They Were All In Love With Dying, They Were Doin’ It In Texas

by Alexandra Molotkow

Some people dream of seeing the Beatles, but I would have loved to see the Butthole Surfers in their prime, when their stage show was a freaky, disgusting hallucination. (I would also like to have seen the Beatles.)

I’d love to say I came to the Butthole Surfers via Locust Abortion Technician but that’s simply not true. I got into the Butthole Surfers through “Pepper,” the strangest single on the radio back in 1996. I always thought the lyrics were free-associated nonsense, but Genius annotations indicate it’s a heartfelt song about lost friends who lived the fast life in Texas. I dunno, maybe it’s both.

There is some dispute around the line, “Pauly caught a bullet but it only hit his leg/While it should have been a better shot and got him in the head.” CaseyStellar believes that, for Pauly, death would have been preferable to living with one leg, while I strongly believe the singer hates Pauly and wishes he had died. As a kid I never knew whether they were dying in Texas or in love with dying while, separately, fucking each other in Texas. Again, both are almost certainly true.

I bought Electriclarryland at a used CD store in grade 7 and only ever regretted it when I glanced at my CD rack in the middle of the night and glimpsed the highly upsetting cover. When I got a little older and met Authentic Butthole Surfers Fans, they made fun of my loyalty to the sellout album, but it’s a solid album packed with all the storied weirdness, just under a gloss.

Anyway, here is an oral history of the Butthole Surfers. And a fascinating interview with Gibby Haynes.

Consider this a Gibby Haynes appreciation post.