Lacquer Head

Album: Antipop (1999)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A "lacquer head" is someone who gets high from sniffing paint, glue or other toxic substances (lacquer, which is a wood finish, will also do the trick). The song paints a bleak picture for young people addicted to inhalants, as Les Claypool sings about a girl who gets hit by a truck after sniffing turpentine and a kid who goes into a coma after huffing carburetor cleaner.

    Like just about every Primus song, it's delivered with a wink and in no way glorifies the characters in the song. Still, Claypool clarified that it "addresses the dangers of chemical abuse."
  • This was produced by Fred Durst, lead singer of Limp Bizkit. Primus had a bunch of guest musicians play on or produce tracks on the Antipop album. James Hetfield, Stewart Copeland (Claypool's Oysterhead bandbate), Tom Waits and Tom Morello were some of the other musicians who contributed.
  • The video is a mix of live footage and claymation that depicts, among other things, a boy sniffing gasoline and glue. The video was banned by MTV, so Primus premiered it on the website for the Long Beach, California, radio station KNAC.

Comments: 3

  • Rusty from Argyle, Ny"satan" is his brother
  • Chris from Peabody, Maread the lyrics and you might get a very vague description of a boy who loved his carborator cleaner, perhaps a message about a boy sniffing himself into a coma. the video was banned because of the lyrics in conjunction with a boy getting high from satan putting a helmet on him that had gasoline running through it. had we seen the boy's body parts fly all over the place, thats why mtv would have banned it.
  • Luke from Martin, TnThe video didn't depict a boy sniffing gasoline and glue. It was banned because Satan rode the boy into a brick wall, causing him to explode.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal Tap

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal TapSong Writing

Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.