Why is Jane’s Addiction’s Nothing’s Shocking on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
Nothing’s shocking, indeed, yet consistently surprising.
What does Jane’s Addiction’s Nothing’s Shocking mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
One of the reasons that I dig Jane’s Addiction – and Nothing Shocking – is that they are a consistently surprising band. And that’s epitomized by how different the two best songs on Nothing Shocking are from one another. And of course it helps that both songs – “Mountain Song” and “Jane Says” – are arguably the two best that Jane’s Addiction has ever produced.
The opening bass and drums of “Mountain Song” remind me a little bit of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room,” a darkly mysterious and slightly funky statement, almost a musical incantation of a sort. And then when Perry Farrell busts out his initial, “Coming down the mountain!” you are absolutely certain this is an excitingly unique musical experience. But what’s even more surprising, and happily so, is the sophisticated musical dynamics going on throughout the song.
And then the sweet-sounding steel drums and acoustic guitar strumming of “Jane Says” could not be more different. It’s my favorite Jane’s Addiction song at the moment, a confident, lovely, and exuberant acoustic rock song that is endlessly pleasing.
Songs like “Ocean Size” emphasize Jane’s Addiction’s ambition to be an inherently big band, with a sound that can easily be imagined filling arenas and music festivals such as Lollapalooza, which Ferrell himself of course would go on to create.
On a final note, you may have noticed that I’m featuring the back cover of Nothing’s Shocking. Please take this is as having nothing to do with my moral standards about the front cover image and everything to do with not wanting to get on the wrong side of search engine algorithms.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with Jane’s Addiction’s Nothings Shocking
Writing this entry finally prompted me to figure out what the meaning is behind the band’s name. A few Internet clickety clicks got me to this:
The new band was dubbed “Jane’s Addiction” in honor of Farrell’s housemate, Jane Bainter, who was their muse and inspiration.[5] “My girlfriend [Casey Niccoli] and I were sitting in the car…” Farrell recalled, “and we started to think about band names. She threw in Jane’s Heroin Experience. I thought it wasn’t vague enough. If you want to invite people in, you don’t want to put heroin on your door.”[6]
See also: Jane’s Addiction’s Ritual De Lo Habitual, #756 of best 1,000 albums ever.
Some stats & info about Jane’s Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock, Rock Music, Alternative Rock, SoCal Bands, Alternative Metal, Dance Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Nothing’s Shocking released? 1988
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #739 out of 1,000
Jane’s Addiction’s Nothing’s Shocking on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.