The Smithereens
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Carteret, New York NJ, United States (1980 – present)
The Smithereens are a powerpop/rock group from Carteret, New Jersey. The group formed in 1980 and consists of Pat Dinizio (lead singer/guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar), Mike Mesaros (bass), and Dennis Diken (drums). The group gained some notoriety when a single from its first album, Blood And Roses, was included on the soundtrack for and as the theme song of the 1986 Albert Pyun movie Dangerously Close and the video got some moderately heavy rotation on MTV.
The group spent some time in its initial semi-celebrity phase defending itself in Rolling Stone against thinly-veiled accusations of sounding too much like The Byrds and The Beatles, pointing out that its Marshall Amplifier-heavy live sound was closer to heavy metal than it was to The Beatles.
Along with a basic Eastern-coast roots-rock sound that owed much to the inspirations of DiNizio, including Buddy Holly, The Who, The Clash, Elvis Costello, and Nick Lowe, the Smithereens deployed a uniquely retro obsession with mod, the late British Invasion pop of John’s Children and The Move, and other artifacts of fifties and sixties culture that lent its music substance and style. The highest position a Smithereens album attained on the Billboard pop charts was in 1990, when 11 peaked at #41 on the strength of the singleA Girl Like You (which hit #38). The group is still active and tours frequently, but went for seven years without releasing a new studio album, following God Save The Smithereens in 1999.
Blood And Roses, was included on the soundtrack for and as the theme song of the 1986 Albert Pyun movie Dangerously Close and the video got some moderately heavy rotation on MTV.
The group spent some time in its initial semi-celebrity phase defending itself in Rolling Stone against thinly-veiled accusations of sounding too much like The Byrds and The Beatles, pointing out that its Marshall Amplifier-heavy live sound was closer to heavy metal than it was to The Beatles.Along with a basic Eastern-coast roots-rock sound that owed much to the inspirations of DiNizio, including Buddy Holly, The Who, The Clash, Elvis Costello, and Nick Lowe, the Smithereens deployed a uniquely retro obsession with mod, the late British Invasion pop of John’s Children and The Move, and other artifacts of fifties and sixties culture that lent its music substance and style. The highest position a Smithereens album attained on the Billboard pop charts was in 1990, when 11 peaked at #41 on the strength of the single
A Girl Like You (which hit #38). The group is still active and tours frequently, but went for seven years without releasing a new studio album, following God Save The Smithereens in 1999.
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Top Albums
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Especially For You
The Smithereens
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11
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Green Thoughts
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Shoutbox
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Chaosophia218 wrote:
Top of the Pops is amazing song! Heard it on Candy Crawford's DVD.
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Nessyliz wrote:
Really great band, I love their guitar sound.
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viathin12 wrote:
saw them live at infinity hall a month or two ago it was awesome
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ChuckyG80s wrote:
Saw them live tonight in Natick. They still kick ass, and sound fantastic.
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dmikedrab wrote:
first heard these guys on Miami Vice
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rosepetals1984 wrote:
I really love "2011" as an album. The guys are in fine form and sound amazing.
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secret_nick wrote:
Ahh...a favorite band. Kurt Cobain inspired me to listen to them when I was a kid. Thanks, Kurt, rest in peace.
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RockerMag wrote:
See our awesome interview wtih Dennis Diken of the Smithereens here: http://www.rockerzine.com/index.php/2011/06/the-smithereens-this-one-goes-to-2011/
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My_Sharona wrote:
<3<3<3
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RandyB1961 wrote:
I was getting worried about the band releasing so many covers albums, too, but SMITHEREENS 2011 has put my mind at ease. It is a welcome return to late-80s form for the band and I'm loving it.
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foetusized wrote:
Y'all need to stop whining about cover albums. [i]2011[/i], an album of new material is now out, and it's a good'un.
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massimo35 wrote:
ricordi ricordi ricordi
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Phlunked wrote:
What? This isn't rock? Sure sounds like it has rock signatures to me. It's guitar-driven, too. What the hell is 'Indie', anyway? It's just more recent alt-rock, that's all. These guys have major label success, they don't fit the classic definition of 'indie' and today's definition of 'indie' is almost meaningless.
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edark86 wrote:
Chalk me up as another who finds their recent string of cover records completely baffling and pointless. It's a shit stain on their (otherwise excellent) career.
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ruiner2001002 wrote:
I think what bothers me about the cover albums isn't the quality of the music, but that's it's getting to the point where that's all they're going to be known for. Even if the band feels like they don't have it in them to write any new songs, I'd rather they just quietly retire rather than be the world's most popular bar band.
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rosepetals1984 wrote:
Well, as much as I would like to hear them come out with new material and scale back on releasing the cover albums, I can say I still love the albums they've released in the past and note them as one of my favorite bands. Creativity comes in many forms, and if it means exploring their roots a bit, that's fine and I can understand it, but I can agree it's a bit much to release cover albums at the frequency they are.
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DanAbnrml9 wrote:
Agree with soulbleed. They're starting to act like a Vegas act. It's especially sad since prime Smithereens was obviously influenced by '60s British Invasion and '70s punk but wasn't purely imitative. I just don't know why we need a bunch of albums of The Smithereens redoing the Beatles catalog...
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TheHornedOne wrote:
Picked up Especially for You on vinyl on a whim remembering the name from the Kurt Cobain journals. I'm pleasantly surprised, this is really good stuff.
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CAVermeer wrote:
Fantastic band...
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porcelain_tree wrote:
incredible band, nearly perfect. i first got into them with the green thoughts album. i'm guilty of playing them too little in recent years. but that's true of many excellent bands.
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Recent Activity
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Kovington, HikaruClark, srpvieira and 21 other people added The Smithereens to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
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aos16ie tagged The Smithereens with power pop and alternative rock. last month
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Brewhaze, diosamu79, jnollman and 17 other people added The Smithereens to their libraries. last month
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shiner_1 tagged The Smithereens with united states, college rock and power pop. last month
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RPLastFM tagged The Smithereens with radio paradise and radioparadise. last month
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A deleted user added The Smithereens to their library. last month
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andyvonmusik wrote about The Smithereens in a deleted journal. last month
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islandfishergir and lestat1966byob added The Smithereens to their libraries. last month
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Lord_Krichian wrote about The Smithereens in a deleted journal. December 2011
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Lord_Krichian wrote about The Smithereens in top charts of 2011. December 2011
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