Pornograffitti


Extreme II: Pornograffitti is the second album released by the Boston rock band Extreme on August 7, 1990. The title is a portmanteau of pornography and graffiti.
The album sold very well, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, and was certified double platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA. It is the band's best selling album. Two singles from Pornograffiti, "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted", reached No. 1 and 4 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100. Two other tracks, "Decadence Dance" and "Get the Funk Out", reached the lower half of Billboard's rock chart.
In 2010, after the band's reunion in the previous years, rumors started about possible commemorative shows given the 20th anniversary of the record. In 2012, a small string of such shows in Japan was announced. In January 2014, the band confirmed they would be performing Pornograffiti in its entirety on their 2014 Europe and UK tour.
In 2015, the band embarked on an extensive US tour commemorating the album's 25th anniversary.

Musical style

Musically, Pornograffitti is dominated by hard rock guitar riffs, often with funky, syncopated timing, and fast soloing. "More Than Words", a gentle acoustic ballad, and "Hole Hearted", an acoustic folk song, were perhaps the least representative tracks on the album, both in terms of their musical style and thematic tone.
The album garnered admiration for lead guitarist Nuno Bettencourt from rock guitar enthusiasts. Bettencourt was voted "Best New Talent" in a 1991 readers' poll by Guitar World magazine, and that magazine later named him "Most Valuable Player" of 1991. The album also gained continual exposure in other guitar playing publications such as Guitar School.

Thematic content

The album is a concept album in which many of the songs explore how sex, money, and excess are viewed, exploited, and trivialized in American culture, although the album's biggest hit song, "More Than Words", deals more generally with the topics of love and relationships. "Hole Hearted" is often misinterpreted as a man singing about his lost love, a woman. While "Hole Hearted" is about lost love, it is between the singer and God, not a woman. It is the story of a man missing his relationship with God and being left empty without it regardless of material excesses.
Broader themes throughout the album hint at the decadence and temptations of modern American society in general.

Production and marketing

Pornograffitti was recorded and mixed at Scream Studios, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, with producer Michael Wagener.

Track listing

Personnel