The Go-Go's Playlist 9 Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Song 1) "Blades"

Jane Wiedlin, Belinda Carlisle and Margot Olavarria co-wrote the song "Blades" on The Go-Go's album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" in 1994.

The Go-Go's didn't professionally record "Blades" so the track on "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" is during a rehearsal in January 1980. "Blades" is also Margot's only lyrical credit during her two years and ten months with The Go-Go's.

According to Belinda's interview with Lyndsanity about The Go-Go's uplifting but dark songs, "We had songs like 'Vicious Circle' that was like, 'I go playing with blades,' about suicide. They were very, very melodic, very sort of uplifting, but we have these dark lyrics. My preference for the music is I love that contrast of dark lyrics with a beautiful melody, and lot of the Go-Go's songs are just that" (Parker, 2025).

Street Eaters also recorded "Blades" on the album "Our Lips Are Sealed: A Tribute to The Go Go's" by various artists on 30 Jul 2013.

Song 2) "Do It Over"

Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine co-wrote the theme song of the TV series "Do Over" in 2002.

The sitcom "Do Over" aired on The WB channel in the US and Channel 4 in the UK. Due to its low ratings, however, "Do Over" was cancelled after 11 of 15 episodes in the US but the Brits endured all 15.

According to a review of this sitcom on SFGATE, "But the bigger question for 'Do Over' is how to take familiarity of formula and not breed contempt from viewers by the third week. If this show doesn't start thinking fresh in a hurry, it may not make it beyond week 4. Actually, that's not true. The WB doesn't have a whole lot of product in the wings, so even if 'Do Over' fails to win ratings, it might be doing its copycat time-travel skit over and over ad nauseam" (Goodman, 2002).

The "copycat time-travel skit" refers to the TV series "That Was Then" on ABC, which was also cancelled after only two episodes in 2002.

Song 3) "Head over Heels"

Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine co-wrote the song "Head over Heels" on The Go-Go's album "Talk Show" in 1984.

The chart hit "Head over Heels" ranked on four music charts in two countries for 16 weeks from 17 Mar to 6 Jul 1984 peaking at number ten on US Cash Box Top 100: Canada and the United States (3).

Does "head over heels" mean to be deeply in love or besotted with someone? According to Kathy's interview with Songfacts about the lyrics, "This is one where I had a lot of phrases I'd written down, and they started connecting. Things like 'One hand is reaching out, and one's just hanging on' and 'Seems like my weaknesses just keep going strong' were really about self-reflecting and a dawning awareness that the band and certain areas of life were getting kind of out of control" (Wiser, 2020).

Out of control indeed for after frequent infighting, betrayals and bickering about money, Jane finally quit The Go-Go's six months later on 11 Oct 1984 and exactly seven months later on 11 May 1985, Belinda Carlisle announced to Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times The Go-Go's had officially disbanded.

Thirteen artists also recorded "Head over Heels" on a single, album or soundtrack, and five artists included "Head over Heels" on a concert playlist 87 times since The Go-Go's first performed this song on 2 Sep 1983 at South Park Meadows in Austin, Texas.

The Go-Go's "Head over Heels" is featured in the movies "13 Going on 30" (2004), "Fun Mom Dinner" (2017) and "The King of Staten Island" (2020).

Song 4) "Insincere"

Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey co-wrote the song "Insincere" on The Go-Go's album "God Bless The Go-Go's" in 2001.

According to a review of the album "God Bless The Go-Go's" on Space City Rock, "'God Bless' hearkens back to those heady days [of The Go-Go's second album 'Vacation']. Only 'Insincere' rises immediately and easily to the band's legacy. A mid-tempo pop song with a simple but effective guitar hook stolen from some unidentifiable somewhere (maybe just my subconscious), it's about a man who lies, sung by the woman who lets him get away with it but doesn't know why. When Belinda Carlisle, at the end, repeats 'Have a nice life,' it's both liberating and sad (not to mention hypocritical and ambiguous). The fact that The Go-Go's can toss out a song this all-time worthy for the second reunion in a row is enough to justify the whole endeavor" (Hirsh, 2002).

Song 5) "Living at the Canterbury"

Jane Wiedlin wrote the song "Living at the Canterbury" on The Go-Go's album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" in 1994.

According to Jane's chapter titled "The Canterbury Tales" in the book "Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk," "Finally, after an eternity, I moved out of the [San Fernando] Valley and into the Canterbury, a 1920s apartment building just one block from the Masque [punk rock club]. Punks quickly took over the entire Canterbury and it really was like a dormitory. Doors were left open and unlocked. Girls and boys would be running through the hallways at all hours of the night and day, borrowing guitars, food, booze. A typical night out involved walking 400 feet to a show at the Masque or some other seedy temporary club location" (Doe & DeSavia, 2016, p. 44).

According to Jane, Margot Olavarria, Belinda Carlisle and Charlotte Caffey's interview with Lobotomy magazine, Jane lived in apartment 205 in The Canterbury Apartment Hotel, Margot lived in 301 and Belinda in 414 (Lobotomy, 1979).

Song 6) "Our Lips Are Sealed" & "Here It Goes Again"

The Go-Go's mashed up their chart hit "Our Lips Are Sealed" with OK Go's hit "Here It Goes Again" three times during The Go-Go's Going, Going, Gone: The Farewell Tour in 2016.

Jane Wiedlin and Terry Hall co-wrote "Our Lips Are Sealed" on The Go-Go's debut album "Beauty and the Beat" in 1981, and Damian Kulash wrote "Here It Goes Again" on OK Go's second album "Oh No" in 2005.

The Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" ranked on 12 music charts in six countries peaking at number two on the Australian Kent Music Report: Australia (2), Canada (3), New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States (4).

OK Go's "Here It Goes Again" ranked on 11 music charts in seven countries peaking at number one on the Australian ARIA Hitseekers Chart: Australia (2), Canada, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Scotland, the United Kingdom and the United States (4).

The Go-Go's and OK Go physically mashed-up on stage to become the OK-Go-Go's for an epic medley of "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "Here it Goes Again" during a segment of "Mash Up Monday" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on (Mon) 13 Mar 2017.

Song 7) "Skidmarks on My Heart"

Belinda Carlisle and Charlotte Caffey co-wrote the song "Skidmarks on My Heart" on The Go-Go's album "Beauty and the Beat" in 1981.

According to Charlotte's interview with Goldmine Magazine, "'Skidmarks' is always in our live set. When we were starting, we all had day jobs. Belinda worked for Petersen Publishing Company, the home of the magazines 'Teen,' 'Tiger Beat' and others including 'Motor Trend.' She wrote the lyrics [to "Skidmarks on My Heart"] on a break at work, including the line, 'You want Motor Trend.' She took them home and it spoke to the band" (Kurtz, 2016).

The Hot Toddies also recorded "Skidmarks on My Heart" on the album "Our Lips Are Sealed: A Tribute to The Go Go's" by various artists on 30 Jul 2013, and The Heels on The Go-Go's tribute album "If You Gotta Go-Go, Go-Go Now" by various artists on 22 Apr 2022.

Song 8) "This Town"

Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey co-wrote the song "This Town" on The Go-Go's album "Beauty and the Beat" in 1981.

According to Jane's interview with Goldmine Magazine, "I wrote 'This Town' with Charlotte and I feel that's one of The Go-Go's best songs. To me, it classically represents The Go-Go's because it's poppy and danceable, but it's slightly melancholy, too. If you listen to the words, it's kind of dark, but at the same time, it makes you happy to listen to it. I always felt that was what The Go-Go's were always about, this mixture of bittersweet emotions" (Sharp, 2021).

Charlotte notes during an earlier interview with Goldmine Magazine, "With 'This Town,' Jane wrote those lyrics about Hollywood, where I have lived all my life. We loved her line, 'We're all dreamers...we're all whores'" (Kurtz, 2016).

Five artists also recorded "This Town" on a single, album or soundtrack, and three artists included "This Town" on a concert playlist ten times since The Go-Go's first performed this song on 2 Jan 1980 at Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

The Go-Go's "This Town" is featured in four TV shows: Season 5 Episode 2 of "Gilmore Girls" (2004), Season 2 Episode 1 of "The Hills" (2007), Season 1 Episode 9 of "Scream Queens" (2015) and Season 1 Episode 6 of "My Lady Jane" (2024).

Song 9) "We Got the Beat"

Charlotte Caffey wrote the song "We Got the Beat" on The Go-Go's album "Beauty and the Beat" in 1981.

The Go-Go's chart hit "We Got the Beat" ranked on 16 music charts in three countries for 38 weeks from 9 Aug to 12 Dec 1980 and from 30 Jan to 11 Jun 1982 peaking number two on Billboard Hot 100: Canada (2), France, United States (11) and the Internet (2).

Thirty-eight artists also recorded "We Got the Beat" on a single, album or soundtrack, and 47 artists included "We Got the Beat" on a concert playlist 232 times since The Go-Go's first performed this song on 2 Jan 1980 at Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

The Go-Go's "We Got the Beat" is featured in four movies and two video games: "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982), "Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The '80s" (2007), "Rock Band 2" (2008), "A Sort of Homecoming" (2015), "Poms" (2019) and "Mother of the Bride" (2024).

Song10) "You Can't Walk in Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)"

Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey co-wrote the song "You Can't Walk in Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)" on The Go-Go's album "Beauty and the Beat" in 1981.

According to her autobiography "Lips Unsealed: A Memoir," Belinda Carlisle summarizes some of The Go-Go's inspirations for their songs, "The entire album ["Beauty and the Beat"] was like a time capsule: 'Tonight' captured the vibe of being on Hollywood Boulevard; 'Lust to Love,' which Jane wrote, was immediately one of my favorite Go-Go's songs; 'Automatic' was about Jane's boyfriend Dean [Thomas], who was in the Rockats; 'You Can't Walk in Your Sleep,' a Charlotte and Jane collaboration, was about Jane's problem with insomnia and occasional tendency to sleepwalk" (Carlisle, 2010, p. 76).

During a show at the Peppermint Lounge on 16 May 1981, Belinda dedicated "You Can't Walk in Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)," "Since New York City is a city where they never go to bed it seems, this one's for you" ("You Can't Walk In Your Sleep (Live @ Peppermint Lounge 1981) - The Go-Go's," YouTube video, posted by GoGosUnsealed, October 22, 2010).