One Track Mind – The Nails

I can remember working for Mark Parenteau at WBCN in 1984 when The Nails came on the scene.   If there was ever a novelty song “88 Lines About 44 Women” was it.   It had everything; imagery, sex, lust, individuality, a techno back beat, a speak sing narration and literally 44  naughty stories.   It reminds me of The B-52′s song “52 Girls” from their debut album.  The songs sound nothing alike, but somebody somewhere was counting, which, all political correctness aside, makes it kind of funny to me.  The B-52′s song is nearly nonsensical, but they were so much fun nobody cared.   So what if they only actually named something like 24 girls?  The Nails had a dark feel to them even as they relayed their story of conquests.  I have to admit to not really listening their records in full for several years, but they came and went inside of three years as far as major label success is concerned.   Their next “hit” (they only really had two if you can even count the second one) was called ”Things You Left Behind.”   This number also had the feel of telling stories out of school.   I have to give them credit though; we listened to every single line of their stories…and we wanted to be in on the details whether we knew these women or not.

The Nails actually formed in the 70′s in Boulder, Colorado even though they became known as a New York City band in the 80′s.   According to Wikipedia they were signed to RCA by Bruce Harris, who was famous for bringing The Clash to America.   They hung around on RCA long enough to put out two records with the label; 1984′s Mood Swing, which produced “88 Lines” and 1986′s Dangerous Dreams, which produced “Things You Left Behind.”  WBCN played them both extensively until they were dropped by their label.   They only had a couple of songs the masses were ever exposed to, but sometimes you can take it on faith that the rest of their material wasn’t particularly compelling when you don’t hear another note.   In those days they wanted to extend the life of any album they played.  They actually looked for secondary tracks to play.  I don’t want to speak out of turn or offend any Nails fans that still exist, but my guess (and I’m admitting to guessing) is that they didn’t really have any.  The songs they did get on the air deserve Hall of Fame One or Two Hit Wonder status.   I still like to throw folks for a loop by playing “Things You Left Behind” at my place.   I’d be surprised if either record was still in print, but it appears still Amazon has a few copies floating around in their extended inventory. 

Beware of an inferior early mix of “88 Lines” that appears on the fantastic New Wave Hits of The 80′s collection released in 1994.  You need the later version as posted here.   I don’t know how “New Wave” The Nails were, but you have to put them somewhere I guess.  The B-52′s, The Cars and maybe somebody like Gary Numan (definitely coming to a post near  you so stick around the GP this winter) define New Wave for me.   The Nails should probably have their own category, but I’m virtually high fiving them for having these two numbers for us to enjoy 20 plus years later.

The Nails – 88 Lines About 44 Women.mp3

The Nails – Things You Left Behind.mp3

The Nails – Things You Left Behind.mp3 YSI

Buy or download Mood Swing from Amazon here.