Redd Kross

On Saturday, after a frankly ridiculous 20 years, thanks to the good Strange Vice folks' presentation at The Old Hairdressers, I finally saw the film with one of the best theme songs ever: Desperate Teenage Lovedolls.  As it turned out, Redd Kross's "Ballad of a Lovedoll" was by some distance the most accomplished and memorable thing about the film.  In exactly 2 minutes it manages to fit in some deliciously trashy dialogue ("Thanks for killing my mom. Hey, no problem"), blazing guitars, a super-infectious "luuuuvedolls" refrain, "Be My Baby" drums and an exuberant key change whereas the film's 59 minutes are filled with nothing but arch, deliberately poor acting and sub Valley of the Dolls moves.

Fizzier than a Wham Bar/Space Dust smoothie!  That was the Redd Kross of 1984 but if "Dracula's Daughters"* from their new lp for Merge, "Researching The Blues, is any guide, the Redd Kross of 2012 is still capable of crafting big, heart-swelling, melodic guitar pop.  If you're looking for me in the next half hour, I'll be sampling the rest of the lp to see if there's anything equally brilliant.

* - Hear it and rest of "Researching..." for the next wee while here.