“The Mollusk” by Ween

To truly get in the summer mood, we must end the semester with an album inspired by summer vibes.

The creator of the show, “SpongeBob SquarePants,” Stephen Hillenburg loosely based the show on this album and asked the band if he could do so. This album is the root of famous memes and a globally recognizable show we grew up with. Let’s look at the album with a killer cover that inspired SpongeBob.

Opening with “I’m Dancing in the Show Tonight,” the album doesn’t start off with ocean or seafaring vibes. However, the voices sound quite familiar with them bearing an uncanny similarity to how SpongeBob and Patrick’s voices sound like. Following is the title track “The Mollusk,” a trippy song about a man walking with a boy who finds a mollusk and leads them to wondering about the Holy Trinity.

Then comes a polka-vibed sea shanty, “Polka Dot Tail.” Honestly, I am not sure if there is a deeper meaning beyond what strange the human imagination can be when it’s let loose. Next is “I’ll Be Your Johnny on the Spot,” telling a story about the phrase, used to mean someone you can rely on to pull through for you. After that, featuring a strange riff and solo, “Mutilated Lips” seems to describe powerful hallucinations while on acid.

Then comes “The Blarney Stone,” named after the real Blarney Stone which is a stone that if you kiss it is said to give you great persuasiveness and eloquence. This song has a drunk shanty or pub song style with a sing-along sound to it. It may be possible Hillenburg based the voice of Mr. Krabs off this tune, hinting at the pirate-sounding accent.

Next is “It’s Gonna Be (Alright),” a softer and more caring approach to cover the topic of how some relationships just can’t work out either because of time and distance or because it’s simply not the right one.

“The Golden Eel” is another way of describing “chasing the dragon” of that certain high you get from hardcore drugs. The song is so interesting because of its great playing and how it taps into the classic psychedelic rock style.

Next is “Cold Blows the Wind,” a more somber song about a poem called “The Unquiet Grave,” which describes a man who sits at the grave of the woman he loves. He wants one final kiss from her, but she says doing so would cause his death and that he should instead live out his days on Earth until his time comes. This song tells the story of that poem but with the roles switched.

The album dives back into the drug trip vibes with “Pink Eye – On My Leg,” which has no lyrics, but it isn’t simply an instrumental. This is an odd listen with a man groaning and a dog bark over summer-sounding tunes in the background.

Next is “Waving My Dick in the Wind,” which sounds like a song you would see during a trucking montage in a movie. Surprisingly, the song is focused on a man who misses his partner and his traveling. Then it’s “Buckingham Green,” which is the name of a mall in Virginia and has some wild early prog-rock feels to it and a nice solo.

One of the most recognizable songs on the album is “Ocean Man,” featured in “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” and resurfaced in memes from a couple of years ago. “Ocean Man” is the ultimate summer song thanks to its happy, nostalgic sound to remind us of the end credits from the movie.

“She Wanted to Leave (Reprise)” ends the album on a sad note, talking about a pirate whose lady leaves him for three pirates and ends with a distorted version of the opening song to really give off one final, weird send off.

Overall, it’s a strange but intriguing album with some gems on there. My top picks are for this one are “Mutilated Lips,” “The Golden Eel,” “Cold Wind Blows,” “Waving My Dick in the Wind” and “Buckingham Green.”