The Gin Blossoms

Somewhere there is a magical land where everyone wears plaid and kaki, where everyone lost their virginity to their high school prom date, where hugs always happen in slow motion, where all high-fives are jumping high-fives, where the local sports team always wins after a trying season, where parents never divorce, and where all fountains are made for spontaneous frolicking.  This is the land where Gin Blossoms songs come from.  

The Gin Blossoms had a firm enough foundation of talent to escape the Amy Arena treatment.  Their songs have aged relatively well.  As I write, some douche with curly hair is probably playing "Hey Jealousy" at a bar around the corner, and I'm sure no one there minds.  I only dislike The Gin Blossoms because their songs always make me really sad.  When I hear one, first I feel nostalgic for the "good old days," then I remember how badly my early teens sucked.  If you don't know what I mean, watch this and think about how your life was never as perfect as Party of Five:

Want to play again?  Okay, this time, think about the first time you were in love, and then replay the moment when it all ended in severe heartbreak.  (Those of you who are currently married to your first true love, go fuck yourselves and stop reading my blog.)  

I especially like the lyrics during the pre-chorus: 

Well I don't want to take advice from fools

I'll just figure everything is cool

Until I hear it from you...

...like when you're dating an axe murderer, and all of your friends keep telling you she's an axe murderer, but you won't believe them until she sits you down one day and says, "Hey, I'm an axe murderer."   I've never had that exact talk, but I've come close enough.  Not fun.  Listen to your friends.

So here's something you probably didn't know about The Gin Blossoms: the dude who wrote "Hey Jealousy," original guitarist Doug Hopkins, was kicked out of the band for severe alcoholism and killed himself in 1993.  I mean, fuck!  And that's the one interesting thing that has ever happened in their career, aside from getting famous.

The band reunited in 2002 and embarked on a tour with Spin Doctors and The Seven Mary Three.  Four years later they released a new album entitled Major Lodge Victory to little fanfare.  Here's a video of a creepy, balding Robin Wilson singing the album's "single"  in what looks like a nursing home recreation room.  

This is our new single off our new record.  God it's cool to be able to say that. 

(cue non-clapping)