Dean Ween’s five favourite party records
Mickey Melchiondo Jr, better known to you and me as Dean Ween, is one half of the gloriously unhinged musical experiment known as Ween. Formed in 1984 alongside childhood friend Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween), the duo carved out their own deviant corner of alternative rock. In this place, Prince, Black Sabbath, and Captain Beefheart all get drunk together and forget how to behave.
Legend has it they took on the surname ‘Ween’ after an encounter with the demon-god Boognish, a deity of unknown origin and questionable morals. Others say it’s a hybrid of ‘wuss’ and ‘peen’. As origin stories go, it’s either divine revelation or teenage idiocy – either way, it fits. They were 15 when they started, and the chaos hasn’t stopped since.
But behind the slapstick, Ween’s music has always been anchored by razor-sharp musicianship and a deep, intuitive grasp of genre. Dean Ween, in particular, knows his way around a party playlist like a man who’s crashed more than a few in his time.
And while Dean might wear the mask of the jester, beneath the wild solos and stoner smirks is a serious student of groove, grit, and good times. His party picks aren’t ironic; they’re road-tested anthems for dancing on tables, setting amps on fire, and blurring the line between chaos and communion. These are records chosen not just to soundtrack a party, but to be the party.
Dean Ween’s five favourite party albums:
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – ‘Electric Ladyland’ (MCA, 1968)
If there’s one artist you’d expect Dean Ween to treat like a high priest of sound, it’s Jimi Hendrix. Ween’s musical cosmos spins on the kind of kaleidoscopic axis Hendrix first set in motion, and Electric Ladyland sits right at the centre of that galaxy. This wasn’t just a record for Dean; it was a ritual. Rain, headphones, weed, and Hendrix: a sacred teenage liturgy.
“As a kid, I looked forward to it raining so I could sit in my room, smoke out and listen to electric Ladyland through my headphones,” he said. “The first time I heard Voodoo Child, it literally changed my life. Still, I hate to pick a favourite Hendrix record because everything he ever recorded is holy to me. I choose Electric Ladyland simple because it’s a double album, so there is more of it.”
Black Sabbath – ‘Master of Reality’ (Warner Bros, 1971)
For a man who deals in fuzzed-out tones and molten riffs, it makes perfect sense that Dean Ween bows at the altar of Sabbath. Master of Reality is the proto-sludge scripture, and Dean doesn’t just admire it, he bloody worships it. Whether it’s doom, groove, or just the slow crush of distortion through a jam session, everything eventually leads back to Birmingham’s darkest sons.
“Every great jam I’ve ever been in on eventually comes back to Sabbath, the band that started heavy metal,” Ween said. “They should’ve been the first band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Musical trends come and go but metal just keeps on keeping on, music’s most consistent genre. As long as there are kids smoking pot in the suburbs, metal – and Black Sabbath – will prevail.”
Dr Dre – ‘The Chronic’ (Death Row, 1992)
You might not expect a Ween tour van to be bumping G-funk classics 24/7, but Dean insists that The Chronic practically lived in the stereo during their Chocolate and Cheese days. With Dre’s slick production and stoned swagger, it wasn’t just a hip-hop record but a party toolkit. If riffs are religion to Dean, then beats like these are holy water.
“The title basically says it all,” he added. “The penetrating synth lines and fat ass beats make this one of the best party albums ever made. I’ve owned at least three copies and it literally never left our van stereo during the Chocolate and Cheese tour. It is one of the best rap records of all time and Dre is a musical genius, who has been ripped off and watered down by every producer in rap in laughable attempts to gain radio play”.
The Butthole Surfers – ‘Locust Abortion Technician’ (Touch & Go, 1987)
Ween were never afraid to get weird, but The Butthole Surfers made weird into an art form. Dean doesn’t just admire Locust Abortion Technician – he reveres it, especially under the influence of psychedelics. This wasn’t music to mellow out to; it was a portal to the abyss, and Dean took the trip more than once. Consider it required listening for any chaos enthusiast.
“LSD isn’t all about Kaleidoscopes; it can also be a dark, frightening experience, and this record is tapped directly into that awful place,” Ween said. “It’s a masterpiece of bad vibes and bad drugs, which is probably why it was what I reached for every time I ate mushrooms or dropped acid. It’s also the closest any record ever came to capturing the full awesomeness of The Butthole Surfers, who were the best live band of my generation and one of Ween’s greatest inspirations.”
Parliament – ‘Motor Booty Affair’ (Casablanca, 1978)
If you ever wondered what it sounds like to get stoned at the bottom of the ocean while funk aliens throw a rave, Dean Ween has your answer. Motor Booty Affair is pure, aquatic lunacy – a concept album where the concept might’ve just been “let’s get weird and fishy”. Dean’s love for this record runs deep – pun very much intended.
“The ultimate record to smoke to, Motor Booty Affair is a concept album of sorts—something about a drugged out, freaky underwater orgy. I’ve been told that during the album’s conception, the band often took acid and went deep sea fishing off the Florida Keys, which is about what it sounds like. I have no idea if the story is true, but I would give anything to have been on that boat.”
