Blog: PowerPop

Taking the day off. Regular posting resumes tomorrow.

From sometime in the early '90s, please enjoy my old chums The Rock Club with the effervescently McCartney-esque power pop gem "She's Alright." Sung by the song's composer, the equally effervescent Ronnie D'Addario . From the band's delightful CD Wet Money . And may I say, and for the record, that... "All of her girlfriends hate me They all call me a creep and a jerk..." ...is one of the greatest opening [...]

And speaking, as we were last week, of the fabulous Rascals Once Upon a Dream retrospective/concert show on Broadway -- for which Little Steven Van Zandt deserves numerous props in Heaven -- I found myself thinking of Men Without Women . The astounding album Van Zandt made, in 1982, featuring the godlike ex-Rascals drummer Dino Danelli on those pagan skins. And from it, please enjoy "Under the Gun." Or as I [...]

And speaking of The Rascals ' Once Upon a Dream (their reunion/retrospective show on Broadway) as we were last week, I found this wonderful 1969 live clip of one of the obscure -- but still delightful -- songs featured amongst the more obvious hits. The terrific Southern soul pastiche that is "Carry Me Back." I don't know what TV show that's from, but may I just say and for the record that whoever directed it actually knew what they were doing -- i.e., they always cut to genius [...]

Saw The Rascals Once Upon a Dream retrospective concert show on Broadway Thursday night; I'll let ace rock critic David Browne , writing in Rolling Stone earlier in the week, speak for me on this occasion. Are the Rascals the most underappreciated and influential band in rock? Arguably New York's first great band, they had an astonishingly varied repertoire – these were the same guys who gave us the beach-stroll beauty of "Groovin,'" the most raucous cover of "Good Lovin'," [...]

The Loud Family . "Take Me Down (Too Halloo)." Just wanted to second NYMary's farewell, and I have to add that the album above is one of the most magnificent pieces of music accomplished by anybody in the 20th Century. He was only 53 years old when he passed? Goddamnit, this whole death shit is really starting to piss me off.

I was stunned this morning to learn of the passing of Scott Miller , mastermind behind two of the finest pop-rock bands in my lifetime: Game Theory and the Loud Family. His 2010 book, Music:What Happened? was a terrific year-by-year rundown of the last fifty or so years of the genre. Miller was a young man, and according to the Loud Family website, had been planning to go back into the studio this year. At this time, they're not saying what happened, but in any case, we here at [...]

Know what I mean, girls? Regular, and astoundingly upbeat, posting resumes tomorrow.

As I'm fond of saying, YouTube really is the greatest research tool since the Library at Alexandria. Ladies and gents, from their 1990 album Love With the Proper Stranger , please enjoy the utterly fetching The Aquanettas ... and their could have been a huge hit "Beach Party." I never saw these gals perform or heard a note of their music (until this morning), but I was thinking about them for some reason (also this morning) because their [...]

Okay, so the set-up for the following is going to seem as if it has no connection whatsoever to the mission statement here at PowerPop, but be patient-- there's a kicker at the end in which all will be made clear. To wit: Those who know me best -- by which I mean a certain Shady Dame plus the occasional attentive long time reader -- are aware that for the last couple of years, I have been involved in an on-going project to re-acquire various beloved pop cultural artifacts of my youth (my youth, in this case, being [...]

And not just for the bonus tracks, as amazing as they are. Seriously -- go here immediately. And download at one of the links. Seriously -- right now. If you don't already have the music there on your iPod or in your collection (however you listen to things), your life has been spiritually poor for too long. Hey -- what the hell are you waiting for? Coming next week: Reviews of one of the best/worst movies ever to star a couple of charismatic rock stars [...]

Attentive readers with long memories may recall that I have from time to time chronicled the adventures of my old -- and I mean REALLY old -- garage band chums The Weasels . Actually, we were more of a basement band than a garage band, by which I mean that back in the day we had a little underground rehearsal/recording facility featuring a (for its era) state of the art Teac 4-track reel to reel machine, where we committed multiple offenses aginst the Muse of Music. I won't bore you with any of the [...]

Serious shpilkes today. Regular, and upbeat, posting resumes tomorrow. Featuring Dennis Wilson and James Taylor , together again, if you must know.

I posted this a couple of years ago in the context of something else, but having just listened to it for the first time in a while and being totally blown away, I suspect you won't begrudge me posting it again. From 1973, please enjoy Easybeats auteurs Harry Vanda and George Young -- doing business as the Marcus Hook Roll Band -- and perhaps the greatest rock record almost nobody has ever heard. The incomparable "Natural Man." [...]

Okay, fuck you, Justin Bieber -- THIS is how it's done. Matt Jaffe & The Distractions utterly addictive new single "Backs of Our Eyelids." Nicely under-produced by none other than former Talking Head keyboard guy Jerry Harrison , who discovered Jaffe at an open mic thingie somewhere. Of course, from my position several hundred decades away from the target demographic, this kid thinks he's way cuter than he actually is. But the song and the performance are still awfully impressive accomplishments for [...]

And not, strictly speaking, in the Proustian sense. From some time in the 70s, the incomparable (and sadly late) Madeleine Kahn channels Clarence "Frogman" Henry , and much else. I don't know why this strikes me as so ineffably funny, but it does.

I just KNEW I liked this guy. Rodney Crowell rehearses "Sail on Sailor" with the Beach Boys in 1996. Mike Love is nowhere in sight, incidentally. That shot of Brian at the end of the song really says it all, doesn't it. PS: You don't need to watch the second half of the clip, which is a low-fi audience tape of the official performance.

In the immortal words of Stevie Winwood , some days I feel so uninspired. Regular, and characteristically upbeat, posting resumes tomorrow.

Okay, I'm not sure how I feel about this on the whole conceptual "Rock 'n' Roll Heaven" level, but jeebus -- wouldn't you have paid money to see this if it was real? It's a commercial for BBC Radio, in case you were wondering.

Attentive readers with long memories may recall the story of my old flame Carol Bokuniewicz , who as a teenager was responsible for The Worst Album Cover of All Time ... ...before eventually achieving lasting fame as a co-founder of M & Co. , the hugely influential design firm whose wristwatch... ...is one of the most iconic images of the last several decades. In any case, Carol's obviously done lots [...]