Heavy Petting Zoo

NOFX recorded the album in October 1995 with Ryan Greene at the Razor's Edge studio, San Francisco, a garage described by the band as "a total dive".{{cite web|title=NOFX Albums: Heavy Petting Zoo|url=http://www.nofxofficialwebsite.com/albums/heavy/heavy.html|access-date=24 April 2013}}

The music on Heavy Petting Zoo has been complimented as "melodic", and the album has been favorably compared to the band's 1991 Ribbed LP,{{cite journal|journal=Spin| title=Reviews: Heavy Petting Zoo, NOFX |year=1996|issue=April|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JheoECFjDqMC&q=Heavy+Petting+Zoo+nofx&pg=PA113|last=Gold| first=Jonathan|page=113}} but although tracks like "Hobophobic (Scared of Bums)" and "Freedom Lika Shopping Cart" have been lauded for their witty titles, they have also been criticized for being overly cynical.{{cite journal|journal=CMJ New Music Monthly | title=Reviews: Heavy Petting Zoo, NOFX |year= 1996| issue=April| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ii0EAAAAMBAJ&q=Heavy+Petting+Zoo+nofx&pg=RA1-PA20|last=Molanphy |first=Chris|page=40}}

The track "August 8th" makes reference to the death of Jerry Garcia. Songwriter Fat Mike commented that he wrote the song, "cuz I fucking hate the Grateful Dead, but it turns out I had the date wrong. He really dies on August 9th. Whoops. I guess I'm lame."{{cite web|url=http://www.nofxofficialwebsite.com/qa/qa_read.php3?page=11|title=NOFX: Q&A|access-date=23 April 2013|archive-date=1 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001083219/http://www.nofxofficialwebsite.com/qa/qa_read.php3?page=11|url-status=dead}}

According to Fat Mike, the first half of "The Black And White" is concerned with a repressed homosexual male living in "Small Town, USA".{{cite web|url=http://www.nofxofficialwebsite.com/qa/qa_read.php3?page=6|title=NOFX: Q&A|access-date=23 April 2013|archive-date=1 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001083255/http://www.nofxofficialwebsite.com/qa/qa_read.php3?page=6|url-status=dead}}

"Liza" revisits the lesbians Liza and Louise introduced on the 1992 album White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean. The third song in the series, "Louise" is found on their eighth album Pump up the Valuum.Zimmermann, Curtis. "[http://www.allmusic.com/album/pump-up-the-valuum-mw0000608263 Pump Up the Valuum]". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 August 2013.

There are two different cover images for the album, both illustrated by Mark deSalvo, a noted designer of punk album art.{{cite web|title=Mark deSalvo artwork|url=http://www.markdesalvo.com/|access-date=24 April 2013}}

The artwork for the CD edition features a man fingering a sheep. The band's name and album title are featured at the top of the cover. The vinyl edition's artwork features the same man and sheep in a 69 position. The title Eating Lamb is given on the cover of the LP,{{cite book|page=79|title="Nur für Erwachsene": Rock und Popmusik: zensiert, diskutiert, unterschlagen| first=Josef |last=Spiegel |year=2004|publisher=Telos-Verlag Seim |isbn=9783933060167|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izsUAQAAIAAJ&q=Heavy+Petting+Zoo+eating+lamb}} with Heavy Petting Zoo written on the spine and record itself.

CMJ New Music Monthly, in their review of the album, described it as the band's "nastiest cover yet..",{{cite journal|journal=CMJ New Music Monthly |year= 1996|issue=April|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ii0EAAAAMBAJ&q=Heavy+Petting+Zoo+nofx&pg=RA1-PA20|last=Molanphy| first=Chris|page=40|title=Reviews: Heavy Petting Zoo, NOFX}}

and in their analysis of NOFX's attitude, the authors of Screaming for Change: Articulating a Unifying Philosophy of Punk Rock state: "..the fact that none of the songs on the record deal with animals, zoos, or even bestiality, supports the assertion that the artwork contains little, if any, significant meaning other than portraying images the band is confident will upset and shock the establishment."{{cite book |title=Screaming for Change: Articulating a Unifying Philosophy of Punk Rock |page=113|isbn=978-0739142769|last1=Kristiansen|first1=Lars J.|last2=Blaney|first2=Joseph R.|last3=Chidester|first3=Philip J.|last4=Simonds|first4=Brent K.|date=10 July 2012|publisher=Lexington Books }}

To promote the album's release, record label Epitaph sent out inflatable sheep with the message "Fuck ewe" attached.{{cite journal|journal=CMJ New Music Monthly|title=Promo|year=1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ii0EAAAAMBAJ&q=Heavy+Petting+Zoo+nofx&pg=PA1981|page=1981}}

The LP version was banned in Germany, due to its zoophilic content.{{cite book|page=79|title="Nur für Erwachsene": Rock und Popmusik: zensiert, diskutiert, unterschlagen| first=Josef |last=Spiegel |year=2004|publisher=Telos-Verlag Seim |isbn=9783933060167|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izsUAQAAIAAJ&q=Heavy+Petting+Zoo+eating+lamb}} A court order in October 1996 prohibited distribution of the record in Germany, and confiscated copies with the offending artwork that were already on public display.{{cite web |url=http://www.censuriana.de/01text.htm|title=List of various image-examples: Censorship by banning and confiscating media objects|website=Censuriana.de}}

All tracks written by Fat Mike.

{{Track list

| total_length = 34:58

|title1 = Hobophobic (Scared of Bums)

|length1 = 0:48

|title2 = Philthy Phil Philanthropist

|length2 = 3:10

|title3 = Freedom Lika Shopping Cart

|length3 = 3:43

|title4 = Bleeding Heart Disease

|length4 = 3:36

|title5 = Hot Dog in a Hallway

|length5 = 2:50

|title6 = Release the Hostages

|length6 = 2:29

|title7 = Liza

|length7 = 2:55

|title8 = What's the Matter with Kids Today?

|length8 = 1:13

|title9 = Love Story

|length9 = 2:37

|title10 = The Black and White

|length10 = 3:36

|title11 = Whatever Didi Wants

|length11 = 3:00

|title12 = August 8th

|length12 = 1:35

|title13 = Drop the World

|length13 = 3:22

}}

• Fat Mike – vocals, bass
• Eric Melvin – guitar
• El Hefe – guitar, trumpet
• Erik Sandin – drums

• Ryan Greene, NOFX – producers
• Ryan Greene – mixing, engineer

• List of controversial album art

{{reflist}}

• {{official website|http://www.nofxofficialwebsite.com|NOFX official website}}
• {{cite web |title=Heavy Petting Zoo |date=30 January 1996 |url=http://www.epitaph.com/artists/album/149/Heavy_Petting_Zoo |publisher=Epitaph Records}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5P264OjYRPrzWzC_7qWBX7lriPkmvqTH Heavy Petting Zoo] at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)

{{NOFX}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:NOFX albums

Category:1996 albums

Category:Epitaph Records albums

Category:Obscenity controversies in music

Category:Albums produced by Ryan Greene