"I'm the Slime" is a 1973 single by Frank Zappa and The Mothers from the studio album Over-Nite Sensation. The single version is a different mix and edit from the version on the album.
The song contains two parts; the first part is a riddle of insults in the form of "what am I?"
"I am gross and perverted. I'm obsessed 'n deranged. I have existed for years, but very little has changed. I'm the tool of the government and industry too, for I am destined to rule and regulate you. I may be vile and pernicious, but you can't look away. I make you think I'm delicious, with the stuff that I say. I'm the best you can get. Have you guessed me yet?"
The second part discusses the evils of the answer to the riddle: the various things seen on television.[1]
Ike & Tina Turner
For the recording of this song (and most of the Overnite Sensation LP), Zappa used Ike & Tina Turner's Bolic Sound studios in Inglewood. Tina Turner and the Ikettes sang backup vocals for various songs on Over-Nite Sensation including "I'm the Slime". According to Zappa, Ike Turner insisted that he pay them no more than $25 per song. However, an invoice shows that they were actually paid $25 per hour and a grand total of $187.50 each for 7 1/2 hours of service.[2] Zappa recalled that after hearing one of the recordings in the studio, Ike Turner exclaimed, "What is this shit?" and later insisted that Tina and the Ikettes not be credited on the album.[3]
Saturday Night Live
Zappa performed "I'm the Slime", as well as "Purple Lagoon", and "Peaches en Regalia" in his first of two appearances on Saturday Night Live. NBC announcer Don Pardo was utilized for his distinctive delivery for the second movement (or B section) of "I'm the Slime". Zappa described this as the "highlight of [Don Pardo's] career." Moreover, Pardo was present and onstage live with Zappa in December 1976 at the Palladium in New York City during a performance of "I'm the Slime", as well as during parts of "Punky's Whips" and "The Illinois Enema Bandit", as documented in Zappa in New York.[4]
The single was re-released to mark its 40th anniversary, as part of Record Store Day 2013. It was released on transparent green vinyl, highlighted with blue smoke lines, limited to a run of 3000 copies worldwide. The vinyl was cut from the original masters, and all profit went to the Frank Zappa foundation.[6]
