headphones are on

Originally posted in 2011

The late 90’s was in many ways a paradoxical time in music.  Bands such as Matchbox Twenty, Pushing Daisies, and Third Eye Blind were climbing the charts as the Boy Band Era was heating up.  The Goo Goo Dolls, originating in Buffalo in 1986 as a punk band, entered the radio waves on the major success of their now classic hit, “Iris,” featured in City of Angels.

Dizzy Up The Girl, the band’s 6th record, was released in September 1998.  It went on to have 5 singles, including “Iris,” “Broadway,” “Black Balloon,” “Dizzy,” and the hugely popular “Slide.”

Someday I’ll write about the entire album, but the last song, “Hate This Place,” has long been a favorite of mine.  Combining heavy guitar tracks reminiscent of their older records, such as Superstar Car Wash, with the raspy and soaring moments of Rzeznik’s vocals.  In many ways the song is combining their past with their future.  A rare addition to the band’s setlist, the song is truly a hidden gem to those who take the time to listen to the full record.

Rzeznik is most often recognized for his ingenuity on guitar, writing many songs with unusual tunings, but he’s also a great lyricist.

I remember hearing this song for the first time on my boombox, laying on my bed, closing my eyes.  I saw darkness, red, shadows, John Rzeznik sitting alone writing this painful song, perhaps about his recent divorce.

“Hold on, dream away, you’re my sweet charade.”

Its a song about dreaming, wishing that something was true.  But you know that its not, or it won’t last, and you hang onto it until the last second.

Its a tragic, epic, rock song that caps off Dizzy Up the Girl so perfectly.