After launching a long-form, multi-part deep dive into Moby, it felt important not to immediately pile on. When you commit to a true, start-to-finish exploration of an artist’s catalog, you’re asking listeners to stay present, to absorb context, to follow evolution rather than just chase highlights. That kind of listening deserves breathing room. Episode 1334 exists intentionally as that space.

This week’s show is a switch set — a reset — before we circle back for Part Two of the Moby deep dive.

The focus here is Primus. Or more accurately, the strange gravitational field that surrounds Primus, where funk, metal, punk, absurdist humor, and jaw-dropping musicianship all coexist without ever fully settling into a single genre. Primus isn’t background music. It’s confrontational, playful, deeply technical, and deliberately weird. And that makes it perfect as an interlude.

At the center of it all is Les Claypool — bassist, storyteller, ringmaster — but Primus has always been more than just a vehicle for his playing. From the beginning, the band carved out its own ecosystem, operating just outside the mainstream while somehow brushing against it repeatedly. They were too strange for metal purists, too aggressive for alternative radio, and too skilled to be dismissed as novelty. That tension is exactly what gave Primus its longevity.

This episode leans heavily into the band’s core catalog — material from Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Pork Soda, Frizzle Fry, Miscellaneous Debris, and Tales from the Punchbowl. These records capture Primus at its most defining moments: surreal characters, elastic bass lines, jagged rhythms, and songs that feel like short stories set to music. There’s humor here, but it’s rarely shallow. Beneath the surface is a sharp eye for human behavior, boredom, obsession, alienation, and absurdity.

Beyond Primus itself, this episode also serves as a reminder of how far Les Claypool’s creative reach extends. From side projects like Sausage and Oysterhead to collaborations across genres, Claypool has consistently followed curiosity rather than expectation. That same instinct — the refusal to sit still or repeat a formula — is what makes Primus such a strong contrast to the Moby arc we’re exploring this season. Different sounds, different intentions, but a shared commitment to evolution over comfort.

Episode 1334 isn’t meant to be exhaustive. It’s not a full Primus deep dive — that would take weeks on its own. Instead, this is a focused immersion, a chance to drop into their world, recalibrate your ears, and enjoy something deliberately off-kilter before we return to the longer narrative thread already in motion.

Next week, we head back down the spiral.

Hour 1

Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label – Year

Primus – Professor Nutbutter’s House of Treats – 07:13 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Mrs. Blaileen – 03:20 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver – 04:24 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Southbound Pachyderm – 06:22 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Space Farm – 01:45 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Year of the Parrot – 05:45 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Hellbound 17½ (Theme From) – 02:59 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Glass Sandwich – 04:05 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Del Davis Tree Farm – 03:23 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – De Anza Jig – 02:26 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – On the Tweek Again – 04:41 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Over the Electric Grapevine – 06:25 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Primus – Captain Shiner – 01:15 – Tales from the Punchbowl – Interscope – 1995

Hour 2

Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label – Year

Primus – Pork Chop’s Little Ditty – 00:21 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – My Name Is Mud – 04:46 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Welcome to This World – 03:40 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Bob – 04:40 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – DMV – 04:58 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – The Ol’ Diamondback Sturgeon (Fisherman’s Chronicles, Part 3) – 04:39 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Nature Boy – 05:33 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Wounded Knee – 02:25 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Pork Soda – 02:20 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – The Pressman – 05:11 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Mr. Krinkle – 05:27 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – The Air Is Getting Slippery – 02:31 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Hamburger Train – 08:11 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Pork Chop’s Little Ditty – 01:03 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Primus – Hail Santa – 01:48 – Pork Soda – Restless – 1993

Hour 3

Artist – Song – Time – Album – Label – Year

Primus – Intruder – 04:18 – Miscellaneous Debris – Interscope – 1992

Primus – Making Plans for Nigel – 03:35 – Miscellaneous Debris – Interscope – 1992

Primus – Sinister Exaggerator – 03:37 – Miscellaneous Debris – Interscope – 1992

Primus – Tippi Toes – 01:26 – Miscellaneous Debris – Interscope – 1992

Primus – Have a Cigar – 05:27 – Miscellaneous Debris – Interscope – 1992

Primus – Groundhog’s Day – 04:58 – Frizzle Fry – Prawn Song – 2002

Primus – Too Many Puppies – 03:57 – Frizzle Fry – Prawn Song – 2002

Primus – John the Fisherman – 03:37 – Frizzle Fry – Prawn Song – 2002

Primus – The Toys Go Winding Down – 04:35 – Frizzle Fry – Prawn Song – 2002

Primus – Pudding Time – 04:08 – Frizzle Fry – Prawn Song – 2002

Primus – Sathington Willoughby – 00:24 – Frizzle Fry – Prawn Song – 2002

Primus – Harold of the Rocks – 06:17 – Frizzle Fry – Prawn Song – 2002

Primus – To Defy – 00:38 – Frizzle Fry – Prawn Song – 2002

Primus – Here Come the Bastards – 02:54 – Sailing the Seas of Cheese – Interscope – 1991

Primus – Jerry Was a Race Car Driver – 03:10 – Sailing the Seas of Cheese – Interscope – 1991

Primus – Sgt. Baker – 04:16 – Sailing the Seas of Cheese – Interscope – 1991

Primus – Tommy the Cat – 04:15 – Sailing the Seas of Cheese – Interscope – 1991

Primus – Fish On (Fisherman’s Chronicles, Chapter II) – 07:45 – Sailing the Seas of Cheese – Interscope – 1991 [fade out]

Rolling with Scissors airs live every Tuesday from 2–5 AM on 89.9 FM in Madison and streams at wortfm.org. Missed it? You can catch the episode for two weeks after broadcast at archive.wortfm.org or at rwsradio.com.

While the audio disappears after two weeks, the episode notes and playlists don’t. Every deep dive, rant, and full album breakdown stays right here — so you can revisit the details any time.

Spin the dial — we’re probably on it. Lock onto your frequency. Pick your favorite antenna below and ride the signal back to us.

Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Bluesky | X (Twitter)