“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.
“Pets” became a No. 1 hit on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. In Australia, the song reached number 68 and came in at number 33 on the 1993 Triple J Hottest 100 countdown. The song’s success was partly aided by a video directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris that received heavy rotation on MTV. They would later direct the critically acclaimed film Little Miss Sunshine.
“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, 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. Commercially, the song reached No. 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart. In Australia, “Pets” peaked at number 68 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was the 33rd most popular radio hit on the Triple J Hottest 100 countdown for 1993.
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.
Tracklist:
- Pets (Radio Edit)
- Pets (LP Version)
- Tonight (previously unreleased) Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim
- Cursed Female / Cursed Male Medley
Porno for Pyros
Perry Farrell: vocals
Peter DiStefano: guitars
Martyn LeNoble: bass
Stephen Perkins: drums, percussion
