IN: The Goo Goo Dolls (originally Sex Maggot) are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, vocalist and bassist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. Mike Malinin was the band's drummer from January 1995 until December 27, 2013 (but not made an official member until 1998). Although renowned for their commercially successful 1998 single "Iris", they have had several other notable and popular singles including "Name" and "Naked" from 1995's A Boy Named Goo, "Slide", "Black Balloon", "Dizzy", and "Broadway" from 1998's Dizzy Up the Girl, "Here Is Gone" from 2002's Gutterflower, "Better Days", "Give a Little Bit", and "Stay with You" from 2006's

The band's original lineup included John Rzeznik (vocals, guitar), Robby Takac (vocals, bass), and George Tutuska (drums, percussion). Takac and Tutuska had been long-time friends in school and met Rzeznik while he was playing in the band The Beaumonts with Takac's cousin, Paul Takac and close friend Michael Harvey who was the inspiration for the band. The trio picked their name from a True Detective ad for a toy called a Goo Goo Doll. "We were young and we were a garage band not trying to get a deal. We had a gig that night and needed a name. It's the best we came up with, and for some reason it stuck. If I had five more minutes, I definitely would have picked a better name", John stated. With Takac as their lead singer, the band released their first album, Goo Goo Dolls in 1987 on Mercenary Records, but was picked up in 1988 by Celluloid Records, a larger record company. They played around Buffalo's underground music circuit opening for punk bands such as SNFU, Dag Nasty, ALL, The Dead Milkmen, Gang Green, Doughboys, and DRI and playing with fellow Buffalo bands. The band released its second album Jed in 1989.  The band released its third album, Hold Me Up, in 1990 and featured Rzeznik as the lead vocalist on five tracks, including the single, "There You Are"--as well as their then concert favorite, "Two Days in February". After being embraced by local college radio and punk scenes (including playing such venues as CBGB), the Goo Goo Dolls' third release incorporated elements of heavy metal, pop rock, and punk rock. In 1991, the song "I'm Awake Now" was recorded for the soundtrack of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.  Superstar Car Wash, released in 1993, received significant media attention. The critical success and encouraging sales of their last album resulted in a larger budget from Metal Blade Records. The album was partially recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario. "We Are the Normal" (the single for which Rzeznik asked frontman Paul Westerberg of The Replacements to write the lyrics) received a major push toward play on college and independent radio, while its video was displayed on MTV's 120 Minutes program. "Fallin' Down" made it onto the 1993 soundtrack of Pauly Shore's hit film Son in Law.

What was their first recording?

OUT: their first album, Goo Goo Dolls in 1987


IN: James Edward O'Keefe III (born June 28, 1984) is an American conservative political activist. He produces secretly recorded undercover audio and video encounters with figures and workers in academic, governmental and social service organizations, purporting to show abusive or allegedly illegal behavior by employees and/or representatives of those organizations. He has been criticized for selectively editing videos to misrepresent the context of conversations and the subjects' responses, creating the false impression that people said or did things they did not. He gained national attention for his video recordings of workers at Association of Community Organizations for Reform

In September 2009, O'Keefe and his associate, Hannah Giles, published edited hidden camera recordings in which Giles posed as a prostitute and O'Keefe as her boyfriend, a law student, in an attempt to elicit damaging responses from employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), an advocacy organization for 40 years for persons of low and moderate income.  A Washington Post correspondent reported that O'Keefe "said he targeted ACORN for the same reasons that the political right does: its massive voter registration drives", and "Politicians are getting elected single-handedly due to this organization." ACORN mostly registered people from the Latino and African American communities.  The videos were recorded during the summer of 2009 and appeared to show low-level ACORN employees in six cities providing advice to Giles and O'Keefe on how to avoid detection by authorities of tax evasion, human smuggling and child prostitution. He framed the undercover recordings with a preface of him dressed in a "pimp" outfit, which he also wore in TV media interviews. This gave viewers, including the media, the impression that he had dressed that way when speaking to ACORN workers. However, he actually entered the ACORN offices in conservative street clothes (the sleeve of his dress shirt is visible on camera). Furthermore, the ACORN employees involved reported his activities to the police after he left. O'Keefe selectively edited and manipulated his recordings of ACORN employees, as well as distorted the chronologies. Several journalists and media outlets have expressed regret for not properly scrutinizing and vetting his work.  On April 10, 2012, the political gossip site Wonkette reported that Andrew Breitbart had signed a $120,000 contract for "life rights" by O'Keefe and Giles based on the ACORN videos. The contract was paid in monthly increments of $5,000. Giles ultimately received $32,000 before parting ways with Breitbart over what she described in legal depositions as "a conflict of visions". O'Keefe ultimately received $65,000.

What are the ACORN videos?

OUT:
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN),