The Smithereens - Blues Before & After

[K4Fusion]

As I understand it, Pat Di Nizio was a garbage man in NY or NJ. I am sooooo glad this man's talent was recognized, celebrated and enjoyed when they were signed to a music contract! An outstanding song writer!

[zenprole]

YEAH! Smithereens live this Friday in Western WA.

[zenprole]

YEAH! Smithereens live this Friday in Western WA.

[Imonlyherefortheporn]

yeah... the best

[chefkenardee]

these guys are timeless. jazzy rock, dinizio's voice is one of a kind. hope they are still around. one of my all time faves.

[themodernguitarist]

@chefkenardee

I believe so. They released an album a few months called "2011"

[chefkenardee]

do these guys still play live? I would love to see them. cchs 1991

[deeray41]

@chefkenardee Yep.  They still tour.

[LeapinLemurs]

just an old complication in a typical way!

[ds49]

just pure bad ass song

[MsSmithereens]

@ds49 no shit!

[AK4715215]

Meh......

[medic357]

Masochist's Theme song!

I can fee the scrotumimplosion now!

Killin' me

[kinmikey]

had to like this because it's such a great song by a great band, but can't help but think the video takes away from the actual song. Just like a buddy of mine always said, videos are just stealing our imagination

[pianosoccermaniak]

if it was longer it would help but it's still one of the best songs they wrote

[mudus69]

I saw these guys downtown riverside ca at the orange blossom festival. like tony the tiger says there great

[hoofheartedbad]

Their music is still kickin'! My 8yr old heard it once and wanted it on his pod!

[killswitchny]

@hoofheartedbad That is awsome! Teach that kid well! Real people playing real music with real instruments... Oh lets not forget NO VOICE MODULATOR! So sick of every single new hit song is either rap, or modulated pop, or a mix of both >:-0

[Bassplayershadow2023]

And listen to that funky rhythm track! Holy shit! That bottom is kicking ass!

[Bassplayershadow2023]

I LOVE these guys! Saw them one night on Saturday Night Live in the 80's and was like WOW, THESE freggin guys ROCK! Play on Brothers! Plan ON!

[nutz4all]

You just gotta' love it...what a talented band, they rocked then and still do now. timeless!!! thank you for the post, appreciate it!

[BettinaBalser]

Frigging best band ever. Waaaaaay underrated. And they put on the best live show I have ever seen. Not to mention, they are a bunch of really cool, really nice guys who love and appreciate their fans.

[bigbluevanman]

Still rockin' out to this song...love the punch! Totally kicks it!

[mastersparks]

Turn up your volume to 11 - great!

[MsSmithereens]

@mastersparks its a hell of a masterbating song!

[tinysdad5]

Saw them live in Cincinnati,They warmed up for Cheap Trick Outdoors,FREE They were amazing. Both bands are tight and put on one helluva' show. I'm 52 years old and have been to alot of concerts. This is one I can't forget!!

[yashasupercow99]

for the things never change

[BooBooJonez]

I think it's funny that 1 (one) person hit the dislike tab... 103 likes and 1 dislike... To funny. I wonder what it would take to get this person to like something. It's probably my ex-wife. She didn't like me either until I was gone and she had no one to describe what she didn't like to anymore...

[junfando1]

@BooBooJonez yes I agree that the 1 dislike must be an idiot! Smithereens never got their due..!!

[photoguybrian]

When I mentioned these guys as one of the best bands of the era in the '80s a lot of folks looked at me like I had three eyes or something. They've not gotten any better, but music in general has gotten really bad since. They probably couldn't get a deal today, they're too original. Classic sound and superb songwriting never gets old.

[trip577]

giving it up for the smithereens , hells yeah boy

[passionateaboutmusic]

I heard this on the radio the other day......had totally forgotten about it. Thank God for 97.5 FM Breese, IL..........WDLJ.......they play all the obscure, worthwhile songs that theses other commercial stations like KHits 96.3 and ReWind 103.3 never play. They only play the predictable songs that were played so much, they don't get us off anymore. I love old songs that maybe didn't get much airplay and songs from the 70s (early KSHE 94.7 days). Stuff I hadn't heard since high school.

[anne241]

The only group that has gotten better with time!

[anne241]

The only group that has gotten better with time!

[Sherlock709]

Awesome band!  Way underated!!!

[anne241]

Rock doesn't get any better than this! Wow! My favorite song by my favorite band.

[anne241]

SIMPLY FIERCE! My favorite song by my favorite band! I agree with anyone (from New Jersey as I am or otherwise) who says that Pat DiNizio blows Bruce Springsteen out of the water. I could not agree with that more! My #2 Smithereens fave is Top Of The Pops.

[Shawnster65]

@anne241 Native Jersey boy chiming in here...agree 100% The Smithereens are the real deal man!

[jazzinnature081]

These guys played SO freakin' loud at Kean College back in the early 90's, we had to go leave and search the classrooms for cotton!! lol AWESOME memories!

[4Peace4All]

@jazzinnature081 If it doesn't blow out your eardrums, it's not loud enough, LOL!

[CrutchzhartnCanada]

I saw them on SNL too and the next thing they came to my town and I saw them Live!

My 1 st Concert. Wishing them all well. brings back great memories-even if I was just a kid ;-)

[lookingforfun70]

Love the fuzzy sound of the guitar on this song.

[Shawnster65]

@alortiz92 Hell, I'm proud they're from JERSEY! One of the only REAL reasons to be proud of our home state.  Been a fan since 1985.

NJ also has the international HQ for M&M, metal thrashers Overkill (great band, seem em' a lot of times) the hardcore band Knuckle Sandwich (of which I am great friends with the singer) AND we have The Toxic Avenger!

We aren't too good on governors (or politicians in general) but we rock on the entertainment scene! Jersey rules!

[audiofreak63]

Amazing band. Their music is how music should be. Unfortunately, very little good music made these days.

[Shawnster65]

@audiofreak63 What made the Smithereens great is that they never stuck to one genre. They were able to create a unique mix of power, pop, blues and a bit of metal to create some truly honest to goodness, straightforward ROCK!

When you're able to avoid genres (and labels) you have a great room for creativity, and the Smithereens made great use of that advantage. A truly underrated band by all definitions of the word.

[Boberatzi]

Awesome!

[fluffydolly]

klassik 80's real rock....kool!!!

[MrGunnyboddy]

the singer could use some bosley! XD lol

[TrickyTolles64]

One of America's BEST LIVE Rock'N'Roll bands hands down!!

Thank God for the SMITHEREENS!!!

[8ioh4z4rd]

@TrickyTolles64

Absolutely! As good as they are in the studio - there is NO substitute for seeing the live! Goooood memories!

[RecordWarped]

Give it up for the Smithereens!

[fluffydolly]

great...great tune.....rocking it!!!!

[koolhook]

超かっこいい！

[koolhook]

超かっこいい！

[trentmccann]

Dennis Diken is the COOLEST drummer since Ringo...and pounds 'em too...

[zenprole]

I didn't know this video existed. This is one of the greats of the 80's, from a vastly underrated band. And the bass line is a freak of nature: fuzzy, fat, and tight. Pat DiNizio just appeared at the Who tribute with Living Colour and others.

[vincebath]

They are really classic and this is an amazing video that I didn´t know, great and nice surprise.

[videostrategies]

Excellent, awesome, and every other superlative I ever thought of. Thank you, Smithereens!

[Shawnster65]

One of the best they ever came up with, and one of the best finger bass workouts I ever got (that and Blood And Roses.)

The Smithereens are New Jersey's native sons, and perhaps one of the only reasons (if not THE reason) I'm glad to be from NJ.

[i2designer]

Fantastic!! Saw them on SNL in 1986 (?) & was floored. Only bad thing is the song is too short. I guess dynamite does come in small packages!!

[Shawnster65]

Was the SNL you saw hosted by

Corben Bernsen? If so that's the one the Smithereens were on. I remember that show..this song was from 1990 or 91'.

I came home from a late night with my then fiance' (now my wife) and we got back to her parents' house, and I turned on SNL and there it was..this was the song they did too.

The clip used to be here at Youtube but it was taken down, probably for copyright or something.

[bwho]

Great tune, does/did he smoke cigs, too? Because if he did/does, that only exacerbates the plugged alveoli problem and he won't be with us too much longer, either, if he doesn't stop. Just da truth, rock-fiends. Great tune, though-I love it!

[lixie1]

Jim Babjak = geeeenius!

[docwatson216]

Listen to the lyrics, Pure genius!

[mrmojorsn111]

Prednisone. It bloats you up. DiNizio took prednisone to combate a debilitating and life threatening nervous disorder and since then he's had trouble shedding that weight. Plus, by all accounts, he does like the alcohol! That can't help.

[Shawnster65]

The same thing happened to my uncle...he came down with Fibrosing Alveolitis (basically hardening of the air sacks in the lungs) because of the job he had, working with atomized powders.

He lost some of his weight but he still is a big guy to all accounts, even though he was bigger at one time after the Prednizone.

[kvq1999]

JUST saw them at South st. seaport in NYC & They JAMMED On this Track & TOO MUCH Passion & They had the Richenabachers Out in Display......WHY did he put SO MUCH weight On?? he Looked so Hot before....Now he's FAT!!

Kristina In NYC

[dougeroonie]

Love the guitar on this song, great beginning -- killer song - love these guys, a sound you don't hear these days, cool vocals overall. Rock on Smithereens

[Shawnster65]

The sound is due in no small part to the use of classic Rickenbacker guitars and bass. Ricks' have been used since the British Invasion and slightly before, and have that classic sound under the right settings.

Jim Babjak uses his Gibson SG or an old Telecaster now and then, but he also has a nice red Rick that he uses to rock out with some of the time.

They did this song on SNL hosted by Corben Bernsen years back, and it rocked the house.

[Shawnster65]

I love how these guys ALWAYS defied

the dress code-Babjak and DiNizio with the cycle jackets, Dennis Diken looking like a beatnik, and Mike Mesaros lookin' like some California pretty boy.

They looked like some sort of wacky, demented blues\pop\metal band, lol

And that was the great thing about them-you can't label music or looks of this kind.

The Smithereens are non-genre and non-label, and this is why they gave lasted so long and are still going strong. I love it!

[sreisscruz]

Love this song (and video) a lot! Very rockin!

[davopolis]

saw 'em twice in a month back in "90-91 i think. great shows. one was at six flags over georgia and the other was the international ballroom. they rockd the hell out of both venues

[RScottus]

Loved this song. Someone said it best in a comment on another video. This is when rock was great. It doesn't have to be complicated music, it's attitude and passion. And this band was arguably just ordinary guys. That's what made the Smithereens great.