Sex Sells, But Who's Buying?

Album: Divinyls, Tempermental, 1988

Acquired: I'm not sure where this cassette came from, but I do know that I got it shortly after seeing the video for this album's one and only U.S. single, a remake of the Syndicate of Sound classic "Little Girl" with the clever new title/lyric "Hey Little Boy."

Best Track: "Run-A-Way Train"

Lasting Memory: Tempermental evokes no strong memories from me, but it has always bugged me that the Divinyls got whatever riches and fame they acquired outside of their native Australia because of the novelty song "I Touch Myself," which was the single off the band's follow-up to the vastly superior Tempermental.

I have little to say about the music and lyrics from the Divinyls except that when the band was at it's best, it did a very good job of blending 60s garage band-style rocking with Dusty Springfieldesque pop-blues belting. Check out "Back to the Wall" and "Run-A-Way Train." And I guess I should add that for Australians, their English is excellent.

What I will spend a very little bit of my and your time complaining about is how crap floats to the top. I like the Divinyls, and I never begrudge anyone success, but how tasteless and dumb and easily made giggly are 99% of people that they make a droney and sexless admission of autoeroticism into a big hit but ignore everythig else the Divinyls recorded. The other stuff was worlds better in every way, and lead singer Christina Amphlett looked way hot in every video except the one for "I Touch Myself." What gives?

Theories welcome. Before opening your bluebooks, please know that "People are fucktards" is a tautology and will not earn you any points on this exam.

Up Next: The Doors, The Doors, 1967