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 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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Popular tags: rock, power pop, 80s, alternative, college rock  See more

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• Especially For You
  The Smithereens

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• Green Thoughts
  The Smithereens

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• 11
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• Smithereens 11
  The Smithereens

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Top Tracks

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1		Behind The Wall Of Sleep			167
2		A Girl Like You			164
3		Blood And Roses			153
4		Only A Memory			61
5		Strangers When We Meet			48
6		In A Lonely Place			39
7		Blues Before And After			36
8		House We Used To Live In			35
8		Yesterday Girl			35
10		Too Much Passion			26
10		Drown In My Own Tears			26
10		Top Of The Pops			26
13		Blood & Roses			24
14		Groovy Tuesday			19
14		Green Thoughts			19

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