Jeri Smith-Ready

Bad band confessional - the penultimate ARC contest

Congrats to Erica J. from MySpace for winning last week's ARC drawing, and thanks to everyone who shared their misheard lyrics. Many laughs were had.

The other night I was listening to the Go Go's Beauty and the Beat for the first time in over two decades. It was one of my favorite albums growing up, and I was thrilled to discover that I agreed with my thirteen-year-old self that it was a fantastic album (and that my thirteen-year-old self was spot on when she felt that "You Can't Walk in Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)" is the flattest track).


(As an aside, I was able to remember words to songs I hadn't heard in over twenty years. Yet I can't remember where I left my snow boots, and I just saw them yesterday. Somewhere. In the house. On a floor of some sort.)

Mostly, though, when I look back at the bands I liked as a pre-teen and teenager, I cringe. In some cases, I don't feel outright shame. For instance, I went through a whole progressive/art rock phase, worshiping bands like Steely Dan, Yes, Rush, Emerson Lake & Palmer (and, oh save us Lord, who can forget the Law Offices of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe?). From an objective quality standpoint, they're all excellent bands; but now they make me want to puke.

The same lack of embarrassment does not apply to Loverboy.

Man, I loved those tantalizing troubadours from Toronto. I played "Working for the Weekend"* first thing when I got home from middle school every Friday. I stared longingly at Mike Reno's red-leather-clad butt on the cover of Get Lucky (I assumed the lead singer was the model, which I now realize was probably not the case). And who can forget that sweatband thingie?

So for this week's comment contest (from which I will draw a winner of an Advance Review Copy of Wicked Game, deadline next Thursday at noon EST as usual):


Which band makes you want to smack your twelve-year-old (or twenty-year-old) self upside the head with the Mighty Baseball Bat of Good Taste?

I promise not to get mad if it's the Go-Go's.


*a brief perusal of YouTube didn't turn up an original video of "WftW," but here's "Turn Me Loose," which, upon reflection, is not a half-bad song, for what it was.

Labels: Contests, music, vampire series

• posted by Jeri @ 9:03 PM
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