I remember when this single first hit the radio. It was the second single off of their breakout album Undertow, after "Sober." I remember thinking "Sober" was a catchy, interesting song, but it didn't blow me away like "Prison Sex" did. After I heard that song, I had to have the CD. "Prison Sex" was faster, more urgent and more emotional. It was heavy, but it wasn't metal. The lyrics were extremely disturbing, but it wasn't macho posturing like a lot of the aggressive music I was used to. In fact, it was the opposite of that. The vocal melodies and delivery had a sort of delicate angst that I had never heard before... There is real fear and vulnerability on display next to the anger. The guitar work and structure of the song are simultaneously sophisticated and accessible ... It's an absolutely incredible song, and unquestionably one of the greatest songs to come out of the "alternative music" wave of the early/mid Nineties.