Prison Sex (song)
Encyclopedia
"Prison Sex" is a song by American rock
band Tool
. The song was released as their first single
from their debut album Undertow
. The song is unique for its use of modified drop-B tuning.
techniques, and was directed by the band's guitarist Adam Jones (who had previous experience in art direction and animation, including work on the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park
). The video was removed from the MTV playlist due to its disturbing content. "Prison Sex" was also nominated for 1995's MTV Music Video Awards' Best
Special Effects
category.
The video primarily revolves around a white humanoid figure trapped in a room full of cabinets, containing other humanoids. During various points in the video he is confronted by a larger black humanoid who causes the white figure to go catatonic while the black figure molests him. In the beginning of the video, the black figure severs the white figure's legs. At the end of the video, it is revealed that the white humanoid was in his own cabinet the whole time.
The "Prison Sex" video was edited by Ken Andrews
.
, MuchMusic
called the band into question by deeming the video too graphic and offensive, later running an episode of its Too Much 4 Much
series to discuss the video.
MTV
stopped airing the "Prison Sex" video after a few viewings — due to a symbolic dealing with the sensitive subject of child abuse
. Maynard James Keenan
, who wrote the lyrics, has been quite clear about his antipathy towards his stepfather during early interviews about the song.
Before a live performance of Prison Sex on Nov. 29, 1996 in Montreal, QC, Maynard had this to say:
"This song is about recognizing, identifying, the cycle of abuse within yourself. That's the first step of the process: realization; identifying. The next step is to work through it. But this song is about the first step in the process, which is recognizing."
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
. The song was released as their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from their debut album Undertow
Undertow (Tool album)
"Disgustipated" is track 69 on most pressings in North America . It also appears as track 39, track 10 or as a hidden track following "Flood" on track 9...
. The song is unique for its use of modified drop-B tuning.
Music video
The video for "Prison Sex" was created with stop-motion animationStop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
techniques, and was directed by the band's guitarist Adam Jones (who had previous experience in art direction and animation, including work on the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
). The video was removed from the MTV playlist due to its disturbing content. "Prison Sex" was also nominated for 1995's MTV Music Video Awards' Best
Special Effects
MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Awards winners for Best Special Effects in a Video....
category.
The video primarily revolves around a white humanoid figure trapped in a room full of cabinets, containing other humanoids. During various points in the video he is confronted by a larger black humanoid who causes the white figure to go catatonic while the black figure molests him. In the beginning of the video, the black figure severs the white figure's legs. At the end of the video, it is revealed that the white humanoid was in his own cabinet the whole time.
The "Prison Sex" video was edited by Ken Andrews
Ken Andrews
Ken Andrews is an American musician and producer, based out of Los Angeles, California.Andrews was born in Seattle, Washington, and attended film school in Los Angeles before his band Failure received a record deal from Slash Records.He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and...
.
Controversy
With the release of the 1994 single "Prison Sex" and its music video, directed and created by Adam JonesAdam Jones (musician)
Adam Thomas Jones is a three time Grammy Award-winning Welsh-American musician and visual artist, best known for his position as the guitarist for Grammy-Award winning band Tool. Jones has been rated the 75th Greatest Guitarist of all time by the Rolling Stone and placed 9th in Guitar World's Top...
, MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
called the band into question by deeming the video too graphic and offensive, later running an episode of its Too Much 4 Much
Too Much 4 Much
Too Much 4 Much was a Canadian television series, which aired on MuchMusic. The series, which aired after midnight Eastern time, played controversial videos which had, for one reason or another, been banned from regular rotation on the network, and featured panel discussions on the issues raised by...
series to discuss the video.
MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
stopped airing the "Prison Sex" video after a few viewings — due to a symbolic dealing with the sensitive subject of child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
. Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...
, who wrote the lyrics, has been quite clear about his antipathy towards his stepfather during early interviews about the song.
Before a live performance of Prison Sex on Nov. 29, 1996 in Montreal, QC, Maynard had this to say:
"This song is about recognizing, identifying, the cycle of abuse within yourself. That's the first step of the process: realization; identifying. The next step is to work through it. But this song is about the first step in the process, which is recognizing."
UK version
- "Prison Sex (LP Version)"
- "Undertow (Live)"
- "Opiate (Live)"
- "Prison Sex (Radio Edit)"
German version
- "Prison Sex (LP Version)"
- "Intolerance (Live)"
- "Undertow (Live)"
- "Opiate (Live)"
Australian version
- "Prison Sex (LP Version)"
- "Intolerance (Live)"
- "Undertow (Live)"
- "Opiate (Live)"
- "Prison Sex (Radio Edit)"
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
1993 | Zoo Entertainment | CD | 74321-19049-2 |
| UK | Vinyl | 74321-19432-1 | ||
| UK | CD | 74321-19432-2 | ||
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
1994 | CD | 74321-19049-2 | |
| UK | Promo vinyl | TOOL-002 |