Sheena Is a Parasite

"Sheena Is a Parasite"
Single by the Horrors
from the album Strange House
B-side"Jack the Ripper"
Released10 April 2006
GenreGarage punk
Length1:40
LabelLoog
Songwriter(s)Faris Badwan, Tom Cowan, Joshua Hayward, Joseph Spurgeon, Rhys Webb
The Horrors singles chronology
"Sheena Is a Parasite"
(2006) 		"Count in Fives"
(2006)

"Sheena Is a Parasite" is the debut single by English rock band the Horrors, released in April 2006 by Loog Records.

Content

The title and content are adapted from the Ramones single "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" as well as the Cramps' "Sheena's in a Goth Gang", and the song chronicles the demise of punk music and its cultural influence.

The B-side is a cover of the Screaming Lord Sutch song "Jack the Ripper".

Music video

The Chris Cunningham-directed video starred Academy Award nominee Samantha Morton as the song's manic, transmogrifying subject who whipped around like a banshee and spewed her intestines at the camera. Sharply edited and shot on a low budget, the video was instantly banned from MTV UK purely on the basis of the use of strobe lights, not because of the gory subject matter (as was erroneously reported by NME).[1][2] The video did air on MTV2 in America, as a part of their Subterranean program.[3]

Billboard included the video at No. 14 in its list of "The 15 Scariest Music Videos Ever".[4]

Legacy

In October 2011, NME placed "Sheena Is a Parasite" at No. 96 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[5]

Track listing

  1. "Sheena Is a Parasite"
  2. "Jack the Ripper"

References

  1. ^ "10 Amazing Music Videos of the 21st Century". Whatculture.com. 27 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2016-08-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Subterranean: 2006". 120minutes.org. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Comer, M. Tye; Lipshutz, Jason; Mapes, Jillian (October 31, 2013). "The 15 Scariest Music Videos Ever". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  5. ^ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". Nme.com. Retrieved 2011-10-15.