Puscifer

"V" Is for Vagina

Nov 28, 2007 at 4:00 am
The most-viewed YouTube clip starring Puscifer, Tool leader Maynard James Keenan's twisted side project, is "Cuntry Boner," which features MJK, his drawers distended by a massive faux erection, twanging out lines such as "I've fucked Minnie Pearl" over a stomping hoedown beat. "V" Is for Vagina's title promises more of the same, but it's actually a trickier proposition, merging often lyrically lewd satire with music that frequently stops short of jokiness. "Vagina Mine" epitomizes this odd combination. Images like "This vagina mine, one-track, tunnel vision now" are about as subtle as a Def Comedy Jam routine, but musically, the track is dark and doomy, with a deadpan Keenan intoning over heavy drumming and atmospheric guitar samples that undercut potential laughs. A similar approach colors the mock gospel lament "Rev. 22:20." Lines such as "Christ is coming/And so am I" seem funnier on the page than they do in the song because Keenan commits as much to creepiness as he does to comedy.