He Liked to Feel It

"He Liked to Feel It" is a song by Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies that was released as the first single from their 1996 album, A Worm's Life, on September 9, 1996. The song and subsequent video generated controversy for the band due to the subject matter about a boy who experiments with different ways of pulling out his tooth. To date, it is the band's highest-peaking single in their native Canada, reaching number two in November 1996. However, it failed to chart elsewhere except on the US Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart, peaking at number 18.

"He Liked to Feel It"
Single by Crash Test Dummies
from the album A Worm's Life
ReleasedSeptember 9, 1996
RecordedCompass Point (The Bahamas)
StudioArista
GenreAlternative rock
Length
  • 3:55 (album version)
  • 3:38 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Brad Roberts
Producer(s)
Crash Test Dummies singles chronology
"The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead"
(1995)		 "He Liked to Feel It"
(1996)		 "My Own Sunrise"
(1997)
Music video
"He Liked to Feel It" on YouTube

Background

The song's lyrical theme, intended as dark humour, came about when lead singer Brad Roberts began to ponder over his own teeth. He explained, "I was sitting around one day feeling my teeth, and I noticed that they were firmly imbedded in my skull ... Teeth are part of the human body, but I thought that it was strange that they come out."[1]

Chart performance

"He Liked to Feel It" was released as a radio single in Canada and the United States on September 6, 1996.[2] On Canada's RPM Top Singles chart, the song debuted at number 83 on the issue dated September 16, 1996.[3] On September 30, it jumped from number 68 to number 36, becoming that week's highest climber.[4] It continued to rise up the chart over the next several weeks, attaining its peak of number two on November 25.[5] Afterwards, the song descended the listing, last appearing at number 87 on February 24, 1997, and logging 21 weeks in the top 100.[6] To date, it is their highest-peaking single in Canada (see Crash Test Dummies discography), and it was the country's 23rd-most-successful single of 1996.[7] It also appeared on RPM's Adult Contemporary and Alternative 30 rankings, achieving peaks of number seven and number 21, respectively.[8][9] In the United States, "He Liked to Feel It" did not appear on any Billboard charts aside from the Adult Alternative Songs chart, where it climbed to number 18 on November 2, 1996.[10]

Music video

The music video for the song, the band's most controversial, was directed by Ken Fox.[1] The video features the band performing on a New York City rooftop interspersed with scenes of a boy, played by Leo Fitzpatrick, pulling his tooth out in various ways, including tying the tooth to a taxicab, tying the tooth to a steak and throwing it to a dog on the other side of a fence, and tying the tooth to a crane. At the end of the video, a man pulls it out with pliers. Prosthetic teeth and gums were utilized to obtain the effects used in the video.[1]

As a result of the graphic footage, the video was banned from being played on YTV in Canada, and all close-up of the boy's gums had to be removed before the video could be shown on MTV.[11]

Track listings

Charts

References
  1. Atwood, Brett (October 12, 1996). "Crash Test Dummies Vid Gets to the Root of Masochism" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 108 no. 41. p. 104. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  2. Reece, Douglas (August 24, 1996). "Crash Test Dummies Ride Success" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 108 no. 34. p. 14. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  3. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks – September 16, 1996". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  4. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks – September 30, 1996". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9930." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  6. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks – February 24, 1997". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  7. "RPM Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  8. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9934." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  9. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9896." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  10. "Crash Test Dummies Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  11. Atwood, Brett (October 19, 1996). "Never Too Much Cleveland; Less Is More at MORMusic" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 108 no. 42. p. 97. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  12. He Liked to Feel It (European CD single liner notes). Crash Test Dummies. Arista Records. 1996. 74231 40283 2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. He Liked to Feel It (European maxi-single promo liner notes). Crash Test Dummies. Arista Records. 1996. CTD 002.CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. He Liked to Feel It (European maxi-single liner notes). Crash Test Dummies. Arista Records. 1996. 74321 40192 2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. "RPM Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
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