Taking Sides: the Hoodoo Gurus vs. the Smithereens

In contrast, Hoodoos are a far better prospect, far more fun even, if I dare use the word. ;-) I have their A-sides and B-sides discs both and they're both treats I dig out on a semi-regular basis. Never have seen them live and I regret it, but they rule the roost, and "Wedding Song" (or something titled similarly) is a hidden gem.

I always hated the Smithereens vocals - they just leave me cold .. If a vocalist could be more monotonous than Steve Miller, DiNinzio has done it.

Subsequent Gurus records were disposable .. one is all you need really. Bittersweet may have been an alright song until I saw some fat kid singing along to it in a frat bar on alternative night.

That's what happens when a band fucking blows. Stoneage Romeos all the way.

Wow, is this true? Most disheartening if so.

Most unfortunate.

the hoodoo gurus' "i want you back" is one of the most blissful pop moments of the entire rickenbacker college rock era, and since both bands are about singles, and since one god-given single trumps a dozen very good singles, i'm going with the hoodoo gurus.

but it's not nearly the slam-dunk that y'all seem to think it is.

Jim Babjak used to run a record shop in New Brunswick called Flamin' Groovies (later sold and renamed Captain Video). He was always very kind to my high-school self when I visited. Even gave me a copy of the "Girls About Town" 7", which I'd try eBaying if the sleeve wasn't ripped to shreds after one too many moves.

So there I was, sandwiched between the crapper and this corpulent, loquacious man and his daughter. I read for a little while longer and then he got out his notebook. He started talking (to me? to his daughter?) about his tour and how things were going. Because I didn't feel like encouraging his need to talk with me, I just looked over at his notebook, to see if I could get an idea of who he was, if he was someone i ought to recognize. who knows,right?

i saw the word "smithereens website" and i recognized the face. and the beret. it was pat dinizio. of him i will say this: my mom really likes "green thoughts" and he never complained about the bathroom even once.

I saw them a handful of times, but their sets in front of maybe 150 people at a club in Virginia in 1985 is one of my favorite live rock memories.

The Smithereens in my memory were good pop-formalist, pose-striking craftsmen, but were comparatively monochromatic, earnest and dull.

Drummer on the end (far left) in beret & glasses.

They should change their name to the Smithers.

Which, I suppose, is why I bought the 21 CD mega box set that they sold off their website for about two weeks (500 autographed copies) until they were gone. It's mostly demos of all the albums, outtakes, and a handful of disposable live discs. It's fucking cool, a total musician's project that set me back $125 and worth every penny. Why oh why don't more bands do this? Oh yeah--generally legal red tape gets in the way.

But DiNizio is a hustler. The Smithereens play out a lot for a band that basically had one hit and probably barely sold more than a million records. They're all old and fat. DiNizio plays living room concerts and tours out of his car from time to time, and for awhile was offering songwriting help as well as custom songwriting. That he's basically driven his five great songwriting ideas into the ground ad nauseum over the past 20 years doesn't really bother me that much. I like the fact that he never gave up on himself or his craft. He's hardly a far-right nutbag, either.

And in the end, the Hoodoos were only good for one album. Maybe two.

Smithereens win.

So my homesick vote goes doubly to the Hoodoos.

Fave songs: My Girl, Bittersweet, I Want You Back, ah fuck every song from Mars & Stoneage.

heard "Bittersweet" today for the first time in ages. what happened to these guys, circa 1986-87 they seemed like they were on the verge of being huge. too retro?

difficult to say from a non-Aus perspective. they're as part of the furniture here as you can get

very big on the college scene mid-80s in the US, had major label backing and good live reputation, then....... kinda faded away

gershy, this badness.

sad

i hope they got a massive wad for that abortion

Hoodoos are still gigging hard. I saw them play at the end of December last year at The Meredith Music Festival and they still tore it up.

Playing this Sunday on St Kilda Beach in Melbourne for FREE.

They pulled off the split-up-and-reform-for-bigger-audiences move in a ridiculously short time, something like two to three years between split and first cash-in gigs. It totally worked for them though! People still ignored the new record like they were ignoring the old ones, but all of a sudden they get "wow, the Hoodoo Gurus!" audiences instead of "fuck, are those old farts still trying it on?"

I saw Dave F. (lead Guru) in Central Park a couple of years back. He smiled and said "G'day!"

Well we don't seem to have a proper Hoodoo Gurus thread on their own but finally saw them tonight after decades of enjoying their work and goddamn they delivered, what a treat of a show.

would it have killed you to bump this ancient thread & post BEFORE the show so i could have known it was even on? /jk

;_;

Alack! My apologies!