YMMV / Goo Goo Dolls

aka: The Goo Goo Dolls

• Broken Base: Robby's vocals, mainly post-Superstar Car Wash. Either he brings a nice rough edge and perfect contrast to John's smooth voice or he sounds awful and should just leave all the singing to John. Some are fine with his voice on rock songs but don't think he fits any pop/electronic songs by the Goos, barring several exceptions like the fan-favorite "Bringing on the Light".
• Canon Discontinuity: The band started as a Hardcore Punk band, evolving into a Pop Punk sound that produced both their major label debut Superstar Car Wash and their commercial breakthrough album A Boy Named Goo. The follow-up, Dizzy Up the Girl, introduced a ballad-oriented folk-pop sound that brought them even greater commercial success. They no longer perform/discuss the old material for obvious reasons. Their 1987 debut First Release has been out of print since... 1987, and when asked what the chances of them ever playing the pre-Car Wash material again were, they said "take the highest number you can think of and multiply it by three".
  • The band did relent slightly and included "There You Are", from 1989 release Hold Me Up in the live set for their Dizzy Up the Girl Anniversary Tour as a deep cut.
• Covered Up:
  • Younger fans of the band or casual listeners to pop radio might not realize that "Give a Little Bit" was originally by Supertramp.
  • Their less-known cover, "Slave Girl", was originally by the Lime Spiders.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Fans of their Pop Punk era dropped the band after Dizzy Up The Girl due to the band shifting to a more pop-direction.
• Refrain from Assuming:
  • "Iris" is not called "I Just Want You to Know Who I Am" or "Who I Am".
  • "Better Days" is not called "The World Begins Again" either.
  • "Over and Over" is not called "Turn It Up", which you might think it is if you've been to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and seen their ice skating show of the same name, which concluded with that very song during its run.
• Signature Song: If you don't recognize "Iris", you were probably hiding under a rock in the late 90s. "Name" (their first hit) and "Slide" apply to a lesser extent.
• Tear Jerker:
  • "Come to Me" and "Before It's Too Late" in a more heartwarming context.
  • "Already There". A song about childhood and learning everything is changing when getting older.

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