Retro Reaction -- The Go-Go's: "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips are Sealed"

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Looking back, I think it's safe to say that the '80s sucked.

Generally, but particularly music-wise. Not much holds up, if it was ever even palatable in the first place. I think we're all somewhat embarrassed by what passed for our musical taste back then.

But how about The Go-Go's? Don't write them off as a shallow bubblegum-pop band, as forgettable as so much else from that decade. Go back and give them a listen (or if you weren't around then, discover them now). It's not just that they were a talented all-girl band at a time when women weren't widely regarded as serious musicians in their own right, it's that their brand of punk-rooted pop (they came out of the L.A. punk scene of the late '70s) was catchy and compelling... and really good. (And I've always had a thing for Belinda Carlisle, their lead singer, who went on to do some fine solo stuff, particularly in the late '80s and early '90s.)

They didn't stay together for long -- forming in 1978, releasing three albums between 1981 and 1984 (Beauty and the Beat, Vacation, and Talk Show) before splitting up in 1985, reuniting since and releasing a retrospective album in 1994 (Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's) and an album of new material in 2001 (God Bless The Go-Go's), and continuing to tour -- and I certainly wouldn't put them up with the very best of the '80s (The Police, for example, they were not), but they were a lot better than you might remember.

Here are two of their best songs, "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips are Sealed":