Hard Charger

Album: Private Parts: The Album (1997)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Hard Charger" was Porno For Pyros' contribution to the 1997 Howard Stern movie Private Parts. It was written by lead singer Perry Farrell years earlier when his band Jane's Addiction was active, but they never recorded it. Typical of Farrell, the lyrics are way left of center, with him asking to "wrap my black tongue on your face." The music is more accessible though, making it suitable for the masses that would be hearing it thanks to the film.
  • Dave Navarro and Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player Flea both play on this song along with Farrell and Pyros members Stephen Perkins (drums) and Peter DiStefano (guitar). By this time, Porno For Pyros were all but disbanded. They had cancelled a planned tour for earlier 1997 and didn't have any plans to record. "Hard Charger" they put together at the behest of Howard Stern - he's a fan of the band and wanted them on the Private Parts soundtrack.

    Around this time, the members of Jane's Addiction, Porno For Pyros and Red Hot Chili Peppers were intermingled. Dave Navarro, an original member of Jane's Addiction, was a Chili Pepper - he played on their 1995 album One Hot Minute. After "Hard Charger," Farrell rebooted Jane's Addiction for a six-week tour with Flea on bass and released an album of outtakes and live recordings from the band called Kettle Whistle. He officially ended Pyros in 1998; they returned in 2020 to play some shows and in 2023 released a new song called "Agua." Their reunion/farewell tour took place in 2024.
  • Liz Friedlander directed a music video for this song that incorporates scenes from Private Parts along with footage of the band (along with Flea and Navarro) plus Howard Stern.

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