It's the bassline that launched a thousand Saturday nights, the stuttering chorus that codified teenage frustration for at least two generations of American youth, the pendulum power chords that are indelibly burned into our subconscious. |Love it, loathe it -- "My Sharona" is a classic, one of those silly little pop songs that makes it all okay for a few blessed minutes. And we owe it to the Knack, possibly the most vilified non-art rock band in the history of rock 'n' roll.
"When something is really big," says lead singer Doug Fieger, "the next step is to tear it down. That seems to be the way in the Western world."
And the Knack were certainly big, if only briefly. In the summer and fall of 1979, barely a year after the Knack's first gig, "My Sharona" set the whole country to its peculiar, ping-pong rhythm. It became the No. 1 single of '79, while the LP, Get The Knack, sold six million copies. Fans rioted when tickets went on sale for the gig at New York's Carnegie Hall, and a zillion-and-one like-minded fellows in skinny ties suddenly found themselves hounded by A&R men desperate to cash in on the mania inspired by this L.A. band.
Critics, however, were not so kind. The Knack were branded frauds, misogynists and just plain lousy musicians. But like a new wave Chumbawamba, the Knack refused to be knocked down. Get The Knack was quickly followed by ... But the Little Girls Understand in 1980, an album's worth of mostly leftover material from the debut record. It sold under a million copies, but without a big hit single and the rioting crowds, the press deemed it a failure.
"Of course, there's no way to win with a record like this," began Dave Marsh's review of the sophomore record in Rolling Stone. The pit deepened as the band declined to speak in their defense.
"We felt these rock stars who had one record out and started pontificating on the situation in Afghanistan were really pompous windbags," says Fieger, who now regrets his reticence. The backlash hit the streets: "Knuke the Knack" T-shirts appeared with South Park-like merchandising speed.
In 1981, the Knack released Round Trip, broke up and reunited in 1991 for a tour and comeback record, Serious Fun. This week sees the release of Zoom, the band's fifth album, and next month they hit the road for the first time since Reality Bites dug them out of the mothballs four years ago.
But why now?
"Because we wanted to," says Fieger. "I don't analyze it too deeply, so it's not like there's a real reason." Fieger, co-writer/guitarist Berton Averre and bassist Prescott Niles are all still present from the early days, with former Missing Person/Zappa collaborator Terry Bozzio on drums (original skinsman Bruce Gary went on to pursue other musical endeavors, playing with Dylan and Bette Midler, among others).
While there's little on the new album to match the antsy exuberance of "My Sharona," Zoom is certainly pleasing enough. The stand-out opening track, "Pop Is Dead," exhorts "bring your shovel," but Fieger's not so pessimistic. "It's kind of an ironic statement," Fieger says about that song. "We say pop is dead and we give you 13 reasons after that why it's not."
Indeed, for a perennial punching bag, Doug Fieger isn't bitter. He brushes off the standard critique about the Knack being sleaze-peddling perverts ("Good Girls Don't" featured such warm, fuzzy lyrics as "She makes you want to scream/Wishing you could get inside her pants.") "I guess they never listened to 'Under My Thumb' by the Rolling Stones," Fieger says about the decency brigade. "The first album's songs were written from a 14-year-old boy's perspective [who is] frustrated or hurt by certain universal behaviors." Nor does Fieger seem defensive or perturbed about having his name permanently welded to one, gimmick-laden song.
"It's a great song," he says of "My Sharona." "It's a fun song. There are many other songs that I think are as good in our canon, but I don't mind being known for 'My Sharona.'" He still keeps in touch with Sharona Alperin, the high-powered Beverly Hills real estate agent who was once his obsession and fiancTe.
Indeed, while it might be tempting to scoff at the release of Zoom and the return of this quintessential one-hit wonder band, the Knack still write and record hook-laden songs -- and they couldn't care less if you don't care. It's only pop music, and in more than a few ways, the Knack have fulfilled everything the genre sets out to accomplish. "Nietzsche said that what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," Fieger philosophizes, "and I am a firm believer in that." (Noah Tarnow)