Released June 1993 Length 3:36 | Recorded 1992 Label Warner Bros. | |
Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, CD single Genre Alternative rock, psychedelic rock | ||
"Pets" is a song by alternative rock band Porno for Pyros and the second single from their 1993 self-titled album, Porno for Pyros. The Cursed Female / Cursed Male" single preceded Pets, but saw only a limited radio station and promotional release, making Pets the first widely available commercial single from the album.
Contents
The song became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song's success was aided, in part, by a unique video directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (they would later direct the critically acclaimed film Little Miss Sunshine) which received heavy rotation on MTV.
Music
"Pets" deals with dissatisfaction with the human race ("Adults are even more fucked up") and how it is on the brink of destruction ("My friend says we're like the dinosaurs only we are doing ourselves in much faster than they ever did"). The song then describes how aliens might be able to take over the world and treat humans as pets.
A single/radio edit that was included on all versions of the single censored profanity to make the song acceptable for radio play. No material was cut; the edit had virtually the same running length as the album version.
Most versions of the single included the previously unreleased non-album track "Tonight", recorded during the Porno for Pyros album sessions. "Tonight" is a cover of a song written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim in 1956 for the Broadway musical West Side Story.
The non-album B-side "Cursed Female / Cursed Male (Medley)" found on some versions of the single was previously released on Porno for Pyros' first single, "Cursed Female / Cursed Male".
Packaging
There were several different versions of the "Pets" single released in 1993. The standard (and most common) version, released on both CD and 7" vinyl, included only the radio edit of the title track and the B-side "Tonight."
The second limited edition version, also made available on CD and vinyl, featured two additional tracks as well as three full-panel band photos. The 12" vinyl picture disc featured the cover art from the album Porno for Pyros embossed on the A-side of the vinyl itself, while the B-side featured the band's red "Devil" logo. The additional tracks found on this version were the standard album version of "Pets" and "Cursed Female / Cursed Male (Medley)".
Various other import and promotional versions were released, all containing some combination of these four tracks.
Track listing (standard edition)
All tracks written by Porno for Pyros (Perry Farrell, Stephen Perkins, Martyn LeNoble and Peter DiStefano) except where noted..