When The Go-Gos surfaced in the early ‘80s, all-female rock bands were rare as hen’s teeth. Bassist Kathy Valentine recalls the era in her memoir, “a rock’n’roll coming of age story.” All I Ever Wanted gets down to business: the “sorority” that prevailed among women in rock at the time, the cocaine, the thrill of headlining The Whisky, the feel of learning songs in real time. “Two musicians can play the exact same notes, but they’re going to do it differently,” she writes. Like many in Valentine’s generation, rock music provided meaning and possibility, an exciting dimension with more vivid colors and sensations than 9-5 life. With The Go-Gos, popularity was often accompanied by condescension from the men and the media. She’s still annoyed by the Rolling Stone cover headline: “Go-Gos Put Out.”
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