#TheGoGos – Tom MacInnes, Writer

The Great Canadian Road Trip: Song #41/250…Blame Brett by The Beaches

A 92 year old lady, her dark-haired son and a ceramic nurse doll sit on a bed in a nursing home room. — My mother and me in her nursing home after she was safely moved in. The doll is named Nurse Joanie and serves as a reminder of her career as an R.N. #MomsAreEverything

NOTE: It has been approximately three months since I last created a post on WordPress. At that time, I had no idea that real life was about to make my music posts seem irrelevant to me, but that is what happened. The full version of this story will be given a proper airing at a future date. But for now, what happened was that I received a phone call out of the blue one Saturday afternoon in May informing me that my 92-year-old mother had fallen and broken her hip. She lives far from where I do. Her fall ended her ability to live independently which meant, among other things, that she could no longer live in her apartment and that she would require constant care from that point forward. That necessitated two different trips down from Ontario. The first was to clear out her apartment and find homes for her possessions. It also meant finding a permanent nursing home for her to live in. The second trip was more to check in on her and see if there were any adjustments needed to her living arrangement in her new location. Fortunately, as you can see from this photo, my Mom is rallying. She has taken to being cared for and has willingly relinquished the burden of looking after herself on her own. Her hip has healed nicely, and she is scooting around the nursing home in her wheelchair as if she was a driver in the Indy 500. All in all, things have stabilized and life is unfolding again as it always had. At least until the next phone call.

For now, that means that I can focus on my writing again and my love of music. So, with that in mind, let’s get back to it, shall we?! Here is today’s latest, greatest Canadian song…”Blame Brett” by The Beaches. Let’s go!!!!!

Like many major cities in the world, Toronto is made up of a patchwork of established neighbourhoods. Each of these neighbourhoods has its own unique history, culture and lifestyle. One of the more idyllic of these in Toronto is an area known as The Beaches. This neighbourhood is home to almost 20,000 residents and sits at the eastern end of the city. The neighbourhood comes by its name honestly. The Beaches community encompasses four different beaches, as well as numerous major parks, shopping districts, restaurants and houses with unique and colourful exteriors. The area is known for its Jazz Festival, the many outdoor patios and cafes that abound, as well as a marked Bohemian attitude that sets it apart from the rest of the city. It should come as no surprise to learn that such an artsy, laid back, geographically beautiful area would give birth to arguably Canada’s hottest rising band, The Beaches. As I type these words, the band The Beaches owns the #1 hit song in Canada with “Blame Brett”. If there was any song worthy of being crowned as the Song of the Summer this year, “Blame Brett” is it.

The members of the band, The Beaches. Four young woman named Eliza Inman-McDaniel, Leandra Earl, Jordan Miller and Kylie Miller. — The Beaches: Eliza Enman-McDaniel, Leandra Earl, Jordan Miller and Kylie Miller.

The Beaches band is an all-girl affair made up of two sisters and two friends. Jordan Miller handles lead vocals, as well as bass guitar. Kylie Miller plays lead guitar. Leandra Earl plays keyboards and rhythm guitar. Finally, Eliza Enman-McDaniel is the band’s drummer. Initially, the Miller sisters, along with Enman-McDaniel, formed a band in 2011 as teenagers called Done With Dolls. Right from their earliest days, these young women set out to make music on their terms. They wrote their own songs and arranged their own music. Even while still in high school, Done With Dolls began making a name for itself in the Toronto music scene and was chosen to write a theme song for a teen TV show called Really Me. Not long after that, Leandra Earl became involved with the band. The group decided to rebrand themselves as The Beaches in honour of the part of Toronto from which they grew up.

The Beaches have had a fair amount of success in the early stages of their career. Their debut album, Late Show, was produced by mentor and role model Emily Haines of the band, Metric (as well as the famous Toronto area musical collective, Broken Social Scene). From this album came two hit singles called “Money” and “T-shirt”. The latter song went all the way to #1 and helped The Beaches to earn their first Juno award for Breakthrough Group of the Year. The following year, The Beaches earned their second Juno award…this time for Rock Album of the Year. In between award shows, the band opened for everyone from The Glorious Sons to the legendary Rolling Stones.Being an all-girl band that plays a brand of pop-rock helps The Beaches to draw easy comparisons to another all-girl band known as The GoGos. You can read all about The GoGos from a previous post here. But, for now, know that The GoGos were the very first all-girl band who wrote and arranged their own songs and managed to have a #1 hit song. Their combination of stage presence, musicianship and determination helped propel Tne GoGos all the way into The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Bands such as The Beaches owe a debt of gratitude to The GoGos for blazing such a trail for them to follow. It wasn’t easy for The GoGos to break into the male-dominated world of rock n’ roll back in the 1980s and it isn’t necessarily any easier today for The Beaches. However, having such strong role models as The GoGos, along with Emily Haines, has allowed The Beaches to find the confidence to write songs about things that matter to them and to perform them with strength and conviction. The song “Blame Brett” is a good example of this.

“Blame Brett” is a breakup song, of sorts. It is about the reaction that some people have to having their heart broken. When such a thing occurs, it is not uncommon for the heartbroken person to lock up their heart to protect it from future pain. Once their heart is secure, relationships become more superficial which often means more sexual. “Blame Brett” is a battlecry that warns all potential suitors what the ground rules are now. As lovely and interesting as any of the band members of The Beaches may be, we are not to make the mistake of falling in love with them because they are not in the mood for love themselves. They have been there and done that and are now on the prowl for pleasures of the flesh. They make no excuses for this attitude and caution against casting aspersions in their direction because, after all, it is all the fault of a guy named Brett who broke one of their hearts. “Blame Brett” is as catchy a Pop-Rock song as I have heard in quite a while. It mines much of the same ground that Taylor Swift regularly writes about but spares us the melodrama in the process. The girls also give a hometown shout-out to the men of the Toronto Raptors with a line that declares that as of now:

“Done being the sad girl

I’m done dating rockstars

From now on only actors

And tall boys from the Raptors…”

I am reasonably confident that “Blame Brett” is going to be the song that propels The Beaches into the mainstream. It is a terrific tune that plays as a feminist anthem. To my mind, it is only a matter of when, not if, this song is featured in a movie or television show and ends up at #1, not just in Canada but around the world as well. The members of The Beaches have done very well for themselves so far and have a very bright future ahead. I applaud their willingness to speak out about matters that are important to them and to do so without calculation and marketing being at the core of it all. The Beaches appear to be a well grounded, very talented band. If this is your first time watching/listening to them sing, then you are in for a treat. They are terrific! I am including two videos for the song “Blame Brett”. The first is the lyrics video (which will help you understand the song and the message it conveys). The second video is the official video release. It will help you get to know the four members of the band. It is also the video which reminds me most of The GoGos. I hope that you enjoy them both.

Thanks for reading. It is good to be back writing for you. As always, I enjoy reading your comments so feel free to reply below with any thoughts you have about this band, the song, The GoGos, all-girl bands or anything else that you may have on your mind. Until then, take care. See you again soon.

The link to the lyrics video for the song “Blame Brett” by The Beaches can be found here.

The link to the official video for the song “Blame Brett” by The Beaches can be found here.

The link to the official website for The Beaches can be found here.

The link to the official website for the Toronto neighbourhood known as The Beaches can be found here.

***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2023 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History: Honourable Mention Song #6: A Place in the Country by Fanny (as Nominated by Andrea Storm) (KTOM)

This list of songs is inspired by lists published by radio station KEXP-FM from Seattle in 2010, as well as the latest poll taken in 2021 by Rolling Stone Magazine. For the most part I will faithfully countdown from their lists, starting at Song #500 and going until I reach Song #1. When you see the song title listed as something like: Song #XXX (KEXP)….it means that I am working off of the official KEXP list. Song XXX (RS) means the song is coming from the Rolling Stone list. If I post the song title as being: Song #xxx (KTOM), it means I have gone rogue and am inserting a song choice from my own personal list of tunes I really like. In any case, you are going to get to hear a great song and learn the story behind it. Finally, just so everyone is aware, I am not a music critic nor a musician. I am a music fan and an armchair storyteller. Here is the story behind today’s song. Enjoy.

KTOM: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.

Honourable mention Song #6: Place in the Country by Fanny.

Around this time last year, I wrote a post about the Go-Gos. *(You can read that post here). At the time, The Go-Gos had been nominated for induction into The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Their claim to fame was that they had achieved a number of firsts for an all-girl rock/Pop group; including writing and performing their own songs and having a #1 hit with their own original work. That independence helped to differentiate them from Motown groups such as The Supremes, who had numerous #1s but never did any of their own writing nor arranging. Well, as it turned out, The Go-Gos were successful in accumulating enough votes to secure their induction into the RockHall. But, a funny thing happened on the way to their induction ceremony…..as the date of the induction drew closer, the girls from The Go-Gos gave many interviews about their career, the challenges they faced along the way, as well as, how they felt about being viewed as icons and role models for younger, all-girl bands that followed in their wake. Out of these interviews came this nugget of information: they felt it was wrong to claim that they were the first all-girl band of note because, in fact, they, themselves, had icons and role models who encouraged them to form their band in the first place and then, to stick with things during those early, challenging days. The band that acted as role models for The Go-Gos, as well as countless other female bands and solo artists, was a band that could have been huge but, weren’t. They should have been famous and well known but, aren’t. They are Fanny and this is their story.

The band, Fanny, were nominated by a lady named Andrea Storm. Andrea was, initially, a friend and colleague of my wife, Keri. But, as happens on occasion, the existing relationships from a partner’s life bleed over into our own life and, as time has gone on, Andrea and I have become friends, too. Our bond is primarily over music and writing. Andrea and I have attended concerts together and tend to know a lot about the same sorts of artists and bands. Consequently, any time I wrote a post and Andrea responds by saying that she leaned something new from my work, I consider that a real feather in my cap. So, when I put out my call for Honourable Mention songs, it did not come as surprise that Andrea would nominate a band who were important and influential and yet, almost completely unknown, outside of a few hardcore music fans. Fanny, as a choice, is a real music lover’s choice. Here is who they were and why it matters.

Fanny formed in 1969 by sisters, June and Jean Millington, who played lead and bass guitar, respectively. They were originally from the Philippines; moving to California just as their high school years were set to begin. They met up with drummer, Alice de Buhr and keyboardists/singer, Nickey Barclay and decided to form a band. Their big break came after being spotted by the secretary of a record producer while performing at an open mic-style bill at a local club in Los Angeles. The producer, Richard Perry, liked what he saw and heard and signed the girls to a contract. He named them Fanny which, according to Perry, had nothing to do with body parts but, instead, was indicative of their plucky spirit. In any case, the band recorded and released three albums and achieved several Top 40 hit songs. If you can imagine a band that sounded like Led Zeppelin but, instead of being fronted by Robert Plant, Zeppelin was fronted by Janis Joplin……that’s what Fanny sounded like. This band rocked hard and played loud. Singer Nickey Barclay toured with Joe Cocker as a back up singer on his “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” tour. The band also acted as session players all throughout the L.A. area and quickly gained a reputation as being excellent musicians. As Fanny, they opened across the world for big name acts such as Slane, Jethro Tull and Humble Pie and they appeared on famous television shows such as American Bandstand and Top of the Pops. And then, it all came to an end.

All throughout the formative stages of their career, the girls from Fanny had to battle to make their voices heard in a world dominated by male-oriented bands and solo artists. It was a man’s world and they weren’t male. In fact, they were often encouraged to soften their image by wearing sexier clothing and writing more provocative material but, Fanny refused. They insisted on being respected for the calibre of their musicianship above all else. When the music industry refused, again and again, to do so, rather than give in and become the male vision of what a girl band should be, Fanny walked away from their careers and stopped performing. Despite a few brief reunions in later years, Fanny has never released another song, let alone an album, since the 1970s.

But, what Fanny endured during their career wasn’t without some positive benefit. That benefit was that when the next all-girl band came along…..The Go-Gos……the music industry was not as shocked as they had been with Fanny. They were not, initially, receptive to The Go-GOs but, their resistance broke down quicker and doors opened more easily and, as a result, The Go-Gos were able to claw their way out of the tough Los Angeles club scene and make a name for themselves as headliners. That this happened was a direct result of the groundwork laid by Fanny a decade earlier. Their efforts were acknowledged as being crucial to the early success of The Go-Gos by, none other than, The Go-Gos, themselves, as they were getting ready to be inducted into The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The trailblazing Go-Gos were, if truth were being told, following the path blazed already by Fanny who were, in fact, the first all-female group to write their own songs and sign a record contract and have a Top 40 hit of their own.

In a few moments, when you get to listen to Fanny (I assume for the first time ever), get ready to be impressed. What a great band they were! Fanny rocked really hard, with a bluesy, Joplinesque/Stevie Ray Vaughn rock sound. The song, “Place in the Country” should be a song that exists in the canon of great rock songs. It is really good. Thank you, Andrea, for nominating such an interesting and under-served but hugely influential group. They are terrific. Thanks, as well, for all of the comments and stories you have shared along the way throughout this musical countdown journey of ours. I have appreciated your presence.

So, without further delay, here is Fanny and their hit, “Place in the Country”. Enjoy.

The link to the video for the song, “Place in the Country” by Fanny, can be found here.

The link to the official website for Fanny, can be found here.

The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History: Song #468…Our Lips Are Sealed by The Go-Gos (KEXP)

KEXP: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.

Song #468: Our Lips Are Sealed by the Go-Gos.

The Go-Gos were a five-piece, all-female band out of Los Angeles that gained fame with a string of hits that included, “We Got the Beat”, “Vacation”, “Head Over Heels” and “Our Lips Are Sealed”. They consisted of lead singer, Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar, Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar, Kathy Valentine on bass and Gina Schock on drums. Over the course of a career that saw them rise out of the ranks of L.A.’s Punk Rock scene, to playing the main stages of stadiums all over the world, the Go-Gos have sold almost ten million albums worldwide. They have split up and reformed numerous times. Band members have gone off to pursue solo projects, too. But, in the end, they were always more than the sum of their parts. The Go-Gos were special.

It is easy to under-estimate this band. On the surface, they present as”Pop princesses”, frolicking in fountains and shopping in stores (as seen in their videos). Pop songs, as a musical genre, are not often accorded the credit they deserve by purists. But, scratch even just a little bit below the surface of this band and you will find a group of immense substance and importance. The Go-Gos cut their musical teeth as punk rockers in L.A. Being an all-girl band in a predominantly all-male work environment was both a blessing and a curse. It was tough for them as women in the same way it is tough for any woman in any male-dominated field of employment. For much of their early career, the band was never taken seriously by fellow musicians nor by promoters. They were considered as “eye candy” more than as musicians and had to endure much misogynistic behaviour. In such an environment, one of two things tend to happen: you shrink back under the intensity of the pressure or you use the negative energy as fuel that builds strength. The Go-Gos chose to stick together. They bonded in ways that tend to occur when under siege. All the while, the members of the band were perfecting their craft; learning how to properly play their instruments, learning how to create playable songs, learning about harmonies and melodies, too.

They emerged from the Punk scene armed with the musical chops that would lead to their debut album Beauty and the Beat. From that album came some of their biggest hits like “We Got the Beat”, Head Over Heels” and “Our Lips are Sealed”. They suddenly found themselves with a #1 album and #1 songs. In doing so, the Go-Gos became the very first all-female group to play their own instruments and write their own songs to achieve a #1 hit on the music charts……ever!!! In the past, groups like the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and so on, all had plenty of hit songs but, they usually never wrote their own material nor did many of them ever play an instrument on stage. The Go-Gos were pioneers who took control of their career and charted their own course.

The song, “Our Lips Are Sealed” has an interesting back story, too. One of the first public acknowledgements of their musical skills came from a band (that was profiled by me last week) called The Specials. *(You can read that post here). This Ska/TwoTone band from the UK was touring in the Los Angeles area and happened to catch a Go-Gos show. They were impressed enough with the energy and musicianship on display that they asked the Go-Gos to open for them on the rest of their tour. The Go-Gos agreed. The Specials were a large band of a dozen or more, mostly male, players. During the tour, there were backstage antics aplenty between bands and, coming out of it, lead singer Terry Hall of The Specials and Go-Gos guitarist Jane Wiedlin had a brief affair. The problem was that Hall was already involved with someone back in England. The song, “Our Lips Are Sealed” is the musical child borne from that brief union. When you listen to the lyrics of this song (which was written by Hall and sent to Wiedlin), you can easily tell that these are the words of someone trying to hush up an indiscretion. So what did Wiedlin do? She turned it from a warning to be quiet and instead, amplified the message and broadcast it to the world.

The Go-Gos, who project as Pop Princesses were anything but, in reality. They were feminists who knew how to deliver a message and pack a punch. They were strong, capable women who took charge of their own affairs; musically, sexually and otherwise. They didn’t need to sing about empowerment, they embodied it instead. In doing so, they blazed a trail for every all-female group or solo artist that followed. The members of the Go-Gos all say that the highest compliments they receive are not from people telling them that they like their music, it is, instead, from every female musician who tells them that they had the courage to get into music and express themselves on their own terms because of the example set by the Go-Gos.

The Go-Gos were voted in for induction into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. Not that they needed the validation but, just the same, it is a fitting acknowledgment by the Music Industry that there was something substantive about this all-girl band that is worthy or commemoration and of respect.

The link to the music video for Our Lips Are Sealed by The Go-Gos can be found here. ***The lyrics version can be found here.

The link to the cover version of Our Lips Are Sealed by ex-boyfield, Terry Hall (now of Fun Boy Three) can be found here.

The link to the awesome website from The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame can be found here.

Thanks to KEXP for helping to inspire the writing of this post. The link to their wonderful website can be found here.

The Go-Gos have a wicked website that can be accessed here.