Jane's Addiction & Porno for Pyros Frequently Asked Questions
Edited by Paul Martin
<as770@cleveland.freenet.edu> & <pmartin@sas.upenn.edu>
Digitized by Justin Hall <justin@wired.com>
Dated 12/1/93
The Ultimate JANE'S ADDICTION FAQ File For Fans
-----------------------------------------------
This file is a response to the wasted bandwidth that comes out of
the fine Jane's Addiction List every time an eager new member
joins, wanting to know about some arcane Jane's fact.
This file attempts to ward off this problem by providing, here, in
one nifty package, the answers/rumours/common speculation that
still dog Perry & the Boys. Hopefully, this file will grow &
grow!
Any administrative questions about the list itself should be
directed to Joel Abbott, erstwhile list owner, at:
janes-addiction-request@ms.uky.edu
Questions about JA product should be answerable by looking at the
JA Discography, available via anonymous FTP from ftp.ms.uky.edu
(128.163.128.6), in pub/misc/janes-addiction.
Commonly Asked Questions ========================
1. "What videos have JA released?"
MTV has, at various times, shown videos for "Been Caught Stealing",
"Mountain Song", "Stop!", and "Jane Says." The "Mountain Song"
video is a tape entitled _Soul Kiss_, which includes random footage
of the band, a lengthy interview/meander through their lives, and a
somewhat impromptu rendition of the as-yet-unreleased song, "The
City." Perry has yet to release the incredibly long-overdue,
anticipated video movie project, _The Gift_, but parts of it have
been seen on MTV as "Scenes From Gift". There is also a video
entitled _Impact Video Magazine_, hosted by Alex Winter, that has
many bands featured, but includes by JA both "Idiots Rule" and
"Standing In The Shower...Thinking".
2. "Does Perry REALLY have AIDS?"
According To Perry, no. Perry responded to the rumour in a
September 1991 letter to SPIN magazine, saying, "I'll let you in on
a little secret straight from the rumour mill. I was tested for
AIDS. The results were negative. As for the mysterious clinic
report on the cover of Ritual De Lo Habitual, it is not an AIDS
test, but a pregnancy exam that came out positive." --Perry
Farrell, Los Angeles. So there you have it.
3. "What Is the story behind "Jane Says"?"
The rumour goes that "Jane" is/was a drug addict/prostitute of
Perry/Eric's acquaintance, met while they were eking out a living
during the early years in L.A. The assumption is that she helped
out the band in its early days, and maybe provided enough in
inspiration to be the cause of the band name. Most believe she is
dead, but it has been suggested, from outtakes of the _Soul Kiss_
video that she now lives in Chicago (supposedly Perry's answer to
the question of her whereabouts).
4. "Who IS Perry Farrell?"
His real name is Perry Bernstein, the name Perry Farrell supposedly
coming from Perry's penchant for the word peripheral, thus the pun
Peri-pheral. Others have said that Farrell is his brother's given
name.
5. "What is the story behind "Nothing's Shocking"?"
The song's outright message is a commentary on our societal
numbness to sex & violence, and it uses the serial-killer Ted
Bundy, the "Ted" of the title, to prove its point. Bundy blamed
pornography for his actions, thus the tie-in. Bundy's picture can
be found next to the song lyrics on the liner notes, and his trial
comments are sampled in the song. Samples: "The police won't
accept what I think they know & they know that I can do these
things." Also: "They know I didn't do it."
6. "Why is my copy of _Ritual De Lo Habitual_ different?"
The first printing of the album, with its Christlike papier-mache
portrayal of Perry & two nubiles, so shocked PMRC censors that
later printings were a pure white cover. JA was incensed at the
censorship, and their final agreement with Warner was to leave the
cover blank, but with these words on the rear:
Hitler's syphilis-ridden dreams almost came true.
How could it HAPPEN? By taking control of the media.
An entire country was led by a lunatic...
We must protect out First Amendment,
before sick dreams become law.
Nobody made fun of Hitler??!
Also, the liner notes are slightly different, having no "Mosquitoes"
introduction and insert Xiola pictures instead. Both versions are
often available, as dealers have backstock.
7. "Is Perry REALLY a drug addict?"
Rumours abound; however, it is a fact that on Wednesday, October
16, 1991, Perry was arrested in a Santa Monica, CA Holiday Inn for
speedballing, the heated mixing of heroin and cocaine. He was
later released on $1,000 bail. A maid at the hotel alerted the
police after seeing "drug paraphernalia" in the room.
8. "What's all this about an unofficial band bio?"
There exists a four page band bio, available at one time from
Warner Brothers to industry folks, that was "unofficial" in the
sense that it was supposedly penned by Perry Farrell himself. The
title is: _Bred And Spread In Los Angeles: The Mighty Jane's
Addiction_. I have not tracked down a copy.
9. "What IS the intro to "Three Days"?"
The best interpretation list members have given is this: (Variants
in parentheses) "At this moment (time), you should be with us,
feeling like we do, like you love to, but never will again. I miss
you, my dear Xiola. I prepared the room tonight with Christmas
lights, a city of candles. Fresh Sheets. We are all filled with
dense clouds that have us sleep (?). I need to touch your skin."
Eli Z. Robillard adds the following:
" We miss you my dear Xiola. I prepared the room tonight with
Christmas lights, a city of candles, and fresh sheets. (At
this point the voices diverge, the left channel starts with,
"As the cash is sitting there. . . I wonder if you. . .) We're
all filled with dense clouds that have sunk deep into the
mattress. I need to touch skin. (Again the voices diverge. Left
channel says "touch your skin" just before Perry's intro.
There's more time to hear the right: "to keep me from. . . .
Your skin is waiting. . .") And then Perry starts up.
I'm pretty sure of all this. The best way to hear it actually
is to set the headphones on mono, turn down the bass, and crank
up the volume. You'll hear what I mean -- the voices are actually
on both tracks, but this provides the best way to balance them.
It's actually easier to hear both voices this way.
Thanks Eli!
Emily Halderman had *still* more ideas on the lyrics:
Now I think we all know the first part...
"at this moment, you should be with us. feeling like we do. like you love
to. but never will again. i miss you my dear xiola. i prepared the room
tonight with christmas lights--a city of candles. fresh sheets..."
Well, this was a start anyway. Upon reading this I went back to my room
and started listening to the song over and over again, fiddling with every
knob on my tape player. Alas, I was not able to uncover much, but here's
what little I found. (Remember, these are all just guesses I give no
guaranteesto their accuracy)
First off, I think the "dense clouds" line is actually:
"we are all filled with dense clouds that have us sink into the matress.
i need to touch your skin."
After that, these lines seem to be repeated a few times. Here are the rest
of the isolated words and snips of sentence that I found (in the order I
heard them)
"...an alien...."
"....friends as easilly as i do...."
"pushing contructors...the audience is a plaything. one night i met a
poet."
Thanks Emily!
10. "What unrecorded songs should I know about?"
There are several songs which JA has performed but not officially
recorded. These include "Kettle Whistle", "Burning From The
Inside/Rolling Stone", "Bodhaus", and "City". Kristin Vagliardo adds
"Suffer Some" from the "song list" boot. Thanks Kristin!
11. "And BEFORE Jane's Addiction......?"
Perry is known to have been in a bizarre band named Psi-Com, demos
of which circulate on several JA bootleg recordings. Consensus is
that Psi-Com sounds very little like Jane's. Information on other
members' previous pursuits welcome.
12. "ALTO! What is the Spanish that starts off "Stop!"?"
This question has been one of the most hotly contested, due to the
grammatically poor Spanish, probably delivered by Casey. But here
goes:
SENORES Y SENORAS -- Ladies And Gentlemen
NOSOTROS TENEMOS MAS INFLUENCIA -- We have more influence
CON SUS HIJOS QUE TU TIENE -- over your children than you do.
PERO QUE...QUEREMOS -- But we love them too.
CREADO Y REGALO (REGADO/REGADOS) DE LOS ANGELES -- Here it gets
tricky. A conservative translation might be "born and
raised in Los Angeles"; others freely suggest "Bred and
Spread" from the band bio/liner notes, and Spanish scholars
point out that "un regalo" is a gift, thus "Born in and a
gift of Los Angeles"; still others prefer "regado/regados",
translated "born in and raised/scattered to the world from
Los Angeles". "Creado" is generally accepted, but the verb
of origin is either "Crear", to create or "Crecer", born.
JUANA'S ADDICTION -- Jane's Addiction.
13. "What other bands, with the "JA-sound", should I check out?"
Who really wants to listen to bands with a "Jane's sound", when the
real thing is a stereo button away? Still, the two most-oft cited
JA sound-alikes are SMASHING PUMPKINS, with _Gish_, and LOVE ON
ICE, with _Nude_.
14. "What about the spoken-word poetry Perry has out?"
Available through Rhino Records' wordbeat (spoken recordings)
division, it is on a cassette-only release entitled _Hollyword_,
catalog number R4 71008. It is a 96-minute-long cassette of poetry
readings from different artists. Perry has one reading, called
"Letters To Xiola", that is 9 minutes and 19 seconds long. Perry
writes:
"The background of this piece is that it's part of a 4 or 5 page
letter I've written to a long lost friend of mine and Casey's.
It's probably the only letter i've written in the last five years.
Ironically, it's to a dead person. This is very different from
what I do with my band. When I write songs,q there's a great trick
involved. It's a big combination of being very simple, direct, to
the point. You have a time restriction in writing a song and you
also have to 'combat' other things that are going on with the
music. In order to deal with people's short attention spans, you
have to hit home quick. And on stage, live performance, I also add
body animation that is considered for shows. When I write songs, I
start out the same way I write straight poetry, and then I butcher
up my thoughts and try to fit them into something that would evoke
more of a syncopation. A lot of people can't hang with the current
poetry performed live. When I read I try to include other things
to keep people's interest if I do a reading, like utilizing
visuals, film tape manipulation, maybe brighten up the reading by
another voice in a loudspeaker, dancers.
I'm very proud of the words, lyrics, poems I write but people's
attention spans are very short since we are fed so much
information. It's often hard to pay attention to abstract thoughts
from another human being."
15. THE BREAK-UP! Or, "When was the last show?"
JANES ADDICTION R.I.P. (newspaper source unknown)
"Luckily, Hawaii and Florida have only sun and beaches in common,
rather than mentality and state troopers. For the band's final
show, Jane's frontman PERRY FARRELL laid himself as bare as an
artist can, performing the second half of the group's Hawaiian
farewell completely naked - and completely undisturbed. Farrell,
however, insists it was not the last glimpse people will get of
him. 'Every band has to go through proving itself,' says Farrell.
'You can also get trapped. I feel like I'm being sold out little
by little. Artistically, it's a stranglehold. A lot of kids that
caught on to Jane's at the end, I'm not necessarily talking to.
It's not a life they understand. I want a smaller base. People
love you and *then* try to change you. I don't plan on changing.
I don't plan on leaving. I'll be back. I've got ideas.'"
This reflects the last *U.S.* show; there was at least one additional
show in Australia.
16. Life After JA:
>From a (no longer) recent issue of CMJ...
"Jane's Addiction will release a four-track EP containing
previously unavailable outtakes from their Ritual De Lo Habitual
LP, to be followed by a live album in the spring. Perry Farrell is
currently finishing up a film of the Lollapalooza tour, and has
reportedly refused offers of up to $1 million for the rights to the
name - he and the tour's co-organizers are currently putting
together a Lollapalooza II tour for next summer. Names being
bandied about include R.E.M., Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana and the Red
Hot Chili Peppers, and the organizers hope to make the tour a
worldwide one. Meanwhile, Farrell's other film, Gift, has
reportedly been delayed by trouble over a surreal scene that
suggests necrophilia; regardless, the film is due for transmission
on MTV next month..."
GOODBYE JANE'S ADDICTION, HELLO PORNO FOR PYROS
Fans of Perry Farrell--which include the writers at Rolling Stone
and Spin magazines who named him artist of the year for 1991--have
been hanging in suspense for months since the mysterious performer
officially announced that he'd broken up his band, Jane's
Addiction. Though Farrell had previously talked about leaving
music for good, he assured the world that he'd be back with a new
musical venture, but have no clues as to what or when.
Until now. Farrell is readying the debut of his new band, called
Porno for Pyros, possibly at an AIDS benefit scheduled for April 4
at the Hollywood Palladium.
"You're going to know it's Perry Farrell because of the voice and
lyrics," Farrell's manager Ted Gardner tells Pop Eye. "But
musically it's totally different, not as hard as Jane's was."
The best clues to what we can expect may be in the band's lineup.
The only other holdover from Jane's Addiction is drummer Stephen
Perkins, who had been playing recently with Infectious Grooves.
Joining them are ex-Thelonious Monster bassist Martyn Lenoble,
guitarist Peter Distenfano and Venice hip-hop performer and
turntable artist Skatemater Tate. A female singer may be added
later. People close to Farrell say the band reflects his interest
in the manic cross-culturalisms of such bands as Paris' Les
Negresses Vertes.
"It's a combination of ideas," Gardner says, describing Farrell as
a "totally different person" who has been energized by the new
project. "There's use of samples though not to the point of
noticing it's been ripped off, there's scratch playing, it's very
rhythmical, very melodic, very strong-music to :have sex: by."
Fans are going to have to be patient, though, Even if the band
debuts at the AIDS benefit, an album is not expected until next
year. So far, the band has only recorded a three-song demo tape.
Still, Farrell will be visible through other activities in coming
months. His film, "Gift," is set to premiere in late May or early
June, and he is once again organizing, though not performing on,
the Lollaplaooza tour., the multi-genre concert bill that Jane's
Addiction headlined last year.
For this summer's Lollapalooza, with a lineup including the Red Hot
Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Ice Cube, and Ministry, Farrell is
concentrating on the non-musical activities, particularly the
political and social awareness angles.
"Sting will look after the rain forests, U2 will look after
Greenpeace," Gardner explains. "Ours is to look after local
issues, specifically runaway kids and the homeless, as well as
things like handgun control and the beauties of body piercing."
The following is an article taken from Rolling Stone #629
Red-Hot Lollapalooza Chili Peppers will headline this summer's
alternative music meld By Michael Goldberg
Given the success of last year's Lollapalooza traveling rock
festival -- which played to nearly a half-million alternative rock
fans in North America and was one of the most successful tours of
1991 -- it's no surprise that Lollapalooza '92 will be hitting the
road this summer.
After months of speculation, the festival's lineup has finally been
announced. This year's mix of acts features the Red Hot Chili
Peppers as headliners, joined by Ministry, Ice Cube, Soundgarden,
The Jesus & Mary Chain and Pearl Jam.
"I think they're a pretty adequate representation of what youth
culture is listening to," said Perry Farrell, Lollapalooza
co-organizer and former leader of the now defunct group Jane's
Addiction. Farrell's manager, Ted Gardner, and booking agent Don
Muller are also organising the event, with some assistance from
Bill Graham productions.
"Let's face it -- there are only seven slots," said Farrell. "For
now I'm staying with rock music. To me that includes rap,
industrial, what some would call noise bands, what some would call
the Seattle sound. The rock-funk thing. I'm just looking to do an
overview of rock & roll."
The approximately thirty-city tour will begin at the Shoreline
Ampitheatre, in the San Francisco Bay Area, on Saturday, July 18th
and run for six weeks, ending in Los Angeles on August 39th. Other
cities already on the itinerary include New York, Atlanta,
Washington, Orlando, Boston Detroit, Toronto, Chicago,
Minneapolis, Denver, San Diego, Dallas, and Phoenix. Dates in Salt
Lake City, New Orleans, Houston and Cincinnati are being
considered. Ticket prices will be about the same as last year's,
in the $27.50 to $30 range.
Although the main attraction, naturally, will be the music, Farrell
wants Lollapaloza to be much more than simply an all-day rock
concert. His grand vision is for a multimedia sociopolitical event
that will include as many aspects of contemporary youth culture as
possible. Equally important to Farrell is that everyone have
fun. With those goals in mind, there will be an art tent, an
exhibit of local hot rods, virtual-reality and cyberpunk
demonstrations, a tattoo artist and a body piercer. Activist
organizations ranging from Rock the Vote to Hand Gun Control to the
Cannabis Action Network will also be in attendance.
New this year will be a second stage where local bands, as well as
other kinds of entertainment -- Farrell is considering high-school
cheerleaders and local theatre groups -- will perform. There will
also be a gambling tent where money will be raised for charity.
"I'm asking the record companies to donate music," said Farrell.
"If you win chips worth twenty dollars, you'll be able to cash it
in for twenty dollars of music. The cash will go to places like
local homeless shelters."
Farrell developed the idea of the festival as a result of his
personal disillusionment with the contemporary rock concert.
"Basically, I'm bored," he said. "I just want to see things that
are slightly bizarre. I feel that usually when you go to a show,
you know what to expect. There's nothing that throws you. It just
sets you up for the doldrums. I just think there are so many
different chemistries for putting shows together. I hate to be
cliche, but the way Barnum and Bailey perceived putting on a
show... they had a different angle. I want to do that, kind of a
rock & roll circus. But in the future I want to expand it out past
rock & roll bills."
Farrell would eventually like to take Lollapalooza around the world
and has hopes that someday the event itself, rather than the bands,
will draw people. He plans to include a more eccentric variety of
music, ranging from Mexican punk bands to Australian didgeridoo
groups.
"See, right now it's very hard because everybody wants to see
people who they know and love," Farrell said. "When I'm dealing on
a scale this large, I've got to slightly cater to the whims of my
culture. I can't be completely selfish about my opinions and
taste."
In addition to the above tidbits, Stephen Perkins got
involved with a side band project, the Infectious Grooves, with
Mike Muir/Robert Trujillo of Suicidal Tendencies' fame.
Also: From the March 1993 (?) Rolling Stone (Garth Brooks cover):
Recently paroled from Jane's Addiction, guitarist Dave Navarro and bassist Eric
Avery have built a band of their own. Deconstruction, their new incarnation,
they promise, will crawl farther out on a musical limb than Jane's. "It's
taking anything we can think of and throwing it together," says Avery. "Almost
every song is an experiment in song structure." As the band members begin
recording, they can catch their former band mates on display in Porno For Pyros.
"I have tremendous respect for those guys," says Navarro. "We wish them well."
Accompanying picture shows Navarro, Avery [singing into a mike], and someone
named Michael Murphy on drums. Avery is the only one with a mike.
17. "What are the songs JA covers on the "L.A. Woman Medley"?"
They are: "L.A. Woman" by the Doors, "Nausea", by X (from the X album
_Los Angeles_), and "Lexicon Devil" by The Germs.
18. "Who is That in Perry's Eye?"
The liner notes to _Nothing's Shocking_ contain a picture of Perry
Farrell with shades on; there is a nude figure reflected in the
lens. Consensus here is that it is either Perry himself or Casey,
Perry being the odds-on favorite.
21. More Articles From the Fans Posting on JA List:
Burning Addiction
Out of the ashes of Jane's Addiction, Perry
Farrell has founded Porno for Pyrosa, whose
smoldering debut album makes alternative rock
alternative again. BY DAVID BROWNE
Perry Farrell-former leader and messiah of
the L.A. band Jane's Addiction and all-around
alternative-rock shaman and (in italics) showman -
didn't name his new band Porno for Pyros for
nothing. The sight of his town igniting in flames
after last years Rodney King verdict seems to have
left him literally hot and bothered. "Ever since
the riots, all I really wanted was a black
girlfriend," he croons dreamily on the bands first
album, PORNO FOR PYROS(Warner Brothers.). In
another song, he gets sexually aroused watching
the flames consume parts of Los Angeles.
Farrell disbanded Jane's Addiction at the
height of its popularity, and early scuttlebutt
had it that he wanted his next band, formed with
ex-Jane's drummer Stephen Perkins, to be edgier
and more experimental, worlds apart fromt he
lumbering, Zeppelinesque swagger of Jane's
Addiction. When that band, Porno for Pyros, made
a few unbilled appearences at last year's
Lollapalooza '92 tour, the music bore out the
rumors. Before hordes of worshiping fans yelling
"Perry!" Porno for Pyrosplayed what could only be
described as vaguely Middle Eastern-influenced art
rock-imagine mantras sung on a roller coaster,
with Farrell's taunting whine rubbing against the
whole shebang.
Porno for Pyros(in italics) the album doesn't
sound quite so exotic. If anything it sounds even
sludgier: Guitarist Peter DiStefano's airy chords
have replaced the four-wheel-drive riffin of Dave
Navarro of Jane's Addiction, and Farrell's nasal
voice is half buried in the murky instumentation.
"Murky" could in fact, describe the entire album.
Yet Farrell uses taht sound to his advantage.
Jane's Addiction may have hinted at the excess and
ennui of a city and a generation, but Porno for
Pyros tryuly brings it all home; the result is the
most compelling album Farrell has ever made.
Starting with its references to the L.A.
riots, the album posits the world as a nightmarish
place that sis nonetheless to fascinating to
leave(or stop listening to). Everyting on Porno
for Pyros(in italics) sounds squally and back-
alley, be it the sex (the slithering "Orgasim") or
just going for a walk on Venice Beach ("Bad
Shit"). Farrell isn't too optimistic about
humanity, either: "We'll make good pets," he muses
in the languid "Pets," wondering wether aliens
from outer space could do a better job managing
the Earth. Grinding wah-wah guitars and clanky,
trash-can-style drumming heighten the creepy-
crawly atmosphere. Unlike too many pat
alternative records, this record sounds like one
of those amusement-park tunnel rides where you
never know what's around the next corner.
In a larger context, Porno for Pyros couldn't
have appeared at a better moment. At a time when
Daisy Chainsaw is plugged on an episode of
Roseanne(in italics) and corporate "postmodern"
rock bands like School of Fish are glutting record
bins, alternative rock doesn't seem very
alternative anymore. Farrell is partly to blame
for the situation: Jane's Addiction was an arena
act by the time it disbanded, and Farrell himself
co-organized the lucrative Lollapaloozas. On
Porno for Pyros(in italics), he sounds as if he
realizes what he hath wrought-and, in his own
messianic way, is trying to reactivate the
adventurous underground that once defined the
genre. Call it Jane's Withdrawal. B+
Thanks to Pat for this article!
22. The African Bondage Shirt Controversy
Ladies and gentlemen,
The man on the front of the Jane's Addiction shirt is a nigerian tribal leader.
The interesting thing about this leader is that he is dead, and has been for
some time. It appears that he was such a good leader that the tribe decided
to honor him by propping him up in this configuration. He is not being held
in bondage, but being held upright, probably so that he does not fall and
break.
Ever since I have owned the shirt, people have offered guesses as to
what the thing is. Then one of my friends was looking throough an old
National Geographic magazine, and happeded upon a picture of the old guy.
He recognised it as my shirt and brought the picture to me.
The graphic on the shirt may very well have come directly from this picture.
The picture is in the march 1979 edition. Volume 155. No. 3 page 427.
Look it up if you do not believe me.
--Robert Windsor Nilsen III
23. Perry Opines on Lolla (Thanks to Brian Toth for the Quote!)
Subject: Spin article, April 1993
---------
What about Lollapalooza?
"It's getting too spread out for me to see everything. So I actually am
thinking of not doing them [the shows] anymore. They can do them but I
don't know if I want to be a part of it. I'm going to work very hard this
year, and, not to say that this year's Lollapalooza is not going to be as
good as I can make it, but truthfully, my manager knows more about it than
I do. I give ideas and stuff like that. The good part is that it's going
to force me to come up with something different. It's like when everyone
starts having long hair and you go, "I think I'm going to cut my hair."
Otherwise you'd never cut it."
---------
24. PFP Review from Nat'L College Magazine, March 1993 (Thanks Brad K!)
WARNING UNFAVORABLE REVIEW ALERT!!
"Perry Farrell has a tough act to follow- himself. With JA, Farrell was
one of the main purveyors of "alternative rock" before the term became
corporate rhetoric. THe band was not only unshamedly erotic and
controversial, but also had in Farrell a lead singer with the savvy to
bring the band's fringe sesibilities into the mainstream.
With PforP his new band, Farrell has some similar aspirations. On its
self-titled debut, PforP alternates between songs about post-riot LA
and mildly explicit sexual situations. PforP, however, lacks the
bravado Janes had.
In JA , Farrell's proud sexuality had a kind of legitimacy against th
huge, unharnessed backdrop of the band. This time around, the band has
less talent and Farrell's controversy seems tired and moronic.
On "Cursed Males" Farrell waxes non-poetic about old men not being able
to drive fast cars, while during "Oragasm" he ego trips about giving a
a woman her first. The resulting album seems hurred and unpolished; the
band just is not ready to live up to the hype Farrell cultivated during
last summer's Lalla tour.
This is not to say PforP is devoid of reward. Both songs about the LA
riots, the self-titled "PforP" and "Black Girlfriend" are powerful in
their frankness.
Ultimately, though, the problem w/ PforP (album) is its laziness. THis
material would have been better served w/ a tighter band, a lyric
rewrite
(Farrell's vagueness is his downfall) and mroe careful prod. Interested
unitiates should search out JA's albums in front of this inconsistent
offering. " --John Colpitts , Middlesbury College
25. PFP Article In Feb. 1993 Melody Maker (Thanks Neil Forrester!)
PISTOL-PACKIN' PERRY'S ALBUM
"PORNO FOR PYROS", the eponymously titled album from Perry Farrell's new
band, features an autobiographical saong about how the singer is carrying
a gun these days. It also includes tracks about the LA riots and about how
Perry got so worked up that he had to wank four times! The LP also
includes a lyrical reworking of the Jane's Addiction track, "Pigs in Zen".
The album, some details of which were exclusively revealed by the
Maker last week, is the first from Farrell's new outfit, which features
es-Jane's drummer Stephen Perkins alongside newcomers Peter Di Stefano on
guitar and Martyn Le Noble on bass.
On "Packin' 25", Farrell sings, "I pack a 25 right above my boot/
I swear I'll kill you." Some of the tracks on the LP allude to recent LA
riots, notably "Black Girlfriend", which features the lyric: "Ever since
the riots/ All I wanted was a black girlfriend." The title track, "Porno
for Pyros", features the lines: "I took off my clothes and came four
times/ I could not leave myself alone."
Two tracks, "Cursed Female" and "Cursed Male", list the drawbacks
of being born being male or female, while "Bloodrag" features some of the
lyrics which Perry used to adlib when JA played "Pigs In Zen" live.
People who've heard the album say it isn't the much-rumoured
change in direction people were talking about after Porno for Pyros' debut
gig at an AIDS benefit last year, but more akin to what the next JA LP
would probably have sounded like.
The album was produced by Perry and Matt Hyde, and recorded at
Crystal Studios in LA last summer. The artwork for the LP was done by Bill
Hofstadter. Skatemaster Tate appears on the album. Track listing is:
"Sadness","Porno for Pyros","Meija","Cursed Female","Cursed
Male","Pets","Badshit","Packin' 25","Black Girlfriend","Bloodrag" and "Orgasm"
It is released by WEA on March 22.
Complaints, revisions, corrections, suggestions, and insults about
this FAQ can be sent to Paul Martin (as770@cleveland.freenet.edu).
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