The Smithereens - House We Used To Live In

[SomethingReal1119]

I really miss Mike on bass. Jumps, kicks, and all....he was SO GOOD! Does anyone know why he left the group, btw?

[IamCoznoz]

@SomethingReal1119 I don't think anyone knows why he left the band except the band.

I think he got out of music altogether. Thrilla, the current bassist is outstanding! I miss Mike but Thrilla does a great job. Check out the newest 2011 release. Maybe their best album ever! I worked on this music video. Fun times...

[SomethingReal1119]

@IamCoznoz So u know them? Wow, tell Pat I was in love with him back in 1991! LOL Yes, the new stuff is great; that classic Smithereens/Rickenbacker sound, awesome harmonies, catchy tunes, it's all there & its all fresh. And yes, the bassist is fantastic, but there was just something about Mike's basslines...they added SO much to the tunes. Sometimes, Mike's bass MADE the entire song, you know? It just wasn't just the background foundation. But of course, that's just my opinion. ^_^

[wisconsindeathtrip]

Nice bass line going on here.

[Evaztlb]

Love this song. Love this time in my life! Back in the good days, before age took over.

[animalb4u]

lucky enough to see them live 19 yrs ago in cinci .one of the best live bands ive ever seen

[gapedhok]

This song is so uplifting and has held up well over the years, yet the video is kinda lame.

[MIKECNW]

@gapedhok Yeah it is but it's even mentioned in some of the earlier comments that it was about his family losing their home to forcloser, and unfortunatly as we know today it's happening too often.

[MsSmithereens]

HOUSE WE USED TO LIVE IN video is it still there?

[MsSmithereens]

does Pat have any brothers and sisters?

[MsSmithereens]

is this the house what Pat grew up in?

[rockhead261]

Easily one of the truest rock bands of the 80's. I just saw them play to 200 people at a local fairground - it might as well have been Giants Stadium. Well done, boys.

[ilovemusic2much11]

The house that we used to live in....

[tedcantu1]

Todays MTV, (Maternity Television) totally BLOWS THIS AWAY !!! Just kidding guys -- this ROCKS.. dont send me hate mail, haha

[japinvt]

The local "alternative" radio station used to play this one and the other 2 hits by these guys. It was radio cranking time for sure.

[nelsonjonkane]

One of my top 3 videos on MTV, if anyone here knows what MTV is. I'm talking about 1980's MTV.

[ged1a]

Saw these guys in the early 90's @ the Moore Theater in Seattle - great show.

[pandemic37]

How or why they did not make it bigger is beyond me... an absolutely killer band when they play live!

[Russroxxx]

Yes one of my favorite bands.They play small clubs sometimes I would like to get up and sing with them ,it would be a dream come true Russ Roxx

[Russroxxx]

Yes one of my favorite bands.They play small clubs sometime I would like to get up and sing with them ,it would be a dream come true Russ Roxx

[Anglynn74]

Summer of 88 sounds like it was special for everyone, myself included. Something about that yr

[bran402]

Love this! I wore the Green Thoughts tape out. It Brings back memories when life was less complicated.

[maxgrocks]

@bran402 So totally agree with your post. Appreciate the goodness yes?

[maxgrocks]

@bran402 So totally agree with your post. Appreciate the goodness yes?

[bpsylvester]

The time I saw this video it was 1988 and I just moved with my parents from the San Fernando Valley (in Southern California) to Palmdale. I used this song as therapy because I didn't want to move, so I could relate to the singer's feelings in this song.

[ripperduck]

Great song and great vid....thanks for the upload!!!!!!

[tomthefunky]

I was a teenager in the late eighties and I think the two best American rock band's of that time were R.E.M and the Smithereens. And probably the best English band of the time were the Smiths. What do those three bands have in common? THEY ALL ROCK THE RICKENBACKER!!!!!

[devtrev]

@tomthefunky Does it get any better than a Rick cranked through a Marshall?

[hunhun23]

I love this band!

[MsSmithereens]

@hunhun23 SO DO I!

[MsSmithereens]

@hunhun23 SO DO I!

[fluffydolly]

haven't seen this in 20 years......wild!!!!

[timin770]

I saw them in the mid-80's at Center Stage in Atlanta. They played a 10PM show and a midnight show. By the time we got to the midnight show, my beautiful girlfriend was drunk out of her mind and spent the entire show slumped over in her seat. I miss that girl; she was a lot of fun (except for that night LOL)

[Butteroux]

Looks like Michael J Fox had trouble hitting the "Like" button.

[zaggirl06]

I loved this song and video. One of my favorites when I was in high school. I always wished they played more from this band. Makes me feel nostalgic for those days when I used to stay up late Sunday nights to watch 120 minutes on MTV. I think that is where I first saw this video.. They were a great band and I agree, very overlooked.

[tomseviltwinky]

Oh, "Green Thoughts.' One of my favorite albums!

[coolcatjeremy]

The Smithereens are having a 30th year anniversary homecoming free concert in Carteret Park Carteret,Nj on September 4th. Cant wait to see it!

[SolarTiger]

"...House where I left my heart..."..I know a place like that...sadly...;-(

[zanijoey]

very REM sounding.

[janfobia]

@zanijoey I Wanna marry Pat Dinizio....lol

[devtrev]

This is from "Green Thoughts.' Buy the cd. Now.

[BettinaBalser]

@devtrev  Amen! It's a triumph. Summer of 1988, my friend. I get the feeling you were there and you know :)

[devtrev]

@BettinaBalser You must be psychic.

[SupernalOne]

great choice of guitars, those Rickenbackers have a silver sheen to their sound that beats even a Telecaster - lovely tone

[foppa123]

great debut record.

[thefoppa1000]

@SolarTiger why delete?

[drummondF]

i am glad that barenaked ladies stole this idea

[lowaystar]

Nick Rocks!!

[earlymtv]

barenaked ladies ripped this song off, with that song they have (this is where we use to live). this song came out first..

[broncovern]

@earlymtv well first off who cares, second they only copied like 5 words omg not a big deal, and 3rd most songs you hear are ripoffs or remakes of old songs

[StarSaber7]

I love this song!

[bloodmuffin1]

i'm almost 16. i love this song.

[antramcvay]

I have to say I prefer metal as well. The harder the better, but I love this band. I heard Blood and Roses on the radio in the early 90's and picked up the Blown to Smithereens album later that week. I have been a fan ever since

[elprado75]

NICE SONGG NICE BANDDD

[audioslave33]

one of the best bands of the 80's . Sadly underrated and unknown.

[Shawnster65]

Well, most Jersey folk like me know

the name, and in the city areas and by

the shore, (and in their hometown of Carteret) they have almost legendary status to be sure.

Thy are somewhat well-known though, as

they tour around the country and have definitely landed their fanbase

Also, their non-stop attitude will most likely ensure that the Smithereens will continue to be a household name in other places as well. And that's a good thing.

[spookydshow]

I just have to say that I love the comments that others have made here.

[Shawnster65]

Just goes to show you that music dosen't have to have a label or genre to be great, and that truly good music reaches out to others and touches them regardless of their musical preference.

Take me for example-I love metal and thrash and general hard music, but when I heard this song, (and Only A Memory) it struck another side of my being, and to this day, my Smithereens CD's get just as much regular as Megadeth or Slayer, per se.

Now that's the power of music for ya'!

[metaletech]

You're 100% right !! I also love Metal, Hard Rock and British Invasion/Psychedelic music but "House" and "Memory" blew me away when I first heard them.

[ERIELACKU34CH]

this was always one of my favs

[Shawnster65]

The video definitely fits the bill: it shows us the duality of memories, how they take us back and make us feel good, and how they sting like a bitch, knowing that those days are gone.

The ghost images of Pat's childhood really hit the spot too, and it really hits you in the chest, knowing you can only go back in memory and in spirit, and not in actual form.

Pat's inner child really shows in this one,

[bfnputz]

soul patch

[Shawnster65]

One of my Smithereens favorites.

The imagery is clear...the house looks very small and insignificant, and symbolizes the shrinking middle class and the vanishing American dream, but stands as a monument to it's glory days.

Pat DiNizio said the song is about the loss of his childhood home and a clear symbol of the attack on the American middle class as we increasingly become either the "haves" or the "have nots."

How true...

[MrSixstringjohnny]

maybe its just a good song

[Shawnster65]

The story behind the song is in the liner notes on the anthology album, "From Jersey It Came!" and at one time, Pat was afraid to bring the song to the band for fear of what they might think.

The song is also personal for me, because there was a one floor house I lived in in Lebanon, NJ when I was little and we had to leave it too, and for years it sat empty until the day the tore it down.

I'd have loved to gone in it once more..