Love Stinks

About Love Stinks

"Love Stinks" is a song written by Peter Wolf and Seth Justman that was the title track of the J. Geils Band's 1980 album Love Stinks. The song was released as a single and peaked in the US at #38, spending three weeks in the Top 40. In Canada, the song reached number 15, as it did on WLS-AM in Chicago. Joan Jett covered the song for the soundtrack of the 1996 movie Mr. Wrong. The song was also featured in the film Opie Gets Laid. It was also covered by Adam Sandler in the movie The Wedding Singer and by Himalayaz with Ms. Toi for the movie Love Stinks. The lyrics describe a love triangle in which two participants experience unrequited love, before segueing into a description of love gone sour in general. The lyrics may have been inspired by J. Geils Band lead singer Peter Wolf's marriage to actress Faye Dunaway, which ended in a 1979 divorce. Author Maury Dean describes the opening of the song as "ponderous Power Metal." Dean describes the bands playing in the refrain as generating "wild waves of flame," the guitars as "fire-breathing" and Wolf's vocals in the "yeah yeah" portion of the chorus as snarling with "heavy metal glee." Justman provides extensive keyboards, which Associated Press critic James Simon feels gives the song "a little extra zing." Viglione describes the riff as "Lou Reed's 'Vicious' as performed by his Rock & Roll Animal band on Lou Reed Live at half-speed," also noting that it is a hard rock version of the riff from "Louie Louie." Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield notes that the riff was later used by Nirvana in the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit."Viglione finds such a "simple riff rocker" a departure for the J. Geils Band who were then known for blues and R&B, but admits the results are fun to listen to and acknowledges that this and some other songs from the Love Stinks album pointed the way towards their pop-oriented 1981 platinum hit album Freeze Frame. AllMusic critic John Franck describes the song as "infectious," noting that it was "one of the band's most recognizable FM songs ever." Music critic Robert Christgau describes the song "broad" and "uproarious." Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh considers it one of the J. Geils Band's greatest songs, considering its lyrics to be "a hilarious spoof on new-wave nihilism as well as soul cliche." Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield calls it "one of the great trash-rock singles of the '80's." more »

Year:

2006

3:45

67 Views

Playlists:

#3

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You love her
But she loves him
And he loves somebody else
You just can't win

And so it goes
Till the day you die
This thing they call love
It's gonna make you cry

I've had the blues
The reds and the pinks
One thing for sure

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

Two by two and side by side
Love's gonna find you yes it is
You just can't hide
You'll hear it call

Your heart will fall
Then love will fly
It's gonna soar
I don't care for any Casanova thing
All I can say is

Love stinks
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

I've been through diamonds
I've been through minks
I've been through it all

Love stinks
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks, love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks, love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks, I mean it stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks, love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks, love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks, love stinks

 The easy, fast & fun way to learn how to sing: 30DaySinger.com

J. Geils Band

The J. Geils Band was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, harmonica and saxophone player Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz, drummer Stephen Bladd, vocalist/keyboardist Seth Justman, and bassist Danny Klein. Wolf and Justman served as principal songwriters. The band played R&B-influenced blues rock during the 1970s and soon achieved commercial success before moving toward a more mainstream radio-friendly sound in the early 1980s, which brought the band to its commercial peak. They performed a mix of cover songs of classic blues and R&B songs, along with original compositions written primarily by Wolf and Justman, as well as some … more »

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