Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse
Album
ArtistSkinny Puppy
CoverMindPerpetualAlbumCover.jpg
ReleasedSeptember 5, 1986
Recorded1986
GenreIndustrial · electro-industrial
Length43:18
LabelNettwerk (Canada, U.S.)
Play It Again Sam (Europe)
ProducerDave Ogilvie · cEvin Key
Prev year1985
Next year1987

Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse is the second studio album by Skinny Puppy, released on September 5, 1986.[1] It contained the single "Dig It", which inspired several industrial music contemporaries, including Nine Inch Nails.[2] "Dig It" received extensive airplay on MTV[3] and was listed by Billboard as a recommended dance track.[4] The song "Stairs and Flowers" was also released as a single.[5]

The cover photo, taken by Steven R. Gilmore, was from a pornographic film that happened to come on the TV in a hotel in New York City.[1] The cover caused Tipper Gore to place it on one of her lists for the Parents Music Resource Center as an example of why there should be parental advisory stickers on albums.[1]

Overview

When it became clear to band leader cEvin Key that Bill Leeb was uninterested in staying with Skinny Puppy, he hired Dwayne Goettel.[6] The two had met when Goettel's band, Water, opened for a Skinny Puppy show in 1985.[7] Key and Goettel got on well and quickly began jamming together.[8] Goettel was a classically trained pianist and had extensive technical knowledge, including experience with the Ensoniq Mirage which became vital to Skinny Puppy's sound.[9][10] The inclusion of Goettel helped the band to escape their synth-pop roots and take on a more industrial sound.[11]

The album was the first new Skinny Puppy release to be overseen by Capitol Records. The band's deal with Capitol dramatically increased the number of stores their records were sold in, from 200 to 1,700 across Canada.[12] The release of their first single, "Dig It", also bolstered the band's image in America, where the song's music video was played regularly on MTV.[13][14] The album's artwork was created by frequent collaborator Steven R. Gilmore, who used an image he had snapped of a porn actress he saw writhing on TV.[15] The cover won the award for Best Album Art at the 1987 CASBY Awards.[16]

Coinciding with the release of the album, the band embarked on a 66-date tour of North America and Europe alongside Australian act Severed Heads.[17][18] During the tour, singer Nivek Ogre said that he dedicated the album to "those who make up their own minds", going on that he hoped the imagery employed on stage would not shock people, but make them think.[19] The Royal Winnipeg Ballet used Skinny Puppy's music for portions of its show during their 1986 tour.[20]

Critical reception

Tim DiGravina of AllMusic awarded the album three out of five stars and said that it did not represent the band at their best, but served as a prelude to the "chaotic future masterworks".[21] Erine Welch of The Boston Globe wrote that the album had intrigue, but was generally too unintelligible to understand. "Provocative? Disturbing? Ridiculous? Skinny Puppy is probably all three. Is Skinny Puppy worth taking home for a listen? Let me put it this way: I'll be reimbursed for my copy".[22] Billboard magazine recommended the album, but said that it had little chance of exposure outside of college radio.[23]

Bill Henderson of the Orlando Sentinel said that the album was "void of human feeling or emotion", but shined with its use of synthesizers and samples.[24] Diana Valois from The Morning Call neither recommended or rejected the album, saying that it was "thoughtfully engineered - like a toxic dump reclamation project".[25] Frances Litman of the Times Colonist panned the album, apologizing to Skinny Puppy fans before saying "how this noise can be classified as music is beyond me".[26]

In 1987, Melody Maker named the album the 11th best album of the year, describing the album as a "desolate, crackling chunk of rust encrusted machinery tacked with bolts, deflecting radio waves and colliding with lost junk".[27]

Track listing

Notes

  • "Dig It" is replaced by its 12" version on the CD; it lasts 7:24. On vinyl, "Burnt with Water" ends with a locked groove repeating the phrase "Amen, Lord, hear my prayer" endlessly until the needle is lifted.[28]
  • Several of the CD-only bonus tracks were mislabeled, either as "(Dub)" or with no version mentioned.[28]

Personnel

Personnel adapted from liner notes.[29]

  • Nivek Ogre – vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, lyrics
  • cEvin Key – drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, bass guitar, electric guitar, production, engineering, mixing
  • Dave Ogilvie – production, engineering, mixing
  • Dwayne Goettel – keyboards, synthesizers, sampler, bass guitar
  • Wilhelm Schroeder – backing vocals on "Stairs and Flowers"
  • David Jackson – chainsaw on "Chainsaw"

References

  1. ^ Kern, Jay (2010). Skinny Puppy: The Illustrated Discography. Second ed. Mythos Press. p. 12.
  2. ^ "Holland Interviews". The NIN Hotline. Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  3. ^ "1986 Rock Music Timeline". Rock Music Timeline. rockmusictimeline.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Skinny Puppy 'Dig It' Review". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 52. December 27, 1986. p. 81. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  5. ^ Kern, Jay (2010). Skinny Puppy: The Illustrated Discography. Second ed. Mythos Press. p. 77.
  6. ^ Barclay et al. 2011, p. 516
  7. ^ Goldberg, Corey. "Interview with Mandy Cousins (May 11, 2007)". Litany. Litany.net. Archived February 24, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Interview with Key and Goettel". Convulsion. Waste. April 1991. Archived 2 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  9. ^ Key, cEvin (January 2012). "cEvin Key, Skinny Puppy – Waveshaper TV Ep.1 – IDOW Archive Series". I Dream of Wires. Waveshaper Media. pp. 6:07. Archived 2021-12-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Infectious bite". See Magazine. August 11, 2005. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  11. ^ Harper, Jim. "R Dwayne Goettel Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  12. ^ Shaw, Ted (September 24, 1986). "Weird Whelps Howl a Message of Modern Mayhem". Windsor Star
  13. ^ Lanham, Tom (April 12, 1987). "Shock-Rockers Take Taboos to Their Heart". San Francisco Examiner
  14. ^ "1986 Rock Music Timeline". Rock Music Timeline. rockmusictimeline.com. Archived 29 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  15. ^ Mackie, John (April 25, 1987). "The Art of Rock". The Vancouver Sun
  16. ^ "Fans Pick Canada's Best". Edmonton Journal. Canadian Press. June 20, 1987.
  17. ^ Harrison, Tom (September 4, 1986). "Backing Music". The Province
  18. ^ Metella, Helen (September 11, 1986). "Skinny Puppy Gear-Crunching can be a Menace During Tour". Edmonton Journal
  19. ^ Burn, Robyn Lisa (May 1, 1987). "Band Stresses Imagery". Fort Lauderdale News
  20. ^ Van Vugt, Harry (November 5, 1986). "Versatility - Sensual to Primal". Windsor Star
  21. ^ DiGravina, Tim. "Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse". AllMusic. Archived 1 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  22. ^ Welch, Ernie (March 26, 1987). "Skinny Puppy - Perpetual Intercourse". The Boston Globe
  23. ^ "Skinny Puppy 'Mind' Review". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 52. December 27, 1986. p. 80. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  24. ^ Henderson, Bill (22 February 1987). "Skinny Puppy Review (22 February 1987)". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  25. ^ Valois, Diana (June 13, 1987). "Skinny Puppy - Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse Review". The Morning Call
  26. ^ Litman, Frances (October 11, 1986). "Skinny Puppy: Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse Review". Times Colonist
  27. ^ Mackie, John (December 23, 1987). "Giving Cash as a Late Christmas Present". The Vancouver Sun
  28. ^ Kern, Jay. "Brap...The Skinny Puppy Discography: Skinny Puppy Releases". Prongs. Mythos Press. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  29. ^ "Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 26, 2012.

Bibliography