I love The Goo Goo Dolls and I don’t care who knows it! We’re
both from Buffalo, NY and I watched them go from local band to International
Superstars!
I also have a great deal of respect for the band. Back in
the day they had to literally fight for their very existence against the evil dicks over
at Metal Blade Records, who had them locked into a pretty unfair contract.
The financial hardships they endured at the hands of Metal Blade could have
easily dissolved the band, but they stuck it out and they’re still around
today! Living well is the best revenge!
Somewhere along the way they perfected a brand of chick Rock
that keeps them in business. They put out albums every couple of years and go
out on tour. This summer they’ll be hitting the road with Matchbox Twenty and I
say, “Good for them!” Do I wish they’d get back to their Replacements worshiping Rock days? Yeah, but I won’t ever fault them for what they’re
doing.
I currently work for a Pop radio station. I was on the air a few weekends ago when the station was giving away tickets to the upcoming Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox Twenty shows. Before I gave away a pair of tickets, I tweeted from the
radio station’s account. “We’ll be sure to tell everybody your ‘Name’ if you
win Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox 20 tix in 30 minutes! Get it? It’s a Goo’s song!” I
know I suck.
A young lady replied to the tweet saying that she got it! “Name”
was her favorite Dolls song, she was a superfan, and I should give her the
tickets. I wrote back saying that she’ll have another chance to win in an hour
and that “Two Days In February” is our favorite Goo Goo Dolls song. She had
never heard it! She went and listened to it online, liked it and thanked me for
recommending it. Her twitter handle had the word “goo” in it and her background
was a picture of the band. Honestly, I can’t wrap my head around that. How
could you call yourself a superfan of a band if you’re not familiar with their
complete body of work? It makes me want to go to a Goo Goo Dolls show and hand
out copies of Hold Me Up and Superstar Car Wash. “Here you go. Be sure to
listen, because there’s gonna be a test!”
OK, the Dolls first two albums certainly aren't for the
average thirty-something broad, but if you’re a self-proclaimed superfan, you
should be familiar with Hold Me Up! GEE FUCKING WHIZ!
One of my favorite parts of older Goo Goo Dolls records are
Robbie Takac songs. Robbie sang some great stuff for the band and Hold Me Up has two
of his best songs, “Laughing” and “On Your Side.”
But it was “There You Are,” “Just The Way You Are,” and “Two
Days In February,” that showed Johnny Rzeznik was emerging as a strong songwriter and his jams were going to start taking the band places.
You should watch the video for “There You
Are.” Johnny was quite a dresser back then.
I always thought Screaming Trees stole the entire concept for “Nearly Lost You.”
This is pretty much a flawless record for me. I can listen
to the whole thing and never look for the fast forward button. Lance Diamond
does a stellar job on the Prince cover, “Never Take The Place Of Your Man,” and
their version of The Plimsouls “Million Miles Away,” is spot on! “Two Days In
February” is my favorite Goo Goo Dolls song, because it’s a great little ballad
and because they recorded it on the front porch of their house. You can hear
cars driving by during the recording. I always thought that was kind of cool.
They rerecorded it for their Greatest Hits collection, because fuck Metal
Blade, but they couldn't recapture the charm of the original late night porch
recording.
I remember hearing “We Are The Normal,” on WDRE in Long
Island in 1993 and thinking the Goo Goo Dolls are the real deal! Here they are
on the radio, outside of Buffalo, with a song they wrote with Paul Westerberg,
whom they revered as a God. Who doesn’t?
Another perfect album for me, I can listen to the whole
thing anytime and it still sounds fresh. Superstar turned twenty this past
February and it doesn't sound dated at all.
“Girl Right Next To Me” was always my favorite from
Superstar Car Wash. And I absolutely love Robbie's "Domino."
A couple of years ago I was having a discussion with some
20-year-old pukes about Alkaline Trio. They were fans of the band and I've been
a casual follower since their 2001 release From Hear To Infirmary. I mentioned
that I really liked “Calling All Skeletons” from their 2008 album Agony & Irony and was nearly laughed out of the room. “It’s too Poppy! I only like
their earlier stuff,” was the general consensus. Typical. It’s like every band should just break up after
their third album.
If “Calling All Skeletons” was too Poppy, then My Shame Is
True could be made into heroin! Cause Poppy plants are used to make heroin. F U!
Do you remember the movie That Thing You Do? Towards the end Tom Hanks' character is telling Jimmy, the lead singer of The Wonders, what time it is. "I don't want any of this lover's lament crap," says Mr. White. "I want something peppy, something happy, something up-tempo I want something snappy." Alkaline Trio takes the "lover's lament crap," and makes it "snappy."
As far as Pop Punk goes, I’m not a big fan, but this album
is solid from beginning to end. “She Lied To The FBI,” sets the pace for the
disc with a fun little hooky romp and then My Shame Is True doesn't slow down for
forty minutes. “The Temptation Of St. Anthony” is my favorite! “St. Anthony
this agony, it’s eating at my soul.” St. Anthony, as we all know, is the patron
saint of tattooed sleeves. Then Tim from Rise Against shows up on “I, Pessimist”
and this album pops it into fifth gear as it tears down whatever road goes
along the lake in Chicago. I’m not looking it up.
The last time I saw Alkaline Trio play was at Roseland
ballroom in New York City on a bill with Rise Against and Gaslight Anthem. This
was probably four or five years ago and I started talking with a woman by the
bar between band sets. We were chitchatting for about ten minutes when I
realized she wasn't really into any of the bands playing and she said, “I’m
here with my daughter and her two friends, they’re all 13-years-old. Who are
you here with?” “My nephew,” I blurted out. “I better go check on him. See ya!”
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