TL;DR: This post is very long, with tons of info about the songs, but if you’re just here for the music, here is the full playlist! Enjoy the tunes!

Welcome Back to Rock ‘n Roll Head to Toe! This is the 9th installment in the series featuring songs with body parts in their title. Today I am presenting songs with the word TEETH in their title. How many songs off the top of your head can you think of with Teeth in the title?  Here’s my Teeth playlist:

If you’re an info nerd like me and want to discover some cool fun facts about one or more of these songs and the artists who brought them to us, read on!

(btw, if you’ve missed my other Rock ‘n Roll Head to Toe series installments or want to check any of them out you can always head over to the Series Index page for a list of all the published posts to date. I update the index with each new installment so bookmark it if you’d like a quick convenient access to the entire series)

 SKIN OF MY TEETH by Demi Lovato

“Skin of My Teeth” is a song by the American singer Demi Lovato from her eighth studio album, Holy Fvck (2022). Island Records released it in June 2022 as the album’s lead single. The song is a rock, pop-punk, and grunge track, led by electric guitars and drums. Described by Stereogum‘s Tom Breihan as “bright, fired-up arena-level”, the song has a more potent sound than Lovato’s previous releases. Lyrically, it deals with society’s criticisms about addictions and drug rehabilitation, as well as Lovato’s own struggles. Its title references the biblical phrase “skin of my teeth”.

While “Skin of My Teeth” was the album’s lead single, “Substance” and “29” followed as the second and third singles respectively; The song “29” became the album’s only song to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, which surprises me because I think “Skin of My Teeth” song rocks! To promote Holy Fvck, Lovato embarked on the Holy Fvck Tour throughout North America and South America between August and November 2022. A promotional poster of the album and tour was banned in the United Kingdom by the Advertising Standards Authority for allegedly offending Christians.

Demi Lovato’s Holy Fvck Tour promotional poster that was banned in the UK because it offended Christians

The lyrics of “Skin of My Teeth” focus on Lovato’s struggles with substance abuse and discusses drug rehabilitation along with the desire to be free from the disease she was enduring. Lovato declares that she barely escaped death and survived “by the skin of [her] teeth”, a reference to the biblical phrase that describes a situation from which one has hardly managed to escape. Lovato previously opened up about becoming sober following her near-fatal overdose in 2018 on her documentary Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, published three years after. In the song’s annotations on Genius, Lovato stated that the opening line of “Skin of My Teeth”—”Demi leaves rehab again”—alludes to a rehab visit: “It was a headline that I saw multiple times and I just felt like it was no one’s business”. She also described the lyric “I’m your son and I’m your daughter, I’m your mother, I’m your father” as emotive, saying that is meant to humanize addiction as a struggle that many individuals face.

Reception and Critics Reactions: The song received overwhelmingly positive reviews from music critics, many of whom lauded its theme and Lovato’s vocals. They drew comparisons between “Skin of My Teeth” and the works of Hole—specifically the 1998 single “Celebrity Skin“.

Reanna Cruz, a music journalist and contributor for NPR, described “Skin of My Teeth” as a fun listening experience but described the opening line as “cringe-worthy”. She praised Lovato as having a “level of camp” in her art with genuineness and commitment to her music, unlike “other pop-punk revivalists”. She also compared the vocal affectations of the song to those of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” (2011) – (personal interjection here: I love Gaga’s “Born This Way”—it’s such a positive message on body image; IF ONLY we all could keep that mindset when thinking of and scrutinizing ourselves and/or others, right? The world –and everyone’s self-image– would be so much better!).

Tom Breihan, senior editor at the music website Stereogum, also noted this, praising Lovato for not having “the fake edginess” of other contemporary musicians of the genre. Ellise Shafer from Variety described the lyrics of “Skin of My Teeth” as “brutally honest”, with “Lovato’s powerhouse vocals urgently conveying [her] most upfront lyricism yet”. Other critics, including Breihan and Uproxx‘s Danielle Chelosky, also highlighted the singer’s vocals, finding them “brazen and unafraid”. Loudwire’s Joe DiVito views the energy of the guitar tones as being reminiscent of the rock musicians Pat Benatar and Joan Jett.

In a review of Holy Fvck, Tom Williams of The Line of Best Fit believed that “Skin of My Teeth” showcases the album’s strengths, as it is “unrelentingly intense and unmistakably autobiographical”. For Billboard, Stephen Daw named “Skin of My Teeth” the “true introduction” to Holy Fvck over the opening track “Freak”. Loudwire ranked it as the 68th best rock or metal song of 2022. Business Insider contributor Callie Ahlgrim called “Skin of My Teeth” one of the biggest snubs of the 65th Annual Grammy Awards nominations (OUCH!!).

TEASING THE RELEASE: In early 2022, Demi Lovato announced her departure from pop music as she held a “funeral” for it on her social media accounts. The announcement included a photo with her management dressed in all-black. Lovato started teasing what would be her eighth studio album, and told Rolling Stone‘s Tomás Mier that it would have some “heaviness” in its sound. Mier asked her if she was coming back to her “rock, emo early days”, and she answered, “That, but better”. While sharing teasers of then-unreleased songs, she wrote on Instagram Stories that she was “so proud” of her new music and said that it was her “absolute best yet”. She labeled it as her return to her rock and pop-punk roots which she had experimented with on her first two albums, Don’t Forget (2008) and Here We Go Again (2009). She described it as a “new era reminiscent of [her] first era”.

On May 23, 2022, after several speculations, Lovato confirmed that the lead single from the album would be called “Skin of My Teeth“. Days later, the song’s release date and cover artwork were revealed; the image features Lovato with dark makeup and an all-black outfit with spikes and chains. She additionally published a video with mock newspaper headlines about her, with the song playing in the background (that’s the video included in my Teeth playlist here). Lovato announced the release of her album Holy Fvck on June 6. “Skin of My Teeth” was released on June 10 through Island Records; it was promoted by an appearance by Demi Lovato posing in front of her promotional digital billboards in NYC’s Times Square. She’s wearing a black vinyl pants and long-sleeve crop top set, with images of Sissy Spacek, from Stephen King’s horror classic Carrie, printed down each leg. That’s a crazy look!

Demi Lovato posing in front of digital billboards in Times Square announcing the release of her new single “Skin of My Teeth” from her Holy Fvck album. Check out her cool outfit.

YOUR GOLD TEETH I and II by Steely Dan 

Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971. Essentially a studio-based duo, Steely Dan drew from the gamut of American musical styles to create some of the most intelligent and complex pop music of the 1970s. The band members were guitarist Walter Becker (b. February 20, 1950, New York, New York.—d. September 3, 2017, New York City) and keyboardist and vocalist Donald Fagen (b. January 10, 1948, Passaic, New Jersey). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen chose to stop performing live by the end of 1974 and continued Steely Dan as a studio-only duo, utilizing a revolving cast of session musicians. Rolling Stone magazine named them “the perfect musical antiheroes for the seventies”.

Their debut album, Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972), established a template for their career, blending elements of rock, jazz, Latin music, R&B, and blues with sophisticated studio production and cryptic, irony-infused lyrics. The band enjoyed critical and commercial success with seven studio albums, peaking with their top-selling album Aja, released in 1977.

“Your Gold Teeth”, the first one, was on Steely Dan’s second studio album Countdown to Ecstasy, released in 1973. Countdown to Ecstasy has similar lyrical themes to Can’t Buy a Thrill. It explores topics such as drug abuse, class struggle, and Los Angeles excess. “Your Gold Teeth” follows a jaded female grifter who uses her attractiveness and cunning to take advantage of others. Then on Steely Dan’s fourth studio album (1975), Katy Lied, is the sequel song titled “Your Gold Teeth II”.

“Your Gold Teeth” is a complex jazz-influenced rock song known for its cryptic lyrics about a failed relationship and its innovative musical structure. A follow-up track, “Your Gold Teeth II,” appears on their 1975 album, Katy Lied, and is musically distinct, featuring a jazz waltz rhythm and a prominent guitar solo by Denny Dias. Both songs share lyrical phrases but are otherwise separate compositions, with the original focusing on themes of a fickle lover and the sequel showcasing more sophisticated musical arrangements and rhythms.

“Your Gold Teeth”:

• “Your Gold Teeth” (from the Countdown to Ecstasy album) has a one-chord vamp that draws on 1960s-era jazz fusion, with the lyrics set over this foundation.

• The lyrics are a mixture of cryptic “joke sculpture” and a narrative about a failing relationship. They use imagery of the Roaring Twenties and metaphors to describe a woman who is seductive, fickle, and possibly untrustworthy.
• It features a unique structure with instrumental solos after the verses, creating a dynamic and layered sound.

“Your Gold Teeth II”:

• “Your Gold Teeth II” (from the Katy Lied album) is musically a more sophisticated jazz-rock fusion piece that anticipates the band’s later work, such as on Aja. It’s a jazz waltz with complex time signatures.
• The song features a prominent and highly praised guitar solo by Denny Dias, which is described as a tribute to Django Reinhardt. The track also includes memorable piano and bass parts.
• The structure of the song has a complex intro that leads into the main melody, with the chord progression from the intro being used later in a slowed-down version during the guitar solo section.
• The song reuses the line “throw out your gold teeth and see how they roll,” but its lyrics are not directly connected to the original song’s narrative.

In “Your Gold Teeth” the lyrics are cryptic and narrative-driven, characteristic of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s songwriting style. The song is largely an analysis of a toxic and failed relationship with a fickle, alluring woman referred to as a “monkey woman”.  Key lyrical interpretations include:

• Gambling and Chance: The central image, “Throw out your gold teeth, do you see how they roll,” alludes to using the teeth as dice, symbolizing the risky and arbitrary nature of the relationship and life itself.
• Fickle Nature: The protagonist struggles to understand if he is the only one in her life or one of many, describing her as having a “roving eye” and a “gift for the runaround”.
• Cryptic Imagery: Lines like “Tobacco they grow in Peking” have been interpreted as metaphors for opium, and “iron and brass” as drug paraphernalia or enforcement.
• Cathy Berberian: The avant-garde singer Cathy Berberian is name-checked in the bridge.

The narrator ultimately decides to end the relationship, telling the woman to “find the door”. The overall feel is one of cold, detached observation of a complex and manipulative dynamic.

“Your Gold Teeth II”, from the album Katy Lied (1975), is only connected to the first song by a shared title and the recurring chorus lyric: “Throw out your gold teeth and see how they roll. The answer they reveal: life is unreal”. Musically, it is very different, a complex jazz waltz featuring significant time signature changes and noted performances by Michael Omartian on piano and Denny Dias on a Django Reinhardt-inspired guitar solo.

Lyrical Interpretation: Unlike the first song’s focus on a specific toxic relationship, the lyrics for “Your Gold Teeth II” are more abstract and philosophical, revolving around themes of gambling, chance, perception, and the nature of reality.

• “Life Is Unreal”: The central, repeated message of the song is that life is arbitrary and lacks inherent meaning. The act of “throwing out your gold teeth” is a metaphor for casting dice, and the outcome is random, leading to the conclusion that life is “unreal” or absurd. Some interpretations suggest this deliberately simple, almost “lazy,” philosophical statement is an intentional joke by Becker and Fagen, designed to sound profound but ultimately meaningless upon closer inspection.
• Gambling and Risk: The song uses extensive gambling imagery to explore the idea that life itself is a game of chance where one makes one’s own rules.
  • “Who are these strangers who pass through the door? Who covers your action and go you one more?”: These lines suggest characters who are involved in high-stakes, risky situations, possibly loan sharks or card sharks, who are “covering the action” or raising the stakes in a game.
  • “It’s your game, the rules are your own, win or lose”: This emphasizes personal responsibility and the arbitrary nature of the “game” of life; the outcome is left entirely to chance, not fate or morality.
• Loss of Innocence and Intrigue: The first verse uses imagery of mysterious “children” who “scheme and run wild” and “speak with their wings”. This could represent a lost innocence or a sense of wonder that the narrator no longer possesses, contrasting with the cold, hard reality of the gambling world depicted later in the song.
• Detachment and Absurdity: The song’s tone is one of detached observation regarding the complex, confusing, and ultimately meaningless situations people find themselves in. The idea of using one’s only valuable possessions (“gold teeth”) as dice for a high-risk bet highlights the absurdity of such a lifestyle.

Fun Fact: re: “Your Gold Teeth” (1973 Countdown to Ecstasy album)

• Cathy Berberian’s Name Drop: The song famously name-checks the avant-garde operatic mezzo-soprano singer Cathy Berberian in the line, “Even Cathy Berberian knows there’s one roulade she can’t sing”. Berberian was reportedly thrilled to be mentioned in a rock song.

Fun Facts re: “Your Gold Teeth II (1975 Katy Lied album)

• Jeff Porcaro’s Drumming Education: Drummer Jeff Porcaro, who was only 20 at the time, struggled with the unusual timing until Donald Fagen gave him a Charles Mingus record featuring drummer Dannie Richmond, which helped him nail the complex groove.
• The “Katy Lied” Disaster: This song was recorded as part of the Katy Lied album sessions, which were famously plagued by a technical failure of an experimental DBX noise reduction system. The system malfunctioned, resulting in a compromised mix that Fagen and Becker felt never sounded as good as it should have, a source of major heartbreak for the perfectionist duo.
• Django Reinhardt Homage: The guitar solo by Denny Dias is a showpiece that pays explicit tribute to the legendary jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.
• Michael McDonald’s Debut: The album Katy Lied marked the first time Michael McDonald provided backing vocals for the band, a collaboration that would last for several more albums.

MILKY TEETH by Tindersticks

Tindersticks is the debut album by the chamber pop band Tindersticks, released in the UK in October 1993. Following positive reviews for their early singles and live performances, it was released to widespread critical acclaim by the music press, eventually being named album of the year by the UK music magazine Melody Maker.

“Milky Teeth” is a track on Tindersticks eponymous debut album, released in 1993. The album included re-recorded versions of both sides of the band’s debut single, “Patchwork” and “Milky Teeth”.

Critical reception of the album: Melody Maker said “Some might consider releasing a double album as your debut a mite ambitious, but Tindersticks have that much more to offer…”

AllMusic said of the album:

“A thrilling, revelatory debut, Tindersticks is a chamber pop masterpiece of romantic elegance and gutter debauchery. Within the framework of a remarkably consistent and mesmerizingly dank atmosphere, the group covers a stunning amount of ground … Fascinatingly constructed and strikingly ambitious, Tindersticks is insidiously labyrinthine: the music speaks softly but carries tremendous weight, and its hold grows more and more unbreakable with each listen.”

Specifically, about the song: “Milky Teeth” holds significant importance as the song that launched Tindersticks’ career, generating a buzz that helped define their unique, moody sound within the 1990s indie rock scene. It is a notable early song by this British indie rock band, recognized as their launchpad. “Milky Teeth” was released in November 1992 as a double A-side 7-inch single with “Patchwork” on the band’s own Tippy Toe label. Only 500 hand-numbered copies were initially pressed. Its quick sell-out created immediate critical interest and helped secure their record deal and reputation for atmospheric, distinct music. A re-recorded version of the song appears on their self-titled debut album, Tindersticks (1993), often referred to as “Tindersticks I“.

The song features the band’s characteristic atmospheric and moody sound, blending indie rock with elements of chamber pop and lounge jazz. It has an insistent groove with a driving bassline and drums. The music includes distant, screeching guitars that contrast with the smooth baritone vocals of lead singer Stuart A. Staples. Violins provide a counterpoint to the main melody, contributing to the song’s textured and slightly melancholic atmosphere.

The lyrics are dark and evocative, focusing on themes of desire, manipulation, and the darker side of intimacy:

• Toxic Desire: The narrator expresses a complex mix of attraction and disgust, with lines like, “It’s your mind and your body / That makes me feel so dirty”.
• Vulnerability and Betrayal: The central metaphor in the chorus uses the image of “milky teeth” (baby teeth, implying innocence or harmlessness) that are breaking as they close around a “scruff,” suggesting a betrayal of trust or a predatory dynamic in a relationship.
• Faking Intimacy: The song explores a lack of genuine connection, highlighted by the lines, “You say you love me when I’m sleeping / It’s the sleep of the innocent / But in my sleep, I’m still faking”.

“Milky Teeth” is considered a strong example of Tindersticks’ early work, known for its powerful lyrics and distinct, moody musical arrangements. Even so, despite the band’s generally melancholic and orchestral sound, “Milky Teeth” is often described as one of the most “rockier” or “poppier” songs they produced early on, with an insistent, driving beat that hooked many listeners who were then surprised by the rest of their catalogue.

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The “Haunted Forest” Sound: The instrumentation is a key part of its appeal, with “screeching guitars,” a “bruising bassline,” and “dissonant” violins creating a textured, uneasy, and unique atmosphere that music critics came to label the band’s signature “haunted forest” sound. The song is a perfect early example of the band’s approach to songwriting, where “sustaining of mood is more important than the meaning,” a style they have carried throughout their career.

Fun Fact: Lead singer and chief songwriter Stuart A. Staples was working at the legendary Rough Trade record shop in London when the band was forming and releasing their first singles on their own Tippy Toe label. The label was so keen on the band that they helped finance the debut album.

Their debut self-titled album, which features a re-recorded version of “Milky Teeth,” was named Album of the Year by Melody Maker magazine in 1993, beating out major contemporary acts like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, highlighting the profound impact of their unique sound from the very beginning.

Fun Fact re: the album cover art: The first 1,000 copies of the album included a pack of four postcards, featuring the front cover of the album, the portrait of the band on the inner sleeve, and paintings of a boy and a girl (the painting of the girl had already appeared as the cover of “Marbles). The cover is a reproduction of a painting, The Red Dress, by popular mid-20th-century Spanish artist Francisco Rodriguez Sanchez Clement.

CROOKED TEETH by Death Cab for Cutie

“Crooked Teeth” is a song by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, the American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. When “Crooked Teeth” came out the band member lineup was a four-person lineup: Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitars, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Jason McGerr (drums) and Chris Walla (guitars, keyboards, production).

Death Cab for Cutie rose from being a side project to becoming one of the most exciting groups to emerge from the indie rock scene of the ’00s. They have been nominated for eight Grammy Awards.

“Crooked Teeth” is the second single from their 2005 album, Plans. The song was co-written by lead singer and guitarist Ben Gibbard and guitarist Chris Walla. Although the album came out in 2005, the band didn’t release “Crooked Teeth” as a single until March 2006. It was the second single off the album, following “Soul Meets Body.” It spent 19 weeks on the Alternative Airplay chart (now called Hot Modern Rock Tracks since 2020) and peaked at #10 on April 29, 2006. It was Death Cab for Cutie’s seventh highest charting song in the United States to-date.Naming a song after an aesthetic defect is strange, but the real meaning of “Crooked Teeth” is even stranger. Death Cab guitarist and lead singer Ben Gibbard explained that the song is about two derelicts “keeping themselves captive” in a nowhere town in southern Florida. They wander around, get drunk, and dodge kids strung out on homemade speed while remaining trapped in a poverty cycle of their own making.

Gibbard was inspired to write the song because he wanted to do with music what Raymond Carver did with literature. Carver was one of America’s preeminent short story writers and focused much of his work on the lives of people in small towns, particularly people who were on the lower ends of the socioeconomic spectrum and living in some degree of desperation.

In a 2011 episode of VH1 Storytellers, Gibbard spoke about the back story behind the lyrical content of “Crooked Teeth”:

“One of my favorite, favorite writers in the whole world is a man named Raymond Carver and he had this way of writing stories about people living small lives going through some very, uh… their very own trials and tribulations in ways that I’ve always really admired. I wanted to kind of create a story that involved two characters that were trapped by geography in Southern Florida and that they were kind of keeping themselves captive and the city that surrounded them was seemingly closing in on them and this was the outcome of that experiment. This is my attempt to be a junior Raymond Carver.”

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The “crooked teeth” in the song refers to the Florida skyline, which is compared to “the mouth of a man who was devouring us both.” Of course, neither the skyline nor the state are doing anything – the characters in the song are doing it to themselves.

The song has several interesting aspects:

• Lyrical Contrast: The song is known for its upbeat, almost pop-punk melody which contrasts sharply with its somber, vivid, and sometimes dark lyrics. This juxtaposition is a signature style of lead singer and primary lyricist Ben Gibbard.
• Imagery & Interpretation: The lyrics are full of unconventional imagery that is often open to interpretation. For example, the line “Kids strung out on homemade speed” has been debated among fans, with some interpreting it as literal drug use and others seeing it as a metaphor for kids building their own bikes/skateboards and going fast.
• Storytelling: Fans often point out that the emotion in the song feels very genuine, which highlights Gibbard’s skill as a storyteller, even when the narrative itself might be fictional.
• Live Performances: The band performed “Crooked Teeth” on Saturday Night Live in 2006

MUSIC VIDEOS: There are two different music videos for “Crooked Teeth“.

However, I found a third music video, this one directed by Ace Norton. It is a less common iteration of the music video. This version distinguishes itself through a mixed-media approach, combining live performance footage of the band with overlaid hand-drawn animations. Its visual style is bright and colorful, featuring cartoon elements interacting with the band members.

LOSING TEETH by Neck Deep

“Losing Teeth” is the opening track on Wishful Thinking, the debut studio album by the Welsh pop punk band Neck Deep. The song was released as a single in July 2014. Key themes of the song include growing up, youth, nostalgia, moving on and wanting to leave one’s hometown behind.

The song explores the bittersweet feelings associated with the end of an era—specifically, the transition from carefree youth to adulthood. The lyrics reflect on:

• Nostalgia and Memories: The narrator looks back fondly on shared memories and reckless, carefree moments, thinking back to when they were “losing teeth” (a metaphor for youth/childhood).
• Change and Moving On: Acknowledging that “some things must change,” the song deals with the emotional struggle of saying goodbye to the past and moving on to the “next chapter” of life.
• Youthful Recklessness: The lyrics embrace a “young, dumb, carefree” attitude, with the band reflecting on taking risks, laughing at mistakes, and not fitting in.
• Homesickness: The song also generally discusses missing home, which was a common feeling for the band members as they began touring extensively and became a full-time professional band.

The song captures the raw emotion and classic pop-punk theme of evolving and growing older, while cherishing the memories of youth.

The ‘losing teeth’ metaphor in the Neck Deep song signifies the loss of childhood innocence and the process of growing up. Here’s a breakdown of its significance:

• Transition from Youth to Adulthood: Losing baby teeth is a universal childhood experience that marks a physical step in the process of growing up. In the song, it’s used as a direct metaphor for moving from a carefree, naive youth to the more complex realities and responsibilities of adulthood.
• Nostalgia and the Past: The narrator looks back at a time when life was simpler, fondly remembering shared memories and “young, dumb, carefree” moments. The phrase evokes a sense of nostalgia for a time that is now gone, much like the physical teeth of childhood are lost and replaced.
• Irreversible Change: Just as lost teeth can’t be put back, the metaphor underscores that some things must change and an era of life is definitively over. The song deals with the difficulty of accepting this change and moving on to the “next chapter”.
• Vulnerability/Defenselessness (Secondary interpretation): While the primary meaning is about growing up, losing teeth can also imply losing a form of defense or strength, a theme sometimes explored in other contexts. In this pop-punk context, the loss of “teeth” might imply shedding a youthful recklessness and becoming more “tame” or exposed to the challenges of the real world.

Overall, the metaphor perfectly captures the central pop-punk theme of growing pains, looking back at the past with a mix of fondness and a need to move forward.

Lead vocalist Ben Barlow explains he and his bandmates were thinking about their futures. He told Kerrang!:

“‘Losing Teeth’ is about how me and my friends back home are all in a phase of life where we’re moving and generally pursuing things that take us away from where we all grew up. It’s not about the end of our youth, as such, but definitely the end of us being kids, and reflecting on that.”

“Losing Teeth” is widely considered a fan favorite and a staple of Neck Deep’s live shows.

Neck Deep

Here is why it’s so popular at their concerts:

• High Energy Opener: The song is frequently used to open their sets and is known for getting the crowd “insane” and immediately energetic. Its catchy nature ensures fans are engaged from the first note.
• Classic Track: As a key song from their debut album, Wishful Thinking, “Losing Teeth” is a track that long-time fans know and love, often singing back every lyric to the band.
• Engagement Driver: The song is effective at generating crowd participation, with reports of mosh pits and crowd surfing starting right as the song begins.
• Setlist Staple: Despite the band’s extensive discography, “Losing Teeth” has remained a consistent feature in their setlists over the years, appearing even in recent major tours, which is a testament to its enduring popularity among fans.

PULLING TEETH by Green Day

“Pulling Teeth” is a track on Green Day’s third studio album Dookie. It was also their major label debut album, released through Reprise Records in 1994, and it became a breakout success. Green Day has been credited with reigniting mainstream interest in punk rock.

“Pulling Teeth” is an often-overlooked track due to its stark contrast with the rest of the record’s primary loud, fast punk style, offering a momentary, acoustic-driven respite that highlights Green Day’s diverse influences and songwriting depth. The song’s relaxed, hazy vibe creates an ironic contrast with its heavy, dark subject matter, a characteristic often found in Green Day’s songwriting where serious themes are paired with catchy, accessible melodies.

The lyrics of “Pulling Teeth” offer a first-person narrative of a man in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship with his girlfriend, using dark humor to explore the dynamic. The song subverts the typical victim-perpetrator roles by portraying the male as the victim and the female as the abuser, with lines like:

• “Oh God, she’s killing me!”
• “I’m all busted up, broken bones and nasty cuts”
• “After all, she’s the one who put me in this state”

Despite the physical harm, the narrator remains in denial, telling himself, “She takes good care of me” and “just keep saying my love is true”. This highlights the psychological complexity and dependency often found in abusive situations, where the victim struggles to break free due to fear and confusion.

Meaning and Themes

• The song was inspired by a real-life incident where Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt broke both of his elbows during a playful, but rough, pillow fight with his then-girlfriend. The song is a tongue-in-cheek story and the lyrics explore an unusual, physically abusive relationship where the male is the victim, subverting typical roles for dark, humorous effect.
• Lyrically, the song masterfully captures the complex psychology of an abused person in denial. The narrator rationalizes the abuse, telling himself his partner “takes good care of me” even as he’s “busted up” with “broken bones and nasty cuts”. This showcases an emotional dependency that goes beyond the surface-level humor.

Both its track position and production help “Pulling Teeth” to stand out among the other songs on the album. Positioned between the well-known “Welcome to Paradise” and “Basket Case,” “Pulling Teeth” acts as an effective, atmospheric pause in the album’s otherwise high-energy flow. This placement helps pace the record, giving the listener a moment to breathe before the next burst of punk energy.

Dookie was noted for its warmer, more “produced punk” sound compared to the tinnier recordings of the era. This specific song’s production, engineered by Casey McCrankin and mixed with Rob Cavallo and Jerry Finn, highlights the harmonies and acoustic tones effectively, contributing to its unique sound on the album.

The primary members of Green Day are lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool.

Here’s a video of Green Day performing the song live:

TEETH by Lady Gaga

“Teeth” is a song by Lady Gaga from her critically acclaimed 2009 EP/deluxe album, The Fame Monster. “Teeth” was her second major release and her third EP. The song was written by Gaga, Taja Riley, Pete Wyoming Bender, and Teddy Riley, and produced by Gaga and Teddy Riley.

Despite not being released as an official single, “Teeth” has been described by some critics as a “hidden gem” of The Fame Monster EP and a sonically intriguing track that showcases Gaga’s early artistic exploration beyond standard pop. It’s an R&B and electronic pop hybrid that explores themes of sexuality and the search for truth through explicit oral metaphors and has been called a “perverse” march and an ode to sadomasochism.

This sexual romp is a bouncy marching song full of horns, looped samples, cossack-like music and call-and-response vocals. It finds Gaga singing of a S&M desire for being tied up and bitten.

Bradley Stern of MuuMuse said the song is “part musical, part country, and a little bit tribal in spots”. Critics noted the track’s distinctive, “skank-y” horn samples and an “intense, tribal production” that was compared to Cher’s “Half Breed” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk”.

Popjustice described “Teeth” as a “wobbly, stompy, bouncy marching song” (some call it a perverse march beat) that opens with the lyric “don’t want no money, just want your sex” and later chants, “show me your teeth!” Lyrically, Gaga asks her lover to display his teeth for her.

In an interview with MTV, Gaga explained the meaning behind the song and its lyrics:

“It is meant to mean two things, the first one kind of juvenile sexual provocative connotation is about oral sex, but also the monster in the song is fear of the truth. ‘Show me your teeth’ means ‘tell me the truth’ and I think that for a long time in my life that I replaced sex with the truth.”

The song is primarily a metaphor-laden exploration of intimacy, honesty, and power dynamics in a relationship. Lady Gaga has stated in an MTV interview that “Teeth” represents her “Fear of Truth Monster”. The lyrics “Show me your teeth” are a demand for honesty from a lover. Key elements of the song include:

• A Dual Sexual Connotation: The song has a provocative, “juvenile sexual connotation” about oral sex, as Gaga intended the song to operate on two levels. She connected this to replacing emotional truth with physical intimacy in her past.
• Power and Vulnerability: The lyrics “Take a bite of my bad girl meat” and “I need a man who makes me alright” suggest a dynamic where the narrator wants her partner to take control, yet also save her. The “oral theme” is prevalent with words like “fangs”, “bite”, and “mouth” used throughout the song.
• A Lack of Religion and Loss of Self: The line “Got no salvation, got no religion, my religion is you” emphasizes the intensity of her focus on this relationship or connection, making it her ultimate priority.

Live Performance Visuals: In live performances the song was often preceded by a speech about the “monster” of fear of the truth, helping to establish the narrative of The Fame Monster EP as a whole.

During the “Monster Ball Tour” (2009-2011), Gaga performed the song while often wearing dramatic stage props, including elaborate, removable gold “grillz” or false teeth, a theatrical touch in line with her persona.

And those frightening dentures that Lady Gaga popped into her mouth at the YouTube Music Awards (and wears on the cover of her single “Dope”): they are actually a bracelet!

Lady Gaga at the 2013 YouTube Music Awards – Photo Jeff Kravitz FilmMagic; Dimitrios Kambouris Getty Images

The dental cuff. Photo by jewelry designer Danielle Hills

A “dental cuff,” to be specific, by 25-year-old jewelry designer Danielle Hills and her label Gilding Primal Instinct. In a 2013 interview with The CUT, Hills was asked:

Since Gaga wore it in her mouth, are you worried people won’t know it’s a bracelet?

“Not really. Gaga wore it on her wrist for part of the time, and on the red carpet, before she popped it in. And I like that it’s become a weird mystery piece that can be used for different things. I always want my pieces to be worn in creative ways, like a collaboration with whoever’s wearing it. If you think it’s a hat, it’s a hat, and if you think it’s a shoe, it’s a shoe. And it’s so much more fun for me to see them worn differently.”

What’s it made of?

“It’s solid bronze, set with real dentures that I buy in bulk from China. They’re acrylic, and they come in big boxes.”

Have a lot of people contacted you about it already?

“Because my work is very weird, I have a very niche market. And I’m still a very new designer, and I’m working on getting myself out there. So not a lot of people have put two and two t0gether yet, but a lot people who know my work have reached out. It’s been great.”

Why do you incorporate teeth into your designs?

“I love teeth. We depend on them so much, but we really don’t think about them very often. They’re such an incredible organic form. I started using them when I was doing my senior thesis. I was interested in the concept of character archetypes based on generalized human behaviors, and I came up with this character called “the surgeon,” because I was fascinated with the idea of ripping things apart in order to make them heal. So a lot of my designs incorporated destruction and body parts, including teeth.”

Do you ever work with real teeth?

“In custom work, definitely. People have given me their wisdom teeth, or baby teeth, for me to custom make things. They’re like little talismans, almost.”

Gaga wears the dentures by jewelry designer Danielle Hills for her “Dope” single cover
Photo credit ladygaga/Twitter

Fun (but not so fun) Fact: The tune was produced by Teddy Riley, who was an architect of the late 1980s and early ’90s New Jack Swing sound and was responsible for hits by Bobby Brown, Guy, and Keith Sweat. He went on to work with many leading names in the music industry including Boyz II Men, Snoop Dogg and the late Michael Jackson.

Teddy Riley’s daughter Taja Riley was credited with co-writing the song. However, her father sued her for $500,000 in 2013 for copyright infringement and fraud claiming that she didn’t co-pen the tune. The New Jack Swing pioneer said that she lied about the songwriting credit and should not have received a publishing deal from EMI Music.
Teddy Riley also filed suit against Lady Gaga later in the same year, claiming he was promised 25% of writing fees, but had received nothing. The lawsuit settled in 2014. Music is often a very dirty business, always has been and most likely still is.

ARMED TO THE TEETH by Smashing Pumpkins 

“Armed to the Teeth” is an early and relatively obscure song by The Smashing Pumpkins that has never been officially released on any of their studio albums.

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Here are the key details about the track:

• Status: The song is an early, unreleased track from the band’s initial formative period.
• Recording Date: It was recorded during a home studio session in the fall of 1988 at the house of frontman Billy Corgan’s father.
• Personnel: This recording session took place before D’arcy Wretzky (bass) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) officially joined the band.
• Live Performances: The song was played at bassist D’arcy Wretzky’s very first live performance with the band in August 1988 at the Chicago 21 club. And it has only been performed live a handful of times in 1988.
• Availability: While the studio recording has never been officially released or widely circulated, live bootleg recordings may exist from its few performances.

As for the song’s meaning: Because the song was an early demo and the lyrics are often hard to decipher from live recordings, there is no definitive, widely accepted meaning. However, some interpretations based on the few available lyrics suggest:

1. One interpretation is that the lyrics are a critique of the music industry and the people involved, referring to money spent and the “members only” nature of the business.
2. The snippets of lyrics available (“Armed to the teeth, with everyone you meet”) suggest general themes of conflict, protection, or perhaps a jaded view of social interactions and the world at large.

Ultimately, the song’s meaning remains vague and open to interpretation due to its unreleased status and lack of official commentary from Billy Corgan or the band members.

Very little official information exists about “Armed to the Teeth” as one of The Smashing Pumpkins‘ most obscure early tracks. For most fans, it remains a rare, deep cut from the band’s pre-Gish era, known primarily to serious collectors and those interested in the band’s early history and unreleased material.

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TEETH by 5 Seconds of Summer

“Teeth” is a song by the Australian pop-rock band 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS), released on August 21, 2019 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Calm (2020). It is a darker sound for the band, described as industrial grunge rock or industrial pop, with heavy rhythms. The band actively pushed for a darker, more mature sound inspired by industrial music and rhythms, moving beyond their previous pop-punk style. The song features the iconic guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine who provides the distinctive distorted guitar riff during the chorus and outro of the song.

5 Seconds of Summer’s previous single “Easier” and “Teeth” both have similar, brooding vibes, with “Teeth” venturing further into industrial territory. Bassist Calum Hood told Billboard they found themselves channeling one of their fellow Aussie bands.

“With ‘Teeth,’ I knew it was something that we hadn’t discovered yet within the band,” he said. “It reminds me of like – as weird as it sounds – AC/DC in terms of the pulse and energy. It’s really a special thing for me because it means that we’re almost connecting with the roots of the band in a modernistic way.”

The song is about a difficult relationship, reflecting a “tumultuous time” for lead singer Luke Hemmings, making it a very raw and honest track for the band. Hemmings declared that “Teeth” was his favorite song the band had released at that point, highlighting his personal connection to its dark tone and lyrical honesty. It is about his toxic relationship with a girl who had multiple personalities.

Fight so dirty, but your love so sweet
Talk so pretty, but your heart got teeth
Late night devil, put your hands on me
And never, never, never ever let go

5 Seconds of Summer’s previous single “Youngblood” has a similar theme. Both are about a romance that veers between lust and lament. “Teeth” came about after the band had been writing for a month or two and were searching for something that was a step further than “Youngblood.” That’s when frontman Luke Hemmings decided to do a song with lyrics reflecting the trying time in his current relationship.

“Teeth” holds significant importance in the 5 Seconds of Summer discography as a pivotal track that marked a deliberate and successful shift toward a more mature, darker, and rock-oriented sound for the band.

Key Significance

• A Shift in Sound: “Teeth” moved the band further from the pop-punk style of their earlier work and the mainstream pop sound of Youngblood. It introduced heavy, industrial rock elements, a prominent distorted bassline, and a more serious tone, showcasing their evolution as musicians.
• Embracing Rock Roots: The song allowed the band to connect with their rock roots and the music they grew up loving, such as AC/DC, but in a modern way. Many long-time fans felt that “Teeth” was the song that “truly sounds like 5SOS” and the live rock band they always intended to be.
• Artistic Credibility: By collaborating with a legendary guitarist like Tom Morello and channeling darker tones, the band gained more credibility in the rock sphere and demonstrated a seriousness that helped redefine their public image.
• Lyrical Maturity: Lyrically, “Teeth” explores the emotional message of a toxic relationship with an intense, raw honesty (“You talk so pretty but your heart’s got teeth”) that was less masked than some of their previous work.
• Commercial Success and Cross-Promotion: The song’s inclusion in advantageous cross-promotion opportunities (see Fun Facts below) helped expand their audience. The award-winning song performed well commercially, proving that their artistic experimentation could also be successful.

In essence, “Teeth” represents a defining moment where 5SOS bravely pushed their boundaries, showcasing a heavier, grittier side that resonated deeply with their fan base and helped solidify their identity as a mature pop-rock band.

The music video, directed by Thibaut Duverneix, depicts the band in a dark, creepy lab experiment. It features the band members “subjected to an experiment-gone-wrong resulting in each member’s personal hellscape” and was called “dark” and “creepy” by Rolling Stone. It starts with the 4 members in what seems to be like a dentist’s office. In their dreams, the members successfully escape their hellscape. Luke is in a foggy room, Ashton is in a room where the walls are made of linen blown by a big fan, Calum tries to pull a big brick using chains, and Michael climbs a tall ladder.

Fun Fact: In the behind-the-scenes footage for the music video, which shows the band as test subjects in a creepy lab, it was revealed that the smoke used was real, and band members were genuinely coughing in some shots—no “Hollywood magic” involved.

Fun Fact: “Teeth” was featured prominently on the soundtrack for the third season of the Netflix series Thirteen Reasons Why. This teen drama television series is based on the 2007 novel Thirteen Reasons Why by author Jay Asher. It follows the students at the fictional Liberty High School and the wide range of social issues affecting modern youth.

“Teeth” was also used as the official theme song for WWE Survivor Series 2019 in addition to appearing in ESPN’s 2019 Saturday Night Football season.

“Teeth” won the prestigious Song of the Year award at the 2020 ARIA Music Awards in Australia.

KICK IN THE TEETH by Papa Roach

“Kick In The Teeth” is a song by the American hard rock-Nu Metal band Papa Roach. It is a single on their 2010 album Time for Annihilation: On the Record & On the Road. The band members when this album was recorded were lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer Tony Palermo.

The song was one of five new studio tracks included on the album. Time for Annihilation: On the Record & On the Road is the first live album for Papa Roach. It was split between new studio recordings and live material recorded during their tour. This approach allowed the band to release fresh music while also capturing the energy of their live performances.

Shaddix told CMU how they created the quintet of fresh tunes:

“This time, we went home to Sacremento and camped out at our Red House studio and laid down our original ideas for the new songs. Then we went to New Jersey to record the tracks with David Bendeth, who thought our ideas were cool but wanted to expand on them and ‘make them great.’ Which was definitely challenging for me as an artist, because that’s hard to hear! But it pushed us and we managed to evolve the sound, and it allowed us to discover the rock n roll band inside us. We played around with different beats, loops, sequences and just ended up going in a new direction.”

Jerry Horton officially announced on the band’s website that the band would be releasing a new album, which was recorded during five shows in the last leg of their 2009 co-headlining tour with Shinedown. Later, Jacoby Shaddix reported that five entirely new tracks had been written and would be studio recorded and released with the Time for Annihilation album in August 2010.. The first single, “Kick in the Teeth”, was released on June 22, 2010.

On June 29, 2010, the band’s former label, Geffen Records, released a greatest hits compilation titled To Be Loved: The Best of Papa Roach, featuring the band’s biggest hits. However, the band advised fans against purchasing it, stating that they were not profiting from the album’s sales and that the label had released it against their wishes.

The band then released their Time for Annihilation on August 31, 2010. Again, proof that the music industry can be very messy and downright dirty.

In an interview with Upvenue, Tobin Esperance explained that Time for Annihilation was really just the end of a decade of Papa Roach.

“We put out five major label, full-length records, and we were transitioning from a major label, going independent, and we wanted to do something different. We’d always talked about doing a live record, and it turned into ‘let’s add a couple of bonus songs’ and now it’s half live, half new (studio-recorded) songs and it’s kind of the past and present of Papa Roach. I think it’s a good representation and a good reminder of what this band’s about and it gives you a look at where our sound can go.”

About the album, specifically regarding the release featuring eleven live tracks and five brand new songs, frontman Jacoby Shaddix explained:

“We’ve always wanted to capture the energy of our live shows but didn’t want to do the same old thing that most bands do, so we decided to put five brand new studio tracks on the record along with some of our favorites from the road and we are really proud of the final result. As a band, we always push ourselves to evolve musically and pride ourselves on putting on an entertaining and explosive live show. Time For Annihilation captures both these elements and delivers the true essence of Papa Roach.”

Lyrical Themes and Meaning: The lyrics of Papa Roach’s “Kick In the Teeth” focus on themes of resilience, defiance, overcoming anxiety and self-empowerment in the face of hardship and criticism. The central message revolves around being knocked down by life or by other people but getting back up repeatedly. The phrase “kicked in the teeth” is a metaphor for suffering setbacks or harsh criticism. The song is a declaration of toughness and an refusal to be defeated.

Specific lyrical themes include:

• Defiance and Stubbornness: The song is a declaration of the band’s (and the listener’s) refusal to stay down. The lyrics convey a stubborn attitude toward obstacles, vowing to “take the punches” and fight back.
• Overcoming Adversity: The entire song is built on the metaphor of enduring pain and hardship (“kicked in the teeth”) and using that experience as fuel to persist. It’s about enduring the struggles that life throws at you and bouncing back.
• Critique of Critics/Opponents: The song can be interpreted as a message to those who doubt or criticize the band. As vocalist Jacoby Shaddix noted, the song was a response to the music industry at the time (specifically related to their former label, Universal), essentially telling critics they can’t be defeated.
• Empowerment: The driving, anthemic sound and lyrics aim to inspire listeners to embrace their toughness and not give up when facing their own challenges.
• Persistence: The core message is one of endurance and relentless perseverance, emphasizing the strength found in continuously picking yourself up after every fall.

Shaddix explained the song’s meaning to FMQB:

“That song is basically saying, ‘What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.’ No matter how hard life gets, or whatever arrows get throw at you, you’re going to be all right. This too shall pass. For me that song is about a lot of my issues in my personal life and also over the years what the band has been through… different record companies, different presidents at the same record company, presidents that have gotten our CD and thrown it across the room and said, ‘What the hell am I going to do with this dead band?’ We’ve been through a lot of adversity both professionally and personally, so that’s what that song is about.”

Music Video: An official music video for “Kick In The Teeth” was released, depicting the band in various performance settings. The video was noted for being a collaboration with Monster Energy, as product placement was visible throughout the video.

Fun Fact: On the album there is a special message recorded by Shaddix, at the last 0:39 of “Last Resort (Live)”. The message encourages fans to help fight homelessness and hunger. He asks fans to take out their phones and to text a number to WhyHunger to donate $5 to them.

Fun Fact: The album’s name is a lyric quote from the song “Crash” from the band’s 2006 album, The Paramour Sessions. In an interview with The Skunk No. 5, Papa Roach guitarist Jerry Horton revealed that the album title seemed natural, it being the band’s huddle chant before each show.

(ANESTHESIA) PULLING TEETH by Metallica 

(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” is an instrumental track by American thrash metal band Metallica. It is the fifth track on their debut studio album, Kill ‘Em All, released on July 25, 1983 through the independent label Megaforce Records. The song is an instrumental electric bass solo written and performed by Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, with drums performed by Lars Ulrich. A staple of Burton’s live performances since his high school days in the band Agents of Misfortune, the instrumental track featured Burton’s distinctive “lead-bass” style of playing, incorporating heavy distortion, use of wah-wah pedal and tapping.

“(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” is the first instrumental song recorded by Metallica, the first Metallica song credited to Cliff Burton, as well as the only song on their debut album which Burton received writing credit.

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This instrumental track is comprised of a compilation of different solos Cliff Burton had done live and pieced together as a complete bass solo on the album. It’s a showcase for Burton’s soloing, composition and arrangement skills, as well as his influences, which include Geezer Butler and Geddy Lee.

For the recording of “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth”, Cliff Burton insisted on recording alone in an empty room, while the studio technicians were downstairs. He made this recording in one take, after about twenty minutes of preparation. According to Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett in an interview with Metal Hammer,

“I remember him recording his bass solo separately from anyone or anything. He was upstairs in this big empty room, standing there alone, just him and his bass amp. I watched him play while they were getting his sound right downstairs in the control room. After 15 or 20 minutes, he got the sound right and then he looked at me and said: ‘Get away from me, man — I’m about to do this.’ And then he took a hit off a joint, bent over and drank a beer, and I hightailed it out of there.”

The song displayed Burton’s unique use of effect pedals, such as a wah-wah pedal and Electro Harmonix Big Muff (aka “fuzzbox”) as well as extremely heavy distortion, all of which were ‍not commonly used by ‍bassists in such capacity. At the beginning of the song, studio engineer Chris Bubacz introduces the track as “Bass solo, take one”, informing listeners that the song was recorded in one take. The first half of the song displays Burton’s affinity for classical music, using Bach-inspired arpeggios. About halfway through the track after a momentary pause, drummer Lars Ulrich joins with an accompanying drumbeat, which then segues the song into a much heavier, freestyle-inspired finale by Burton.

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Cliff Burton joined Metallica in 1982 after founders Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield spotted him onstage at a show with his band Trauma and decided they had to have him in their lineup. They staged a campaign to win him over, dissociating from their original bass player, Ron McGovney, in the process. One of Burton’s demands was that they relocate from Los Angeles to San Francisco, where he lived. They agreed, not only because they wanted him in the band, but because the metal scene was much better there. Burton was a great fit for the band, but his time was cut short: He died in 1986 in a tour bus accident when the band was supporting their third album, Master of Puppets. He was just 24.

One of the last pictures taken of Cliff Burton before his death

So young … especially to have left such an incredible legacy behind:

Fun Fact: Widely considered to be Burton’s signature song, “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” is credited as revolutionizing the electric bass guitar. The song has been praised for its technical proficiency, melodic phrasing, and as an early example of the bass being used as a lead instrument in heavy metal. This helped to raise the profile of the bass guitar and inspired a new generation of players. The song continues to be a benchmark for bass solos and a source of inspiration for musicians on many levels. It’s considered one of the most iconic bass solos in metal history and is still studied and analyzed by bass players. (Source: Leigh, Bill (2025). Guitar World article: “GuitarWorld “How Cliff Burton’s bass masterpiece earned its place in the pantheon of great rock solos””.

To mark the 30th anniversary of Kill ‘Em All July 2013, VH1 conducted a series of interviews with fellow musicians and fans of Metallica reflecting on the album’s influence. Jason Newsted, who replaced Cliff Burton as bass player of Metallica after his death, spoke on the album and Burton’s impact:

“‘Whiplash’ and ‘Anesthesia’ are timeless masterpieces in my opinion. ‘Whiplash’ for its raw appeal and Cliff opening up the sky for young aspiring bassists to venture out past the edges of where bass lived previously with ‘Anesthesia.'” In the same series of interviews for VH1, Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy said he considers the song a highlight of the album. Portnoy remarked, “At the time, I was all about the songs, especially ‘The Four Horsemen,’ but now that I’ve heard them so many times I find my favorite part of the album is Cliff’s bass solo. It shows what a virtuoso and how unbelievably original he was. I mean, a bass solo on a debut studio album, who does that?”

Fun Fact: “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” has received numerous accolades since its release and is widely recognized as a standout piece in the band’s discography and in the broader metal genre. In 2014 VH1 published a list of the greatest bass solos off all time, and “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” was ranked second, only behind The Who’s “My Generation” by John Entwistle. Music website Loudwire ranked “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” number one on their list of the greatest heavy metal bass solos of all time, and in 2024 Guitar World also ranked the song number one on their list of greatest bass solos of all time.

Fun Fact: Found some great photos of Metallica in the early days in a CNN article titled “When Metallica Became Global Superstars”. Written by CNN’s Kyle Almond and photos by Ross Halfin, it was published on December 10, 2021. Here are the first few paragraphs:

‘It was 1988 when photographer Ross Halfin first got an inkling that there was something special, something different about Metallica.

“They were on this tour called Monsters of Rock with Van Halen, the Scorpions, Dokken, and Metallica was way down the bill,” he remembers. “And I started to notice — particularly at Giants Stadium in New York and the L.A. Coliseum — that after Metallica played, half the audience was starting to leave. And I was like, ‘Wow.’ Then you started to think they mean more than you realize.”

The heavy metal band had released three critically acclaimed albums by then and was just months away from releasing a fourth, “…And Justice For All.”

But it was their fifth album that changed everything.’

That fifth album is the eponymous album “Metallica” released in August 1991. It’s more commonly referred to as the “Black album” because of it’s cover. That’s the album that has my favorite Metallica song “Enter Sandman” on it. Love that song!

The article goes on to talk about photographer Ross Halfin’s time spent with the band in those days and introduces his new book – which I’m definitely going to buy! Halfin’s black and white photos are spectacular. The article is just a small sampling of what’s revealed in the book. Here’s an excerpt from the article (you can read it in its entirety here):

‘Halfin, who has photographed Metallica on and off for decades, was working closely with the band when the Black Album was recorded and released.

His new book, “Metallica: The Black Album in Black & White,” documents this historic time in the band’s evolution.

“By the time the Black Album was coming out, they were starting to explode into being a big band,” Halfin said. “And what the book sort of charts is how they went really from a regular band to a stadium act.”

The book features classic and previously unpublished photos of Metallica in the studio and on tour. The band performed close to 300 shows as they toured between August 1991 and July 1993.’

Halfin said the band’s everyman persona was part of what made it so popular.

“Kids could very much identify with them in the sense of they looked like the kids in the street. They looked like the people that play in a garage,” he said. “They certainly don’t look like that now, but in that period, the Black Album, they just looked like long-haired kids that would be playing.

“That was the appeal of Metallica: You could do this. And kids identified with them in that sense.”

I’m looking forward to learning Halfin’s observations and reading about his up-close and personal interactions with the band members. Like this one where he describes how Lars is with the fans:

“Occasionally Lars seems a bit aloof and detached,” Halfin said, “but he is the best person I’ve ever seen dealing with a fan. … Lars is always nice to the fan base, to anyone who comes up. And he interacts and makes an effort, and I’ve got to give him 10 out of 10 for that.”

You may already be familiar with Ross Halfin’s work as he has worked with some of the greatest music legends: Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, AC/DC, Van Halen, The Who, just to name a few. When he connected with Metallica in 1984 he was already well-established and well-known in the industry.

I pulled a few of his photos from the article. Check out his incredible talent in this slideshow:

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SKIN O’ MY TEETH by Megadeth    

“Skin o’ My Teeth” is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It is a single from the band’s fifth studio album Countdown to Extinction, released in July 1992. It was the group’s second studio release to feature the “classic” lineup of Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, David Ellefson and Nick Menza, with all of them contributing to songwriting on the album. Countdown to Extinction is Megadeth’s most successful album, selling over two million copies and going double platinum.

Megadeath certainly has an interesting origin story:

Lead singer Dave Mustaine was once a member of Metallica, an original member at that. He was Metallica’s original lead guitarist from 1981 to 1983, joining after drummer and founding member Lars Ulrich posted an ad in a newspaper. He was fired shortly before the recording of the band’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All, due to his excessive drinking and aggressive behavior. Mustaine’s aggressive and intricate guitar work was instrumental in shaping the band’s early sound and he co-wrote many songs that appeared on their first two albums, Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning.

Dejected and angry, Mustaine formed Megadeth in 1983, fueled by a desire for revenge against Metallica. He used his frustration to write new, aggressive music, and the band went on to become a rival and one of the “Big Four” of American thrash metal bands, along with Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica.

Mustaine founded Megadeth with the goal of creating a band that was “faster, better and heavier” than his former group.

The decision to fire Mustaine is seen by some as a pivotal moment that directly led to the creation of Megadeth, one of the most successful and influential thrash metal bands in history.

The song “Skin o’ My Teeth”, written by Dave Mustaine, deals with the theme of a suicide attempt, similar to the origin of the phrase ‘skin of my teeth’, where the commentator narrowly escapes death. On the Arsenal of Megadeth DVD, released in 2006, Dave Mustaine says before a live performance: “This song is about how many times I tried to kill myself and couldn’t get the job done.”

The song deals with the theme of a suicide attempt and barely escaping death. The title is an idiom, derived from the biblical phrase “by the skin of my teeth,” which means to escape from a difficult or dangerous situation by the narrowest of margins. The lyrics vividly portray a person’s struggle with pain, desperation, and the will to survive despite facing life-threatening situations. Themes covered in the lyrics include:

• Barely clinging to life
• The struggle with pain (“My blood flows through the streets”)
• Resilience and finding strength in survival (“That that doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger”)

The subject matter reflects the tumultuous personal struggles with addiction and inner turmoil that Mustaine faced during his career.

The track, which reached No.13 in the UK Singles charts, has been a recurring song in the band’s live performances and appears on several compilation albums, including Greatest Hits: Back to the Start and Anthology: Set the World Afire.

Fun Fact: The expression “by the skin of one’s teeth” comes to us all the way from the Bible: King James Bible, Job 19:20: “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” Job is delivering one of his long-winded lamentations to his three friends, who are debating with him whether he deserves his problems or not. To escape by the skin of your teeth is to very, very narrowly make it; it’s a way of saying you almost didn’t survive.

However, the title itself comes from the Thornton Wilder stage play The Skin of Our Teeth. It, too, is filled with biblical references, such as each of the characters being an allegory for characters from the Bible and Hebrew legend.

Fun Fact: Mustaine told ARTISTdirect that he came up with the idea for the song, “on the way home from a very anxious dental appointment.”

Fun Fact: This song was used for Megadeth’s oldest fan’s funeral procession: Owen Brown from Herefordshire, England, was known as one of the world’s oldest heavy metal fans. His funeral procession famously featured Megadeth’s song, “Skin o’ My Teeth,” as he was a devoted fan of the band. Brown passed away at age 87 in August 2013, and his funeral service included the song, with his family choosing to play it for his final procession out of the church. This became a notable event, especially after a BBC News report about his love for rock music reached millions and brought him attention (and messages plus posters and CDs!) from his favorite bands, including Megadeth.

Megadeth posted a message on their website offering their sentiments:

We would like to express our deepest condolences on the passing of Megadeth’s oldest and most cherished fan,    Owen Brown. You will be missed.

Check out this YouTube video featuring THE Owen Brown talking about his love of heavy metal music. This brought to him newfound fame and celebrity status in his hometown of Weobley, a village located in the county of Herefordshire, one of the most rural counties in England.

And finally, we come to the final song in the Teeth edition of my Rock ‘n Roll Head to Toe series, although this is kind of a “cheat” as the song title doesn’t specifically contain the word Teeth but it is ABOUT teeth:

SAVOY TRUFFLE by the Beatles

 “Savoy Truffle” is a song by the Beatles from their 1968 album The Beatles (also known as “the White Album“).

So why is “Savoy Truffle” included in a list of Teeth songs? This Beatles’ song is included in the list of songs with “teeth” in the title because of its explicit lyrical warning about dental decay.

The song, written by George Harrison, was a playful jab at his friend Eric Clapton’s notorious sweet tooth and his inability to resist a box of chocolates. “Savoy Truffle” is intrinsically linked to the concept of teeth due to the specific teasing and cautionary lyrics directed at Harrison’s good friend.

The Background: George Harrison wrote “Savoy Truffle” in September 1968, by which point the Beatles had been working on their eponymous double album (also known as “the White Album”) for over three months. This period was one of disharmony within the band, following their mixed experiences while attending an advanced course in Transcendental Meditation in India early in the year, a group activity that had been led by Harrison’s commitment to Eastern spirituality.

Away from his work with the Beatles in 1968, Harrison increasingly spent time with Eric Clapton, leading to occasional musical collaborations between the two guitarists and a lifelong friendship. Having contributed to Harrison’s solo album Wonderwall Music, Clapton was invited to play on his White Album track “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” on September 6^th (my birthday!), marking a rare appearance by another rock musician on a Beatles recording as Harrison sought to defuse tensions within the band.

[SIDEBAR NOTE: the link above takes you to the YouTube video of Eric Clapton & Paul McCartney performing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the all-star tribute “Concert for George” on the first anniversary of George Harrison’s death. Also performing is Dhani Harrison, George Harrison’s son. Many people noted the striking resemblance between Dhani and his father, with Paul McCartney commenting, “With Dhani on stage, it looks like we all got old and George stayed young”. Dhani played acoustic guitar and provided backing vocals, participating in several songs throughout the evening as a member of “George’s Band”. Of course, Ringo was on drums. The concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 29, 2002.]

In an interview with the NME in late September, Harrison said he was keen to depart from his image as “Mystical Beatle George” and now wanted to contribute songs without any profound message. He wrote “Savoy Truffle” simply as a tribute to Clapton’s sweet tooth.

The Inspiration: Eric Clapton’s Sweet Tooth

George Harrison wrote the song as a playful rebuke to Eric Clapton, who was a frequent guest at Harrison’s home and had a notorious, irresistible fondness for chocolates, despite having recurring dental problems. Harrison noted in his autobiography, I Me Mine:

“At that time he had a lot of cavities in his teeth and needed dental work. He always had a toothache, but he ate a lot of chocolates – he couldn’t resist them, and once he saw a box he had to eat them all. He was over at my house, and I had a box of ‘Good News’ chocolates on the table and wrote the song from the names inside the lid: ‘Creme Tangerine, Montelimart’…

…He’s got this real sweet tooth and he had just had his mouth worked on. His dentist said he was through with candy. So, as a tribute, I wrote ‘You’ll have to have them all pulled out, after the Savoy Truffle.’ Just to tease Eric.”

Clapton had recently been to the dentist and was specifically warned to cut down on his sugar intake, advice he frequently ignored.

The lyrics were directly inspired by a box of Mackintosh’s Good News Chocolates that was on the coffee table at Harrison’s house (Kinfauns). Harrison used the names of the various sweets listed inside the lid of the box to form the bulk of the verses.

This is the 1960’s chocolate box that provided most of the lyrics for “Savoy Truffle”:

Mackintosh’s Good News Chocolates box cover

 Specific “Good News” flavors mentioned in the song (some slightly altered for lyrics) include:

• “Creme Tangerine”
• “Montelimar”
• “Ginger Sling”
• “Coffee Dessert”
• “Coconut Fudge” (a Harrison invention)
• “Pineapple Heart” (an altered version of “Pineapple Treat”)
• “Cool Cherry Cream”
• “Nice apple tart” (a complete invention)

The “Teeth” Connection

The constant listing of indulgent sweets builds up to the central, recurring warning in the chorus that explicitly mentions the dental consequences:

“But you’ll have to have them all pulled out
After the Savoy truffle”

This line is a direct reference to Clapton’s decaying teeth and the dentist’s warning, making the song’s primary message a humorous, albeit cautionary, tale about the dangers of excessive sugar and candy consumption and its effect on dental health. The phrase “teeth” is implicitly the object of the “all pulled out” lyric.

George Harrison’s original lyric sheet for his Savoy Truffle song

Fun Fact: The “Savoy Truffle” track was recorded in October of 1968 at Trident Studios with three Beatles only. John Lennon doesn’t play on it at all. Paul is on bass, Ringo on drums, and George on rhythm guitar, adding an acoustic rhythm guitar while singing his lead vocal.

Fun Fact: There are few covers of “Savoy Truffle,” but the standout is a cover by Ella Fitzgerald. Can’t ask for much more than that. Released in 1969, it was on her album, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.

1. A competing album title: Another British rock band, Family, released their debut album titled Music in a Doll’s House in July 1968, before The Beatles had finished their album. To avoid the appearance of copying the distinctive title, The Beatles dropped the name and the associated artwork.
2. A deliberate artistic contrast: The band, especially Paul McCartney, was influenced by pop artist Richard Hamilton (who designed the minimalist cover and the collage poster included inside). Because McCartney had requested the cover be as stark a contrast to Sgt. Pepper’s Day-Glo explosion as possible, Hamilton proposed a stark white cover as an avant-garde and conceptual art statement, a direct contrast to the extremely busy and colorful cover of their previous album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The band agreed that this minimalist approach was a brilliant idea. 

Now, here’s a VERY FUN Fun Fact for you: While researching the “Savoy Truffle” song I came across a list of other Beatles songs that are “inside jokes”. This has absolutely nothing to do with teeth, it’s simply a tangent I felt was cool enough to include as an off-track spin-off since we’ve already deviated from the song title ‘rule” containing the post’s specific body part…and since we’re talking about the Beatles, why not dig a little deeper, right?

Many Beatles songs contain inside jokes, obscure personal references, and humorous lyrical touches that were primarily meant for the band, their close circle, or to poke fun at fans and critics who overanalyzed their lyrics.

Here are some notable examples:

• “Glass Onion“ (from The Beatles (White Album), 1968): John Lennon explicitly wrote this song as a joke to confound the “Paul is Dead” conspiracy theorists and fans who tried to find deep, hidden meanings in every line. The lyrics are full of self-references to previous songs (“Strawberry Fields Forever,” “I Am the Walrus,” “Lady Madonna,” “The Fool on the Hill”) and include the famous line: “Well, here’s another clue for you all / The Walrus was Paul”.
• “I Am the Walrus“ (Magical Mystery Tour, 1967): Lennon intentionally crafted this song with nonsense words and absurd imagery to trick people who dedicated their time to interpreting the band’s every utterance. He combined unrelated phrases, personal memories, and even a nursery rhyme to create an atmosphere of deliberate confusion.
• “Girl“ (Rubber Soul, 1965): In the backing vocals during the instrumental break, George Harrison and Paul McCartney repeatedly sang the word “tit” as an in-joke, which they managed to sneak past producer George Martin by claiming they were singing “tee”.
• “Penny Lane“ (Magical Mystery Tour EP/Album, 1967): The line about the characters “doing good, having fun, easy living under the sun” and a “fish and finger pies” is an inside joke; “finger pie” is a mild Liverpudlian sexual innuendo.
• “Hey Jude“ (Single, 1968): During the long “Na na na” fade-out, around the 2:58 mark, Paul McCartney can be heard muttering “f***ing hell!” after hitting a wrong note on the piano. John Lennon insisted they leave the expletive in the final mix as a private joke.
• “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?“ (The Beatles (White Album), 1968): Paul McCartney wrote this song after observing two monkeys mating in the middle of a road during the Beatles’ retreat in India. The simple, repetitive, and slightly provocative lyrics are based purely on this simple observation.
• “You’ll Be Mine“ (Recorded in 1960, released on Anthology 1): This very early, informal recording is a parody of an Ink Spots song. It features Paul crooning in a fake baritone and John squealing in a falsetto, culminating in a line about a “National Health Eyeball”.

 And if you want just a few more examples, here ya go. First up, three songs with personal references specific to the band:

• “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!“ (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967): The lyrics for this song are almost entirely lifted verbatim from a 19th-century circus poster that John Lennon bought in an antique shop. He simply adapted the names, acts, and phrases from the poster into song form. The “Henry the Horse” mentioned was a real horse from the circus performance being advertised.
• “Piggies“ (The Beatles (White Album), 1968): George Harrison used some help from his family for this track. His mother Louise actually contributed the line “What they need’s a damn good whacking!” which Harrison included in the song.
• “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)“ (Rubber Soul, 1965): This song is John Lennon’s clever and slightly veiled account of a secret extramarital affair he was having. He was careful with the lyrics to ensure his wife Cynthia wouldn’t immediately realize what the song was about. The final line, “So I lit a fire / Isn’t it good, Norwegian Wood,” is a dark, humorous twist where the narrator burns down the woman’s apartment in retaliation for being rejected.  Okay now that’s ballsy! Yikes. Did his wife ever figure it out, I wonder?? If anyone knows or finds the answer post it in the comment section please!

Finally, a few more humorous lyrics for you to chew on: the guys came up with these just to be silly and amuse themselves:

• “Her Majesty“ (Abbey Road, 1969): This track is a classic inside joke in two ways. It was originally intended to be part of the Abbey Road medley but was cut because Paul McCartney didn’t like how it sounded with the other songs. The sound engineer, per standard EMI policy, tacked the track onto the end of the recording tape reel after about 14 seconds of blank tape, rather than cutting it up. Paul liked this accidental placement as a hidden track (one of the first in rock history), and the band kept the random, jarring placement as a joke. The lyrics themselves are a lighthearted, irreverent ode to the Queen.
• “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)“ (B-Side to the “Let It Be” single, 1970): This song is a complete novelty track that the band spent months working on across several sessions, purely for their own amusement. It features a range of musical pastiches, sound effects, and silly voices, culminating in a sequence where John and Paul sing a fake commercial jingle. John Lennon described it simply as a “comedy record.”
• “Dig It“ (Let It Be, 1970): This short, largely improvised jam session featured on the album is essentially a playful, nonsensical chant and list of various authorities (FBI, CIA, etc.). It’s a very loose, humorous moment captured in the studio.

And that, my friends, concludes the RnR H2T TEETH edition!

(I know, I can hear everyone cheering that the end of this post has finally arrived)

credit: Getty Images

Hope you enjoyed the music (which songs did you like best?) and if you read any of my song-info, I hope you learned a few cool fun facts along the way. Please do leave a comment: I love hearing what you think, good or bad. As always, thanks for coming along with me on the Rock ‘n Roll Head to Toe journey. Stay tuned for the next installment. Can you guess what it will be? Give it a shot…

This is a blog hop! It’s MONDAY’S MUSIC MOVES ME hop and I encourage you to visit the other participants 4M posts. You can find links to their posts by clicking on the You Are Next link or just use the following list:

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