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Weird Revolution
by
Weird Revolution Image
Metascore
46

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings

  • Summary: The first album in three years from the always bizarre Texans includes about two-thirds of the tracks from their unreleased 1998 effort "After The Astronaut."

Top Track

Dracula From Houston
Got no future, great big past Little bitty guy on the rim of my glass. Gotta meet the plane, so I can get my monkey Teach him to be cool but a little... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 9
  3. Negative: 3 out of 9
  1. Sonicnet
    80
    The Surfers teeter on the brink of conventional rock values. However, throughout the new album, singer Gibby Haynes drives the proverbial truck into the ditch with rambling psychotic speeches.
  2. E! Online
    75
    Anchored in the surreal goofball art rock, club beats and bubblegum punk that made anomaly hits like 1996's "Pepper" so cool, frontman Gibby Haines and gang sugarcoat their standardized tales of decay and hallucinogens but keep some delicious bitterness intact.
  3. Spin
    60
    At its best, Weird Revolution is danceable and degenerate... It's a tight package, but the holes start to show on the title track... [Oct 2001, p.132]
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  4. Alternative Press
    50
    The absence of Paul Leary's drug-fried guitar is unconscionable. [Nov 2001, p.78]
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  5. Blender
    40
    The wan, wimpy Weird Revolution relies on tired drum loops and flat rap vocals. [Aug/Sep 2001, p.121]
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  6. The A.V. Club
    30
    Weird Revolution sounds dated and quaint, both in its "Pepper" rehashes ("Dracula From Houston," "The Shame Of Life") and in its halfhearted attempts at caustic shock ("Shit Like That") and misfit mission statements ("The Weird Revolution").
  7. Pitchfork
    4
    The Butthole Surfers have finally become shocking only in their sheer banality, like a watered-down mix of the worst Beck and Perry Farrell material you can imagine.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 2 out of 9
  1. RyanW
    Jun 30, 2006
    10
    awesome album
  2. NateK
    Jan 17, 2007
    10
    BHS best album, none of there other albums have this much of a meaning and it hits you on the first song, join the Weird Revolution people, I BHS best album, none of there other albums have this much of a meaning and it hits you on the first song, join the Weird Revolution people, I will admit that there a a few key songs on other BHS albums that have to be noted, some as good and some better than those on this album, but none have as many great tracks on one album. Basicly we dont want weirdness from the normal man, We do not want to be freaked out by the normal man, We want to out freak the normal man.… Expand
  4. Mystichydra
    Aug 27, 2019
    10
    A rather polarizing outing from the Surfers on their last release (Although, they are deep within the works of an upcoming record. I amA rather polarizing outing from the Surfers on their last release (Although, they are deep within the works of an upcoming record. I am especially psyched about it, particularly as they have much more control and no real specific finish date.) which feels eons ago.

    The backstory of this album includes aliens and Native Americans, serious pressure from the label concerning "radio-friendly" material and cost/date limitations. Is this the band at their most unhinged or most creative? Hardly. Then why such a high score? Nostalgia aside (I actually saw them the one and only time while during this tour. I was just much too young to have access to their shows), Gibby Haynes and co. are actually sold songwriters. These songs are structured. Many the cliche, formulaic scaffolding of verse-chorus-verse. But, with the exception of Dracula From Houston (which was utilized quite often, including on the Scrubs soundtrack. Good job, label compromise and commercialization) they are genuinely solid songs. Purists will undoubtedly be appalled, and the polish on this album can't be ignored.

    Which isn't to say the "weirdness" on Weird Revolution is false advertising. Had this been nearly any other group, it's avant-garde nature will surely be a turn off to the masses. This record unfortunately falls square in the middle of being unappealing to both their base as well as Billboard. However, I do know this record gained some new fans. If one wanted to try venturing towards the unconventional but not wade too deep, this is a good venture. And indeed, with hits like The Shame of Life (being someone a parody of Kid Rock, while encapsulating his best qualities) and Venus, the palpability of those melodies are ear pleasing and introduced the band to many who otherwise would be oblivious.

    Hayne's old group The Jackofficers (despite only releasing one album, they were actually influential and ahead of their time with samples and weird indie-electro) have much influence in this revolution. And therein lies the unusual wedding of influences for this outing. Songs like Intelligent Guy, Mexico, They Came In (thought the After the Astronaut version is immensely beter), and The Last Astronaut all clearly have the Surfer's trademark approaches and contain just as much bizarreness as any of their prior records. It's just done so in a cleaner recording, leaving it more sanitized. And Jet Fighter is frankly one of the best songs ever written, let alone this album. I can't believe how few people have even heard it, nearly every single person I've played it for loved it. And this album is vastly underrated and unfortunately and unfairly criminalized. I can't wait for their next album, coming out soon. Allegedly.    … Expand
  5. TraderWoody
    Oct 9, 2001
    7
    Don't expect locust abortion technician, but the Buttholes still stomp on the average chumps out there
  6. MCRR
    Apr 21, 2015
    4
    Ardent Butthole puritans will no doubt be a little disappointed with this effort. A somewhat commercial attempt in reclaiming their formerArdent Butthole puritans will no doubt be a little disappointed with this effort. A somewhat commercial attempt in reclaiming their former glory, all be it an unsuccessful one! There are a few numbers that try and hold the album together but it isn't enough. A relatively weak album by their own standards.… Expand
  7. DavidH.
    Nov 10, 2001
    4
    weak
  8. MikeL.
    Sep 22, 2001
    0
    it sux

See all 9 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Most Discussed Album of 2001
87
#87 Most Shared Album of 2001

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