Conventional wisdom in the music business states that you should stay in your lane. For instance, a rock band should make rock music. Oh sure, they can throw in some country or folk elements, maybe add some strings on top, but they essentially stick with rock.

As a rule, you don’t jump wildly from genre to genre with each track on your album because audiences like their lanes, and if they’re expecting a smooth asphalt highway it confuses them when they’re suddenly off-roading through a muddy jungle.

But you know who pours ice water down the pants of convention and laughs maniacally while abruptly turning the wheel?

Welcome to Ween!

Formed in Pennsylvania in the mid-80s by two friends who met in a junior high typing class, right from the beginning, Ween always made music for Ween. Although Aaron and Mickey were social opposites, they discovered a shared love for music and formed a partnership as faux-bros Gene and Dean Ween. The duo picked up a drum machine and spent the next few years recording half a dozen homemade cassettes.

Ween released a couple of well-received albums on indie labels before Elektra Records signed them up in 1992. But even with a major label expense account, the aesthetic didn’t change: lo-fi home recordings on a four-track with two guitars, a drum machine, and a warped sense of humor. They garnered attention on MTV with a weird little ditty called “Push th’ Little Daisies” but remained a mostly underground phenomenon.

For their fourth album, Chocolate and Cheese, Ween went into an actual studio and made a professional sounding record. It contained a dizzying blend of genres, including punky lounge rock, prog, Philly soul, Beefheart lunacy, a Mexican murder ballad, synth pop, country, a Funkadelic-inspired guitar workout, indie rock ….. and a funky acoustic number set in Louisiana called “Voodoo Lady.” Released as a single in 1994, “Voodoo Lady” hit the Top 40 on the US Alternative chart and became the band’s biggest UK hit, coming in at #97. The song later appeared in a few movies and TV shows.

After Chocolate and Cheese, Ween followed up with an album of twisted country songs called 12 Golden Country Greats, and then a somewhat maritime-themed concept album called The Mollusk. With each new record, they attracted more and more attention, not only due to their genre defiance, but also for how skillfully they emulated these varying styles. Somehow Aaron and Mickey managed to turn their extreme lane-shifting into a feature, not a bug.

So serve up some red beans and rice, and boogie-boogie-boogie-boogie … with Ween.