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Get the printed edition of “Songs Stuck In My Head” for half off! That’s $15.00; you will not find the printed edition in any bookstore (including Amazon), so this is the only way to get one. This offer expires on 1/14/2024.
What better way to spend a slow holiday week than with a power pop documentary?
Power pop documentaries are all over YouTube, so here is a short list of my favorites. The last two are more TV/internet specials and not full-on documentaries, but worth a watch if you don’t know these band’s histories. Of course, we are still waiting for a real power pop documentary. In the meantime, enjoy these links below:
Disq is a fresh Wisconsin band started by middle school classmates Raina Bock and Isaac DeBroux-Slone. Now at 19 they recently expanded the band to a five-piece band and from the album’s beginning, it makes a great impression. “Daily Routine” is a very relatable look at modern drudgery as Issac sings “This is my daily routine. Spend my hours on a computer screen…” I love the video too, which borrows the appearance of old The Monkees TV show. The duo has a great knack for hooks and layered melodies reminiscent of Pavement, Weezer and Teenage Fanclub.
The earnest “D19” is a love song about a microphone (and not a metaphor for anything else). “Loneliness” is a great tune that builds to its defiant strummed chorus mourning a lost relationship, and “Gentle” is very much in the Weezer style, with a crunchy layer of fuzz guitar between verses. The tone shifts from the acoustic “Trash,” then it goes into the riff-heavy garage tongue-in-cheek nihilism of “I Wanna Die.” Each song is carefully constructed to fuse all of the band’s influences to a single distinct sound, so no filler here. Yeah, power pop is not dead to this new generation of kids. Highly recommended.
Assorted Artists “Garden of Earthly Delights – An XTC Celebration”
This is not the first artist tribute to XTC, that honor goes to 1995’s Testimonial Dinner. But Futureman Records new tribute is much larger (49 tracks!) and a more comprehensive selection from the entire career of this well-loved band. I really like it when an artist puts their own spin on Partridge and Moulding’s songs; a few good examples include The Shellye Valauskas Experience “Wonderland,” Chris Price’s acoustic “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead,” and Michael Simmons “Wrapped in Grey.”
With so many tracks here it can be hit or miss at times, but these talented artists with strong pop sensibilities can’t do much better than to cover some of XTC’s songs. Overall an impressive collection and downloads benefit The Wild Honey Foundation.
Martin Newell is a poet, author, musician, gardener and general troublemaker. As the main singer/songwriter from the Cleaners From Venus, he self-released his albums on cassette and did his best to avoid the music industry while building a fan base, becoming an inspiration for many DIY musicians. Martin talks about some advice he got starting out, meeting and working with Andy Partridge (XTC) and his memories of the 1960′s.
I have such a good time chatting with Martin, I pull a Zelig and my own voice starts to unconsciously imitate his accent! Martin also has been adding funny promotional videos for his album “Return To Bohemia” called Mule TV. It’s obviously a Monty Python inspired video series with looney interviews with a tune thrown in. Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6
Somewhere between They Might Be Giants, Allan Sherman and XTC lies the world of Mitch Friedman. After he’s shown us his Game Show Teeth a few years ago, he is now sent to Sing Sing (a prison for the musically weird I guess).
Opening with a muppets like chorus of prisoners singing “Me Not Right,” it leads to the bouncy and quirky “Previously Unreleased.” Mitch’s vocal shifts make him an ever changing chameleon – like a Robin Williams routine, you never know which “voice” will pop up in the chorus. While some will find it endearing, others may hear it as over used novelty. In any case the music is interesting enough, “Ice Me Nice” is an over-the-top reaction to global warming and “Hazy Recollection” is a nicely done story of criminal arrogance. A faux Bond theme with Jude Cown “The Spy” is full of so many cliches I was waiting for a punchline (that never arrived).
Eventually the goofiness recedes and straight catchy pop shows up with “Spring (Is Waiting For A Chance To) Spring” and impressive “The Last Nice Day” with its shifting styles from acoustic to heavy rock. Most entertaining is “Tribute Band” an enjoyable tune about a musician “in a tribute band to myself.” Add to this special musical guest stars Dave Gregory (XTC), R. Stevie Moore, Adam Elk (The Mommyheads), Andrea Perry, Lane Steinberg (The Wind), Jude Cowan, Indigo Street (Shy Hunters), and Daryl Bean. Overall a very entertaining listen.
Mike Keneally and Andy Partridge are both geniuses, and this album is pure magic. Keneally is a Frank Zappa devotee and virtuoso guitarist. And for XTC fans this album is a delicate treat with Andy in top form on the single “I’m Raining Here Inside.” Keneally is known more as an experimental artist, with Andy being a primary influence – so the duo fits together better than peanut butter and jelly.
“Wings Beat Fantastic” is the most pastoral tune I’ve heard since XTC’s Mummer and the best blend of Keneally’s guitar mastery andAndy’s angular composition is “You Kill Me.” Every song may not have a hook, but the gorgeous passages and chord shifts are impossible to ignore. More gems include the ballad “Your House” and the double tracked vocals of “Miracle Woman and Man.” This is also a very accessible album, and even Keneally’s experimental pop tendencies (“Bobeau”) fall within the Partridge milieu. Clearly one of the best collaborations this year.
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