The Smithereens: Especially For You

The Smiths, Patti Smith, and now - the Smithereens!  You might remember the song from this record call Blood and Roses.  It is sort of dark, with inverted and minor chords.   Not my style at all but I recall hearing it in bars around 1986 - when it came out.

Apparently The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States.  The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio (vocals & guitar), Jim Babjak (guitar & vocals), Mike Mesaros (bass guitar & vocals), and Dennis Diken (drums & percussion). This lineup continued until 2006, when Mesaros left the band and Severo Jornacion took over on bass guitar.  The Smithereens have collaborated with numerous musicians, both in the studio (Suzanne Vega and Belinda Carlisle) and live (Graham Parker and The Kinks). The band's name comes from a Yosemite Sam catchphrase, "Varmint, I'm a-gonna blow you to smithereens!"  This record above is Especially for You, the first full-length album from New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens. The album is notable for the hit "Blood and Roses", which has been featured in multiple movie and TV productions. Producer Don Dixon's co-production work on R.E.M.'s Murmur and Reckoning albums added attention to the record's initial release. The album today is highly regarded by most critics, and was one of Kurt Cobain's favorite albums, as noted in his journal.  "Blood and Roses" was used:

• as the theme song from the 1986 movie Dangerously Close
• in "Duty and Honor", a 1987 episode of the TV series Miami Vice
• in the 1997 movie Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

The title and lyrics to the song "In A Lonely Place" were inspired by and adapted from the 1950 film "In A Lonely Place," starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by Nicholas Ray.