"Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse" is the second studio album by Skinny Puppy, released on September 5, 1986. The album includes the single "Dig It," which had a significant impact on the industrial music scene and influenced contemporaries like Nine Inch Nails. "Dig It" received considerable airplay on MTV and was recommended as a dance track by Billboard. Another single from the album was "Stairs and Flowers."
The cover photo, taken by Steven R. Gilmore, was from a pornographic film that happened to be playing on a hotel TV in New York City. This cover led Tipper Gore to include the album on one of her lists for the Parents Music Resource Center, highlighting it as an example of why parental advisory stickers should be placed on albums.
When it became clear to band leader cEvin Key that Bill Leeb was uninterested in staying with Skinny Puppy, he hired Dwayne Goettel. Key and Goettel had met when Goettel's band, Water, opened for a Skinny Puppy show in 1985. They quickly bonded and began jamming together. Goettel, a classically trained pianist with extensive technical knowledge, including experience with the Ensoniq Mirage, which became crucial to Skinny Puppy's sound, helped the band transition from their synth-pop roots to a more industrial sound.
The album marked the first Skinny Puppy release overseen by Capitol Records, significantly expanding the number of stores carrying their records from 200 to 1,700 across Canada. The single "Dig It" further boosted the band's profile in America, with its music video receiving regular play on MTV. The album's artwork, created by frequent collaborator Steven R. Gilmore, featured an image of a porn actress seen on TV and won Best Album Art at the 1987 CASBY Awards.
The band supported the album with a 66-date tour of North America and Europe, alongside Australian act Severed Heads. During the tour, singer Nivek Ogre dedicated the album to "those who make up their own minds," expressing hope that the stage imagery would provoke thought rather than shock. Additionally, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet incorporated Skinny Puppy's music into parts of their 1986 tour.
