# OK, how 'bout the GoGos? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253 "2015-03-29T01:52:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/41 "2015-03-31T11:10:17Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Huh. I always thought they were, mostly because “Fun Boys Three” seemed to come off the same assembly line. Fun Boy Three didn’t come off an assembly line either, being three ex-members of The Specials. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/42 "2015-03-31T13:25:14Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > We discussed the Bangles in another thread, what do we think about the Go Gos? > > I think Belinda Carlyle certainly has the hot lead singer thing covered. > > Personally, I think that musically and musicianship-wise the Bangles were the superior band. I was, at the time, into the hard rock arena bands and the Bangles had a little edge and crunch that overlapped into that territory. The Go Gos on the other hand seemed much more pop-top 40 to me at the time. > My understanding is that the GGs were really into the R&R lifestyle but their songs don’t seem to reflect that. > I was never a big fan so enlighten me if I’m missing something. Go Gos? Never mind the Go Gos! I wanna see the Goo Goos! Is there such a thing as the Goo Goos? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/43 "2015-03-31T13:51:49Z")
How about Goo-Goo Dolls? ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/44 "2015-03-31T19:22:41Z")
I saw The Go-Go’s live at the Wildflower! Festival in Richardson, Texas, in 2001. It was shortly after Joey Ramone had died, and just prior to the release of _God Bless The Go-Go’s_. If you don’t believe they ever had punk roots, you would after hearing Belinda Carlisle sing “I Wanna Be Sedated” in Joey’s honour that afternoon… oh, and all the songs on _God Bless The Go-Go’s_, too! Plus, Jane Wiedlin looked absolutely hot in her combat boots! ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/45 "2015-03-31T20:58:14Z")
I’m on record somewhere around her saying that the GoGos are far underrated. Better than the Bangles? Tough call, but I’d say so. That said, Hazy Shade of Winter might be the best song by either one. But the GoGos have a deeper catalog of great songs, while the Bangles have more crap (Manic Monday). ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/46 "2015-03-31T22:37:41Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > But the GoGos have a deeper catalog of great songs, while the Bangles have more crap (Manic Monday). The GoGos have a deeper catalog of great _hit_ songs. There’s plenty of agreement in the Bangles thread that The Bangles best songs were never released as singles. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/47 "2015-03-31T22:53:56Z")
So it’s the Go-Go’s, eh? Then the Bangles are the better band due to improper punctuation by the Go-Go’s. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/48 "2015-04-01T20:44:50Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > So it’s the Go-Go’s, eh? Then the Bangles are the better band due to improper punctuation by the Go-Go’s. 😉 I was going to mention that it should be “The” and not “the” in both cases, but in checking I found that there is no “The” in Go-Go’s or in Bangles! The “the” in both cases is just added to make sentences sound a little better. (Although The Bangles adopted the “The” early on. It wasn’t there when they [first](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bangles#Formation_and_early_years_.281981.E2.80.931983.29) adopted the name.) Whether there is an official “The” in a band name comes up surprisingly often. But I don’t think it’s an issue for The The. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/49 "2015-04-01T21:00:14Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Whether there is an official “The” in a band name comes up surprisingly often. But I don’t think it’s an issue for The The. That’s 'cuz they have no name. There’s no there there. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/50 "2015-04-01T23:45:45Z")
Serious question: Do we know how the two bands felt about each other’s music? Got along personally? I can look, but nothing immediately comes to mind… ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/51 "2015-04-02T00:30:27Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Serious question: Do we know how the two bands felt about each other’s music? Got along personally? I can look, but nothing immediately comes to mind… Hoffs has expressed admiration for them in at least one interview over the years. Doubt I can find it. Also I know Vicki Peterson played with them a few times in later years. That does come up, Google says 1994. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/52 "2015-04-02T01:36:34Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Serious question: Do we know how the two bands felt about each other’s music? Got along personally? I can look, but nothing immediately comes to mind… Don’t know if it was a ‘real’, founding member, but one of the chicks was an official member of both bands at some point. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/53 "2015-04-02T15:27:14Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Don’t know if it was a ‘real’, founding member, but one of the chicks was an official member of both bands at some point. Which one? Looking at their Wikipedia entries, the only overlap in membership seems to be that when the Go-Go’s were touring in the mid-1990s, “ex-Bangle Vicki Peterson stood in on several dates for Caffey, who was pregnant.” That seems to be a bit less than being an official member of the Go-Go’s. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/54 "2015-04-03T10:55:10Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Which one? > > Looking at their Wikipedia entries, the only overlap in membership seems to be that when the Go-Go’s were touring in the mid-1990s, “ex-Bangle Vicki Peterson stood in on several dates for Caffey, who was pregnant.” That seems to be a bit less than being an official member of the Go-Go’s. Yeah, that’s the only significant overlap and Peterson really was just a sub to fill in some live dates. A couple other minor cross-overs:[ul] [li]Susanna Hoffs co-wrote one song with Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin on the Go-Go’s 2001 album [God Bless the Go-Go’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Bless_The_Go-Go%27s).[/li][li]Charlotte Caffey co-wrote one song with Susanna Hoffs and Vicki Peterson on The Bangles 2003 album [Doll Revolution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doll_Revolution).[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/55 "2015-04-03T14:46:16Z")
The Go-Go’s were marketed as pop, but they were very punk at the beginning (including the standard no one knew what the fuck they were doing) but gained some cred after a time. The Bangles were Beatles influenced and more “musical”. Different styles altogether. Susanna Hoffs over Belinda Carlisle by a country mile in the looks department, but that kinky minx, Jane Weidlin, is the one out of all of them. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/56 "2015-04-03T15:26:36Z")
Got to be honest and say neither band does much for me. _ **Our Lips Are Sealed** _ is a song I’ve yet to hear a perfect version of although the _ **Fun Boy Three** _ version, by the co-writer, is nearest. I like _ **Hazy Shade of Winter** _ better than the original version but, at the end of the day, it is ‘just’ a cover version. I used to like \*\*\*Going Down To Liverpool \*\*\*but I listened again recently and it was less compelling than I remember. Going to mixed sex groups and _**Voice Of The Beehive had better singles. I still listen to them while the others not so much. Debbie Harry was cooler and sexier. Chrissie Hynde was a better songwriter and way cooler. Divinyls had a way, way, way, way, way sexier singer (who sadly died not that long ago) plus a getting a song I Touch Myself**_ that is so obviously about masturbation in the charts gets bonus points. Then again that’s their only song I know. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![I-VI-ii-V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c89c15/32.png) [@I-VI-ii-V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I-VI-ii-V)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/57 "2015-04-06T06:48:36Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Don’t know if it was a ‘real’, founding member, but one of the chicks was an official member of both bands at some point. [Abby Travis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_Travis) played bass for both. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/58 "2015-04-06T14:10:34Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > Going to mixed sex groups and _**Voice Of The Beehive had better singles. I still listen to them while the others not so much. Debbie Harry was cooler and sexier. Chrissie Hynde was a better songwriter and way cooler. Divinyls had a way, way, way, way, way sexier singer (who sadly died not that long ago) plus a getting a song I Touch Myself**_ that is so obviously about masturbation in the charts gets bonus points. Then again that’s their only song I know. Since we’re shooting for all-inclusiveness here, gotta bring in Josie Cotton. _Convertible Music_ was an absolutely fantastic album. It was best known for “Johnny, Are You Queer?” but there’s not a bad song on the album. Sexiness, humor, just enough vulnerability…what’s not to like? Unfortunately, few of its songs are even on YouTube. Even more unfortunately, her followup album, _From the Hip_, was basically a piece of crap, and she pretty much disappeared after that. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/59 "2015-04-08T13:43:18Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > _ **Divinyls** _ had a way, way, way, way, way sexier singer (who sadly died not that long ago) plus a getting a song\*\*\* I Touch Myself\*\*\* that is so obviously about masturbation in the charts gets bonus points. Then again that’s their only song I know. [“All The Boys Town”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c53mr1IDPHA) - you’re welcome. There’s also “Pleasure and Pain” - their only other hit, I think. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253/60 "2015-04-08T14:17:55Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > Got to be honest and say neither band does much for me. _ **Our Lips Are Sealed** _ is a song I’ve yet to hear a perfect version of although the _ **Fun Boy Three** _ version, by the co-writer, is nearest. I like _ **Hazy Shade of Winter** _ better than the original version but, at the end of the day, it is ‘just’ a cover version. I used to like \*\*\*Going Down To Liverpool \*\*\*but I listened again recently and it was less compelling than I remember. > Going to mixed sex groups and _**Voice Of The Beehive had better singles. I still listen to them while the others not so much. Debbie Harry was cooler and sexier. Chrissie Hynde was a better songwriter and way cooler. Divinyls had a way, way, way, way, way sexier singer (who sadly died not that long ago) plus a getting a song I Touch Myself**_ that is so obviously about masturbation in the charts gets bonus points. Then again that’s their only song I know. > > TCMF-2L Off the same album as I Touch Myself - I think it was just called **Divinyls** - was a song I love, called **Make Out Alright** - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-FYVGOWohA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-FYVGOWohA) I could do without her silly bondage outfit in the video, but man Christina Amphlett had a sexy, whiskey-kitten voice. In terms of bands in the same era as the Go-Go’s and Bangles featuring great women front…women ;), I was a sucker for **Romeo Void** (Never Say Never - I might like you better if we slept together), and **The Motels** (Mission of Mercy; Only the Lonely; Suddenly Last Summer…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-bout-the-gogos/716253.md?page=2)