THE KNACK – MY SHARONA (CAPITOL)
As far as the history of one hit wonders goes this single finds itself sat on top of the throne. “My Sharona” is just basically a very good song that coasts the good side of both new wave and pop without being compromised by either.
From the off it flies with a thumping stomp that immediately skewers its claws into the mind’s ear. With this it causes the heart to pound quicker and the foot of the listener begins to tap. Within a matter of seconds this song is already familiar, stuck in the memory bank and almost impossible not to respond healthily to. Then the singer opens his mouth and it almost sounds like Devo. And suddenly this just might be the greatest song from the end of seventies.
I have always wondered why The Knack only had one song. Was it a fluke that this single was so good? Was their entire premise a façade, were they only pretending to be a new wave band? Looking into their history it would seem an immediate backlash based around accusations of being Beatles copyists and writing songs about teenage girls killed their career. Indeed listening to the flipside “Let Me Out” proves a decent experience as it is a more than passable song in the style of say Redd Kross with those Devo like vocals. In other words they were over too soon.
In modern culture the song has always resonated, not least during the interview in the Nirvana video Live Tonight Sold Out where Dave Grohl compares “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to “My Sharona”. Obviously the initial reaction is to scoff but then given some thought the comparison isn’t quite so wild. Likewise the appearance of the song in Reality Bites saw some kind of Generation X acknowledgement and appreciation as Winona Ryder and Janeane Garofalo danced like fools in a petrol station to the song while Ethan Hawke just stood slack and cool denying himself the power of the music.
It would appear that The Knack were a decent band.
Thesaurus moment: premature.
No comments:
Post a Comment