The Coolest Song in the World

"Can you honestly tell me you forgot? Forgot the magnetism of Robin Zander, and the charisma of Rick Nielsen? And what about the tunes? 'I want you to want me'…'The dream police, da-na-na-na-na-na-na!'." That may not be one of the more famous quotes from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but it is one of my personal favorite bits: ticket scalper Mike Damone trying to pawn Cheap Trick tickets off on some poor girl*, complete with bad singing and spazzy air guitar. Fast Times is one of my favorite movies, and the character of Damone, the sleazy, Gremlin-driving, turned-up-collar-wearing, bad-dating-advice-giving "conceited little prick" (as Phoebe Cates's Linda Barrett terms him) is, in a word, awesome. So when I saw a poster last month advertising a show by a band called Damone, I immediately surmised that they must have named themselves after the Damone, and, based solely on that, further surmised that they must in fact be awesome as well.

Unfortunately I had to miss their Portland gig due to the fact that it was the same night that my band practices. (Priorities, people.) But man, am I sorry I did. I picked up their recently-released major-label debut, entitled Out Here All Night, and repeated listening, as well as viewing of live clips on YouTube, has amply proved that Damone the band is indeed awesome. One review I read summed them up as "Juliana Hatfield fronting Cheap Trick", which could be read as dismissive, but actually captures their appeal nicely, I think, as their sound mixes power pop, ‘70s hard rock, and ‘80s hair metal into a redolent rock ‘n’ roll stew that’s topped beautifully by singer/guitarist Noelle Leblanc’s sweet-but-tough snarl. Noelle is one of the better female rock singers I’ve heard recently, and she looks totally fucking cool, coming on like a grittier, less glam-rock Joan Jett, or maybe a metal-fied Chrissie Hynde. See the picture at right, which currently adorns my desktop as well.

If you’ve ever listened to Little Steven’s Underground Garage on the radio (and if you haven’t, it’s worth seeking out), you know that Steve always plays what he considers to be The Coolest Song in the World that week. I’m starting my own Coolest Song in the World feature (which assuredly will not be updated every week), and right now The Coolest Song in the World is the title track from Damone’s new record, "Out Here All Night". With Noelle’s dark-tinted vocal over a wicked Judas Priest-like riff and a hooky-but-haunting chorus, it’s three minutes of pure rock ‘n’ roll heaven. Check out the band’s MySpace page for a listen, and check out their website for other fun stuff.


*Actually, not just some poor girl—the character of Dina was played by Pamela Springsteen, sister of Bruce. I think she had a grand total of two lines, but that still beats the zero of Nicolas Cage in his first screen appearance.