Music of the Day, 17 January 2025

there is no reprise

When a bit of today’s intro popped into my mind, I was sure that it was an instrumental piece. I’m clearly losing whatever musical chops I once had, because it most definitely is not. On the other hand, I’ve never been able to make out most of the lyrics, so it makes sense that the radio station in my mind doesn’t have them.

I have long adored “Southbound Pachyderm,” which is from Primus’ 1995 album Tales From the Punchbowl. It’s remarkably calm for Primus, yet still very tasty. Les Claypool’s bass and vocals are both restrained and effective at setting an ominous mood. That gives both “Herb” Alexander on drums and Ler LaLonde on guitar plenty of room to shine, and they do in a way that fits with the building intensity of the song.

Even reading the lyrics as I listen to the song doesn’t help me hear them more clearly, but they do help make it clear that the song is about the threats that pachyderms—elephants, hippopotamuses, and rhinoceroses—face in the wild. The title does too, now that I think about the “southbound” adjective more metaphorically.

Researching the song and album today, I discovered that “Southbound Pachyderm” was released as a single. I don’t recall ever hearing it on the radio, and in 1995 I had no access to MTV, so I didn’t see the video either. While I find other Primus videos amusing (each that I’ve seen has been well made), this time around I prefer to stick with the music.