MUSIC ANNIVERSARY

Ween at Forty: The Enduring Legacy of the Boognish

Celebrating 40 years of the brownest music around

Dean and Gene Ween are smoking with the Boognish. Image Credit: Author

In 1984, two dissimilar middle school students became friends. One was a jock, the other an outsider. However, they shared a similar taste in music. This connection gave rise to the ’90s alternative and experimental rock phenomenon Ween.

Ween were successful in their heyday but became better known decades later. This is because of SpongeBob SquarePants and streaming services. I discovered Ween this way, and they became one of my favorite bands. Suppose I made a list of my ten favorite bands. They would be number two.

So, let’s celebrate 40 years of Ween. I’ll break down who they are and what Ween means to me.

Without further ado, let’s talk about Ween, mang.

Who are Ween and the Boognish?

Ween formed in junior high. After meeting in their typing class, Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo started making music together in 1984. Freeman and Melchiondo both loved the Beatles, Prince, and the Butthole Surfers — they knew they had to make music as a duo.

Freeman and Melchiondo’s love of music was not their only motivation. It was also the Boognish. This demonic god appeared during their typing class and told them to turn their words into music. The being convinced them so much that they gave themselves a stage and a band name. From then on, they were Gene (Aaron) and Dean (Mickey) Ween, and the Boognish became their mascot and logo.

The Boognish is a crude drawing with spiky hair, disproportionate eyes, and a rectangular, grill-like mouth. He looks more like a robot than a demonic deity. Either way, his crude appearance makes him look rather menacing or adorable.

I have pins and T-shirts with the Boognish, and I am waiting for the day when someone asks me about them. I will tell them, “That is not a demon, nor am I worshiping…