I've noted a time or two that occasionally we come across beloved songs in odd ways...my first recollection of this week's tune was hearing it on the radio as it awoke me. Instead of hitting the snooze button I heard the guitar intro and lay there in bed, preparing to face another dreary day in the throngs of my depression, and gave thanks for such a wonderful bit of guitar to give me just a little bit of hope before I headed off to a job that by the time this week's single was released, I thoroughly hated, music business or not.
The Goo Goo Dolls formed in Buffalo, New York in 1986, starting out as a heavy metal, alternative, and punk amalgamation. Eventually they hit their stride as a pop band, and have had a good deal of commercial success along the way. John Rzeznick and Robby Takac have been a part of the trio since their beginning, with a couple of different drummers filling in along the way. The band has won two Grammy Awards, and has had a number of world tours. For their career, the Goo Goo Dolls have released 13 studio albums (four of which hit the top ten), and have released 29 singles (with three hitting the top ten). They released their latest effort (a Christmas album) just last year. While my interest in the band pretty much ended with this week's tune, it wouldn't be a stretch to call the Goo Goo Dolls the Billy Joel of alternative bands--and it wouldn't be a criticism, either. They've both had a hell of a run and made plenty of music fans happy, which seems to me like it would make for a hell of an epitaph.
"Name" was released in 1985, and was the third single from their clever play on words album entitled A Boy Named Goo. The single was the first hit of their career, and reached #5 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. The album would peak at #27 on the Billboard 200.
Fun Fact: Wal-Mart ceased carrying the above noted LP because of customer complaints about the album cover, which featured a young boy smeared in blackberry juice. Customers thought the boy was drenched in blood. Wal-Mart denies this claim, saying it discontinued the album because of poor sales...but I think most of us can smell bullshit when it's in the air.
One of the (few) drawbacks to doing Friday Night Jukebox is that occasionally you learn more than you want to know about a song or an artist...as is the case with "Name." I always thought the song was about a couple of runaways, trying to find their way--and it turns out to be a song for the one-time MTV VJ Kennedy. While I'll be the first to admit that I was born with the word "dork" branded into my forehead, on the coolness quotient of life a VJ ranks somewhere around the famed pocket protector. That being said, the aforementioned guitar intro (a sound which to this day I can't figure out how Rzeznick makes his guitar do it)--emaycee fave acoustic, too--along with what could have been a compelling lyrical story line and Rzeznick's impassioned vocals make for one hell of a pop tune. And if it's okay with the rest of you, I'm going to go on and pretend it's about two mixed up kids hiding from the law...and let it be another fine addition to the pantheon of songs in Friday Night Jukebox.
Lyric Sheet: "We grew up way too fast/And now there's nothing to believe/And reruns all become our history/A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio..."
Enjoy:
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Peace,
emaycee
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