Nashville punk four-piece Be Your Own Pet are dangerous. That's the official line of their own label in the United States, Universal, where faceless suits chopped three songs from the band's new album, "Get Awkward," for being "too violent." Yes, the same label that releases albums by chain saw-wielding Eminem and gun-loving 50 Cent believes that Be Your Own Pet pose a threat to American youth.
"It's very ridiculous," says Jemina Pearl, the band's singer. "These songs are (considered) too violent, but aren't we in a war in another country? That's pretty f**king violent. And Universal, they make movies and video games. Violent movies and violent video games are cool, but a comedic '60s girl-group murder ballad is not OK? Whatever. I guess that's just the way America is."
Fans in Japan can judge for themselves, since the album is available here in full. Will we see cleaver-toting lunatics rampaging on the streets of Tokyo and dismembering their peers after hearing "Becky," the infectious '60s pop-inspired song whose hilarious lyrics describe a snubbed teen's murderous revenge on a school friend? Unlikely.