She Don't Use Jelly
| "She Don't Use Jelly" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Flaming Lips | ||||
| from the album Transmissions from the Satellite Heart | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | October 1993 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| The Flaming Lips singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "She Don't Use Jelly" on YouTube | ||||
"She Don't Use Jelly" is a song by American rock band the Flaming Lips from their sixth studio album, Transmissions from the Satellite Heart (1993). It reached number 55 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a top-30 hit in Australia.
Music and lyrics
[edit]Discussing the song, the band's website states, "With its chiming pedal steel chorus breaks and seemingly nonsensical lyrics, the song entered into the realms of novelty hit. It's a happy little ditty about strange people and their individual idiosyncrasies, with pretty melodies laced throughout and punctuated by trademark moments of crunching but still harmonious noise."[1]
The song describes a woman who "thinks of ghosts" and puts Vaseline on toast, a man who "goes to shows" and uses magazines to blow his nose, and another woman that "reminds [the narrator] of Cher" and uses tangerines to make her hair orange. Coyne has stated, "The song came to me very quickly, and I thought it was sort of funny."[2]
Reception and legacy
[edit]"She Don't Use Jelly" became popular after being featured on the MTV show Beavis and Butt-head, nearly a year after the album's release. It is still their highest charting single to date (and the only to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100), even entering the top 10 of the Modern Rock Tracks chart, at number 9. The song's success additionally garnered the band a guest spot on the TV show Beverly Hills, 90210, in which they played live at the show's hangout, The Peach Pit; afterwards, supporting character Steve Sanders (portrayed by actor Ian Ziering) remarks, "You know, I've never been a big fan of alternative music, but these guys rocked the house!"[3]
Even though the band often ignores playing their pre-Soft Bulletin material, "She Don't Use Jelly" has usually been the most notable exception and is still played live at most of their concerts to this day. It usually is preceded by a video of Jon Stewart introducing the song on The Jon Stewart Show. After the song, lead singer Wayne Coyne usually inflates an enormous balloon, filled with confetti or smaller balloons, until it bursts onto the crowd.[citation needed]
In pop culture, "She Don't Use Jelly" is played by the band Crucifictorius in season three, episode seven of Friday Night Lights. Ben Folds Five covered the song for the compilation album Lounge-A-Palooza in 1997. Their version was also included on a 2005 expanded reissue of their 1997 album Whatever and Ever Amen, as well as the 2018 box set "Brick" The Songs of Ben Folds 1994-2012.
Track listings
[edit]|
US CD single[4]
US cassette single and UK 7-inch single[5][6]
|
UK CD1 and Australian CD single[7]
UK CD2[8]
|
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1994–1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[9] | 25 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[10] | 94 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 55 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[12] | 9 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[13] | 53 |
Release history
[edit]| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | October 1993 | CD | Warner Bros. | |
| United Kingdom | August 23, 1994 |
|
[14] |
References
[edit]- ^ Band's webpage about the song
- ^ "The Wikipedia Files: The Flaming Lips on Chicago Public Radio Blog, July 21, 2009". Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
- ^ Clip of performance on Beverly Hills, 90210 on YouTube
- ^ She Don't Use Jelly (US CD single disc notes). The Flaming Lips. Warner Bros. Records. 1993. 9 41102-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ She Don't Use Jelly (US cassette single sleeve). The Flaming Lips. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. 9 18131 4.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ She Don't Use Jelly (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). The Flaming Lips. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. W0246.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ She Don't Use Jelly (UK CD1 & Australian CD single liner notes). The Flaming Lips. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. W0246CD, 9362-41759-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ She Don't Use Jelly (UK CD2 liner notes). The Flaming Lips. Warner Bros. Records. 1994. W0246CDX.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "The Flaming Lips – She Don't Use Jelly". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ "The Flaming Lips Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ "The Flaming Lips Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ "U.S. Cash Box Charts" (PDF). popmusichistory. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. August 20, 1994. p. 27.