"Pets" is a song by

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Porno for Pyros Porno for Pyros was an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992, following the first break-up of Jane's Addiction. The band currently consists of Jane's Addiction members Perry Farrell (vocals) and Stephen Perki ...

and the second single from their 1993 self-titled album ''

''. "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 A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

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 Jonathan Dayton (born July 7, 1957) and Valerie Faris (born October 20, 1958) are a duo of American directors and producers for films and music videos. They started their career directing videos for such artists as Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M. ...

that received heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. They would later direct the critically acclaimed film ''

Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road movie, road film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (in their directorial debut) from a screenplay written by Michael Arndt. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of G ...

''.

Song information

"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 The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and was the 33rd most popular radio hit on the

Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll presented by the publicly-funded Australian youth radio station Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Music of Australia, Australian and alternative music of th ...

countdown for 1993. Most versions of the single included the previously unreleased non-album track "

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

", recorded during the ''Porno for Pyros'' album sessions. "Tonight" is a cover of a song written by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

and

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

in 1956 for the Broadway musical ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

.'' The non-album

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

"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 listings

Standard edition

Limited edition

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1993 songs 1993 singles Music videos directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Porno for Pyros songs Warner Records singles