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"She Don't Use Jelly" is a song by American rock band
the Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...
from their sixth studio album, ''
Transmissions from the Satellite Heart ''Transmissions from the Satellite Heart'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Flaming Lips, released in 1993 by Warner Bros. Records. The album marked the departure of Jonathan Donahue (to Mercury Rev) and Nathan Roberts, and ...
'' (1993). It reached number 55 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became a top-30 hit in Australia.


Music and lyrics

Discussing the song, the band's website states, "With its chiming pedal steel chorus breaks and seemingly nonsensical lyrics, the song entered into the realms of novelty hit. It's a happy little ditty about strange people and their individual idiosyncrasies, with pretty melodies laced throughout and punctuated by trademark moments of crunching but still harmonious noise." The song describes a woman who "thinks of ghosts" and puts
Vaseline Vaseline ()Also pronounced with the main stress on the last syllable . is an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products owned by British multinational company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, ...
on toast, a man who "goes to shows" and uses magazines to blow his nose, and another woman that "reminds he narratorof
Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
" and uses tangerines to make her hair orange. Coyne has stated, "The song came to me very quickly, and I thought it was sort of funny."


Reception and legacy

"She Don't Use Jelly" became popular after being featured on the
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
show ''
Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...
'', nearly a year after the album's release. It is still their highest charting single to date (and the only to chart on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100), even entering the top 10 of the
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart, at number 9. The song's success additionally garnered the band a guest spot on the TV show ''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...
'', in which they played live at the show's hangout, The Peach Pit; afterwards, supporting character Steve Sanders (portrayed by actor Ian Ziering) remarks, "You know, I've never been a big fan of alternative music, but these guys rocked the house!" Even though the band often ignores playing their pre-'' Soft Bulletin'' material, "She Don't Use Jelly" has usually been the most notable exception and is still played live at most of their concerts to this day. It usually is preceded by a video of
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...
introducing the song on '' The Jon Stewart Show''. After the song, lead singer Wayne Coyne usually inflates an enormous balloon, filled with confetti or smaller balloons, until it bursts onto the crowd. In pop culture, "She Don't Use Jelly" is played by the band Crucifictorius in season three, episode seven of ''Friday Night Lights''. Ben Folds Five covered the song for the compilation album '' Lounge-A-Palooza'' in 1997. Their version was also included on a 2005 expanded reissue of their 1997 album '' Whatever and Ever Amen'', as well as the 2018 box set ''"Brick" The Songs of Ben Folds 1994-2012.''


Track listings

US CD single # "She Don't Use Jelly" – 3:41 # "Translucent Egg" – 3:45 # "Turn It On" (bluegrass version) – 6:12 # "★★★★★★★ (Plastic Jesus)" (porch version) – 1:42 US cassette single and UK 7-inch single # "She Don't Use Jelly" – 3:40 # "Turn It On" (bluegrass version) – 6:12 UK CD1 and Australian CD single # "She Don't Use Jelly" – 3:40 # "Translucent Egg" – 3:45 # "Turn It On" (bluegrass version) – 6:12 UK CD2 # "She Don't Use Jelly" – 3:40 # "The Process" (live in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, August 1993) – 6:02 # "Moth in the Incubator" (live in Austin, Texas, August 1993) – 4:12


Charts


Release history


References

{{Authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs The Flaming Lips songs Songs written by Michael Ivins Songs written by Steven Drozd Songs written by Wayne Coyne Warner Records singles