Popdose (Free subscription) | 09/29/2008
Pity the publicist who offers up an exaggerated sense of their artist’s sound. I’ve been offering up some semblance of music criticism since I was a senior in high school (Great Bridge HS, class of ‘87, thank you very much), and believe me when I tell you that there’s nothing worse than getting a press release [...]
Electric Roulette (Free subscription) | 09/15/2008
"I've got a paid vacation and I'm headin' for the sun..." Some cats got in touch and say "Hey! We think you might dig our LP!" and of course, I was left mutterin' into my chest and grumblin' "What the...
prefix (Free subscription) | 07/29/2008
To call Jim Boggia's Misadventures in Stereo a smashing power-pop success almost seems like damning it with faint praise; that is, if you think the term “power pop” only encompasses a stylistic breadth that starts with the Raspberries and ends with the Romantics. However, if your definition extends instead to the somewhat more singer-songwriterly realms of Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, Matthew Sweet, et...
Examiner (Free subscription) | 06/04/2008
It's been said of the East Bay's Bart Davenport that he's "a troubadour who wears his passionate love of West Coast pop on his sleeve." Songs by Emitt Rhodes, Harry Nilsson and Paul McCartney are his touchstones; his fourth solo album, "Palaces," on the San Francisco-based Antenna Farm label comes Sept. 9. His promoters say, "The album balances a sunny vibe with a streak of melancholy and subtly echoes...
Bows + Arrows (Free subscription) | 04/23/2008
I, like Kevin at So Much Silence , wanted to know which songs in my collection were "the perfect length" after reading this funny Morning News article. (Also like SMS, I had 42 songs, and many of them we had in common). The list: Arthur Advocate - Four Forty Eight The Beach Boys - Forever The Beatles - Michelle Blood on the Wall - Junkeee... Julieee... Bob Dylan - Song To Woody The Books - All Bad...
Some Velvet Blog (Free subscription) | 04/07/2008
The Explorers Club are from Charleston, South Carolina. To say that this harmony filled six piece worships at the alter of Brian Wilson is an understatement. While the The Beach Boys are the obvious touchstone, once you dig a bit deeper into the record you'll hear touches of Paul McCartney, the Byrds, Emitt Rhodes and ELO - all bands who make pretty good music to our ears! The band recently signed...
Absolute Powerpop (Free subscription) | 03/11/2008
It kind of goes without saying that we love most things Beatlesque here at Absolute Powerpop. So when Michael Gabriele's A Puppet's Palace came along, it was right up our alley. The debut CD from this Rhode Island artist is going to be music to the ears of fans of David Grahame, Emitt Rhodes, George Prentice and even reminds me in places of Neall Alcott's Rittenhouse Square from last year. The upbeat...
gorilla vs. bear (Free subscription) | 10/24/2007
ruth radelet of chromatics Chromatics are at it again with the myspace gift-giving, this time offering up one of the better songs from their recently BNM-honored LP, Night Drive . Perfect listening for the transition from late night to early morning, which is why I'm posting it at 1 AM: mp3: Chromatics I Want Your Love Go here to download some new demos and to purchase Night Drive . And, because I...
Doctor Mooney's 115th Dream (Free subscription) | 10/23/2007
Here at the asylum we've had just about enough of that not so good ole goobly gook 'n jibber jabber about all them buzz bands playin' CMJ. We're not going to say names (unless we get that truth serum we read about on the Internet). That's why we're going to stick to our stethoscopes and give the patients what they want. Well, at least what we think they want. It's time to saddle up, take a spin 'round...
Pimps of Gore (Free subscription) | 07/17/2007
From "Alight Trio" by Betsy Popp "Listen, Listen" by THE MERRY-GO-ROUND: Thanks to an anonymous response to my previous post on Emitt Rhodes, I now have a few extra Rhodes song in my digital collection, including a handful of songs from Rhodes pre-solo career band, The Merry-Go-Round. "Listen, Listen" is one of those new (to me) songs, and it's a rocking nugget of California pop via filtered through...
