beat deluxe

And just like that, 'Beauty and the Beat' is 30 years old. To celebrate, we are getting a 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition on May 17th, featuring the original album - remastered for the first time since its 1986 debut! we're told - on disc one and a 17-song live set recorded in Boston in 1981 on disc two. While I'm no great Go-Go's historian, I imagine there has to be some kind of previously unreleased material or period rarities lying around to boost that first disc a bit. But whatever - it looks like a lovely set and I'm more than happy to have it.

Even better - we're also getting a pink vinyl reissue. Yes, pink. Lovely.

If "We Got The Beat" doesn't make you smile, check your pulse because you're probably dead:



(Like I needed to include a video of that one. Side note: why does pretty much every cover version of that song totally suck?)

My pick for best track, though, is non-single "How Much More":



See? There's more stuff they could add. Oh well.

For whatever reason, nothing any of these five ladies did after this album - together or on their own - even came close. Except, of course, Jane Wiedlin's appearance in the greatest movie of all time: