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Happy Birthday, Perry Farrell!

Frost the cupcakes and get the trick candles ready, because it's time to wish dynamic rock frontman and Lollapalooza godfather Perry Farrell a very happy birthday. The diverse rocker is now 52 years old and is still going strong as the frontman of seminal band Jane's Addiction. But on this special day, it's time to look back at one of his more underrated projects.

When it came time for Jane's Addiction to call it quits, Farrell staged the first Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for the band in the summer of 1991 (that tour also featured Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Ice-T and Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes and Fishbone). With the band in his rearview, Farrell formed a new combo called Porno for Pyros (which also featured Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins). The group released its first self-titled album in the spring of 1993 to big sales, mostly on the back of the heavy-rotation single "Pets" (a fantasy narrative about aliens visiting Earth and keeping humans captive as house pets). The band toured extensively and also notched a high-profile slot at Woodstock '94 (that was the one with the mud, not the one with the bonfires).

Their second album Good God's Urge was even more eclectic and envelope-pushing, and it also rocked a little bit harder than the debut. Released in the spring of 1996, Good God's Urge dove deep into darker sonic soundscapes and found Farrell focusing even more of his lyrical energy on mythology and the supernatural. The single "Tahitian Moon" is emblematic of Good God's Urge, as it features a blistering guitar riff, some island grooves and Farrell's ethereal voice. It's a killer song with a great video, and it's a perfect way to celebrate Farrell's birthday.

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