The Go-Go’s retweeted my tweet!
Here’s the link to my referenced piece I wrote for the album’s 35th anniversary: https://vocal.media/beat/deliberating-the-go-gos-vacation-on-its-35th-anniversary
Happy 40th Anniversary: Go-Go’s “Vacation”
Beauty and the Beat
The Go-Go’s: RRHOF Class of 2021
Trick or treat? It may be Halloween, but it’s no trick that The Go-Go’s were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night, marking a milestone not only in the band’s career, but also in the museum’s history as well. The Go-Go’s are the first and only female rock band to be inducted into the historic RRHOF, marking yet another first of many firsts in the fearless fivesome’s four decades of music and mischief.
The Go-Go’s remain the first and only all-female rock band to score a multi-platinum debut album written and performed by women to land atop the Billboard 200 album chart. Like Drew Barrymore stated in her induction speech at last night’s ceremony, The Go-Go’s were also my first favorite rock band/group, as well as my very first rock concert and also the unknowing recipients of my first adolescent rock star crush.
The Go-Go’s music has remained a constant in my adult life as the band’s unforgettable discography has been permanently etched into my psyche with irresistible and life altering earworms including: “Fading Fast,” “Get Up and Go,” “Turn to You” and “Apology” from the band’s albums Beauty and the Beat, Vacation, Talk Show and God Bless the Go-Go’s.
So, it is with great pride and sentimentality I say congratulations to Belinda Carlisle, Kathy Valentine, Gina Schock, Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin. Thank you for the music, the cherished memories and most of all for the endless hours of unbeknownst discussion fodder you’ve provided to me and my fellow Go-Go’s cohort (you know who you are, VG!) over the past four decades.
May your beauty and beats last an eternity.
The Go-Go’s Nominated to Be Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Go-Go’s have hit another milestone by being nominated to become members of the historic Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I must confess this news excites my youthful heart as The Go-Go’s were not only my first favorite band, but also my very first rock concert and front row experience.
With masterfully crafted earworms such as: “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” “Head Over Heels” and “We Got the Beat,” the female fivesome made history with the historic debut album, Beauty and the Beat, which sat perched atop the Billboard 200 album chart for six consecutive weeks and selling over two million copies. The double platinum Beauty and the Beat is the first and only album by an all-female rock band to achieve this monumentally historic feat, which has yet to be repeated in the four decades since.
Although the band broke up in 1984, they reunited in 1990 and went on to record a powerful fourth album in 2001 (God Bless the Go-Go’s), which featured Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong on the lead-off single “Unforgiven.” The Go-Go’s have continued to tour in the following years and recorded and released a new track, “Club Zero” in 2020, as well as the critically acclaimed documentary about the band lensed by History of the Eagles director Allison Ellwood.
A long overdue oversight (eloquently echoed by a recent op-ed piece in Billboard by James Duke Mason) has now been rectified and an anticipatory congratulations is extended to Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin. May the magical mystical power of Apollo be bestowed upon the most successful all female rock band of all time.
To cast your vote for the RRHOF 2021 nominees click here
To read more about my obsessive fandom click the titled links below:
Go-Go’s ‘Talk Show’: Something to Talk About
Exactly 35 years ago this week, my entire world revolved around awaiting the release of the Go-Go’s third album, Talk Show. Therefore, in celebration of this milestone, I’ve decided to pluck it from obscurity and revisit its virtues for posterity.
Talk Show hails from the heydays of when new wave and MTV ruled, all the way back to the early spring of 1984, but I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I achingly recall how the previous year had been sheer agony for myself and fellow Go-Go’s fanatics, as Belinda, Jane, Charlotte, Kathy and Gina seemed to all but disappear from the 80’s music scene, despite making a big splash with their two important and impactful releases; Vacation and Beauty and the Beat, both of which I have discussed previously (those can be found by clicking on the abovementioned album titles).
Producer Martin Rushent amped up the guitar crunch and added subtle sprinkles of piano and synths, consciously choosing to veer away from the girl group echoes of Richard Gottehrer’s previous album productions, which added a much-needed renewal to the Go-Go’s sound. Bassist Kathy Valentine handled the lion’s share of lead guitar licks due to Caffey’s battle with carpal tunnel, which added a noticeable frenetic ferocity throughout the album’s 10 tracks. Talk Show’s material was masterfully accentuated by Gina Schock’s unyielding and metronomic pounding of the drums, undeniably proving that Schock indeed, still had the beat. [Read full tribute here]
Go-Go’s: ‘Beauty and the Beat’ (30th Anniversary Edition)
It was during the days of big hair, John Hughes movies, and hanging out at the mall when five feisty beauties called the Go-Go’s became America’s sweethearts. Fronted by lead singer Belinda Carlisle and anchored by key songwriters Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey, their debut album was an important breakthrough for women in music. The multi-platinum Beauty and the Beat was the first number one album written and performed by an all-female group. It’s now been remastered and expanded into a 2-disc set (and pink vinyl) to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
Beauty and the Beat, one of the 1980s cornerstone albums of American new wave, was both groundbreaking and inspired. Yielding the hits “Our Lips Are Sealed’ and “We Got The Beat,” this seminal recording has never sounded better than here on this new remaster, which manages to breathe new life into these songs no matter how many times you’ve listened to them.
“Can you hear them/They talk about us/Telling lies, well that’s no surprise,” sang Carlisle in “Our Lips Are Sealed,” which could be heard blasting from every car stereo during the summer of 1981. That breakthrough hit was soon followed up by “We Got The Beat,” which became the group’s most successful song and spent three weeks at number two on the U.S. hot 100. The classic 80s anthem’s lyrics “See the kids just getting out of school/They can’t wait to hang out and be cool,” left an indelible impression on pop culture.
The Go-Go’s magic relied on the masterful blending of upbeat melodies, catchy hooks, and background harmonies layered upon sad lyrics, while delivered with undeniable attitude. “Get dressed up and messed up/Blow our cares away/We rule the streets tonite/Until the morning light,” declares Carlisle with energetic angst during the frenetic “Tonite.” Carlisle gets right into your face as she sings “Change the lines that were said before/We’re all dreamers, we’re all whores/This town is our town, it is so glamorous/Bet you’d live here if you could and be one of us,” with an undeniable aggressiveness during the Hollywood ode “This Town.”
This newly released 2-disc set gives fans a chance to hear both sides of the group: the raw energy and post-punk edginess of their live performances never captured on their studio recordings, as well as the smoothed out pop-gloss sound most associated with the band. Disc one is comprised of the full remastered album, while the second disc contains a previously unreleased live concert from 1981. The live disc includes songs that have never appeared on any Go-Go’s album, in addition to an early version of the hit single “Vacation,” complete with alternate lyrics that differ greatly from the well-known recorded version.
The anniversary edition of Beauty and the Beat shows this album still holds up surprisingly well thirty years later, which is a testament to the energetic spirit captured in this musical zeitgeist of the 80s. Unfortunately, it also serves as a reminder that the Go-Go’s were never able to equal or surpass the success of this landmark debut with the band’s subsequent releases. Their beauty may have faded over the years, but their beat still sounds almost as timeless today on this seminal 80s album as it did thirty years ago.
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