Comments for Waitresses, The, The Best of The Waitresses

While I''m rambling, I may as well take the occasion to say how sad I felt reading in the LA Times that Waitresses lead singer Patty Donahue passed away in December due to cancer. The early ‘80s band¹s oh-so-promising career ended when Donahue stormed out of the studio while recording their second album, Bruiseology (Polygram). (Fortunately, most of the vocals had already been recorded. One track was left an instrumental, and another featured backing vocalist Tracy Wormworth singing lead.) Already, however, they had recorded classic pop song I Know What Boys Like and, knowingly or not, created the most rockin'', most enduring Christmas song of the decade (or the decade preceding it, and quite possibly this decade as well): Christmas Wrapping (from the five-track record I Could Rule the World if I Could Only Get the Parts, also on Polygram). Perennially unwrapped by rock stations coast-to-coast and beyond, The song, written by group maestro Chris Butler, tells the tale of a romance thwarted year-''round until finally it blossoms with the help of a little "Christmas magic." But Christmas Wrapping and I Know What Boys Like don''t give a complete picture of the band''s work, whose jaded but optomistic lyrics focused most often on themes of empowerment. Butler''s wordplay was so precociously brainy and wickedly funny that one could immediately anticipate lowest-common-denominator backlash, but those who appreciate clever bands have had epiphanies over lyrics like, "My goals are to find a cure for irony and make a fool out of God!" At the same time, their everyperson brand of rock and roll (and occasional use of the word ‘pussy'') made them far more accessible than, say, quirky brainiacs Talking Heads. Readers are advised to pick up Polygram''s 1990 Best of the Waitresses compilation, which gathers highlights from their two albums and EP, including the theme to new-wave TV show Square Pegs and early hit No Guilt. (Vexingly enough, it doesn''t contain one of my absolute favorites, Quit. How about a box set, Polygram?!)

Clasic New Wave Band!Features: I know what Boys Like Christmas Wrapping Square Pegs