To start, I'd like to share the crooked path that I took last night to listening to Greatest Hits '84-'87 for the first time in a number of years: A contestant named Suzanne Goldlust, who I'm arbitrarily routing for, wins Jeopardy! (I'm a few episodes behind) → Start singing "Susanne" by Weezer → Go to the kitchen to make brownies, listen to "Susanne" → "I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams" → Return of the Rentals → "Holiday" by the Get Up Kids → Greatest Hits '84-'87.
I was 17, a junior in high school, and had been dating this girl for over a year -- which in high school relationship time is practically a lifetime -- when she cheated on me, then dumped me before school, in the rain, on her birthday. After a couple weeks of me crying, writing terrible poetry, and generally moping around, my Mom took me to Record and Tape Traders and told me she'd buy me a CD of my choice, hoping to cheer me up. I had heard some of Greatest Hits '84-'87, and even though my initial reaction had been to hate it, when I saw it on the shelf, it called to me.
Friends, this record completely turned me around. It didn't just speak to my broken heart, my insecurities, and my profound teenage yearning: it translated them into the biggest, brightest, catchiest hooks I'd ever heard. (Kinda like that line about cocaine in Walk Hard: "It turns all your bad feelings into good feelings!") The language, which clearly was simplistic by design -- all "girl"s and "boy"s and "you"s and "heart"s and "never"s and "run away"s -- made it even more potent, as did the rich, shimmering synths, which sounded lifted directly from "Friends of P". Plus there were a bunch of dumb, fun sketches. I became obsessed, and played it over and over at home and in my friends' cars, as we all came to memorize and sing along to every goddamn word. Thus began our emo phases.
Some less personal background info for those who don't already know: Reggie and the Full Effect is the emo-power pop solo project of James Dewees, who played in Coalesce (that's him on drums), the Get Up Kids, and a bunch of other bands. Greatest Hits '84-'87 is, obviously, a joke name, as it was recorded in 1998 with two other Get Up Kids, then released the following year. It's the project's first album. Dewees is punker, cooler, and nicer than you. This record usually sounds cloying/grating to new listeners, and I get it. It's still my heart.
P.S. Thanks everyone for all the kind words on my last post. It truly means a lot to me, even coming from (sometimes anonymous) strangers on the internet.
Track listing:
1. Drunk Guy at the Get Up Kids Show
2. Girl, Why'd You Run Away?
3. Fiona Apple Can Kiss My Black Ass
4. What's Wrong?
5. Props to the Queen of Pop A.K.A. Keep on Climbin' That Velvet Rope Baby
6. Your Girlfriends Hate Me
7. Megan Is My Friend to the Max
8. My Dad - Happy Chickens (Kirksta Party-to-Go Mix)
9. Another Runaway Song
10. Drunk Guy Talks Chemicals to Us at the Get Up Kids Show
11. Your Boyfriend Hates Me
12. Pick Up the Phone Master P
13. Where's Your Heart?
14. Get to the Choppa
15. Better for You
16. Everything's Okay
17. Just a Reminder
18. Brandi's Birthday Song
You should also listen to:
I was in my 20s when this came out and it was SO SO SO good and completely underrated. It's like the best of 90's post-hardcore emo meets Descendents/ALL breakup songs.
ReplyDeleteNever expected this album on this blog haha. Might sound weird, but I went directly from listening to Reggie -> Coalesce -> Converge. The bonus tracks on this album's reissue are totally essential too!
ReplyDeleteHundreds of solid posts, you're forgiven for posting literal garbage. Stop before you post Dashboard Confessional.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. Some counterpoints: 1) I have hated Dashboard Confessional from the moment I first saw his stupid face on MTV. 2) Reggie has hooks. 3) Reggie is not to be taken seriously.
DeleteDeashboard is trash and always has been. Reggie was fun, it was total power pop.
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