Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCVI--The Heartbreakers: Born to Lose

 Now that we've completed the magical mystery tour, I'm going to milk No Thanks! The 70's Punk Rebellion for another power pop punk gem....

Unfortunately, the history of the Hearbreakers is a tale too often told in the annals of rock and roll--extremely talented band never quite gets the break they need...and a helping heap of drug addictions finished whatever chance they might have had.  They formed in 1975 from the remnants of the New York Dolls and Television (though Richard Hell lasted but a short time) and played until 1980, though they reunited twice, in 1984 and 1990.  They were widely regarded as an amazing live band, but it did not translate for their one and only studio album.  Original members Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan died in 1991 and 1992 respectively, and while it's uncertain as to whether they were drug related, the drugs certainly played a part.  Other original members Walter Lure (who went on to be a stockbroker on Wall Street--WTF?) and Billy Rath (who became a substance abuse counselor) have both since passed as well, though they both eventually conquered their drug addictions and lived to relatively ripe old ages.  

(Not so) Fun Fact:  From the When You Know God Hates You Files:  the Heartbreakers only LP suffered greatly from poor sound quality, and the band members tried several times to go back into the studio to remix it but were unable to improve it.  A few years after the band broke up, the LP was released on cassette, and the sound quality improved markedly, leading many to believe that the production problems were actually an album pressing problem from their label.

"Born to Lose" was released in 1977 on their album L.A.M.F.  Neither the single nor the album hit the charts.  For the two of you who are wondering, L.A.M.F. stands for "like a mother fucker," a popular addendum to New York City graffiti in the 1970's. 

For me, there's a frenetic energy to the best punk singles, and "Born to Lose" has that in spades, shaking like a tree in an earthquake that hits ten on the Richter scale.  It's simple stuff, just guitar, bass, and drums, but the band plays all of them with an exuberance that makes you want to thrust your fists into the air around you again and again the entire time you're listening.   There's one of those special moments in the chorus when Thunders screams "I said hit it!" before the band sings "born to lose" that takes the song up another notch, and makes you understand why the band was so beloved when it performed live (you can just imagine the entire audience screaming "I said hit it!" every time it comes around).  It's a three minute nihilistic ode to New York City that captures the 70's punk explosion in all its power and fury.  And most certainly makes you thankful for its very existence.

Lyric Sheet:   "I've nothing to do/I've nothing to say/Only one thing that I want/It's the only way/I said hit it/Born to lose..."

Enjoy:

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