Rotting Piñata

Rotting Piñata
Studio album by Sponge
Released	August 2, 1994
Genre	Post-grunge
Length	53:47 34:06 (Live at Rock am Ring)
Label	Work
Producer	Sponge and Tim Patalan
Professional reviews
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Sponge chronology
Rotting Piñata (1994) Wax Ecstatic (1996)

Rotting Piñata is the debut album by American rock band Sponge, released in 1994 on Work Records. Hit singles from this album, such as "Molly" and "Plowed," helped launch the band's career and pushed the album to Gold. The name of the album came from a conversation the band had regarding shock punk singer GG Allin. Allin claimed he would commit suicide while on tour and wanted his corpse to be shown at the remainder of the shows on the schedule. Furthermore, he wanted the fans to be able to throw objects at his deceased body. The band joked that if he did, the corpse would be like a "rotting piñata."

Track listing

All songs written by Sponge (Dombrowski and Mazzola) and produced by Sponge and Tim Patalan.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pennywheels"	4:36
2.	"Rotting Piñata"	4:00
3.	"Giants"	5:20
4.	"Neenah Menasha"	6:03
5.	"Miles"	4:11
6.	"Plowed"	3:17
7.	"Drownin'"	4:40
8.	"Molly"	3:35
9.	"Fields"	4:55
10.	"Rainin'" (Contains the hidden track "Candy Corn")	12:57
11.	Untitled	0:03

A special edition included a bonus CD featuring Sponge live at Rock am Ring Nürburgring on June 2, 1995.

All songs written by Sponge except where noted.

Live at Rock am Ring
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Neenah Menasha"		4:42
2.	"Rotting Piñata"		4:15
3.	"I Hate Myself" (Introduced as "I Hate Myself When I'm With You")		5:43
4.	"Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)"		3:41
5.	"Rainin'"		5:29
6.	"Plowed"		3:26
7.	"Fields"		4:02
8.	"Big Girl" (Introduced as "I'm a Big Girl")	27 Mauve, Sponge	2:48

Band members

• Vinnie Dombrowski - vocals
• Mike Cross - guitar
• Tim Cross - bass
• Joe Mazzola - guitar
• Jimmy Paluzzi - drums/backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Andy Patalan - production assistant
• Tim Palmer - mixing
• Mark O'Donoughue & Brandon Harris - mixing assistants
• Tim Patalan - mixing on "Rotting Piñata", "Neenah Menasha", "Miles" and "Molly"
• Stuart Griffen - Talent agent
• Pablo Mathiason - A&R
• Howie Weinberg - mastering
• David Coleman - art direction
• Michael Halsband - photography

Chart Positions

Album

Year	Title	US Billboard 200	US Heatseekers
1995	Rotting Piñata	58	4

Singles

Year	Title	US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock
1995	Plowed	-	5	9
	Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)	55	3	11
	Rainin'	-	34	18
1996	Neenah Menasha	-	-	-

Trivia

• Neenah and Menasha are two cities in Wisconsin
• The vocals for "Molly" were re-recorded for the single release, retitled "Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)" The song was inspired by a story a bandmember had heard about a 16-year old girl who'd fallen in love with her teacher and attempted suicide after he rejected her advances.
• Track number five, "Miles", includes the last two lines of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" ("And Miles to go before I sleep... And Miles to go before I sleep...")