Music / Quebec

"Take off your coat, it's gonna be a long night!"

"I understand it, but I don't want it."

— "I Don't Want It"

Quebec is the eighth album made by Alternative Rock band Ween. Released in 2003, the album marked their return to the independent circuit (last one was 1991's The Pod) after their contracts with Elektra Records expired, and after the near-death of drummer Claude Coleman Jr. in a car accident.

The album is famous for having a mixed reception when it released, because of the Progressive Rock-style songs and the darker, more melancholic tone it has, the latter of which was mainly inspired by Gene's at-the-time failing marriage that led to an apparently messy divorce. It's gained a following for the same elements that made its initial reception more mixed, to the point where it's now a major fan favorite.

Notable tracks are the opening track "It's Gonna Be A Long Night", "Transdermal Celebration", "Chocolate Town", and "If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All)". In 2011, Dean Ween released a 2-disc MP3-only collection of demos called "Caesar" (the Working Title of the album). Dean said that the demos were made somewhere in 2001-2003.

Tracklist

1. "It's Gonna Be A Long Night" - (2:48)
2. "Zoloft" - (3:51)
3. "Transdermal Celebration" - (3:25)
4. "Among His Tribe" - (3:37)
5. "So Many People In The Neighborhood" - (3:28)
6. "Tried And True" - (4:01)
7. "Happy Colored Marbles" - (3:12)
8. "Hey There Fancypants" - (1:59)
9. "Captain" - (3:58)
10. "Chocolate Town" - (3:26)
11. "I Don't Want It" - (3:16)
12. "The Fucked Jam" - (2:53)
13. "Alcan Road" - (5:10)
14. "The Argus" - (4:51)
15. "If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All) - (4:44)
16. "Ooh Va Lah" - (2:59) ^note Japanese bonus track

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Caesar Demos Tracklist

Disc 1:

1. "Chocolate Town" - (2:48)

2. "Potluck" - (2:27)

3. "Ooh Vah Lah" - (2:49)

4. "So Many People in the Neighborhood" - (2:26)

5. "Linda (the Sexy Dancer)" - (2:52)

6. "That Man (from the Flatland)" - (4:57)

7. "Happy Colored Marbles" - (2:39)

8. "Hey There Fancypants" - (2:08)

9. "If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All)" - (5:44)

10. "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" - (2:46)

11. "Oh My Little Country Cottage" - (1:36)

12. "Among His Tribe" - (2:46)

13. "Transdermal Celebration" - (3:23)

14. "Captain" - (4:18)

15. "Tried and True" - (4:24)

16. "I Fell in Love Today" - (3:40)

Disc 2:

1. "I Don't Want It" - (3:57)

2. "Ambrosia Parsley" - (4:36)

3. "Zoloft" - (2:32)

4. "Love Come Down (9-11-01)" - (5:42)

5. "Alcan Road" - (3:35)

6. "Don't Let the Moon Catch You Cryin'" - (3:30)

7. "You Can Go Shit in Your Hat (Matt)" - (2:20)

8. "Someday" - (3:34)

9. "She Caught My Fancy" - (3:01)

10. "Eulogy for David Anderson" - (3:08)

11. "Things You Already Know" - (3:52)

12. "Hello Johnny" - (3:55)

13. "I'm Wide Open" - (5:16)

So many tropes in the neighborhood, I don't know if they're very good tropes.

• Animated Music Video : "Transdermal Celebration"'s music video was animated by Adam Phillips, creator of Brackenwood.
• Big Rock Ending: "It's Gonna Be A Long Night" ends with Dean wailing a lot.
• Broken Record: "So Many People In The Neighborhood" has this, with all of the lyrics.
• Darker and Edgier: While Ween were never a "comedy" band, a good portion of their songs had enough of a weird sense of humor that they're often classified as one, and their more serious songs like "Freedom Of '76" had a more light-hearted vibe. This album, on the other hand, was made while Gene was in full breakdown mode in the wake of his worsening marriage and eventual divorce, coupled with his worsening drug addiction and the near-death of the band's drummer Claude Coleman Jr. Recorded from 2001 to 2003, the album's tone has been speculated to also be in-part due to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, with the demo song "Love Come Down (9-11-01)" being the best link to that speculation. This increased seriousness is also a likely reason why the album has a general shift in genre from full-blown Genre Roulette to a more prog rock sound with fewer shifts into other genres than previous albums.
• Drone of Dread: "Happy Colored Marbles", when it shifts to full gear.
• Drugs Are Bad / Drugs Are Good: Both are played with in "Zoloft" and "Happy Colored Marbles". Both are probably songs about anti-depressants, and since Gene was in a drug addiction at the time of recording this album it does make sense. With "Zoloft", it has the protagonist getting addicted to said drug and has a local talk with his or her psychiatrist (presented by a garbeled voice).

  Realize that the sky's not made of gold

  Don't disguise the nature of your soul

  • With "Happy Colored Marbles" at the other hand, it has these depressed voices (represented by a melancholic first and second verse) talking about how most people are not okay, but have to do the job. And in the chorus, a sort-of upbeat melody happens and sings about the aforementioned "Happy Colored Marbles". And finally in the instrumental breakdown, it basically is the experience after the affects of said "Marbles"; a screwed up mess and probably the darkest ending for a Ween song ever.
• Epic Rocking: "Alcan Road". For The Caesar Demos: "I'm Wide Open", "Love Come Down (9-11-01)" and "If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All)".
• Fake-Out Fade-Out: "The Fucked Jam" does this... a lot...
• Genre Roulette: Goes from speed metal, to techno, to prog, to showtunes on "Hey There Fancypants", to acoustic rock, noise rock, and... Whatever "Alcan Road" and "Happy-Colored Marbles" are.
• Instrumentals: "The Fucked Jam", which is just electronic babbling with a hip-hop beat thrown under it.
• Intercourse with You: "Tried And True" is possibly about this.
• Lyrical Dissonance: "Zoloft" and "Happy Colored Marbles" are songs which are about the happiness... of using anti-depressants.
  • "Chocolate Town" is an upbeat country song about a guy trying to buy drugs and then getting caught by police.
• Mind Screw: "The Fucked Jam", again. At one point, one of the band members claimed that it DID have lyrics, and deep ones too, leading fans to try and figure it out, when it's probably gibberish. Probably.
• Miniscule Rocking: "Hey There Fancypants" which clocks in 1:59 in the album, and 2:08 in The Caesar Demos
• Mood Whiplash: "Happy Colored Marbles" has a slow, somber start... and then after the 2nd chorus it goes batshit insane. With a doom-metal like electric guitar and one of the Ween Bros. screaming in agony.
  • The opener is a speedy metal song, while the next song is a slow and somber neo-psychedelic jam.
• One-Word Title: "Zoloft" and "Captain"
• New Sound Album: Even though you could call every single song a "New Sound", Ween basically did go to unexplored territories in this album. To Speed Metal, to Electronic, to even the ambient soundscapes like "Captain", "The Alcan Road" and "The Argus".
• Pastiche: The opening track "It's Gonna Be A Long Night" is a song in the style of Motörhead.
  • "If You Could Save Yourself (You Could Save Us All)" sounds like Ween taking a stab at Pink Floyd style prog rock.
• "Sesame Street" Cred : "It's Gonna Be A long Night" appeared in the soundtrack for Tony Hawk's Underground 2.
• Shout-Out: The album cover is a reference to a 3M Paper Game called "Thorns", tampered with to resemble Dean and Gene.

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