Skip to main content

Hear Me Out: TEN BEST NSFW Rock Hits


We all know that expression is the most important ingredient in art. We also know that, sometimes, the way an artist expresses themselves isn't what some would call "appropriate". Ever since the first person took offence to an artistic statement, there have been artists that revel in offending. Recently, Wakrat (side project featuring Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford) released their new single Generation Fucked, a snappy little tune with a nice groove. Oh, and 36 F-bombs.

That got me thinking about this week's column, and what might make the cut on a list of the most explicit songs ever released. As it turns out, there are a lot of explicit songs, so I had to pare the list down somehow. With that in mind, the boundaries I set are as follows:

a) No hip-hop or extreme metal. Low hanging fruit.
b) No joke/novelty bands. Sorry, Tenacious D and Steel Panther.
c) No album tracks. For inclusion on this list, a song has to have been released as a single and/or video.
d) No Limp Bizkit.

Ready? Let's fucking do this!


10   LOCAL H
High Fiving MF (1996)

Many of the songs on this list are from the '90s, because I remember them well and because bands were allowed to get away with all kinds of crazy shit. Like releasing a song with the repeated use of the word "motherfucker" as the second single from your major label debut. Naturally, As Good As Dead went gold.

F-bomb count: 16



9  FAITH NO MORE
Motherfucker (2014)

Take what I said above about bands getting away with crazy shit, but replace "second single" with "lead single" and "major label debut" with "highly anticipated first album in 18 years". 

F-bomb count: 17





8  PAPA ROACH
Last Resort (2000)

Some bands get a quick rise and a chuckle out of teenage boys when they write a sweary song about killing yourself. Papa Roach got a career; Infest sold over 7 million copies worldwide. That said, buying the CD was the only way outside of a fledgling Napster you could hear all the words. Among the non-explicit, censored-for-context words when they aired this on Much: cut, bleeding, die, life, suicide. Mutilation, however, is acceptable (outta sight, even).

F-bomb count: only 3, but all the cutting and bleeding and dying, oh my!




7  KORN
A.D.I.D.A.S. (1996)

Green Day's Longview may be considered the most famous rock song from the '90s about masturbation, but Korn's A.D.I.D.A.S. is right up there with it ("so I dream and stroke it", incidentally, was a perfectly acceptable line in the censored version). I guess it's also about shoes or track suits or whatever.

F-bomb count: 7



6  SYSTEM OF A DOWN
Sugar (1998)

If only they'd released Violent Pornography as a single... oh well, Sugar is a fine consolation prize, a highly politicized indictment of American life that rings just as true now as it did 18 years ago.

F-bomb count: 4





5  AGAINST ME!
Black Me Out (2014)

Laura Jane Grace's first album after coming out as transgender is unflinching in its portrayal of her experiences. There are far worse songs from a profanity standpoint, but Black Me Out was not only chosen as a single, but is simply one of the band's best overall songs all time.

F-bomb count: 5



4  TOOL
Ænima (1996)

Sometimes, being a doom-and-gloom song about tidal waves wiping California off the map just isn't enough. As the song builds toward its destructive conclusion, Maynard James Keenan absolutely tees off on some of the state's less desirable residents.

F-bomb count: 15




3  NINE INCH NAILS
Closer (1994)

Having already established himself as a master of the dark and profane arts with the notorious Happiness In Slavery video, everyone expected controversy on Trent Reznor's next album. What very few expected, however, was for The Downward Spiral's destructive ode to hard fucking to become a smash hit.

F-bomb count: 4



2  RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
Killing In the Name (1992)

When you're a pissed off teenager, there's only one thing more exhilarating than yelling out, "Fuck you! I won't do what you tell me"; and that's yelling out "Fuck you! I won't do what you tell me" sixteen times, followed by a "motherfucker" for good measure.

F-bomb count: 17




1  NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS
Stagger Lee (1995)

Interpretations of the tale of Stagger Lee have existed in folk songs for over a century. Many contemporary artists have taken a turn at telling Stagger Lee's story, from The Clash to Josh Ritter. Cave's version, however, is on a whole other level. Harrowing, bloody and gleefully profane, this version takes some... er, interesting turns.

F-bomb count: 9


What's wrong with this list? What did I miss? Have your say and maybe give me a suggestion for a future list!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Year in Rock 2025

  Alright, I've got some explaining to do.   By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but:   a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Sam Roberts Band

SAM ROBERTS BAND I Feel You From: Collider Released: May 10 Having already endured the breakout success ( Brother Down was Canada's it rock song of 2002), the tentative dabbling in the U.S. market, as is the rite of passage for all moderately successful Canuck artists (2003's debut We Were Born in a Flame was the best time to try; one of the best albums of the year, it made a small dent in the American mindset upon its release there a year later), the difficult, druggy third album (the aptly named 2005 disc Chemical City ), and the subdued creative step backward (2008's Love at the End of the World , aside from hit single Them Kids , was really kinda bland), it seems according to script that Sam Roberts would start settling in on his fourth album (and first with the band credited as equal contributors), Collider (you know, I think it was a bad idea to give me brackets). Well, as far as settling in goes, Roberts does and doesn't on Collider .  W...
Post a Comment
Read more

IN REVIEW: Rancid - "Trouble Maker"

As far as punk rock goes, it's hard to name a hotter hot streak than the trio of records Rancid cranked out between 1995 and 2000; the star making ...And Out Come the Wolves , the far-reaching Life Won't Wait and their balls-to-the-wall second self-titled album solidly positioned Rancid as leaders of the second generation of punk. It also preceded a period of slow progression, as Rancid would take eleven years to release their next three records. By the time ...Honor Is All We Know came in 2014, many fans (myself included) had to wonder whether or not this was the end of the road. Such concerns are handily dealt with on the closing track of the standard edition of their ninth record, the positively punishing This Is Not the End . Well, okay then, that's sorted. Now, what of this new record? What do we make of the use of their original logo on the cover, a logo that hasn't graced a Rancid record in 25 years? Is this a throwback to the band's heyday, a new begin...
Post a Comment
Read more