We played the Violent Femmes too much on KJHK back in the 80s in retrospect and I was a chief offender. Nobody knew they'd break through to the mainstream and that's a bitter pill for the avant garde to swallow when it happens, but never mind because it happened to better bands than the Violent Femmes.
They had a high burn-out factor, thanks in part to the over exposure on the Claire Danes program, My So Called Life. Blame the Femmes themselves. They didn't withdraw from the publicity. They transitioned into a bubble pop band after starting as a cynical, quirky trio with off-beat lyrics and lots of adolescent angst. I flipped past a Disney channel original program not long ago where they appeared as themselves. It was some kind of Pre-teen comedy and Gordon and the boys appeared at a record store with hilarious consequences.
My other Violent Femmes story happened about two weeks ago in Olathe. I took my son to the high school football game and the home squad marching band performed a medley of 80s songs at halftime. They mentioned all five or six artists by name over the PA system; artists like Falco, Whitesnake, Cyndi Lauper, but no Violent Femmes. They played a few bars of Blister in the Sun. The announcer introduced it as, "And who could forget this dance club hit...". Somebody in the Olathe school district is afraid of the term Violent Femmes! Doesn't that slutty move to the Disney Channel allay a small minded high school administrator's paranoia? Lameness. Either that or they didn't know who performed it, but I doubt it.
Having slagged the Violent Femmes, I still think this is a fun song.
My other Violent Femmes story happened about two weeks ago in Olathe. I took my son to the high school football game and the home squad marching band performed a medley of 80s songs at halftime. They mentioned all five or six artists by name over the PA system; artists like Falco, Whitesnake, Cyndi Lauper, but no Violent Femmes. They played a few bars of Blister in the Sun. The announcer introduced it as, "And who could forget this dance club hit...". Somebody in the Olathe school district is afraid of the term Violent Femmes! Doesn't that slutty move to the Disney Channel allay a small minded high school administrator's paranoia? Lameness. Either that or they didn't know who performed it, but I doubt it.
Having slagged the Violent Femmes, I still think this is a fun song.
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