Part One of a 4 part series. Aimee Mann is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Shows past, present, and future to learn the true meaning of the Christmas show. Featuring Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, John Krasinski, Michael Cera, Tim Heidecker, John C. Reilly, Grant Lee Phillips, and Paul F. Tompkins.
Best Power Pop of 2008 and Lists
Last night I figured I will never get all my reviews done before the years end. So, I officially announce the Powerpopaholic Top Ten Poll of 2008.
Scroll down the the bottom right column of the blog to make your pick. A lot of readers asked for my personal top ten list, and I really don’t have one (I don’t want to piss off all those Bryan Scary fans). But I do have 32 top picks that made my polling list this year. If you forgot who they are, the links to each review is below. Remember: VOTE NOW TIL NEW YEARS
The Wellingtons “Heading North For The Winter”
Rob Bonfiglio “Bring On The Happy”
Class Three Overbite “Horses For Courses”
Julie Ocean “Long Gone And Nearly There”
The Well Wishers “Jigsaw Days”
Readymade Breakup “Alive on the Vine”
Starling Electric “Clouded Staircase”
The Pop Project “Stars of Stage and Screen”
Young Sportsmen “If You Want It”
The Spongetones “too Clever By Half”
The Brigadier “The Rise and Fall of Responsibility”
The Krayolas “La Conquistadora”
The Explorers Club “Freedom Wind”
Adrian Bourgeois “Adrian Bourgeois”
Pugwash “Eleven Modern Antiquities”
The General Store “Mountain Rescue”
Brent Cash “How Will I Know If I’m Awake”
Bryan Scary and The Shredding Tears “Flight of The Knife”
The Goldbergs “Under the Radar”
The Crayons “What’s Wrong With You?”
Smash Palace “Everybody Comes and Goes”
As for other lists — Steve is doing a great job at his blog listing a top 200 – and that is too much work for me. Here is the “famous” list of John M. Borack’s Top 200 Power Pop albums and the more recent reader picked Shake Some Action Revisited 200 Power Pop albums and lets not forget The Pop Show Top 200 albums
Tenniscourts "Dig the New Sounds of Tenniscourts"
Wes Hollywood, a well known Chicago rock veteran (The Wes Hollywood Show) always had a deep rooted sense of melodic rock. Here in his new band Tenniscourts, he has the energy built on the stylings of Elvis Costello and Cheap Trick. Starting off with “Forever True” it lives on those loud heavy guitar riffs. “All I want is a swimming pool…” sets the theme for a blistering set of riffs on “Swimming Pool” and a touch of Ray Davies styled lyrical appeal about a kid’s dream. This working man’s touch to is also revealed in “Love In The Night.” The mid-tempo “Falling” has some awesome guitar melody and is my favorite on this album, it has a lots of subtle details that makes it rise to greatness. Spencer Matern’s effortlessly melodic bass lines on “Crystal City” bring to mind Oasis (take that Noel Gallager). “Ordinary Life” bounces along with “la la la” choruses and could be a sequel to The Kinks “Well Respected Man” with Mr. Pleasant finally reaching millionaire status. The big riffs come back in “In The Scene” and no track here falls flat. Overall, an excellent album worth more than a few spins on the ole’ ipod.
My Space | CD Baby
The Wellingtons "Heading North For The Winter"
The sunshiny goodness that is those Australian wonders, The Wellingtons have returned with an album of pure pop magic. Opening with the winding of a child’s toy “Song for Kim” soars along with twisting riffs and hand claps. The hard driving melodies continue with “Come Undone” which has a Jellyfish meets Rooney vibe, and the utterly charming chorus that is easily one of the best songs this year. “I Get My Heart Broken Everyday” has swelling brass and toe-tapping swagger, and a nice synth coda to each chorus. “Natalie” is another flawless gem, that goes along to Roger Manning Jr. land, with a fresh faced melody supported by layered vocals and guitars. Every song shines here and it’s tough to come up with anymore gushing praise for this album, which hits peaks many times. Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, Heading North For The Winter is everything a great pop record should be – short, sweet and to the undeniably catchy pop point. So stop reading and get this one already — I’ve only a few more days left for regular reviews before the top ten poll starts.
My Space | CD Baby | Lojinx site
Listen to “A Song For Kim”
Randy Newman "In Defense of Our Country"
With a new president ready to take office, this video looks back on the Bush years. This song is like a sequel to “Political Science” shown below. Earlier this year I had to show the funniest Newman clip of all time from Family Guy (since removed) and Short People, so Newman’s latest “Harps and Angels” came out in August. The old man still got it.