Go-Go's a-go-go

How is it even possible that I've loped along in this blog and NOT written of my crush on Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go's? Or, more particularly, my crush on Jane Wiedlin when she was part of the Go-Go's, back in the day?

Jane was YUMMY! And look at her workin' the 80s hair!

For sure! She was my favorite Go-Go by far. Any time one of their videos would come on, I'd watch, just hoping for glimpses of Jane. It's funny, in retrospect, how the pre-Net world worked -- you had to work for your pop culture! If you didn't see her on MTV or on Friday Night Videos, or in Rolling Stone, it was hard to even get glimpses of the lil' Pop Tart!

I remember hearing about the debauchery of the Go-Go's, thinking "Not Jane! She's just too angel-sweet!" Although she was definitely as much of a party animal as the rest of them, but just had that vibe about her that was like catnip for my early teen self!

Ah, Jane. I'm a sucker for cute, what can I say? And "cute" is definitely a word one associates with Jane Wiedlin. Even her name is kind of cute. I mean, Belinda Carlisle -- her name made her sound like a Heather, and even her sneer kind of conveyed that, like the alpha girl busy giving her frenemies eating disorders with the curl of her lip (although I liked Belinda, too, just not as much as I liked Jane).

I was so enraptured by Jane Wiedlin that it took me time to actually notice what a rotten dancer Belinda Carlisle was (which was, really, part of her sneery charm, honestly). I remember, as a teen, thinking "What is Belinda doing?" but crushing on her and Jane to the extent that I didn't have a proper context for what the hell she was doing. Since then, watching clips of the Go-Go's playing in their prime, I crack up, watching Belinda do her Belinda Dancing thing...

Belinda Dancing, Exhibit A

Belinda Dancing, Exhibit B

Belinda Dancing, Exhibit C

And please note how adorable Jane Wiedlin is in all of these clips. *crush blush*

How to dance like the Go-Go's

(really, this dancing is more sophisticated than Belinda's signature moves, but it's still amusing)