Porno for Pyros – Good God’s Urge: #816 of best 1,000 albums ever!

Why is Porno for Pyros’ Good God’s Urge on my best 1,000 albums ever list?

An album to dig one last time under the Tahitian moon.

What does Porno for Pyros’ Good God’s Urge mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?

Much as with front man Perry Farrell’s “other” band, Jane’s Addiction, while I’m not a superfan (I’m fine with never needing to hear hit song “Pets” off the self-titled Porno for Pyros album, for example), there are certain songs that completely captivate me. On Good God’s Urge, that song is “Tahitian Moon.”

I’m not exaggerating in stating that I could listen to it over and over, something that I’m prone to doing with songs that I get obsessed with – I’ll throw songs on repeat when I’m jogging (something I haven’t been able to do in recent years due to an annoying Achilles issue) or trying to focus on something that requires extreme concentration.

“Tahitian Moon” has all the soaring punk energy of Jane’s Addiction at its peak, all the quirky weirdness that Farrell brings at his most creative, it’s catchy as hell, and has an intriguing contrast in its melodic, relatively quieter chorus versus the raucous power of what’s one of my favorite verses of any loud/aggressive/punk rock song I can think of.

Most of the rest of Good God’s Urge has a much gentler vibe. “Bali Eyes,” staying on the South Pacific theme, is quiet and pretty (and minimally odd) Farrell at his best.

“Freeway” merges close to the art rock/experimental rock range, but pulls back just enough to be an engaging mid-‘90s alt rocker. Always a plus in my book.

I must also point out that my second favorite non-Jane’s Addiction Perry Farrell-related song is called “Hot Lava,” and it’s performed with the band DVDA, which includes the unfairly talented Matt Stone and Trey Parker (otherwise known as “the South Park guys”). “Hot Lava” is featured on the bizarrely great Chef Aid: The South Park Album from 1998, and it simply rocks hard and rocks real good.

If you want to find out what DVDA means, I’ll let you check that one out on your own.

Pop culture stuff that’s somehow related to Porno for Pyros’ Good God’s Urge

I saw Perry Farrell perform live once, under unusually cool circumstances. It was, if memory serves, the 40^th anniversary of The Doors’ becoming the house band for an iconic venue called the Whisky a Go Go on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip, and I had the unique opportunity to see a show there in honor of The Doors.

Ray (now sadly passed away), Robbie, and John from The Doors played, and Perry Farrell stood in as front man. I liked that Farrell didn’t at all try to imitate Jim Morrison and instead acted and sang as his own unique self while taking The Doors material seriously. I don’t recall all that much else about the performance, though Slash of Guns ‘n Roses fame did brush right by while cutting through the audience to get up on stage to sit in with the band for several songs. Overall, I felt a reverence for the venue that helped to launch one of my favorite bands into the national spotlight.