400. The Go-Go’s, "Beauty and the Beat"

 


I'm not ashamed to say that one of my first childhood crushes was on Belinda Carlisle, specifically the Belinda Carlisle in the video for "Our Lips Are Sealed."

Sigh.  Now, my friend Stephen is famous for saying, whenever a song he sort of tangentially likes comes on, "This is totally a top 20 (or 50 or 25 or 10) song of all time," but "Our Lips Are Sealed" really is a Top something song of all time.  Years ago someone pointed out to me that it's probably one of the biggest songs ever that doesn't have a chorus and I guess that's technically true but WHO CARES IT'S SO GREAT.

("White Rabbit," previously covered in this space, also a great song with no chorus.)

This album is hooky and fun and just screams early 80's Los Angeles New Wave so hard that you can practically smell the Mickeys and clove cigarettes.  Besides OLAS there's also "We Got the Beat" which of course you know but don't sleep on "This Town," with the soaring chorus and wink-wink commentary on LA:

Change the lines that were said before
We're all dreamers - we're all whores
Discarded stars
Like worn out cars
Litter the streets of this town
Litter the streets of this town

This town is our town
It is so glamorous
Bet you'd live here if you could
And be one of us

It will probably not surprise you to learn that this album was produced by the same guy who produced yesterday's entry, Blondie's self-titled debut, as both give a serious nod to the girl groups of the 60's.  (That producer, Richard Gottehrer, co-wrote "My Boyfriend's Back," so no shock there.)  But I think of this record as so self-assured and confident that it somehow builds on those influences instead of just embracing them.  

(One humorous note about the cover, which was widely seen as the group rejecting the punk roots they started from - they had to return the towels to Macy's after the shoot because they couldn't afford to keep them. That's fairly punk.)

Great record, loved hearing it again, perfect for a sunny Friday, throw it on and dance.

Comments

  1. GGMarch 15, 2021 at 6:03 AM

    “Mickeys and clove cigarettes” — oh god, relatable content

    ReplyDelete

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