With a new album coming out on May 12 ('Sewn Together'), it seems as if theMeat Puppets are one of the last bands standing from the grunge era. Yes, we know -- that's a slightly misguided notion. The band predated grunge by no less than an entire decade and they didn't exactly form in Seattle, but the association was formed when Nirvana covered the Meat Puppets on a popular episode of 'MTV Unplugged,' accompanied by the Puppets themselves. The band also served as Nirvana's openers on the legendary 'In Utero' tour.

In a humorous, if cryptic, email to Spinner, bassist Cris Kirkwood (who founded the band with his brother Curt in 1980) offers a revisionist version of history: "Incidentally, our mom was a huge grunge fan back in the late '50s and early '60s and named us Curt and Cris after the guitar player and bassist in one of the lesser known bands from the British Grunge Invasion, Nirvana, whom, if rock legend is to be believed, inspired a young singer from Liverpool, Elvis Presley, to adopt a Southern drawl and sing the blues."

OK, OK, we get it: the Meat Puppets were well-established long before the term grunge even existed and they're kinda over always being linked to their friends Nirvana. Fair enough. We're just happy that, after reuniting in 2007, it appears the Kirkwood brothers are ready to drive a revamped Meat Puppets past the 30-year mark. "As Ben Franklin once so profoundly opined," writes Cris, "the only things you can be sure about in life are death and the Meat Puppets!"

That's the spirit! It smells like ... oh well, whatever, nevermind.