean Ween in the 21st Century", Relix (2008, republished 2012)
- MAGNET 2007 · "Ween: A Band Of Superbad Brothers", MAGNET (2007)
- Qobuz (TiVo) · Jason Ankeny, Ween biography (TiVo, as published on Qobuz)
- So It Goes 2024 · Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Ween at 40, Chocolate and Cheese at 30", So It Goes (2024)
- Trouser Press · Ira Robbins, "Ween", Trouser Press
- Wikipedia: GodWeenSatan · Wikipedia, "GodWeenSatan: The Oneness"
- Wikipedia: The Pod · Wikipedia, "The Pod"
- Wikipedia: Pure Guava · Wikipedia, "Pure Guava"
- Wikipedia: Push th’ Little Daisies · Wikipedia, "Push th' Little Daisies": chart positions and the video
- Wikipedia: Chocolate and Cheese · Wikipedia, "Chocolate and Cheese"
- Stereogum 2014 · "Chocolate And Cheese Turns 20", Stereogum (2014)
- Stereogum 2024 · Chris DeVille, "Ween Announce Chocolate And Cheese Deluxe Reissue With Previously Unreleased Tracks", Stereogum (2024)
- Wikipedia: 12 Golden Country Greats · Wikipedia, "12 Golden Country Greats"
- UCR 2011 · Matthew Wilkening, "Ween Producer Ben Vaughn Details the Making of '12 Golden Country Greats'", Ultimate Classic Rock (2011)
- Shore Fire 2026 · Shore Fire Media, "Ween: 12 Golden Country Greats (Deluxe Edition)" press release (2026)
- Wikipedia: The Mollusk · Wikipedia, "The Mollusk"
- Stereogum 2017 · Drew Fortune, "Ween’s The Mollusk Turns 20: An Oral History By Mickey Melchiondo", Stereogum (2017)
- Georgia Straight 2007 · Mike Usinger, "Dean Ween picks his favourite Ween disc, gives the back story on La Cucaracha", Georgia Straight (2007)
- Live for Live Music 2018 · "Did You Know: Ween’s The Mollusk Helped Inspire The Creation Of SpongeBob SquarePants", Live for Live Music (2018)
- Wikipedia: White Pepper · Wikipedia, "White Pepper"
- Stereogum 2020 · Nate Rogers, "White Pepper Turns 20", Stereogum (2020)
- Getintothis 2020 · Simon Kirk, "Ween’s White Pepper 20th anniversary: a two finger salute to success", Getintothis (2020)
- Across the Margin 2020 · Michael Shields, "Twenty Years Later — Ween’s White Pepper", Across the Margin (2020)
- Wikipedia: Quebec · Wikipedia, "Quebec (album)"
- Stereogum 2023 · Zach Schonfeld, "Quebec Turns 20", Stereogum (2023)
- UCR 2014 · Jeff Giles, "About the Time Dean Ween Bogarted Carlos Santana’s Guitar", Ultimate Classic Rock (2014)
- Wikipedia: La Cucaracha · Wikipedia, "La Cucaracha (album)"
- JamBase 2007 · "Ween La Cucaracha Update", JamBase (2007)
- American Songwriter 2014 · Chris Rutledge, "Q&A: Shooting The Breeze With Aaron Freeman", American Songwriter (2014)
- Lollipop 2026 · Scott Deckman, "Ween – Golden Wastes EP – Review", Lollipop Magazine (2026)
- Exclaim! 2012 · Gregory Adams, "Ween Reportedly Calling It a Day", Exclaim! (2012)
- Consequence 2012 · Alex Young, "Ween breaks up", Consequence (2012)
- Consequence 2015 · Alex Young, "Ween to reunite for a pair of concerts", Consequence (2015)
- Live for Live Music 2026 · "Ween Reunite In Colorado After A Four-Year Breakup, On This Day In 2016", Live for Live Music (2026)
- Relix 2024 · "Ween to Step Away from Touring for Foreseeable Future", Relix (2024)
- Consequence 2024 · Eddie Fu, "Ween announce touring hiatus for the 'foreseeable future' citing Dean Ween’s mental health struggles", Consequence (2024)
- JamBase 2026a · Scott Bernstein, "Ween Shares Surprise Golden Wastes EP Of 12 Golden Country Greats Outtakes", JamBase (2026)
- JamBase 2026b · Scott Bernstein, "Ween Ends 21-Year Wait For Shinola, Vol. 2 With Black Friday Release", JamBase (2026)
- Stereogum 2026 · Margaret Farrell, "Ween Announce Boognish Provides, 14-CD Box Set Of Previously Unreleased Chocolate And Cheese Tour Shows", Stereogum (2026)
- Genius · Genius lyric pages, for the exact wording of each quoted line