Even If You Don't
| "Even If You Don't" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Single by Ween | |||||
| from the album White Pepper | |||||
| B-side | "Cornbread Red"/"Cornbread Red (Dub Mix)" | ||||
| Released | c. April 2000 (promotional single) May 2, 2000 (White Pepper)[1] | ||||
| Recorded | c. 1999–2000 | ||||
| Studio | Bearsville Sound Studios (Woodstock, NY) Greene St. Recording (Manhattan, NY) | ||||
| Length | 3:25 3:16 (radio edit) | ||||
| Label | Mushroom Records | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Gene Ween | ||||
| Producer(s) | |||||
| Ween singles chronology | |||||
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| White Pepper track listing | |||||
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"Even If You Don't" is a song by Ween from the 2000 album White Pepper.
Song Details[edit | edit source]
Recording and Composition[edit | edit source]
"Even If You Don't" is in the key of C major. It is Ween's only known song to utilize a 7/4 time signature, specifically during the verses.
The lead vocals are sung by Gene Ween. The guitar solo is played by Dean Ween.
Drummer Claude Coleman has singled out the song as a performance he is particularly proud of: "I like what I did on "Even If You Don't". . . . [It's] a pretty rockin' performance, on my end. Every time I hear it, I'm always like, 'That doesn't even sound like me, man, that's cool. It's pretty badass.'"[2]
Single release[edit | edit source]
"Even If You Don't" was released as the first United States promotional single from White Pepper around April 2000.[3][4] It was released as the second United Kingdom single in late 2000.[5] The UK CD release includes the B-sides "Cornbread Red" and "Cornbread Red (Dub Mix)", and the vinyl release only includes "Cornbread Red". Despite being included on a White Pepper single, "Cornbread Red" was actually recorded during sessions for Chocolate and Cheese.[3]
Single releases include a edit which removes the intro. A United States promotional CD includes an additional edit titled "Call-Out Hook", featuring a portion of the chorus, as well as a short audio biography on the band.[6]
Live Performances[edit | edit source]
"Even If You Don't" was first played live in the summer of 1999, almost a year before the release of White Pepper, and has remained a fairly common live Ween song ever since.[7] A 7/7/2000 recording from the White Pepper tour is found on the Live at Stubb's album, and a 11/9/2003 recording from the Quebec tour is on Live in Chicago.
In addition, Gene Ween has played "Even If You Don't" numerous times at solo acoustic shows from 2009 to 2012.[7]
Music Video[edit | edit source]
The music video for "Even If You Don't" was directed by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and was released on the song's CD single in 2000. The video was commissioned and paid for by the band's United Kingdom label Mushroom Records, as they were releasing it as a single in the UK.[5] Parker, Stone and Ween previously worked together on numerous projects, and the band thought they would be a good fit for directing the video.[8] The video was shot in Venice Beach, California on June 13, 2000, and features Ween performing to their girlfriends in a bar, while the women flirt with every guy and bartender there.[5]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
I'm goin' crazy - trying to keep you sane
Taking my prescriptions, and forging my name
I was happy this morning
You finally got yourself dressed
Eating raw bacon
It's okay, I was still impressed
I love you - even if you don't
You've got your knife up to my throat
Why do you want to see me bleed?
Rooting through the garbage
For treasures in the trash pile
Seeing my expression
Will always make you smile
Please don't touch my phone book
My friends are getting pissed off
Wake 'em in the morning
Acting like a jerk-off
I love you - even if you don't
You've got your knife up to my throat
Why do you want to see me bleed?
I love you - even if you don't
You've got your knife up to my throat
Why do you want to see me bleed?[9]
Song Themes[edit | edit source]
Alcohol/Drugs, Love, Sung by Gene Ween, Uncommon Time Signature
Personnel[edit | edit source]
- Gene Ween – lead and backing vocals, [?], co-producer
- Dean Ween – guitar, [?], co-producer
- Claude Coleman – drums
- Glenn McClelland – keyboards
- Dave Dreiwitz – bass
- Chris Shaw – co-producer, recording, mixing
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Newspapers.com archive of The Morning Call, Saturday, April 15, 2001, Page 59.
- ↑ https://www.songfacts.com/blog/writing/claude-coleman-jr-of-ween
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.discogs.com/master/32662-Ween-Even-If-You-Dont
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010225075446/http://www.ylr38.dial.pipex.com/musicinterviews/ween-dean-a.htm
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20000816154747/http://www.spin.com/noise/news/2000/06/14/1/index.html#item6
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/2926529-Ween-Even-If-You-Dont
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=all%20bands&song_id=51
- ↑ https://groups.google.com/g/alt.music.ween/c/d9pO-b2bPNU/m/Z64jhWm4Il0J
- ↑
