Sundance film review: Alison Ellwood's doc TheGoGos
Yesterday's pop sensation inevitably becomes tomorrow's nostalgia. But if your impressions of The Go-Go's are formed largely by their enduring karaoke-lounge popularity, or by the campy image of the five band members water-skiing on the cover of theiralbum, like chorines in an Esther Williams movie, then it's good to be reminded that these erstwhile badasses were spawned out of the Los Angeles punk scene.
Founding-member rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin, whose kewpie-doll appearance and forthright manner make her one of the most engaging interviews, talks about her history of depression and suicide attempts from age 15, and how playing in a punk band finally made her feel powerful. An early turning point came when The Go-Go's opened in L.A. for Madness and then The Specials, sufficiently impressing both those English ska revival bands to get them invited on a 1980 U.K. tour. "Respect to them girls, man, ya know?" says ineffably cool Specials guitarist Lynval Golding, suggesting how relatively uncommon it was to see a group of female musicians commanding the stage at that time.
They were signed by Miles Copeland to his I.R.S. Records label and connected with producer Richard Gottehrer, who helped refine their sound, slowing down their speedy performance mode to enhance the clarity of their lyrics and completing their transition to pop.
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