Ween was a marvelously accomplished band with a bizarre sense of humour. Guess which one worked in the group’s advantage? The duo spent the 90s, seemingly, releasing classic album after classic album. Yet, they’re best known for one song that was featured on a popular television program. Thankfully, “Ocean Man” happens to be one of the greatest alternative rock songs of the 1990s.
But does it mean, and what’s the story of this enduring, surprising success? That’s what I’ll try to reveal here.
Ween’s Journey to Making “Ocean Man”
Ween was one of the most bizarre and inventive groups of the alternative rock boom. It was formed by school rivals who’d, eventually, bonded over music. They called themselves Dean and Gene Ween. They claimed to worship a mystical being called The Boognish. And they recorded many, many lo-fi records using just their talents.
BY the mid-1990s, albums like “Chocolate and Cheese” and “12 Golden Country Greats” had turned Ween into a cult band. They’d expanded the group’s sound, had a minor hit with the quirky “Push th’ Little Daisies,” and were doing some of their best work.
Record labels, unfortunately, didn’t quite know how to market the band. Ween could be as melodic as Oasis, could (now) outplay Phish and were funnier than GWAR.
“The Mollusk” was the album that was supposed to make everyone acknowledge the band’s brilliance. It worked. Just that, in typical Ween fashion, it wasn’t as planned.
The Meaning of the Lyrics to “Ocean Man”
Yes, Ween recorded a concept album in earnest with 1997’s “The Mollusk.” The nautical-themed record may have been perceived as just another joke from the very unpredictable Dean and Gene Ween. In truth, however, it is this writer’s opinion that this is one of the best albums of the 1990s.
The record is noteworthy for its generally darker tone, with “Ocean Man” being one of the few exceptions. “Buckingham Green,” “Mutilated Lips,” or “Waving My Dick in the Wind,” are, for the most part, melancholy-filled pyshchedelic rock songs.
“Ocean Man” and the rest of the songs were written when Gene and Dean Ween rented out a cabin on the Jersey Shore off-season. It all started as a dare to write modern sea shanties, with “Cold Blows the Wind” being the first song written and recorded during those sessions.
“Ocean Man” was a song written quickly and one that tied all of the other compositions together. It began life as a loose jam centred on Gene Ween’s quirky mandolin playing. Lyrics were written quickly.
Should you take the lyrics at face value? Or is this another put-on by the notoriously quirky Ween?
The song, much of Ween’s catalogue, is a parody. But it also features the kinds of lyrics and arrangement that would make Lennon and McCartney pay notice.
“Ocean Man” is a likely as much a song about deep diving as it is a song about the evolution of the human species. It’s a song about fishing as much as it is a song about superior human beings. And, yes, Dean and Gene Ween admit to largely spending the time at the Jersey cabin tripping on acid.
“Spongebob” and “Ocean Man?”
“SpongeBob Square Pants” is an animated series first released at the tail-end of the 1990s. It remains, possibly, the most successful of its type.
Allegedly, the creators of the show were always aware of Ween and enjoyed the band’s music. That’s likely how “Ocean Man” ended up on the soundtrack to 2004’s “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.”
This song gave the song and the band a massive boost. Suddenly, Ween was part of this animated universe and, in many ways, never left.
This certainly helped the song become something of a meme around 2015. And, this, in turn, helped Ween enjoy a massive commercial revival once the group, finally, reunited in the 2020s.
And, if you enjoy conspiracy theories, there are even some that suggest that the whole SpongeBob Universe is inspired by Ween songs. Wouldn’t that be nice!
The Legacy of “Ocean Man” and Ween
Ween seemed destined to be one of the great, unsung groups of alternative rock. The band’s musical ability and discography far exceed that of most of their contemporaries. To a small group of people, Ween was the comedic Beatles of the 90s.
And while Ween seemed destined to remain a cult act, the internet’s caught on. In recent years, Ween’s live shows have become something reminiscent of Grateful Dead gatherings. Besides, the group’s albums, chiefly “The Mollusk” have been reappraised, and get the love that thye deserve.
