Rotting Piñata
Rotting Piñata is the debut studio album by American rock band Sponge, released on August 2, 1994 through Work Records. Hit singles from this album, such as "Plowed" and "Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)", helped launch the band's career and the album was certified gold by the RIAA.
| Rotting Piñata | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 2, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1993-1994 at The Loft, Saline, Michigan | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, grunge, post-grunge, hard rock | |||
| Length | 53:47 34:06 (Live at Rock am Ring) | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | Tim Patalan and Sponge | |||
| Sponge chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rotting Piñata | ||||
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Release
Rotting Piñata is Sponge's best selling album, having sold more than 500,000 copies. Although released in August 1994, the album did not enter the Billboard 200 until May 1995, following the success of its second single "Plowed". Rotting Piñata peaked at number 58 and remained on the chart for 40 weeks.[1]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Rotting Piñata received mostly positive reviews. However, Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it three stars out of five and said that "Sponge's sense of alternative rock goes back as far as Pearl Jam, or maybe only Stone Temple Pilots, judging from the hit single "Plowed". For an STP ripoff band, they're very adept -- the chords cluster together, vocalist Vinnie sings directly from his gut, and the whole thing barrels ahead, ignoring whatever's in its way."[2]
Track listing
All songs written by Sponge (Vinnie Dombroski, Joey Mazzola, Mike Cross, Tim Cross, Jimmy Paluzzi) and produced by Tim Patalan and Sponge.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pennywheels" | 4:36 |
| 2. | "Rotting Piñata" | 4:00 |
| 3. | "Giants" | 5:20 |
| 4. | "Neenah Menasha" | 6:03 |
| 5. | "Miles" | 4:11 |
| 6. | "Plowed" | 3:17 |
| 7. | "Drownin'" | 4:40 |
| 8. | "Molly" | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Fields" | 4:55 |
| 10. | "Rainin'" ("Candy Corn" is a hidden track in the gap between tracks 10 and 11. When listening to the CD, it appears as part of track 10 and begins at the 7:03 mark.) | 12:57 |
| 11. | "Untitled" | 0:03 |
A special edition included a bonus CD featuring Sponge live at Rock am Ring Nürburgring on June 2, 1995.
All songs written by Sponge except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Neenah Menasha" | 4:42 | |
| 2. | "Rotting Piñata" | 4:15 | |
| 3. | "I Hate Myself" (Introduced as "I Hate Myself When I'm With You") | 5:43 | |
| 4. | "Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)" | 3:41 | |
| 5. | "Rainin'" | 5:29 | |
| 6. | "Plowed" | 3:26 | |
| 7. | "Fields" | 4:02 | |
| 8. | "Big Girl" (Introduced as "I'm a Big Girl") | 27 Mauve | 2:48 |
Personnel
- Vinnie Dombroski - vocals
- Mike Cross - guitar, backing vocals
- Tim Cross - bass
- Joey Mazzola - guitar, backing vocals
- Jimmy Paluzzi - drums, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Andy Patalan - production assistant
- Tim Palmer - mixing
- Mark O'Donoughue & Brandon Harris - mixing assistants
- Tim Patalan - mixing on "Rotting Piñata", "Neenah Menasha", "Miles" and "Molly"
- Stuart Griffen - Talent agent
- Pablo Mathiason - A&R
- Howie Weinberg - mastering
- David Coleman - art direction
- Michael Halsband - photography
Charts
Album
| Year | Title | US Billboard 200 | US Heatseekers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Rotting Piñata | 58 | 4 |
Singles
| Year | Title | US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Neenah Menasha | - | - | - |
| Plowed | - | 5 | 9 | |
| 1995 | Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain) | 55 | 3 | 11 |
| Rainin' | - | 34 | 18 |
Trivia
- The title of the album (and song of the same name) came from a conversation the band had regarding controversial punk rock singer GG Allin. Allin promised for several years that he would die by suicide on stage during one of his concerts, but instead died from an accidental drug overdose. The band wondered if Allin would want his corpse to be present at the remainder of the shows on his schedule, and suspended over the crowd where fans would also be able to hit or take a whack at it. The band's soundman Chris remarked that if that happened, the corpse would be like a rotting piñata.
- Neenah and Menasha are two cities in Wisconsin.
- The vocals for "Molly" were re-recorded for the single release, retitled "Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)". The song was partly inspired by a story the Cross brothers had heard about a 16-year-old girl who fell in love with one of her teachers and attempted suicide after he rejected her advances.
- Track number five, "Miles", includes the last two lines of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" ("And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.").