Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club, where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented.


I can vaguely remember downloading 2 rejected Pizza Hut jingles: "Where'd The Cheese Go?" and "Where'd The Muthafuckin' Cheese Go At?" (2002). The true masters of portable 4-track recording, Gene Ween recently told Rolling Stone that Ween had broken up, an article which partially went live on The Internet Tuesday afternoon. Friends since the 8th grade, Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo [Dean] has a solid 25-year run as "Ween." The band recorded some 11 full-lengths between 1990-2007... excluding countless critically-acclaimed Indie releases, live albums, and demo tapes that date back to 1985. Freeman says he's been contemplating Ween's disbanding for the past 8 years, but is still on good terms with Melchiondo. Aaron Freeman's solo debut, Marvelous Clouds (Rod McKuen covers) was recorded after a 2011 rehab stint and is now in stores. Ween's high-pitched ode to hookers, Philly, Boyz II Men, etc. "Freedom of '76" is available for your listen/viewing pleasure up above. LONG LIVE WEEN!