Dramarama

Where would we be without VH1? How could we possibly live without being hipped to the celebrity trend of “butt facials,” watching vegan reality-show contestants spar with Ted “Kill It and Grill It” Nugent in the backwoods of Michigan, or getting a snarky rehash of ’90s pop culture (sorry, but the ’90s is not the new ’80s)? A better question is, where would Dramarama be without VH1? Possibly still in the throes of its acrimonious 1994 split — still wondering why its sole hit “Anything, Anything (I’ll Give You)” never translated into a bigger career — if not for being encouraged to re-form for an episode of the network’s Bands Reunited series earlier this year. So far, the Los Angeles-via-New Jersey power-pop group’s fresh lease on rockin’ life has spawned a cover of the Dead Kennedys’ “California Uber Alles” (with new Schwarzenegger-centric lyrics) and a comeback tour to reintroduce more than a half-dozen albums’ worth of great, criminally overlooked songs to the masses. Thank you, VH1 — you done good for a change.