It was 10 whole days ago—Election Day, to be specific—that everyone’s favorite skeleton/songwriter Phoebe Bridgers promised to cover Goo Goo Doll’s iconic “Iris” if the people voted out Trump. And, ever since the map daddy called it for Joe Biden, the world’s been waiting with bated breath.
That includes the Goo Goo Dolls.
Today, it has arrived. It’s so sad. It rules.
Bridgers collaborated with singer Maggie Rogers for the cover, which you can download over on Bandcamp. Name your price and whatever you pony up will go to Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight voting organization. You can also stream it above, imagining all the while Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan’s City Of Angels, which hasn’t aged quite as well as its theme song.
If the tears in your eyes aren’t stinging too hard, we’ve included the original song’s video below. Steampunk Johnny Rzeznik just loves his telescopes.
Bridgers released the excellent Punisher back in June and next Friday will share some fresh spins on those tracks with a new EP, Copycat Killer. The Goo Goo Dolls, meanwhile, made a Christmas album. Hark! Lend your ears to these tiny joys. They are so rare these days.
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30 Comments
I took my girlfriend to see the Goo Goo Dolls when I was in high school. It was a mid-sized theater at a college & a bunch of frat guys yelled at us for making out between sets (kind of obnoxious of us in hindsight, but screw those douchebags anyway). They were okay live. And that’s my Goo Goo Dolls story.
The only reason for hassling someone for making out is if they’re failing to notice a green light or are clogging a narrow pedestrian-traffic area, sounds like you were fine.
City of Angels may not tug the heartstrings as effortlessly as it aims to, but the end results will still leave more than a few viewers in tears.
“Iris” is our song. Didn’t gain that status until after we were married, though. (The recessional at our wedding was “Birdhouse in Your Soul”.)Bridgers’s cover is pretty, but it’s not going to replace the emotional niche that the original has for me.
I really cannot stand the original version (nor can I stand to this day after two decades the Goo Goo lead singer’s hair), but this is a nice version. Just goes to show a song doesn’t have to be inherently good or bad. Bridgers’s voice seems to always sound great as part of a harmony. That instrumental break sounded really good, too.
Yeah I was hoping she’d do the chunky highlight product filled spiky 90’s rocker mullet to go along with the cover.
all of this.
The fact that it was the Goo Goo Dolls always kind of wrecked my enjoyment of this song, even though I knew in my heart it was a good song.Speaking of songs not being inherently good or bad, this… might be true?
You’re suggesting there’s a possibility where AC Newman has or could ever been wrong about anything. The man is an international treasure.
oh, i agree with him. Whenever someone talks about “separating the artist the art,” the rarely just mean it in a way where you can value a great song from a shitty/just kinda lame band.
on the actual damn movie they have this lovely stripped down version. apparently that’s what Rzenik (not gonna bother looking up the spelling) delivered, and the movie and/or record producers were like NO, NO, BIGGER!!! BIGGER!!!
I enjoy the song and the Goos, but I love the stripped down version.
Covering Iris seems more like a threat than a promise.
Aww I liked that band a bit cheesy, but -Oh…. yeah that was at best niche.
Johnny: “Ok so I’ve got new song about an angel giving up immortality to love a human. What’s the plan for the music video”Director: “So you’re sitting down in an office wheelie chair…and you just sorta scoot around between various old-timey looking astronomy tools. Also it’s broad daylight. And then sometimes the whole band is playing in a storm drain.”Johnny: “Nice”
“Iris” fucking rules. I’ll fight anyone.
Represent. I’ld erase every Weezer performance from the face of the earth to keep it.
Let’s go!
Just another good pop-punk band that wimped out for radio. (Looking at you, Soul Asylum.)
Winona Ryder ruined every good band.
The Goo Goo Dolls had that accidental hit with “Name”, then suddenly there were bunches of alt-rock ballads from them and other artists that were stuffed with similar “add9″ and suspended chords. I’m looking at you, Matchbox 20.
the 9 adds that syrupy quality that both (a) makes for good ballad chords and (b) are really easy to do on guitar when you’re doing a bunch of G, Am, C, Em things. You can just throw a capo wherever and those easy chords are just easy alt-rock ballad-makers.
Am(add9) is the best chord that has ever existed.
I also saw the Goo Goo Dolls an age ago, though mainly as an excuse to check out the venue. The lead singer lost his hat, or maybe threw it into the crowd, and he wanted it back. So he asked if it would be returned and nobody said anything. So they decided to keep playing songs until the hat was returned as a kind of ransom. They played a song, asked for the hat, played a song asked for the hat. This is where my memory gets fuzzy, it might have been the third song when this girl (who looked like she owned like ten knitted berets) revealed that she had the hat but…maybe she didn’t want to give it back? You would think the thrilling climax would be what I remember: did she give it back after the lead singer pleaded with her or told her how he got the hat and what it meant to him (I think he did that between the extra encores)? Did somebody grab the hat from her and throw it up to the stage? I think that is what happened, but, fuck, I have no idea.This cover is pretty standard until the harmonies at the end which are really really nice.
I was also at that concert. After three songs, and the miscreant coming forward as having the hat (but refusing to return it), the lead singer climbed high into the lighting rig above the stage and waited for everyone to stop noticing him. Then he found the girl, performed a stealth, aerial execution, accidentally hitting the square button and chain executing several other members of the audience. He claimed his spoils, returned to the stage and completed the gig.Memories are funny things.
I’ve never not seen their “A Boy Named Goo” album in used CD racks. I presume it’s either “I bought this album for the single, but it turns out I didn’t like them enough for a full album of songs” or “I just broke up with my SO and this is one of the CDs left behind in my apartment”.Before anyone rushes to the band’s defense, I don’t really have a strong opinion about them either way. I just remember they played the shit out of their singles, but none of them really propelled me to pick up the album, even for one of those Columbia House 12-for-a-penny scams.
Pre “Name”, “Slide”, and “Iris” the Goo Goo Dolls were a pretty good punk rock outfit. If changing their sound got them some cash, more power to them. Also, and ex-girlfriend really liked “Iris”, which has both positive and negative connotations for me. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
They took the long way down.
Uh, where’d it go? It seems to have disappeared.
So, is the joke that they’re willing to cover something lame in the name of democracy, or is there some political resonance to this stalker anthem that I’m missing?
Here is Gone is the anthem of my life. I really like Iris too – although the link between stalker anthem and democracy evades me 🙂