I Want You to Want Me

"Can you honestly tell me you forgot? Forgot the magnetism of Robin Zander, or the charisma of Rick Nielsen?"

Mike Damone, Fast Times at Ridgemont High

I started thinking about Cheap Trick yesterday for two reasons. First, I happened to be watching the end of the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, and at the very end of the movie the band Letters To Cleo sings "I Want You to Want Me." And second, the other day we heard the live version of the song from the classic Live At Budokan album, and my husband wondered aloud how come you never hear the original album version of the song anymore. So I decided I had to share this story.

A few weeks ago, I saw Cheap Trick live, opening for Poison and Def Leppard. It was the second time I've had the opportunity to see them, and they were outstanding. It pains me that Cheap Trick never achieved the fame or status of other great American rock and roll bands like Aerosmith, because they are truly a phenomenal band. Aside from "I Want You to Want Me" they have a catalog of great tunes behind them, and they are solid and tight. It seemed a shame that they were the opening act for this tour.

They rocked through their too short set, which also included some Beatles tunes. Afterwards, my best friend and I went to the ladies room, where I overheard the following: "you know, that band was really good, but I thought that was a Duran Duran song."

Yes. You read that right.

To say I was floored was an understatement. I couldn't wait to leave the bathroom to tell my friend what I'd heard. The look on her face must have matched mine.

Now, I am a huge Duran Duran fan. Huge. But on his best day, Simon Le Bon couldn't come close to Robin Zander! Comparing the two bands is like comparing apples to french fries as far as I'm concerned. They don't look or sound anywhere close to one another.

The girl who said it was younger than me, but come on! I was really upset that there are people out there who are so completely clueless about music. But maybe that's why Cheap Trick have never become as big as they should have - people are buying Duran records instead.