I Was A TV Baby: Blossom

BLOSSOM (NBC) 1991 - 1995

It is majorly weird to see Mayim Bialik play lesbian Jodi Funkhouser on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," especially since "Blossom" entered the round robin of older TV series transitioning to DVD in January 2009 with the release of the show's first and second seasons. I can't say I wasn't happy for Blossom Russo (and her dumb-yet-hot brother Joey) to come back into my life.

Many may barely remember this slice of TV goodness; 90's-raised men probably only have a passing knowledge of this show, and may only know that it was a corny show their little sister liked. For me, this show was my gift for graduating from Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains It All." A show about an independent-minded, intelligent, 90's-rock-and-big-hat-loving-motherless chick in a house full of dudes (her drug-addicted older brother was my fave!) was right up my alley.
The reason that watching Mayim play a mostly-mute, sorta frumpy lesbian makes me feel funny is that she used to be a 90's symbol par excellence of girl cool back then. Her off-screen persona was almost better than the sometimes nauseatingly optimistic Blossom: she was the Queen of the Sassy magazine pictorial (Sassy being the weird girls' bible, of course) ; she had enviously long and beautiful hair and funky clothing; she told Arsenio Hall once as a guest on his talk show that Elvis Costello was one of her favorite musicians. In my 13 year-old brain, she ruled.

Blossom Russo was an irresistible character, though. From the incredibly cute dancing she does in the opening with her TV bros and father to the willingness to look completely crazy while discussing her fanaticism of Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder to deciding whether to have sex with her kinda bland, kinda hot boyfriend Vinnie, she was EveryTeenager, but better, because she had motormouth cutie Six (Jenna Von Oy) as her best friend; a girl any girl could only hope to have rollin' with her.








"The name's Six, bitch!" (NSFW!!)







Watching the first two seasons again after all this time passed, I was surprised to see the wit and charm of the writing hold up nicely, and Mayim was every bit a star we believed her to be back then. There are an awful lot of "very special" moments, but it is refreshing to watch a show about a teenage girl that doesn't involve her trying to act like an adult or practicing for a future career in porn (I'm talking to you, Sasha Grey) . And did I mention that Blossom was a vlogger? Her video diary was just a hop, skip and a jump away from being broadcast over the then-nascent Internets. Progressive girl, that Blossom.


Eventually Joey Lawrence's rising fame and idiocy kind of took over the show, and it got cancelled, but "Blossom" will always live on in my heart as a show I could really relate to as a teenage girl.

I'm bummed that I could only get you guys a video of the intro to the show, but in a way, it's all you need to put a smile on your face:

See You At The Show: Gin Blossoms at The House of Blues, West Hollywood, CA - February 19, 2009

GIN BLOSSOMS - HOUSE OF BLUES, HOLLYWOOD, CA - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009

It is a testament to the enduring appeal of the Gin Blossoms' brand of perfect pop music that I dragged my road-worn bum out to the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip last night to catch what was an immensely satisfying show. Believe me, after having spent three action-packed days in Vegas and driving the majority of the trip home to L.A., I was ready to pack it in, but I knew I would regret missing one of my very favorite bands from the 90's.


It should be no surprise to those that remember the Gin Blossoms soaring popularity on radio, television and film in the 90's that the band's set relied heavily on their 1992 sophomore album "New Miserable Experience" that brought them to mainstream attention with their Top 40 hit single, "Hey Jealousy."

"Hey Jealousy" was a highlight, along with "Found Out About You," and "Allison Road," which singer Robin Wilson endearingly encouraged the crowd to turn into rapturous singalongs. In fact, Robin was an interesting character to me, seeming to be a 180-degree difference from his sweetly vulnerable long-haired 90's presence to a vaguely cynical, wryly sarcastic fellow dressed in black Mad Max leather jacket and fingerless gloves. After mentioning that the band is signed to a new label (429 Records with the Savoy Jazz Group) and will release a new record this year, they played a lovely new song which I imagine will be named "Miss Disarray" (don't quote me), he joked, "Yeah, that one's going to be big in Japan. Maybe even Indonesia." This predicament is the whole reason that I do Damn The Man...to remind American 90's kids and their offspring that these bands are still out there making wonderful music that deserves to be heard.

The above description of frontman Robin Wilson, btw, is a good thing; Robin has an appealingly sympathetic stage presence that makes you feel as if he is directly communicating to you at all times. He gave high fives to everyone in the front row at the end of the show, which was almost too cute.

The Gin Blossoms also tore through one of Damn The Man's theme songs, "'Til I Hear It From You," off the 1995 Empire Records soundtrack, "Follow You Down" from their 1996 album, "Congratulations...I'm Sorry," (in which Wilson accidentally took out a stage light with his harmonica as he tossed it away behind him) and "Super Girl" from their 2006 album, "Major Lodge Victory."

The band ended with a cover of a song by classic 70's and 80's L.A. pop/rock band, The Plimsouls.

Overall, a good show where the band was in fine form (especially guitarists Jesse Valenzuela and Scott Johnson) and scores of couples in the audience swayed with pleasure to their romantic balladry.

Please enjoy the demo versions of "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You" from their 1989 record, "Dusted." These are great because they're much more punk rock than the popular versions:

Upcoming Show: Gin Blossoms at House of Blues, West Hollywood, CA - 2/19/09

Gin Blossoms, a somewhat-guilty-but-not-really pleasure for me in the 90's, is playing the House of Blues in West Hollywood, CA on February 19. You should also know that they have a new record available called "Major Lodge Victory," off of which the single "Let's Play Too" is featured in the Owen Wilson-starring comedy "Drillbit Taylor."



1992's "New Miserable Experience" was the public's introduction to this Arizona band, and although they had a reputation of being just a little cheesy and bland, this was one of the first records that I consciously thought was truly sad. Though the music was brightly lit, with infectious hooks, the overall tone of the album was rather melancholy, and kind of ushered me into a lifelong love of sad-core music. My belief in the band's essential sadness was intensified by the knowledge that Doug Hopkins, the Gin Blossom's original primary songwriter, committed suicide in 1993.

This band probably wriggled its way into my purview because they played the kind of jangly pop-rock that I still love to this day. They were like R.E.M. Jr., or just a placeholder until you discovered Buffalo Tom, The Tragically Hip, Polaris/Miracle Legion, and Camper Van Beethoven (not to mention Camper's 90's incarnation, Cracker).

Here are some videos of my fave tracks off New Miserable Experience. They're mostly live performances since Universal Music Group has disabled embedding of their clips on YouTube. Beware: the crowds sing every word and are very loud. Enjoy:



Gin Blossoms - Found Out About You (Live, Quad Cities Summerfest)



Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy (Live 2007, Mt. Clements, MI)



Gin Blossoms - Until I Fall Away (Live 2006, Springfield, OH)



Gin Blossoms - Allison Road

I have to point out how great frontman Robin Wilson's voice sounds in the live recordings. He looks different, but sounds almost exactly the same as his old recordings. Wonderful.