Silly Outsider, You Will Never Understand NJ

I'm not from these parts. New Jersey, that is. But I'm here 5 days a week, so it is my ongoing quest to understand this state's charms, idiosyncrasies, and motivations.

I posed a question to Jersey-native Mike Lupica the other day, unwittingly sending out shockwaves that could be felt as far as Flemington: why aren't The Misfits a source of regional pride in NJ, while Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi are practically on the state legislature?

Now there's the obvious argument of underground vs. top 40, but for some reason, The Misfits don't seem to merit even a footnote in the NJ User's Manual. As Bill Zurat puts it, there are only a few NJ bands that are appropriate to hear blasting out of a Camaro with its windows rolled down cruising LBI, and The Misfits are definitely Camaro-worthy. So where's the mall graffiti already?

L.A. is proud of Rollins, S.F. still loves Jello, and NYC named a street after Joey Ramone. I want to know why NJ doesn't step up and own its incompetent punk icons. Like I said, I'm not from these parts.

Lupica set off an inflammatory discussion on the WFMU e-mail list:

Subject: who best represents new jersey?
1. bruce springsteen
2. bon jovi
3. the misfits

Please provide evidence for your argument. This email sent as an extension of an in-house argument currently in progress.

Click the link below to read responses from various WFMU DJs (names have been removed to protect the innocent), and feel free to post your own answer or attempt to further derail this discussion in our comments section.

• Bon Jovi. Reason: The Hair.

• I think it's unfair to not include Skid Row, the Feelies, the Nerdz, Little Steven, Denim and Leather, Red-Headed Boogie Child, Shooting Blanks, Fat Kid Fishing, Exxplorer, Every Other Thursday, Dogs of Pompei, Drunk Uncle Bob, Secret Cervix, Ironia, Knuckle Sandwich, Whine Cellar, and perhaps the most unthreatening name for an otherwise heavy/dark band: The Dangerous Dingleberries.

• My vote is for Xex.

• Don't forget Monster Magnet.

• My dark horse would be Eddie Rabbit ...

• Connie Francis. oh the humanity

• 1. A.O.D.
  2. X-Ray Burns
  3. Detention
  4. Four Seasons

• So by this logic, Mike, the answer to your original question is The Misfits. Because A.O.D. + X-Ray Burns + Detention + Four Seasons = The Misfits

• The Smithereens. Just because.

• I think any one of the bands that was on "New Jersey's Got It?"

• sinatra, count basie, redman, gloria gaynor, latifah...

• In 1994, while on a vacation trip to Virginia, I stopped at the Appomattox Court House, where Robert E. Lee surrendered to end the Civil War. It was June & pretty hot & humid. We stood and listened to various college kids, wearing the garb of the time described a day in the life, in 1865. This one kid, wearing a woolen gray uniform, represented a young reb, who wanted to dissuade Gen. Lee from surrendering. He was pissed, in a punk kinda way. We moved on to another part of the story. About 20 minutes later, I see him walking  along, and he's wearing a Misfits t-shirt. As he walked by, I mention to him that I found it humorous that he be wearing that, and I mention that they were from my old hometown, Lodi NJ. Now, I must admit that I knew of them, but wasn't a fan, or knowledgeable about their music. But his reaction, which bordered on maniacal, really impressed the hell outta me. It was on par with meeting someone from Liverpool, or London in the mid 60's. One of the things that he was working to save up for was to make a pilgrimage to Lodi. After awhile, I couldn't shake the guy. The town that i remembered pretty much sucked. I didn't have anything positive to share. But I gotta say, the experience & the guy'spassion, is something that I'll never forget. So, from out Lodi way, I gotta point to Danzig & Co.

• Every answer is right, and we could totally start an east coast west coast war here.  Draw a map of tiny little NJ and start sticking in pins:

The shore: Springsteen
The armpit: Bon Jovi
Bergen County: Misfits
Up a little higher Bergen County: The Fiendz
Now a little to the left (geographically of course): Niblick Henbane
Hit the burger king a little to the south: Marianne Nowottney
Dunno about that wasteland b.t there and Trenton, and I'll defer to Mike on Trenton
Essex County: Dalek and hippie cover bands
Union County: I don't think they listen to music in Union County.
New Brunswick: Instant Death
Somerset County: The Ruins (different band, waaaay)
That wasteland b.t the Pine Barrens & Delaware: Danielson

• I don't know if it's an odd reason, I think it's pretty simple - the Misfits were never that big to begin with. And they certainly are much bigger after their breakup than when they existed, and even though the name is still out there, there is the mystique that the classic lineup has never reunited.
  
  They played VFWs in Jersey City and Teaneck while Springsteen and Bon Jovi played Giants Stadium. Plus the two superstars, at least early on, went out of their way to make New Jersey a part of their platinum-selling act.

• Good Charlotte - Clifton area (or Electric Frankenstein)
  Sinatra/The Bongos/Yo La Tengo - Hoboken
  Kool & the Gang - Jersey City
  Smithereens - Rahway/Carteret
  I'd say Essex County is up for grabs - you gotta consider Naughty By Nature and Ted Leo!
  Camden County - Ben Vaughn!

• vote for me and i will make sure that they put a vending machine (Snapple, NOT coke or pepsi) in the caf, and all seniors will get off-campus privileges for lunch and study hall.

• ween!

• in a different era i vote Lawrence of Newark Larry Young.

• Warren County is actually a part of Pennsylvania that we annexed sometime in the forgotten past and probably prefers Live, Styx, Fleetwood Mac, Kansas, April Wine and dozens of other bands that continue to play stadiums and race tracks across the Delaware while forced to hope for an appearance at BB King's or Club Bene once they cross over to this side.
  
  Sussex and Morris prefer cover bands that perform Bon Jovi and Springsteen songs.

• Will somebody give it up for Salem?  And hey, has anybody actually heard of Cumberland County?

• Nope sorry a little to the left is Passaic County. To the South is Morris County but Morris and Marianne Nowottney are not exactly a match; The Nerds, yes, Marianne Nowottney, no. And Warren County is not the wasteland between Morris and Trenton, Warren is the wasteland
  between Morris and where America starts.

• Blue Sparks from Hell. Very popular in Sussex.

• David S.Ware = Plainfield, NJ

• King: Charles Addams
  Queen: Tara Reid
  
  Their regal spawn...
  Prince?
  Princess?
  Court Jester?
  
  Famous Jerseyites
  
  And here

• feelin real jazzy today
  
  Bill Evans = Plainfield, NJ

• The Critters?
  1910 Fruitgum Company?
  Slave?
  
  Freddy Cannon singing "Palisades Park"

• Bon Jovi.
  
  I remember being GLUED to MTV when they had a contest to give away Jon Bon Jovi's boyhood home in Sayerville, NJ...which had to be to be *the* coolest place on earth in 1988. Their album, "New Jersey," made the state a fantasy land.
  
  I was a pre-teen in the midwest, hopelessly in love with Mr. Bon Jovi, with 6' posters of Jon Bon Jovi plastered on my bedroom wall.
  
  It's taken me a over a decade to reveal this. Once those posters came down, it was a dark secret. I still have them, though, rolled up in the closet of my parents' place. Things like that just can't go in the trashbin.
  
  Plus, looks like Bon Jovi has recently become a NJ tourism ambassador

Editor's note: Lo and behold, I met a random NJ native over the weekend in NYC, dressed in full Misfits regalia (ok, so it was just a hoodie)! See, it wasn't all just a dream...

Comments

[zoe]

On one of the nice days the other week, I was walking around one of my neighboring towns, and saw some loitering teenagers, and one of them was wearing a Misfits shirt. And then I realised, that's classic rock to them, and it kind of depressed me.

[poop]

David S Ware is from Scotch Plains and Pat Dinizo of The Smithereens ran for mayor of Scotch Plains. George Clinton on the other hand is from Plainfield as is the notorious Big Beat Records.

[listner_matt]

I know you mentioned the Feelies, but you didn't say where they're from -- Haledon, which is in Passaic. So that may skew your list a little. I'd rank them up there with the Misfits in the 'important alt-NJ' category. And they're a seminal Maxwell's band as well, and their first LP (Crazy Rhythms) was on Stiff, so they should get some points for that.....

just so ya know,
Matt

[dave in montreal]

Plainfield! Home to not just George Clinton but all of the Parliaments. Plus Bernie Worrell and Eddie Hazel...

[lupica]

I went to see the Sticks & Stones reunion show at Asbury Lanes on Saturday night... There were a LOT of Misfits shirts in the crowd.

[公司法]

On one of the nice days the other week, I was walking around one of my neighboring towns, and saw some loitering teenagers, and one of them was wearing a Misfits shirt. And then I realised, that's classic rock to them, and it kind of depressed me.

[andy]

Most Jersey hardcore kid I knew thought the Misfits were a goofy throw back to Kiss. Then there was the fact that Danzig was about 5'4" and quite geeky in a comic book way (pre-"Danzig" muscle man era).

On a related note Rollins is from DC not LA and ALL Los Angeles residents I ever met rolled their eyes at the mention of Henry Rollins (well...not Chuck Dukowski...but Greg Ginn did).

Its gotta be either Bruce or AOD...or maybe they should form a super group.

[stew]

In Philadelphia the early 80's, the question was do we go to see that night the Misfits in Center city or drive over the bridge to Camden, NJ to see Minor Threat? Easy answer.

[Martin]

How could you not mention the Wrens?? Two of their albums reference New Jersey! Come on people!

[mike lupica]

I know I didn't mention the Wrens. I also didn't mention The Poor Righteous Teachers, September Violence, Bigger Thomas, Yo La Tengo, Dog Voices, Children in Adult Jails, Monster Magnet, Naughty by Nature, The Feelies, Ripping Corpse, or the Bouncing Souls. It was a closed-circumstance argument only involving Bruce, Bon Jovi, and the Misfits. I'm not saying that any of those three SHOULD be standard bearers of NJ, but to many they are, and I was interested in exploring why that is.

Personally, I like all three of them for the same reason: They all write good, catchy pop songs.

[Steve PMX]

speaking of Rollins - Black Flag was great/classic....Rollins Band had a few shining moments.... but my favorite Rollins project by far (besides Black Flag, of course) was the band Wartime. Anytime I mention it to somebody, they don't know what I'm talking about. Wartime was the shit. Oh and that crystal meth PSA he did where he was smashing a bunch of stuff. Ironically enough, he totally looks like he's on speed most the time. Or steroids. Or both... speedroids. scary

[James]

I know that Springsteen and Bon Jovi have both identified with New Jersey in the past (through songs and album titles). I don't think the Misfits ever did. Maybe that's the difference?

[Lukas]

Why has nobody mentioned Paul Simon and The Chordbenders yet?

[Listener Paul]

It's gotta be Bon Jovi. Bruce might get the nod, but his best album is called Nebraska. NJ wasn't bleak enough for the Boss. It's odd, though. I know lots of people from NJ, and they run the spectrum of musical tastes--and as far as I know, not one like Bon Jovi. I don't think I've ever met anyone who likes Bon Jov. My wife drove a Camaro and lived in Old Bridge, and she doesn't like Bon Jovi. Her brother saw Bon Jovi a bunch of times in various Central Jersey clubs, and he would walk out--said they were the worst band of the era.

What about Charles Ives? One year stint as organist at Bloomfield Presbyterian Church. Now that Rocks.

[James]

For what it's worth, when I was in junior high school, Bon Jovi had a *major* following among the female students. But that was back in 1987-1988, so I have no explanation why the band stayed popular after that.

Also FWIW, I've read that Jon Bon Jovi broke into the music business through a family member who was well connected to the corporate record industry. Which might explain how the band got a foot in the door, anyway.

[m1k3k]

You can't forget some of the popular punkrock bands. like Lifetime, Bouncing Souls and Thursday These bands were and are amazing.

[Krys O.]

Dramarama were from Jersey. R. Stevie Moore albeit transplanted from Nashvegas is often described as "New Jersey weirdo".

[HalfSpeed]

What about "TWISTED 'FUCKIN' SISTER"!!!!

[Anthony Atlas]

Charles Ives was from NJ?? Bonkers. Didn't that dude pioneer the modern car insurance system while purveying some serious new music shit...?

In any case, I'm drunk in Olympia, Wa, missing NJ big time, thinking that the reason a lot of Jerseyans aren't regularly flexing Misfitian pride is becuase Danzig, unlike Springsteen and Jovi, has found a home far from the Garden State... He reps LA, not NJ. A year ago I was shopping @ Amoeba and saw the small glenn dude w/bodyguard in the horror DVD section there. I've spotted Bruce and Jon looking ecstatic in NJ, at ice cream parlors, beach clubs, and suburban through-ways, yet never spotted a Misfit. The Misfits are not engrained into the soil, like Springsteen and Jovi are. I don't know wjhy. By the way, Debbie Harry is living near Red Bank, and if my friend isn't lying, so is Fred Schneider. He squeezed juice for em both at the local organicky spot..wahhhhhhh

[n]

The ridiculously popular group My Chemical Romance hails from n. jersey, my kids went to school with the 2 brothers who are in the band. There were local bands the kids liked better than anything these guys were doing, but these guys are on MTV and shit, good for them.
I, mice-elf, vote Misfits.

[joisymikes]

My big claim to fame for all of my 19 years as a NJ resident is that I lived across the street from Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein. He and his brother live in Northern NJ near their dad. For a while Doyle was living with Georgeous George the lady wrestler(?).
The enigma of the Misfits global popularity vs local (NJ) has always seemed odd to me as well. Here in Nashville I constantly see Misfit stickers and kids in their t-shirts. Grimeys record store has a dozen 45's for purchase. I've always tended to think that their logo art is likely the draw.

[dave]

i think the easiest way to answer this question is with a little gedankenexperiment: let's imagine we plop all 3 contenders down on the seaside heights boardwalk at high noon on a fine august day.

who gets laid first?

i know who my money's on.

[Taso]

Steven Van Zandt and Max weinberg, E-street alums, also from Jersey. Just a note, Rollins is a DC guy, though at least one of his original bandmates is from Jersey, and one of their records was recorded here. Ice-T is from Jersey as well. Speaking of Wartime, anyone have that record? Be nice to get that into the fmu vault.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:New_Jersey_musicians

[Martin]

Don't mind me, Mike. I'm just a Wrens nut. I wasn't referencing the argument itself as the list of bands that followed.

I do own Wartime -- meaning that Fast Food for Thought thing? -- and would be quite willing to donate it to WFMU.

[listener_paul]

Ives isn't from NJ, he just played organ there for a year.

I'm pretty sure one of the B-52s (I guess Fred Schneider) is from NJ.

It does seem like NJ is a decent place for celebs to live a quiet life.