L7 – Pretend We’re Dead (1992)

L7 are an alternative rock / grunge band, that formed in LA, in 1985. By 1988, they had collected the classic line up of Donita Sparks (vocals / guitar), Suzi Gardner (guitar / vocals), Jennifer Finch (bass / vocals) and Demetra Plakas (drums / vocals). The Band stopped midway through 2003, but in 2014 they return with the above classic line up. L7 influenced many of the Riot Grrrl bands of the 1990s.

“Pretend We’re Dead” was the first single to be taken from the 1992 album “Bricks Are Heavy“. The song was written and sung by Donita Sparks. The song was a hit both in the US and the UK, where it broke the band. In 1992, Sparks caused controversy in Britain when she dropped her pants on live television, appearing nude from the waist down, during an L7 performance on the UK music program The Word.

– Lyrics –

What’s up with what’s going down
In every city, in every town
Cramping styles is the plan
They’ve got us in the palm of every hand

When we pretend that we’re dead
When we pretend that we’re dead
They can’t hear a word we’ve said
When we pretend that we’re dead

Turn the tables with our unity
They neither moral nor majority
Wake up and smell the coffee
Or just say no to individuality

When we pretend that we’re dead
When we pretend that we’re dead
They can’t hear a word we’ve said
When we pretend that we’re dead

Come on, come on, come on come on

When we pretend that we’re dead
When we pretend that we’re dead
They can’t hear a word we’ve said
When we pretend that we’re dead