We either wanted to do this song or Carrie's song "Kissy Kissy" as the first single. We went with this one, mainly to help set what The Strawberry Explosion was supposed to sound like: oldies/Phil Spector-based upbeat pop (much much more than The Mnemonic Devices at their most Spectory). Carrie gave Rusty nothing but frowns when he was pitching ideas for "Kissy Kissy," and even early versions of "Then He Kissed Me" were too dismal. The Indie Rock Version featured on the single points to where it was going and what it would have probably sounded like if left to Rusty's own devices. The Chipmunk Version helped establish the mood a little bit. But it was mostly cranking up the tempo and adding drums and later a guitar (and of course strings and horns) that got this to where it needed to be. Rusty also provided a Typical Remix Version to be, you know, typical. The Karaoke Version and A Capella Version are here for even more fun.
The front cover is the first design Rusty came up with after Carrie suggested oranges. The inside cover is a variation of an alternate Rusty front cover design, and the back cover is a variation of an alternate Carrie front cover design (with our picture added in by Rusty). More considerations of covers (including the originals for the inside and back) are shown below for your trivia and visual pleasure.
Copyright (c) Mar 2004 by The Strawberry Explosion and Love and Letters Music