Thursday, July 23, 2026

And Speaking of Transplendent...

...that was, of course, The Bangles and their hit cover version of Jules Shear's "If She Knew What She Wants."

Long time readers are aware that I consider those kids to be not just (obviously) the most fab/gear girl band ever, but one of the all-time great rock outfits period. That said, I hadn't listened to that song or watched that video in a couple of decades, and when I chanced across it the other day (hence Monday's post on Jules Shear) I was absolutely gobsmacked. Everything about that is perfect -- Susanna Hoff's haunting lead vocal, the ethereal harmonies, the jangly guitars, the rhythmic groove, the overall mood...a power pop masterpiece, in other words. Wow.

I should add that the above motivated me to check out Shears' original, which I had never heard previously.

Let us not mince words -- advantage Bangles. 😎

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Bangles version is wonderful. The original suffers from the forgettable mid-80’s snare sound, synths, and lifeless backing vocals.

- Paul in DK

paulinca said...

Susanna is also kinda pretty.

steve simels said...

Oh really? Ya think?