Motherfucker (sometimes abbreviated as mofo, mf, or mf'er) is an English language vulgarism. Its literal sense means one who fucks and/or engages in sexual activity with another person's mother, or his or her own mother, although this usage is seldom implied. Rather, it refers to a mean, despicable, or vicious person, or any particularly difficult or frustrating situation. Alternatively, it is used as a compliment, for instance in the jazz community.

Variants

Like many widely used offensive terms, motherfucker has a large list of minced oaths. Motherhumper, motherfugger, mother f'er, mothersucker, mothertrucker, motherlover, mofo, fothermucker, motherflower, motherkisser and many more are sometimes used in polite company or to avoid censorship. The participle motherfucking is often used as an emphatic, in the same way as the less strong fucking. The verb to motherfuck also exists, although it is less common. Conversely, when paired with an adjective, it can become a term denoting such things as originality and masculinity, as in the related phrase "bad ass mother fucker". Use of the term as a compliment is frequent in the jazz community, as in the compliment Miles Davis paid to his future percussionist Mino Cinelu: "Miles...grabbed his arm and said, 'You're a motherfucker.' Cinelu thanked Miles for the compliment."

"Motherfucker" is a song by American band Faith No More, the first single from their seventh studio album Sol Invictus. It was released on Record Store Day's Black Friday, November 28, 2014. It is the band's first release of new studio recorded material since Album of the Year (1997), breaking a 17-year hiatus.

Background and release

"Motherfucker" was first played on a concert in July 2014's British Summer Time Hyde Park, along with another new song called "Superhero". Bassist Billy Gould later revealed on an interview to Rolling Stone that the band was on the way to release a new album in April 2015, also stating "Motherfucker" was going to be the first single from it, with a limited print of 5,000 seven-inch copies on Record Store Day. It will also feature a remix by J. G. Thirlwell on the B-side. The cover artwork is made by Cali Dewitt with a photograph by James Gritz.

On the song, keyboardist Roddy Bottum stated:

Reception

Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone wrote that the song "marches forth with the doom-laden raps of their 1989 breakthrough The Real Thing, the triumphant choruses of their 1997 swan-song Album of the Year, the moan-to-screech dynamics of Mike Patton's avant-minded solo career and a merciless snare cadence tip-tapping at the edges of sanity." Gregory Adams of Exclaim! stated the song "takes on properties of the FNM of old, whether it be Mike Patton's The Real Thing rap cadence, or the way the vocalist can easily turn out soaring vocal melodies to gruff and grizzly growls targeting the 'motherfucker' that tricked them in their youth." Adams also further added: "The music is likewise epic, evolving from spacious and sinister piano lines into a grand rock escapade." Ed Keeble of Gigwise described the track as "very rude, very noisy, very political: all the prerequisites that make a Faith No More song awesome."

Rocket is the Primitive Radio Gods' debut album, released on June 18, 1996 by Columbia Records. Their best known hit single from this album, "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand", helped launch the band's career.

Reception

Despite the critical acclaim surrounding the lead single, the album as a whole received negative reviews from critics. Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "With its loping, unthreatening hip-hop beats and its looped B.B. King sample, "Standing" had all the appeal of an adult novelty for most listeners—it was something that was out of the ordinary, to be sure, but not something that you would want to investigate much further. Sadly, Primitive Radio Gods' debut mini-album, Rocket, proves those doubters right." Erlewine criticized the frequency of sampling in the album, stating "Most of Rocket sounds exactly like somebody messing around with a four-track, more intent on capturing sounds, not songs. Usually, this would at least result in some interesting sounds, but O'Connor hasn't even managed that", and concluded with "At its core, Rocket sounds like a demo tape with one promising song".