“Love Stinks“ is a song written by Peter Wolf and Seth Justman….which was the title track of the J. Geils Band’s 1980 album by the same name….as the song was released as a single….while peaking in the US at # 38….and spending three weeks in the Top 40…..plus, in Canada, the song reached # 15. Joan Jett covered the song for the soundtrack of the 1996 movie Mr. Wrong….and the song was also featured in the film Opie Gets Laid…..then It was covered by Adam Sandler in the movie The Wedding Singer….and let’s not forget it was also covered by Himalayaz with Ms. Toi for the movie Love Stinks.
The lyrics describe a love triangle in which two participants experience unrequited love,before passing into a description of love gone sour in general….as the lyrics may have been inspired by J. Geils Band lead singer Peter Wolf’s marriage to actress Faye Dunaway, which ended in a 1979 divorce. Author Maury Dean described the opening of the song as “ponderous Power Metal”….while describing the bands playing in the refrain as generating “wild waves of flame” with “fire-breathing” guitars….and Wolf’s vocals in the “yeah yeah” portion of the chorus as snarling with “heavy metal glee.”
In this 1982 video seen herewith…..the J Geils Band performs “Love Stinks” with their own unique video interpretation storyline to go along with the music….as it was one of the featured videos on the USA Network program Night Flight during their “Boston Rocks” special….cuz the J Geils Band was home grown in Boston.
