Thursday, February 02, 2012

GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS! Week -- Episode Four: What, You Thought I Was Gonna Post Something About Katy Perry?

Oh c'mon -- you knew it was gonna come to this sooner or later.

"Talk of the Town." 1981. By the original Pretenders lineup.

By which I mean -- Chrissie Hynde. Pound for pound, still the coolest, sexiest woman ever to wear shoe leather.

Seriously -- even Louise Brooks wasn't this cool, if for no other reason than she couldn't sing.



True story: I actually had that white Gibson guitar Chrissie is playing in the video in my possession for about a year; in fact, you can hear me playing it on the fitfully audible rhythm part of that David Grahame demo I linked to a couple of weeks ago.

What happened was, the neck had somehow developed a hairline fracture, so Chrissie took it to one of the guitar stores on West 48th street in Manhattan and traded it in for something else. The guy who managed the store at the time was a bud, and he called me up immediately after and said "Dude, you know that video for "Talk of the Town" you're so crazy about? I have the guitar she played on it, and you need to take it on semi-permanent loan."

So I did. Wasn't the best guitar I ever played, but I thought it was still pretty much the coolest thing anybody had ever given to me.

Interestingly, every time I strummed it -- whether it was plugged into an amp or not -- it seemed to play that gorgeous opening riff from "Talk of the Town."

11 comments:

Sal Nunziato said...

Still the greatest thing they've ever done. The single version, of course, not the remixed album version from "Pretenders II."

steve simels said...

I agree. An endlessly spine-tingling track....

edward said...

Yeah, still have the brit single I bought before they broke in the US. Definitly hot for Chrissie even before I saw her.

Sadly, the one time I saw them, on their first US tour, they were having a really bad night and just gave an awful show (the Bayou in DC). Though the tear in Chrissie's leather jeans kept getting bigger, and sexier, during the show;>

As a weird side story, a few years ago a female friend was doing chemo. Lost her hair and got a wig. The first thing I said when I saw her was "Your Chrissie Hynde wig?" to which she replied "Finally, someone noticed."

Shriner said...

There is not a better Pretenders track than this one (and there are many that come close...) Handclaps and all!

And there likely will never be.

Mike said...

One of the three or four bands I've ever wanted to join. Hey, I'm from Ohio, I'd be a perfect fit!

One of these days I'm going to figure out the secret to Jim Scott's guitar playing. Then I'll send in my audition tape.

Oh...and one of the few absolutely perfect pop songs ever.

Noam Sane said...

How is it I never saw this video? Yeah, easily one of their best.

I saw them open for the Who just a few years ago. Despite various missing members, both bands were (surprisingly)tremendous.

She's kind of ignored these days, that's unfortunate. I found both "Last of the Independents" and "Loose Screw" to be pretty great records, front to back.

steve simels said...

I saw her/them three or four years ago. You still can't take your eyes off her.

And she was touring with somebody else around the same time and, as Idiscovered on YouTube, covering Moby Grape's "Murder in My Heart for the Judge," which further increased my respect for her good taste.

TigerSoul said...

Here's hoping your Girls! series features the most appealing girls to emerge on the scene since The Go-Go's: I'm talking about Dum Dum Girls.

Anonymous said...

So when you got the guitar was the neck repaired?

Of course you get the guitar just in time to switch to bass in the Floor Models.

So how long did you have the guitar?

ROTP(lumber)

Brooklyn Girl said...

Love, love, love this song. One of the truly great voices in the universe. And she's great looking, too ... the ultimate hip chick.

I wonder, though, if Chrissie actually wears leather now, being a vegetarian and all ... they didn't even have meat on the menu when she played the Highline a couple of years ago.

My word is meold. Yes, sadly, I am. :-)

Anonymous said...

True Story???