Once Upon a Time in the Top Spot: Porno for Pyros, "Pets"

Perhaps Perry Farrell’s first musical foray outside of the confines of Jane’s Addiction was always destined to be a little too “out there” for the masses to latch onto the same way as they’d done with songs like “Been Caught Stealing” and “Stop!” If so, though, you’d never know it from the way Porno for Pyros’ first single, “Pets,” was received by the modern rock community: today marks the 21st anniversary of the song’s debut at the top of Billboard’s Modern Rock chart, a spot it held for several more weeks until it was finally dethroned by Tears for Fears’ “Break it Down Again” on July 24.

Actually, if you were listening to modern rock radio religiously at the time, you might’ve heard some station or other spinning the songs “Cursed Female” or “Cursed Male,” as a double-sided promotional single featured those tracks was actually the first thing sent out by Warner Brothers to tease the impending arrival of the band’s self-titled debut album. It was “Pets,” however, which got a proper push by the label, releasing the song commercially as a single while also offering up a video for the song, one which was helmed by future Little Miss Sunshine directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

Porno for Pyros hit #3 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, ultimately going gold, so it certainly wasn’t a commercial failure, but once fans of Jane’s Addiction picked up the record, gave it a spin, and realized exactly how much the absence of Dave Navarro’s more mainstream musical sensibilities was felt in the tunes, their interest in the band dimmed considerably. In turn, when Porno for Pyros finally got around to releasing their sophomore effort, God’s Good Urge, in 2006, the excitement was decidedly more muted: the only single, “Tahitian Moon,” topped out at #8 on the Modern Rock charts, the album itself only made it to #20, and – although the reasons were probably less to do with its reception than with guitarist Peter DiStefano being diagnosed with cancer, the band soon dissolved and has never released another album.

But, hey, we’ll always have “Pets.”