So what is Blister in the Sun about then? It’s like drug reference, big hands, stained sheets, crying girlfriend, drugs drugs drugs.
I am going to go with the answer that Amanda Palmer gives when asked about Coin Operated Boy - “It’s a song about being lonely”.
I always assumed that Mark Ritchie played a fretless bass, but that looks like some sort of mariachi equipment. Anybody have any insights as to what he usually plays or what’s in the video?
A wet dream isn’t the same as masturbation.
Any word on the meaning of “Turning Japanese”?
Samurai Lathe Operations
You mean it’s not an ode to Big Hans, the Polish bodybuilder?
Now the band has settled its differences enough to play together again, with Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione filling in for original Femme Victor DeLorenzo, who quit the group in 1993.
That’s leaving out a bit… DeLorenzo was part of the reunited lineup that played Coachella, as well as two dates afterwards, then abruptly leaving in acrimonious split after the Milwaukee Summerfest date.
Wow, old age has slowed them down.
If he ever got really badly sunburnt at some point that might actually work as a theory. 
I read thirtieth as thirteenth, and for a brief, shining moment, I felt less old. Then, reality.
Funny that, since Vig is their new drummer.
http://www.brianviglione.com/2013/08/09/brian-viglione-joins-violent-femmes/
Edit: Oh, i see this was said already.
I always assumed it was about shooting drugs.
I think this tape was in my backpack every single day of my high school career.
Still funny though, because I had not been aware of it when I posted.
How people interpret song lyrics often says a lot about them.
I always thought Blister in the Sun was a slice of life and not about anything in particular. Maybe I wasn’t masturbating enough back then, but I’m pretty sure I was.
I always got the drug reference, but I figured it was a surface analogy to something deeper. My early, pre-commonplace-internet assumption was that it was about the cruising lifestyle, and the strain of deciding whether to come out or not. You know, like he was ready to lose his mind.
Or issues/people in their lives. I have a brother who I’ve always had strong proof has been struggling with the cognitive dissonance of being conservative Republican and a closeted homosexual, if not at least bisexual. I’ve been waiting for that blister to pop for years, and certainly hope it won’t involve guns.
That’s what I was thinking. I saw them in 1996. Not being a fan, I wouldn’t recognize them today, and if I didn’t know that this video is of them, I would’ve thought it was a bad cover band.
I saw them in 1992 or 1993, before Victor left, in Albert Hall in London. It was amazing. That video of those guys? Not so much.
I really like several of their songs. “Color Me Once” on The Crow soundtrack is one. But I think my absolute favorite is “Country Death Song”. Unlike “Blister in the Sun” there is no confusion as to what the lyrics are about. This video was done by a fan.
