Being from Pennsylvania, I discovered Dirty Looks in a roundabout way. I had gone to college at the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and, admittedly, I wasn't really ready to be taking my studies seriously. Hormones were driving me crazy and I spent more time studying female anatomy than my major of mechanical engineering. One of the places I frequented on the weekends was The Back Room, a place that would feature showcases of about 4 bands each night of the week, with the most popular local bands appearing on Fridays and Saturdays. I would usually arrive pretty early, having to rely on public transportation, so I'd spend a lot of time sitting drinking soda and admiring the scenery of big haired, made-up, metal chicks while waiting for the bands to go on stage. It was during this time that the DJ at the club would ALWAYS play the first four songs on the COOL FROM THE WIRE album. It was instantly catchy from the very first note of the title track, which opens the album, although I had no idea what was being said in the chorus (I thought it was something like "you, you from the wild"). The second track, IT'S NOT THE WAY YOU ROCK, also caught my interest. Here was a band that was playing straight-ahead hard rock in an era of increasingly over-produced, cheesed-up, synth-heavy poseur metal that favored image over substance. This song ended up on the soundtrack of 1988's Johnny Be Good, although it is hardly even noticeable in the film.