Jane's Addiction
Three Days (Warner Bros. 21747)

I don't know whether I'm amused or saddened by the fact that at one point in time I considered myself a pretty devoted fan of Jane's Addiction. I am confused as to why I still have this CD … perhaps waiting to see if my interest in Jane's Addiction would return after a nearly decade-long absence?

It's possible that Perry Farrell's increasingly ridiculous existence has spoiled any possibility that I would continue to take the group seriously (as with Michael Stipe and REM). Or perhaps my musical tastes have just shifted so much over the last five years or so that music like this just doesn't do it for me anymore.

But thinking about it now, I'm not entirely sure it ever did. I mean, I can still listen to my Cure CDs with about the same level of satisfaction (but fortunately, far less poseur-gothic misery), but Jane's leaves me pretty cold. I never bought into the guitar-onslaught aspect of the band, though my guitar-playing friends loved the band mostly for the guitars.

For me, it was always more about some kind of insistent anger that was released by listening to the music—but I was more into the "pretty" side of the band, the songs that were more legitimately songs (in the Jimmy Webb sense). So, "I Would For You" and "Jane Says," included on this three-track EP in demo versions (thereby more appealing than the more "polished" studio versions) are two that I can still more or less enjoy. "Jane Says" used to be one of my favorite songs—in some respects laughably bad but also poignant—ut the enjoyment factor is low nowadays. Perhaps Porno for Pyros irreparably damaged my esteem for anything related to Perry Farrell … not to mention the increasingly unpleasant taste of Lollapalooza, one of the most humorless punchlines the 90s produced.

The "demo" of "Jane Says" is actually a live version, with Perry barely staying on key throughout. "I Would For You" is a very pretty song, but Farrell's hideous vocal sinks it, too … this would be a great song for Hope Sandoval to cover.

The lead track is off Ritual de lo Habitual, at eleven minutes, a curious choice for a single … it's a pretty unmemorable and overlong piece of noise, but at least Farrell sings only on part of it.

Yuck. I hope I never again am in an emotional place where music like this makes sense to me. Growing up may be uncool, but I'm having a lot more fun walking the dog these days than lying on my dirty dorm floor listening to Jane's Addiction.

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by Suzanne Powder