“I don’t wait for the music industry to gratify myself, or to gratify others,” Perry Farrell told American Songwriter in 2022, describing his songwriting etiquette. Throughout his nearly 40-year career, Farrell has bitten into plenty of songs outside his core work with Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros. Along with his earliest work with post-punk band Psi Com in the early ’80s, through his one-off Satellite Party project in 2004, Farrell has also dipped into countless collaborations in between.
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Contributing to film and television, Farrell wrote and composed “Go All The Way (Into The Twilight) for the Twilight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and “Nasty Little Perv,” featured on the CBS crime drama NCIS. His collaborations have also spanned works with Tom Morello, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, Peter Hook, and Debbie Harry, among dozens of others. In 2023, Farrell was also featured on Sleaford Mod’s “So Trendy,” off their album UK Grim.
[RELATED: Behind the Band Name: Jane’s Addiction]
“It’s like being on [Interstate] 405 all fucking all day,” said Farrell, elaborating on writing these days. “This is pure. It’s gratifying. There’s a rhythm that keeps you creative. You don’t go into a stall for parts of the year. You’re constantly just expressing yourself. It’s beautiful.”
In honor of his lengthy directory of songs over the decades, here’s a look at just four songs Farrell wrote for other artists.
1. “Revolution Solution,” Thievery Corporation (2005)
Written by Perry Farrell
Farrell fused with Bossa Nova kings Rob Garza and Eric Hilton for Thievery Corporation’s fourth album, The Cosmic Game. Along with contributions from David Byrne and Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne on the electronic duo’s album, Farrell also contributed to the future-boss-grooved “Revolution Solution,” centered on tearing away from the comfort zone.
Oh I’ve hoped for comfort
But I’ve never felt too safe
And in this hard life
I’ve had to navigate through
Unexhausted
Has been my virtue
They set themselves against I
They set my pride on fire
Phoenix always rises high
Rebel crusader
Driven to decisions
They trapped me into
2. “Honey If You Love Him (That’s All That Matters), ” Andy Bell (2010)
Written by Perry Farrell
Co-produced with Pascal Gabriel (Debbie Harry, Kylie Minogue), Erasure vocalist Andy Bell’s second solo album Non-Stop closes on a song Farrell originally wrote for a fashion designer friend.
“I went to the Greek or the Hollywood Bowl in support of gay pride and gay rights, and he [Bell] was performing,” said Farrell of his collaboration with Bell. “They were kind enough to come and escort me around and ask, ‘Would you like to meet this person?’ I went, ‘Man, I’d love to sing a song with Andy, that’d be so great.’ And they introduced me to him.”
Farrell continued, “It went from there. He had a new record coming out. … I met his label people. I was sitting and eating with them and said, ‘I’d love to write a song with him.’ He’s got one of the great voices of the ‘80s. He was a darling.”
I’ve got a new man for you
This one I say is true blue
Blue eyes and responsibilities
I intro you do the rest
You’ve made a fast recovery
Is this Sunday evening too soon?
Honey if you love him that’s all that matters
What he put you through truth is he was so far beneath you
Honey if you’re happy that’s all that matters
Oh I’ve got to confess your ex was a hot mess
Honey if you love him … I keep some old shoes around
3. “I Really Blew It,” Taylor Hawkins & the Coattails Riders (2019)
Written by Perry Farrell, Taylor Hawkins, Dave Grohl, Chris Chaney, Brent Woods
Even though it was nearly a decade before Taylor Hawkins recorded a new album with the Coattail Riders, the third one, Get the Money, was a big one, featuring collaborations with Dave Grohl, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, Steven Jones, Ann Wilson, and LeAnn Rimes, along with Farrell’s sole contribution “I Really Blew It.” The title track also features Joe Walsh on guitar and Chrissie Hynde on vocals, and Hawkins even pulls out a cover of the Yardbirds’ “Shapes of Things,” in the style of Jeff Beck’s 1968 cover.
In 2019, Hawkins also contributed to Farrell’s second solo album, Kind Heaven, co-writing the opening track “(red, white, and blue) Cheerfulness.” Hawkins also plays drums on Farrell’s Kind Heaven Orchestra album, Mend, and co-wrote the title track with The Cars’ guitarist Elliot Easton and Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan.
I blew it!
Again
I blew it!
Again
Well, this is gonna really hurt
Here we go again
And all I really wanna know
Is when does this end?
[RELATED: 5 Songs You Didn’t Know Taylor Hawkins Wrote for Other Artists]
4. “Oh the Sunn! by The Avalanches (2020)
Written by Perry Farrell, Robbie Chater, Tony Di Blasi, Andy Szekeres
Australian electronic duo The Avalanches, consisting of Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi, pulled in a collective group of collaborators on their third album, We Will Always Love You, in 2020. Along with The Clash‘s Mick Jones, Johnny Marr, Rivers Cuomo, Neneh Cherry, Leon Bridgers, MGMT, Kurt Vile, and Wayne Coyne, among others, Farrell also co-wrote the funk-curved “Oh The Sunn!” on the 25-track album.
No, we don’t understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don’t understand it at all
But we’ll do our best
To stand the test
And we’ll never turn back no more
No, we don’t understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don’t understand it at all
But we’ll do our best
To stand the test
And we’ll never turn back no more
Photo by Walid Azami / Miller PR
