RIP. Underrated riffy NJ power-pop.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 15:18 (six years ago) link
Boo. That last-U2-album-you-bought thread reminded me that a girl I liked in high school gave me a taped copy of Joshua Tree which I didn't like much but I REALLY liked what she had on the b-side: Especially For You. That album is wall to wall hooks.
― orifex, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 22:15 (six years ago) link
I worked in a mall record store when I was in high school. We didn't get to choose the 'approved' albums to play in-store, and Green Thoughts was the best of the lot.
― ... (Eazy), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 22:17 (six years ago) link
I really liked Green Thoughts when it came out. Pretty much every song was a very sour take on romance, which resonated with me at the time. I got a sense that DiNizio was a pretty lonely guy.
― henry s, Thursday, 14 December 2017 00:11 (six years ago) link
I heard "Only a Memory" on the radio and made my mom buy the tape (in a mall record store), which she liked better than I did (though I still really like that song). At some point 10+ years ago or so, I sat next to him on an airplane and 1) he recognized the book I was reading and we chatted about it. He was a really nice guy who treated me like a human being. He was with a child I believe was his daughter. RIP, too soon!!
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 14 December 2017 01:20 (six years ago) link
my first bass teacher was an older college kids who was into "college rock" when I was a little 13/14 rat who wanted to learn Whitesnake and Maiden stuff, anyway he introduced me to REM and also really insisted I learn "Blood and Roses" (which really has a very nice, simple and very melodic bassline) so I always had a certain place in my heart for this band. RIP.
― Joan Digimon (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 14 December 2017 01:47 (six years ago) link
i loved these guys in college, they had such a great throwback sound & goddamn i love Pat’s voice huge fan of their 2007 Christmas album toohttps://youtu.be/Y2B_v2vInLM
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 14 December 2017 02:47 (six years ago) link
xxpost la lechera that’s such a nice memory <3
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 14 December 2017 02:48 (six years ago) link
it was a really nice memory! we were stuck by the bathrooms and utterly crammed into a much-too-small spot for three people. the potential for bad things happening was huge, and nothing bad happened at all. he seemed like a standup guy. plus he knew harvest home and we talked about the widow fortune, and how bette davis played her in the tv miniseries (which is now available on dvd, i learned recently!)
they replayed his 1988 interview with terry gross on fresh air today https://www.npr.org/2017/12/13/570469380/remembering-smithereens-songwriter-and-lead-singer-pat-dinizio
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 14 December 2017 02:54 (six years ago) link
oh nice i’ll give that a listen
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 14 December 2017 03:05 (six years ago) link
Saw the smithereens outside Detroit with a cousin back in '95, and we were both impressed with how friendly and approachable DiNizio was after the show, the three of us chatting about Rickenbackers and other stuff for maybe ten minutes. Nice guy.
RIP
― Scape: Goat-fired like a dog! (Myonga Vön Bontee), Thursday, 14 December 2017 03:42 (six years ago) link
11 was big in my dad's cd rotation for a few years when i was growing up. i doubt i've heard it since '92 or so but damned if i couldn't summon the "girl like you" riff instantly. i'll give it a listen tomorrow. r.i.p.
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 14 December 2017 03:57 (six years ago) link
"In a Lonely Place" -The Smithereens
His voice was just right for this tearjerker. Lyrics may have been cliché, but the vocal delivery, melody and instrumentation made it work
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 14 December 2017 19:17 (six years ago) link
I first heard/saw them on IRS' The Cutting Edge, must've been late summer or early fall of 1986. They scratched a number of itches: loose, propulsive drumming; hooks; easy-to-play songs (I started playing guitar that year, and quickly learned "Blood & Roses," "Behind The Wall Of Sleep," and a few others); and Rickenbackers! Coming off a Jam obsession, whenever I saw a band with Rickenbackers I figured they must have something decent happening. I really dug Especially and Green Thoughts, but never kept up with them after that (and I desperately wanted to see them live in '86-'87, but going to a show alone on a school night was always a non-starter with my parents). I should probably listen to their version of Tommy.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 14 December 2017 19:44 (six years ago) link
Looking over the track listing for Especially, while I haven't listened to it in 30 years, I could hum (and/or air-drum) every one of those songs. They knew how to put some hooks together.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 14 December 2017 19:47 (six years ago) link
The Tommy stuff is so good, I forgot how good it is
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 14 December 2017 19:54 (six years ago) link
I listened to "Especially For You" last night for the first time in years. So many good songs.
"Hand of Glory" made me wonder if the album was in John Squire's rotation at the time -- the verses are very "Waterfall."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_IUR6eeQ60
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 14 December 2017 20:46 (six years ago) link
def saw them in the #2 spot at several shows, not as headliners i don't think
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 14 December 2017 20:52 (six years ago) link
Love 'Behind the Wall of Sleep'. Opening line is one of my favourites, just such a concise and evocative image.
― Dan Worsley, Thursday, 14 December 2017 20:54 (six years ago) link
I got to know Pat a bit over the years. He was a great guy, and very talented.
― Lyudmila Pavlichenko (dandydonweiner), Thursday, 14 December 2017 22:06 (six years ago) link
Saw them a few times in the Green Thoughts/11 era whenever they came through LA. Never met Pat, but did talk to a super-boisterious Jim Babjak who gave me a guitar pick, revealed that the secrets to their songs was to tune the guitars down a step and play the Kinks ("tune down twice and you'll get Sabbath!") and said that playing on stage with Dave Davies was like playing baseball with Mickey Mantle.
RIP Pat. Those first four albums are master-classes in solid guitar-pop songwriting.
― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 15 December 2017 01:32 (six years ago) link
https://www.facebook.com/groups/92052668353/permalink/10156532524588354/
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 8 September 2019 18:46 (four years ago) link