Meat Puppets II

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Meat Puppets II | type = studio | artist = Meat Puppets | cover = Meatpuppetsii.jpg | alt = An abstract painting with thick swatches of green and blue framing a smaller area of red and orange. “Meat Puppets II” is printed in the upper left. | released = April 1984 | recorded = | studio = Total Access, Redondo Beach, California | genre = * Cowpunk<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goller |first1=Josh |title=Revisit: Meat Puppets: Meat Puppets II |url=http://spectrumculture.com/2017/01/30/revisit-meat-puppets-meat-puppets-ii/ |website=Spectrum Culture |date=31 January 2017 |access-date=17 June 2018}}</ref> * psychedelic rock<ref>{{cite web |last1=Niesel |first1=Jeff |title=Meat Puppets to Revisit Their 'Middle Period' for Beachland Show |url=https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2017/05/12/meat-puppets-to-revisit-their-middle-period-for-beachland-show |website=Cleveland Scene |access-date=17 June 2018}}</ref> * bluegrass<ref name= "Blender Staff 2003">{{cite magazine |last= Blender Staff |first= |date= May 2003 |title= 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die! |url= https://archive.org/details/blender-2003-04-15-eminem-c/page/n59/mode/2up |magazine= Blender |location= New York |publisher= Dennis Publishing Ltd |access-date= April 1, 2023}}</ref> * folk<ref name= "Blender Staff 2003">{{cite magazine |last= Blender Staff |first= |date= May 2003 |title= 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die! |url= https://archive.org/details/blender-2003-04-15-eminem-c/page/n59/mode/2up |magazine= Blender |location= New York |publisher= Dennis Publishing Ltd |access-date= April 1, 2023}}</ref> * Americana<ref name= "Pitchfork Staff 2018">{{cite web|last= Pitchfork Staff |title= The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s |website= Pitchfork |date= September 10, 2018 |url= https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s/|quote= ...''II'' was very much on its own trip. Its outsider Americana took in Grateful Dead-style jamming...|accessdate= April 24, 2023}}</ref> | length = 29:57 (original)<br />48:01 (reissue) | label = SST Records | producer = | prev_title = Meat Puppets | prev_year = 1982 | next_title = Up on the Sun | next_year = 1985 }}

'''''Meat Puppets II''''' is the second studio album by American rock band Meat Puppets, released in April 1984 by SST Records. Rykodisc reissued the album in 1999 with extra tracks and B-sides, including a cover of "What To Do" by The Rolling Stones.

''II'' is musically a departure from the Meat Puppets' debut album, which largely consisted of noise-filled hardcore punk with unintelligible vocals. While there are hardcore and punk rock-influenced songs, ''II'' encompasses a wide assortment of styles including country rock, ballads, and psychedelia.

The album is considered to be one of the best Meat Puppets albums by critics and listeners.<ref name=":0" /> Curt and Cris Kirkwood acoustically performed three songs from ''II'' with Nirvana for ''MTV Unplugged in New York,'' in which they played "Plateau", "Oh, Me", and "Lake of Fire".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Payne |first=Chris |date=November 18, 2014 |title=Nirvana’s ‘MTV Unplugged’ 20 Years Later: Meat Puppets’ Curt Kirkwood Looks Back |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/nirvana-mtv-unplugged-new-york-meat-puppets-interview-6319909/ |access-date=November 2, 2024|website=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Background == The album artwork was created by Curt Kirkwood and Neal Holliday.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://meatpuppets.com/puppets/notes/ |title=Notes |author=Derrick Bostrom |author-link=Derrick Bostrom |work=meatpuppets.com |year=2010 |access-date=18 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428205404/http://meatpuppets.com/puppets/notes/ |archivedate=28 April 2012 }}</ref>

=== Music === The ''Chicago Reader'' described the sound on ''II'' as an '"inchoate blur," and Pitchfork derscribed the album's tone as "Western-gothic".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Margasak |first=Peter |date=2016-03-29 |title=Revisit a classic early Meat Puppets tune |url=https://chicagoreader.com/blogs/revisit-a-classic-early-meat-puppets-tune/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Chicago Reader |language=en-US}}</ref> Music journalist Andrew Earles described the album as a "country-roots-punk-hardcore album" and noted the apparent influence of ZZ Top and "other masters of fried '70s boogie".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Earles |first1=Andrew |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/4ufUBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996 |date=September 15, 2014 |publisher=Voyageur Press |page=189 |isbn=9780760346488}}</ref>

Louis Pattison of ''Pitchfork'' assessed: "If Meat Puppets' self-titled debut—a bristly fusion of hardcore thrash and Beefheart weirdness—could pass for a punk record, ''II'' was very much on its own trip. Its outsider Americana took in Grateful Dead-style jamming, fearsome pulpit sermons, and peyote-addled surrealism. Cowpunk thrashes like 'Split Myself in Two' and 'New Gods' suggested the trio hadn't entirely outgrown its hardcore roots, but the moments that linger are the pretty ones, like the shimmering guitar instrumental 'Aurora Borealis,' a beautiful acid trip amid the cacti."<ref name="Pitchfork Staff 2018" />

==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/meat-puppets-ii-mw0000193623 |title=Meat Puppets II – Meat Puppets |website=AllMusic |access-date=September 8, 2016 |last=Deming |first=Mark}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Chicago Tribune'' | rev2score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/01/23/life-doesnt-suck/ |title=Life Doesn't Suck? |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 23, 1994 |access-date=December 26, 2016 |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Entertainment Weekly'' | rev3score = A−<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1999/03/22/meat-puppets-i-meat-puppets-ii-sun-out-my-way-mirage-huevos-monsters-live-montana/ |title=Meat Puppets I; Meat Puppets II; Up on the Sun; Out My Way; Mirage; Huevos; Monsters; Live in Montana |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |location=New York |issue=478 |date=March 26, 1999 |access-date=September 8, 2016 |last=Bautz |first=Mark |page=87 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126183118/https://ew.com/article/1999/03/22/meat-puppets-i-meat-puppets-ii-sun-out-my-way-mirage-huevos-monsters-live-montana/ |archive-date=November 26, 2024 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Los Angeles Times'' | rev4score = 83/100<ref name="LAT">{{cite news |title=Top Midyear LPs: Prince, Springsteen |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=July 1, 1984 |last=Hilburn |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Hilburn}}</ref> | rev5 = ''NME'' | rev5score = 8/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Meat Puppets: Meat Puppets II |magazine=NME |location=London |date=April 17, 1999 |page=37}}</ref> | rev6 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev6score = 9.0/10<ref name="PF">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/meat-puppets-meat-puppets-ii/ |title=Meat Puppets: ''Meat Puppets II'' Album Review |website=Pitchfork |date=March 24, 2024 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |last=Blackwell |first=Matthew}}</ref> | rev7 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/meatpuppets/albums/album/172218/review/5944091/meat_puppets_ii |title=Meat Puppets: Meat Puppets II |magazine=Rolling Stone |location=New York |issue=420 |date=April 26, 1984 |access-date=June 18, 2012 |last=Loder |first=Kurt |author-link=Kurt Loder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918051459/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/meatpuppets/albums/album/172218/review/5944091/meat_puppets_ii |archive-date=September 18, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | rev8 = ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' | rev8score = 10/10<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Meat Puppets |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=247–248}}</ref> | rev9 = ''Uncut'' | rev9score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Raising the steaks |magazine=Uncut |location=London |issue=25 |date=June 1999 |last=Wyndham |first=Tom |page=84}}</ref> | rev10 = ''The Village Voice'' | rev10score = A−<ref name="VV">{{cite news |url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv5-84.php |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide |newspaper=The Village Voice |location=New York |date=May 29, 1984 |access-date=September 5, 2014 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}</ref> }}

Kurt Loder, in an April 1984 review in ''Rolling Stone'', described ''Meat Puppets II'' as "one of the funniest and most enjoyable albums" of the year, as he thought the band had developed "beyond head-banging" to become "a kind of cultural trash compacter", blending "hard-core flip-outs" with "a bit of the Byrds{{nbsp}}... Hendrix-style guitar{{nbsp}}... and{{nbsp}}... ''Blonde on Blonde''–style wordsmithing."<ref name="RS"/> In his review for ''The Village Voice'', Robert Christgau wrote that Curt Kirkwood had combined "the amateur and the avant-garde with a homely appeal," which resulted in a "calmly demented country music" in a "psychedelic" vein.<ref name="VV"/> Robert Hilburn commented in the ''Los Angeles Times'' that the Meat Puppets are "far more of an acquired promising though willfully unfocused rock act."<ref name="LAT"/>

In a retrospective review for ''Pitchfork'' in 2024, staff writer Matthew Blackwell awarded ''Meat Puppets II'' a score of 9.0 out of 10, calling it "a sun-baked, country-fried, acid-addled cowpunk album that could have come from nowhere else but the Arizona desert."<ref name="PF"/>

=== Legacy and impact === The album was number 94 on ''Pitchfork''{{'}}s "Best Albums of the 1980s."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-top-100-albums-of-the-1980s/ |title=The Top 100 Albums of the 1980s |website=Pitchfork |date=November 20, 2002 |access-date=March 19, 2023}}</ref> ''Slant Magazine'' listed the album at number 91 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/best-albums-of-the-1980s/ |title=The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s |website=Slant Magazine |date=March 5, 2012 |access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref>

The Meat Puppets performed the album live in its entirety at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Monticello, New York, in 2008 as part of the ATP Don't Look Back season,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.dontlookbackconcerts.com/dlbarchive/dlb2008archive/mpny/ |title=Don't Look Back – Don't Look Back 2008 – Meat Puppets – Concert-info |website=Dontlookbackconcerts.com |year=2012 |access-date=18 June 2012}}</ref> and again in December, 2008, at a performance in London.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.dontlookbackconcerts.com/dlbarchive/dlb2008archive/mplondon/ |title=Don't Look Back – Don't Look Back 2008 – Meat Puppets – Concert-info |website=Dontlookbackconcerts.com |year=2008 |access-date=18 June 2012}}</ref>

The Meat Puppets' SST labelmates Minutemen covered "Lost" on the live EP ''Tour-Spiel'' and their last studio album, ''3-Way Tie (For Last)''.

Curt Kirkwood and Cris Kirkwood of Meat Puppets joined Nirvana on stage for their 1993 performance for ''MTV Unplugged'', which was later released as the Nirvana album ''MTV Unplugged In New York''.

In 2025, Al Shipley of ''Spin'' named the album as the second best Meat Puppets album, second to ''Up on the Sun''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Shipley |first=Al |date=2025-03-26 |title=Every Meat Puppets Album, Ranked |url=https://www.spin.com/2025/03/every-meat-puppets-album-ranked/ |access-date=2025-09-04 |website=SPIN |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Track listing == {{Track listing|headline=Original release|all_writing=Curt Kirkwood, unless otherwise noted | title1 = Split Myself in Two | length1 = 2:22 | title2 = Magic Toy Missing | length2 = 1:20 | title3 = Lost | length3 = 3:24 | title4 = Plateau | length4 = 2:22 | title5 = Aurora Borealis | length5 = 2:44 | title6 = We're Here | length6 = 2:40 | title7 = Climbing | length7 = 2:41 | title8 = New Gods | length8 = 2:09 | title9 = Oh, Me | length9 = 2:59 | title10 = Lake of Fire | length10 = 1:54 | title11 = I'm a Mindless Idiot | length11 = 2:26 | title12 = The Whistling Song | length12 = 2:56 }}

{{Track listing | headline = 1999 CD bonus tracks | title13 = Teenager(s) | writer13 = Meat Puppets | length13 = 3:36 | title14 = I'm Not Here | length14 = 1:55 | title15 = New Gods | note15 = demo version | length15 = 2:13 | title16 = Lost | note16 = demo version | length16 = 3:03 | title17 = What to Do | writer17 = Jagger–Richards | length17 = 2:35 | title18 = 100% of Nothing | length18 = 1:50 | title19 = Aurora Borealis | note19 = demo version | length19 = 2:28 }}

==Personnel== '''Meat Puppets''' * Curt Kirkwood – guitar, vocals * Cris Kirkwood – bass, vocals * Derrick Bostrom – drums

'''Technical''' * Spot – engineer * Curt Kirkwood, Neal Holliday – cover artwork

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links==  *[https://archive.today/20130416121921/http://www.radio3net.ro/dbartists/supersearch/TWVhdCBQdXBwZXRz/Meat%20Puppets ''Meat Puppets II''] (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)

Category:Meat Puppets albums Category:1983 albums Category:SST Records albums