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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emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, CXC--Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Blank Generation

Spending my formative years stuck in the small, but completely uninteresting town of Kokomo, IN, didn't lend itself to discovering much of what was happening in the late 70's in New York in the way of music.  Still, I was lucky enough to enter the music business in the early eighties, and got caught up in a hurry--noting this week's tune on some now long forgotten compilation LP (located somewhere in the basement, I'm sure...), considered by some to be among the best that came out of the American punk movement.

Richard Hell was born Richard Meyers in Kentucky before moving to New York City in 1966.  There he'd join up with his best friend from high school, Tom Miller (eventually Tom Verlaine), and form the Neon Boys, which became the band Television, one of the first punk bands to play regularly at the infamous club, CBGB's.  Verlaine and Hell eventually went their separate ways over group control, and Hell would join up with New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders to form The Heartbreakers (not to be confused in any way shape or form with Tom Petty's back up band...)...in which Hell also did not last long as a member.  Finally in 1976 he formed Richard Hell and the Voidoids, had an acclaimed record in 1977, had a heroin problem, released a second record in 1982 which went nowhere, and basically called it a career in the music business.  Hell has stayed busy through the years writing a couple of novels as well as many non-fiction pieces, and performing one man shows.  Other band members had a bit of success as well:  guitarist Robert Quine would work with punk godfather Lou Reed on a number of his records in the 80's, and drummer Marc Bell went on to quite a bit of fame as one Marky Ramone, the only member of the Ramones to still be alive when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fun Fact:  Richard Meyers changed his last name to Hell because he said it described his condition...which is probably a bit better than changing his last name to Jesuschristwereallyliveinafuckedupworld...

Released on their now classic LP entitled, appropriately enough, Blank Generation, the single "Blank Generation" was not a huge seller (though it was considered an underground hit, for whatever that's worth) and did not chart, surprisingly enough for 1977 America, on the Billboard charts.  It did, however, end up on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the "...500 Songs That Shaped Rock."

Opening with a wicked in your face splash of guitar, "Blank Generation" continues apace for the next two minutes and forty-five seconds painting a somewhat nihilistic picture of life in America in the mid 1970's.  Hell's vocals are an abrupt mixture of arrogance, anger, and ennui, echoing the sentiments of a, to quote a phrase, generation lost in space, and all the while the band's guitars are slashing, the drums are bashing, and Hell's bass guitar adds a nice flourish here and there.  And lest I forget, the doo-wop influenced, yet oddly eerie "ooh--oohs" interspersed throughout the song are the piece de la resistance which make you know you are listening to a piece of pop music genius.  While "Blank Generation" may not be the best punk song ever written (though it's certainly among them), it's certainly the one that best captured the spirit of the punk movement--and its influence on punk artists such as Patti Smith, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash cannot be understated.  It's another in a long line of performers who managed to make a little magic before fading into obscurity.

Lyric Sheet:  "The nurse adjusted her garters as I breathed my first/ The doctor grabbed my throat and yelled, 'God's consolation prize!'..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee