History Music / MrBungle

* GenreShift: The band was originally a straight-up ThrashMetal band. By the time they signed and recorded their first album, their Thrash background is only heard in small snippets of their GenreRoulette style.

Mr. Bungle is also known for their music practically being the sonic embodiment of GenreRoulette. They frequently used unconventional instruments including tenor sax, jaw harp, cimbalom, xylophone, glockenspiel, clarinet, ocarina, piano, organ, bongos, and woodblocks. Furthermore, Mike Patton's vocals were performed in a variety of styles including [[HarshVocals death growls]], crooning, rapping, screeching, gurgling, and whispering. On top of that, the arrangement of their songs often lacked structure and instead rotated through different genres ranging from slow melodies to thrash metal.

Mr. Bungle is also known for their music practically being the sonic embodiment of GenreRoulette. They frequently used unconventional instruments including tenor sax, jaw harp, cimbalom, xylophone, glockenspiel, clarinet, ocarina, piano, organ, bongos, and woodblocks. Furthermore, Mike Patton's vocals were performed in a variety of styles including death metal growls, crooning, rapping, screeching, gurgling, and whispering. On top of that, the arrangement of their songs often lacked structure and instead rotated through different genres ranging from slow melodies to thrash metal.

Some of the genres they utilized include -- [[LongList *deep breath*]] -- {{funk}}, free {{jazz}}, SurfRock, PunkRock, HeavyMetal, klezmer, {{ska}}, kecak, avant-jazz, FolkMusic, NoiseRock, {{pop}}, doo-wop, FunkMetal, ElectronicMusic, swing, space-age pop and exotica, DeathMetal, {{rockabilly}}, bossa nova, ProgressiveRock, CountryMusic, [[CreepyCircusMusic circus music]], and even video game and cartoon music.

* GenreShift: The band was originally a straight-up DeathMetal band. By the time they signed and recorded their first album, the Death Metal background is only heard in small snippets of their GenreRoulette style.

Some of the genres they utilized include -- [[LongList *deep breath*]] -- {{funk}}, free {{jazz}}, SurfRock, PunkRock, HeavyMetal, klezmer, {{ska}}, kecak, avant-jazz, FolkMusic, NoiseRock, {{pop}}, doo-wop, FunkMetal, ElectronicMusic}}, swing, space-age pop and exotica, DeathMetal, {{rockabilly}}, bossa nova, ProgressiveRock, CountryMusic, [[CreepyCircusMusic circus music]], and even video game and cartoon music.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: "The Girls of Porn."

Some of the genres they utilized include -- [[LongList *deep breath*]] -- {{funk}}, free {{jazz}}, SurfRock, PunkRock, HeavyMetal, klezmer, {{ska}}, kecak, avant-jazz, FolkMusic}}, NoiseRock}}, {{pop}}, doo-wop, FunkMetal, ElectronicMusic}}, swing, space-age pop and exotica, DeathMetal}}, {{rockabilly}}, bossa nova, ProgressiveRock, CountryMusic, circus music, and even video game and cartoon music.

[[NamesTheSame Not to be confused with]] the puppet who didn't wash his hands in the ''Beginning Responsibility: Lunchroom Manners'' short parodied by Podcast/RiffTrax.[[note]]Though that ''is'' where they got their name, and a clip of the short appears as SpokenWordInMusic at the end of "Love Is a Fist"[[/note]]

* {{Corpsing}}: Mike corpses at the end of "Egg", when he tries to sing the last line one last time but fails.

* BrokenRecord: In "My Ass is On Fire", in the last stretches of the song, the word "redundant" is repeated over and over again until everything goes full on insane. It even has a "Boring!" chant underneath it!

* CoincidenceMagnet / WeirdnessMagnet: While mixing their debut album, a friend gave Trevor Dunn a copy of the porn starring a character named "Mr. Bungle," bizarrely containing the same name as their band's and the short that inspired it. Further, they HAD a song about porn on the album ("Girls of Porn"), and a sample of the original short already elsewhere on the album. A sample from the porn was immediately decided to be put on the beginning of "Girls".

* GenreShift: The band was originally a straight up DeathMetal band. By the time they signed and recorded their first album, the Death Metal background is only heard in small snippets of their GenreRoulette style.

** ''Disco volante'': a truly avant-garde set wherein practically every minute sounds completely different to the next.
** ''California'': has much of the same jarring eclecticism as ''Disco volante'', but is heavily influenced by pop from the 50's and 60's, and much like their self-titled debut, has plenty of catchier elements. The overall approach can be summed up as "Music/TheBeachBoys burning in hell".

* StylisticSuck: "Everyone I Went to High School with Is Dead" was intentionally made to be an uncatchy, unlistenable track. It's the ''lead-off'' track of their second album.

Some of the genres they utilized include -- [[LongList *deep breath*]] -- {{funk}}, free {{jazz}}, {{surf rock}}, {{punk rock}}, {{heavy metal}}, klezmer, {{ska}}, kecak, avant-jazz, {{folk music}}, {{noise rock}}, {{pop}}, doo-wop, {{funk metal}}, {{electronic music}}, swing, space-age pop and exotica, {{death metal}}, {{rockabilly}}, bossa nova, {{progressive rock}}, {{country music}}, circus music, and even video game and cartoon music.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly

** The original demo version of "Anarchy Up Your Anus" included narration from ''Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House'', a Halloween sound effects record released by Disneyland Records, as SpokenWordInMusic - rather than have to license the sample from Disney for commercial release, for the 2020 version they had Rhea Perlman recite the same text and imitate the original narrator.

* Corpsing: Mike corpses at the end of "Egg", when he tries to sing the last line one last time but fails.

* FakeoutFadeout: "Egg" ends with a repetitive heavy outro, culminating in two of these. The second is especially unexpected, seemingly ad-libbed by the band in-studio, cracking up and stopping halfway through.

** Though not outright scary, the FakeoutFadeout of "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz" is a trifle startling: The song fades out, then after a few seconds of silence, the music suddenly comes back in much louder, with Mike Patton doing some rather suggestive grunting over it.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Anything from a 1 to an 11, usually in the same song, to the point it's impossible to classify them.

* Corpsing: Mike corpses at the end of "Egg",

* RecordProducer: Even though Disco Volante and California were self-produced by the band, the first album had Music/JohnZorn produce it. He even did saxophone for "Love Is a Fist".

[[caption-width-right:300: I hear you guys like GenreRoulette.]]

Mr. Bungle is an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film regarding bad habits which was featured in a Pee Wee Herman HBO special in the early '80s. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid-to-late 1980's before being signed to Creator/WarnerBrosRecords and releasing three full length studio albums between 1991 and 1999. The band toured in 2000 to support their last album, but in 2004 they disbanded. Although Mr. Bungle went through several line-up changes early in their career, the longest serving members were vocalist Music/MikePatton, guitarist Trey Spruance, bassist Trevor Dunn, saxophonist Clinton "Bar" [=Mc=]Kinnon, and drummer Danny Heifetz.

Mr. Bungle frequently incorporated unconventional instruments into their music, including tenor sax, jaw harp, cimbalom, xylophone, glockenspiel, clarinet, ocarina, piano, organ, bongos, and woodblocks. Overlying this were Mike Patton's vocals, which often used death metal growls, crooning, rapping, screeching, gurgling, or whispering. The arrangement of their songs was also idiosyncratic, often lacking a structured song format and rotating through different genres ranging from slow melodies to thrash metal. ''New York Times'' journalist Jon Pareles described it as music that "leaps from tempo to tempo, key to key, style to style, all without warning." Some of the genres they utilized include {{Funk}}, Free {{Jazz}}, SurfRock, PunkRock, HeavyMetal, Klezmer, {{Ska}}, Kecak, Avant-Jazz, FolkMusic, NoiseRock, {{Pop}}, Doo-Wop, FunkMetal, ElectronicMusic, Swing, space-age pop and exotica, DeathMetal, {{Rockabilly}}, Bossa Nova, ProgressiveRock, [[CountryMusic Country and Western]], circus music, and even video game and cartoon music.

Their discography is as follows:

* CoincidenceMagnet / WeirdnessMagnet: While mixing their debut album, a friend gave Trevor Dunn a copy of the porn starring a character named "Mr. Bungle," bizarrely containing the same name as their band's and the short that inspired it. Further, they HAD a song about porn on the album ("Girls of Porn"), and a sample of the short already elsewhere on the album. A sample from the porn was immediately decided to be put on the beginning of "Girls".