Time Machine: “Backwater,” Meat Puppets
To feel the day break on my face
There’s a blood that’s flowing through the feeling
With a knife to open up the sky’s veins
Woke up to “Backwater” by the Meat Puppets this morning. Off of their 1994 album, Too High To Die. Released shortly after their new found mainstream popularity as a result of appearing on MTV Unplugged with Nirvana. The single of “Lake of Fire” off that sitting is, in fact, a cover of the Meat Puppets song. The ensuing disc was incidentally the last recording Nirvana made. Kurt Cobain died about 4 months later.
“Backwater” is the Meat Puppets’ only single to make it on to the charts, but they’re a band that has consistently flown just below the radar. They started out as a punk/hardcore band and evolved into using country elements and eventually into a sort of grunge hybrid. They are easy to listen to, it’s not as sharp on the ears as Nirvana can be, and the music itself is relatively upbeat, even when the lyrics aren’t.
This song reminds me of JLM. I stole the CD from him the last time I went to Jacksonville this summer before the move, because I couldn’t get the song out of my head and it’s not available on iTunes. Meat Puppets always remind me of him, because Nirvana always reminds me of him. I listened to this song on repeat about 10 times on the way home that day.
The lyrics remind me of him, too, in a comforting sort of way. In the backwater swirling, there are some things that will never change. The more things change, the more they stay the same, right? I think it’s recognizing that pattern that allows you to move forward. Carry the good and leave the bad.
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For more information on Meat Puppets, visit meatpuppets.com.