Reggaejunkiejew
"Reggaejunkiejew" is a song by Ween from the 1992 album Pure Guava.
Song Details[edit | edit source]
Meaning[edit | edit source]
Reggaejunkiejew is essentially a diss track. As stated in numerous early performances, it is a song written about a man named Brian Lansky, who at the time was also a local musician in the New Hope, Pennsylvania area. Early performances of this song often involved Gener and/or Deaner explaining the full back story of the song to the audience as a humorous anecdote. He is described as a white, Jewish, wanna-be Rastafarian guy with dreadlocks who is addicted to heroin and stole Gener's girlfriend. [1]
In the words of Gene Ween, "Reggaejunkiejew" is "about this dude who stole my girlfriend and took her to Jamaica."[2] Dean Ween elaborated: "He's, like, a 4-foot-10, Jewish, white Rastafarian, addicted to heroin. Just like, imagine the scenario. [He's an] endless source of inspiration for us. So we wrote this song."[3]
There is a persistent fan rumor that the song was written about a member of the band Spin Doctors. Although this particular rumor has never been addressed by Ween, it is extremely unlikely due to Spin Doctors forming in New York City, not Pennsylvania, and the fact that no one named Brian Lansky was ever involved in the former band.[4]
Gene Ween is himself Jewish.
Recording and Composition[edit | edit source]
"Reggaejunkiejew" is a heavily experimental industrial rap song with noise elements. The song is notable for its complex drum machine pattern, with an accompanying articulated bassline loosely between D# minor and E minor. The unique solo near the end of the studio version is a barrage of electronic beeping within the key of D# major. For live performances, the bassline is more clearly in E minor.
Live Performances[edit | edit source]
"Reggaejunkiejew" was played live as early as October 1991, over a year before its release on the Pure Guava album. It has remained a somewhat regularly played song in every era, being played at least a few times in most years of Ween. However, it was not played during the 1996 country tour. It was not played for a bit from 2018 but returned in 2022[5]
Three live recordings have been officially released:
- 3/6/1992 - At the Cat's Cradle, 1992 (Bonus DVD)
- 12/9/1992 - At the Cat's Cradle, 1992
- 7/22/2003 - All Request Live
Drummer Claude Coleman has referred to this song as a "brain buster" due to how difficult it is to try to replicate the drum machine beat from the studio version. He also said this of "Sketches of Winkle".[6]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
The Pure Guava lyric sheet contains official lyrics in Dean Ween's handwriting:
I don't know where you're comin' from
But I wish you'd go away
I don't know where you get your money from
But I wish I didn't have to be the one to pay
And I'm not sure how to say this
But I seal it with a kiss
Do up a bag and drop dead, motherfucker
So I can hang out with Chris
What can u do
When your world's been invaded by a reggaejunkiejew
What can u do
When the things that made u happy only make u blue
Take a permanent vacation
Get the fuck outta town
Go see Jamaica, motherfucker
Let your dreadlocks down
All that u speak is bullshit
And all the people u know
Maybe some people like to eat it
I think you're a dick
Matzofarian
Reggaejunkiejew[7]
Song Themes[edit | edit source]
Band Members Named in the Song, Judaism, Profanity/Swearing, Screaming, Sung by Dean Ween, Sung by Gene Ween
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOsSroUJAEg&t=2077s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmz5x-plQAA
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmz5x-plQAA
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_Doctors
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=Ween&song_id=162
- ↑ https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1gz17c/hi_i_am_claude_coleman_jr_the_drummer_for_ween/capet0h/
- ↑ From the official Pure Guava lyric sheet; lightly edited for clarity.