WeenThe future for genre-bending, cult heroes Ween seems practically non-existent today as the band's Aaron Freeman – aka Gene Ween – tells Rolling Stone that the band is over.
Freeman, who last year checked into rehab after a couple of off-the-rails performances, said in an interview to promote his new solo record Marvellous Clouds that he is closing the door on the chapter of his life that began over a quarter of a century ago.
"It's time to move on," Freeman says in the interview. "I'm retiring Gene Ween."
"For me it's a closed book. In life sometimes, in the universe, you have to close some doors to have others open," he says. " For me, I'd like to think it's a door I can close finally."
Ween started when Freeman met Mickey Melchiondo – aka Dean Ween – in their eighth grade typing class in 1984. The late-'80s saw the duo record a wealth of lo-fi bedroom material that established their initial cult following, but an unlikely pop hit in 1992's Push Th' Little Daisies – which spent 13 weeks in the Australian singles charts – saw their profile skyrocket.
In their time together the band released 11 studio albums which saw their music go everywhere from funk to punk rock to jazz, easy listening, country and heavy metal. They last visited Australia in 2008.
Freeman maintains that he is still on speaking terms with Melchiondo and that there are no hard feelings. In an interview with Slate in early-March, in which he called himself a drug addict and an alcoholic, Freeman admitted that if he were ever to tour again he'd have to do so with the help of a minder.
Here are 25 of the best Ween songs. If you listen to anything today, make it this.
