He Liked to Feel It

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"He Liked to Feel It"
A picture of a domestic dog, facing slightly to the left, with its mouth ajar. The fur on its pricked ears and surrounding its eyes is orange-brown, while the fur on its muzzle and chest is white. The dog's nose is black. Surrounding the picture is a navy-blue border. On the top border, spanning across the entire line, is "Crash Test Dummies". On the bottom border, written in smaller print, is "He Liked To Feel It".
Single by Crash Test Dummies
from the album A Worm's Life
ReleasedSeptember 9, 1996 (1996-09-09)
StudioCompass Point (The Bahamas)
Length3:55
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

"He Liked to Feel It" is a song by Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies, released as the second track on their third studio album, A Worm's Life (1996). The song was written by the band's lead singer, Brad Roberts, and was produced by Brad alongside his brother and bassist Dan Roberts alongside drummer Michel "Mitch" Dorge. Arista Records released it as the lead single from A Worm's Life on September 9, 1996. The lyrics of the song originated from Brad Roberts' personal reflections about teeth, telling a story in which a boy likes the removal of his baby teeth via bizarre methods.

The song is Crash Test Dummies' highest-peaking single in their native Canada, reaching number two on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart in 1996. "He Liked to Feel It" failed to chart elsewhere except on the US Billboard Triple-A chart, peaking at number 18. A music video directed by Ken Fox and produced by David Moskowitz was made for the song, featuring a boy who pulls out his own teeth through different means. The video generated controversy due to the graphic imagery of the boy's mouth, which utilizes prosthetic teeth and gums.

Background and composition[edit]

"He Liked to Feel It"
A 23-second sample of the ending of "He Liked to Feel It", where the boy's father yanks out his son's tooth with a pair of pliers.[1]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Brad Roberts wrote "He Liked to Feel It". His brother Dan Roberts helped him produce the song, as did Michel Dorge.[2] The song was recorded at Compass Point Studios in The Bahamas along with the rest of A Worm's Life.[3] The lyrical theme of "He Liked to Feel It", intended as dark humour, came about when 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]

Ellen Reid provides the backup vocals and keyboards on the song while Dan Roberts plays bass and Dorge plays drums. Murray Pulver, who would join the band in 1996, provides additional guitars on the track.[4][3] Roberts began to write the lyrics, creating a story about a boy who likes to remove his baby teeth through bizarre means. At the end of the song, the boy's father forcefully rips out a tooth with a pair of pliers, which the boy does not enjoy because he is not the one removing it.[1]

Release and promotion[edit]

"He Liked to Feel It" was included as the second track on A Worm's Life, which was released on October 1, 1996;[5] it was released as the album's lead single in both Canada and the United States. Arista Records serviced the song to adult album alternative radio on September 9, 1996, and to modern rock and rock stations on September 23.[6] On Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, the song debuted at number 83 on the issue dated September 16, 1996.[7] On September 30, it jumped from number 68 to number 36, becoming that week's highest climber.[8] The song continued to rise up the chart during the next several weeks, attaining its peak of number two on November 25, 1996.[9] The song logged 21 weeks in the top 100.[10] It is Crash Test Dummies' highest-peaking single on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart,[11] and it was the 23rd most-successful single on the chart in 1996.[12] "He Liked to Feel It" also appeared on RPM's Adult Contemporary and Alternative 30 weekly rankings, achieving peaks of numbers seven and 21, respectively.[13][14] In the US, "He Liked to Feel It" appeared on the Triple-A chart, on which it peaked at number 18 on November 2, 1996.[15] In the United Kingdom, a CD single and cassette single were issued on October 7, 1996, but the song did not appear on the UK Singles Chart.[16][17]

The music video for the song was directed by Ken Fox and produced by David Moskowitz. Eric Barret executive produced the video for Original Films.[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 teeth out in various ways, including tying a tooth to a taxicab, tying one to a steak and throwing it to a dog on the other side of a fence, and tying a tooth to a crane. After the boy falls off the crane, a man approaches him and pulls out another tooth with pliers. Prosthetic teeth and gums were utilized to obtain the tooth effects used in the video.[1] As a result of the graphic footage, the music video was banned from airing on Canadian television channel YTV,[18] and all close-ups of the boy's gums had to be removed before the video could be shown on American television network MTV.[19]

Track listings[edit]

All tracks were written by Brad Roberts.

European CD single[2]

  1. "He Liked to Feel It" (radio edit) – 3:38
  2. "He Liked to Feel It" (Omnichord version) – 3:55

European maxi-CD single[20]

  1. "He Liked to Feel It" (radio edit) – 3:38
  2. "He Liked to Feel It" (Omnichord version) – 3:55
  3. "Afternoons & Coffeespoons" (live at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, New York) – 3:52
  4. "Swimming in Your Ocean" (live at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, New York) – 3:30

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits are lifted from the liner notes of A Worm's Life and the European maxi-single of "He Liked to Feel It".[3][20]

Studio

  • Recorded at Compass Point Studios (The Bahamas).

Charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for "He Liked to Feel It"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) ID Ref.
Canada 1996 Promotional CD Arista KCDP 51386 [22]
United States September 9, 1996 Adult album alternative radio ASCD-3231 [6]
September 23, 1996
  • Modern rock
  • rock radio
United Kingdom October 7, 1996 CD RCA 74321402002 [16]
Cassette 74321402004
Europe 1996 CD Arista 74231 40283 2 [2]
Maxi-CD 74321 40192 2 [20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Atwood, Brett (October 12, 1996). "Crash Test Dummies Vid Gets to the Root of Masochism" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 41. p. 104. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c He Liked to Feel It (European CD single liner notes). Crash Test Dummies. Arista Records. 1996. 74231 40283 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ a b c A Worm's Life (Liner notes). Crash Test Dummies. Arista Records. 1996. 74321 39779 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Lebar, Erin (October 13, 2015). "Music community joins Pulver as he finally takes centre stage". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Crash Test Dummies – A Worm's Life". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Reece, Douglas (August 24, 1996). "Crash Test Dummies Ride Success" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 34. p. 14. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks – September 16, 1996". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks – September 30, 1996". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9930." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  10. ^ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks – February 24, 1997". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Results: RMP Weekly". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "RPM Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2018 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  13. ^ a b "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9934." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9896." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Crash Test Dummies Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  16. ^ a b "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. October 5, 1996. p. 37. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  17. ^ "Crash Test Dummies". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  18. ^ Grealis, Walt (October 14, 1996). "Walt Says...!" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 64, no. 9. With Elvira Capreese. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  19. ^ Atwood, Brett (October 19, 1996). "Never Too Much Cleveland; Less Is More at MORMusic" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 42. p. 97. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  20. ^ a b c He Liked to Feel It (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Crash Test Dummies. Arista Records. 1996. 74321 40192 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ "RPM Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  22. ^ He Liked to Feel It (Canadian promo CD liner notes). Crash Test Dummies. Arista Records. 1996. KCDP 51386.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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