I’ve been thinking about an interesting subtext to the previous post about Aaron Freeman putting the kibosh on his band Ween. One quote from the linked story is this:

“It’s time to move on,” Freeman told Rolling Stone from his home in New Jersey. “I’m retiring Gene Ween.”

I get the sense that Freeman felt trapped by not just the band and the music, but by this character, this Gene Ween. This sense of entrapment is likely related to the onstage breakdown Freeman had a while back (though substance abuse also had a role.)

Part of the charm of Ween, especially in the early years, was that they didn’t take themselves very seriously. This attitude was quite at odds with the predominant philosophy of the then ruling grunge scene, a scene famous for its navel gazing and self hatred (it ended when Kurt Cobain blew his head off.) Grunge was furtively politically correct, whereas Ween had a song which cheerfully sang the words “AIDS…. H.I.V.” against a backdrop of children’s music. Ween were like the anti-grunge.

But I get the sense that as Freeman got older, the “we don’t give a shit” attitude that powered the band started to take its toll. I think now he wants to give a shit, or at least be taken seriously. And it makes sense – Ween really did evolve into a great, formidable band* – but that was never recognized by critics and probably even a lot of fans. They remained a novelty band until the end. I can see why Freeman would want out.

* Additionally, I’ve always felt a lot of Freeman’s lyrics were more self revealing than many of the tortured artists of the grunge years and beyond. As an example, here’s one of my faves of their’s… “Baby Bitch.”