Teeth’s songs skip the typical foreplay of showtunes, opting instead to immediately begin with lyrical shocks to the system. 

Listen to your average showtune, and you’ll notice how many treat their first verses as mere introductions, slow builds that handhold the audience to the real teeth of the song.

But so many of Teeth’s opening lyrics hook you from the jump through sheer audacity. They grab your attention by the lapels with a swift forehand-backhand slap to the face, the sort that might make you ask yourself, “Wait, what the fuck did I just hear?”

Like so:

She bit me

It bit me

Between her pussy lips

You don’t rock tank tops and booty shorts

You don’t invite the eye to ask for more

My panties are wet

But it’s not blood or sweat

A real man doesn’t have idle hands

A real man doesn’t jack off

The devil called me down to the lake

I thought it was you but I made a mistake

Vaginas have long enchanted me

With their deep hidden depths

Obviously every single song in Teeth doesn’t adhere to this formula; “Playing With “Fire” exemplifies — with thematic grounding — a more standard, incremental progression upwards.

Even though Teeth’s score is co-composed with Anna K. Jacobs, this aggressive starting approach is becoming a Michael R. Jackson staple. From A Strange Loop:

I don’t have AIDS
And I don’t care about marriage
And I will never be pushing
A loud-ass baby around in a carriage