One of America's longest-running and most influential indie-rock bands, Meat Puppets formed in 1980 and soon began releasing a string of albums which fuse acid-tinged country and straight-ahead rock, with a dose of punk spirit thrown in for good measure. The resulting work turned out to be a pivotal influence on Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who invited the band on tour and frequently covered its songs. Click the link above to hear Meat Puppets perform live in concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.
Led by guitarist brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood, Meat Puppets' members first grabbed national attention with their eponymous 1982 debut, and particularly with its classic follow-up, Meat Puppets II. The band became increasingly inventive and experimental in the years that followed, and even hit the mainstream in the early '90s, thanks to Cobain's vocal support. But, not long after crossing over into the Top 40 with 1994's "Backwater," the band began to struggle, enduring label difficulties, poor sales of 1996's No Joke, Cris Kirkwood's stints in rehab and lengthy hiatuses from recording. In 2006, however, Meat Puppets' original lineup re-formed, and the band returned with Rise to Your Knees, followed by a well-received new album titled Sewn Together.
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