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Just Discovering 'The Smithereens'

post #1 of 14
3/18/07 at 9:44pm
Thread Starter 
My stepmom turned me on to 'The Smithereens' a while back and I finally got around to buying a couple albums today. For some reason before I actually heard them I thought they were some sort of a New Wave or punk rock band or something. One morning I was visiting my dad and stepmom and she had them playing on the stereo. I can't remember the particular song but I mentioned to her how it kind of reminded me of the 'Gin Blossoms'. Well, anyhow, I was kinda surprised when she told me it was 'The Smithereens'.


So today I bought the albums "11'' and "Green Thoughts". So far I really like everything. They have a bit of a dated sound, but I'm glad to find something from the late 80's that I can actually listen to, lol . The more I listen the more they sound like R.E.M. to me. That kinda makes sense.

My favorite track so far is 'Baby Be Good' off of "11".
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post #2 of 14
3/18/07 at 9:53pm
Solid power pop band. Won't (and didn't) change the world but lots of good, catchy tunes.
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post #3 of 14
3/18/07 at 10:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by markl View Post
Solid power pop band. Won't (and didn't) change the world but lots of good, catchy tunes.
It's funny, I like some of the cutting edge but underneath that 10% or so most everything I like is just good, catchy, fun music. I'm sure a lot of people are the same way.
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post #4 of 14
3/19/07 at 7:02pm
Wow, up until 2 weeks I hadn't heard that name in a LONG time (saw an ad somewhere, they were playing here in NYC).

I remember having those 2 albums and a limited edition EP (with a Who cover, and some live tracks) WAY back in the late 80s but lost them in a fire years later and never replaced them.

I remember them writing solid, catchy pop/rock tunes but being nothing special. They were known for their "jangling guitar chords", like early R.E.M.

I do remember Green Thoughts being better overall than their debut but not as catchy.

May have to pick one of these up to refresh my memory
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post #5 of 14
3/19/07 at 10:44pm
They have a new album...it's a nod to The Beatles' Meet the Beatles. It's called Meet the Smithereens, and it's basically a cover of the entire Beatles album. I kind of looked down my nose at it, but since I've always liked them I gave it a shot on Yahoo! Music. Decent album, and doesn't embarass the covering artists.
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post #6 of 14
8/30/09 at 4:23am
Thread Starter 
Instead of starting a new thread, I figured I'd dig up my old thread.

Revisiting The Smithereens tonight. I just cannon-balled '11' and 'Green Thoughts' back-to-back. It's funny, this is music that I could listen to all the time but I don't.

Quote:
Originally Posted by markl
Solid power pop band. Won't (and didn't) change the world but lots of good, catchy tunes.
Accurate. This stuff may have not been revolutionary, but I really enjoy it.

'Green Thoughts' is a superior album and it has 11 tracks compared to '11's ten tracks. I know... It's mind bottling.
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post #7 of 14
8/30/09 at 4:57am
I've been a long time fan of their 11 album and it's been getting regular but not outstanding airplay for years.
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post #8 of 14
8/30/09 at 8:10am
Hey, thanks for the tip; just listened to their version of Tommy. Great fun! And that from a long time Who fan.
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post #9 of 14
8/30/09 at 8:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by markl View Post
Solid power pop band. Won't (and didn't) change the world but lots of good, catchy tunes.
Power Pop doesn't get the respect that it probably deserves but I listen to the stuff all of the time. Dwight Twilley forever!
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post #10 of 14
8/30/09 at 8:34am
Now I know where The Lemonheads got their sound.
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post #11 of 14
8/30/09 at 8:41am
I haven't seen anybody plug this in a while, so if any of the younger members are interested in getting a global overview of the music and the scene that The Smithereens and Co. were power-prodding, Rhino's Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the 80s Underground is a good place to start.

And its a comfort to me and the missus. Thursday nights, we settle right down on the settee--her in that black garbage bag that fits her as well today as it did the night I met her ripping the safety-pin out of some slag's nose, and me in my comfiest skirt. We throw that old compilation on the compact disk player, shout "Anarchy!" while pogoing, and then share a nice can of catfood. We only eat the organic stuff now. Sometimes we put on PBS to watch the Paul Westerberg Orchestra doing its lovely rendition of "Bella Lugosi's Dead" with the Lennon Sisters. Those bubbles are so soothing.
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post #12 of 14
8/30/09 at 2:55pm
After you listen to In A Lonely Place, you can watch the film the words are based on:

Film Monthly.com – In a Lonely Place*(1950)
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post #13 of 14
8/30/09 at 6:06pm
Too bad they ended up as a cover band (Beatles, the Who).
I really dig their first albums.
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post #14 of 14
8/30/09 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiemen View Post
Too bad they ended up as a cover band (Beatles, the Who).
The Smithereens are now a cover band?!?!!
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