The Stud - Biddu Orchestra

[1978]

I can never go past a disco track with extravagant sumptuous strings

Classic bit of funky disco obviously inspired by Isaac Hayes' Shaft.

Can you dig it?

James Ferraro - Rerex - Untitled (Last Song)

[2009]

And now for something completely different.

Aquatic/tropical ambient gone wrong. Hazy and hypnotic. The ethereal surreal vibe insidiously gets threateningly cataclysmic.  

From the lo-fi ambient/psych-drone end of hypnagogia comes this slice of atmospheric weirdness. I still can't quite figure out why Ferraro was so compelling in his peak era 2006-2010. 

Endlessly fascinating.

Mysterious.

[Baby] It's You · The Boys

[1979]

The power pop party that never stops! Bringing you more non hits and non memories from long lost nobodies from nowhere.

Todays region for our unknown legends of power-pop is Lincoln Nebraska. 

[Baby] It's You really doesn't have new wave-ification so it's not your typical power-pop sound for 1979. Just the classic crunchy variety of crunchy classic. Sweet 70s guitar pop with hooks galore. 

The best.

Sunset Strip · The Riptides

[1978]

The power pop party continues... this time with some mighty Aussie action from The Go-Betweens label The Able Label

 

Sometimes I think this is the greatest seven inch single to ever come out of Straya. 

An irresistible blazing romp, Sunset Strip is surf influenced new-wave power-pop performed with so much youthful enthusiasm and urgent melodiousness you can't help being delighted. 

Look out euphoric claps galore!

They were from Brisbane but singing about LA's Sunset Strip or a tv show or something yet still he's singing about a girl in there somewhere... it's catchy as hell with a gloriously sunny summer sound. 

Some bands just don't make the big time... who cares I suppose because we will always have this bit of magic where The Riptides captured the pure power-pop lightning in a bottle. 

Rewind now and forever baby.

The Know - I Like Girls

[1980]

The power-pop party carries on and we're just getting started.

Speaking of Blondie this is Gary Valentine who was once the bass player in Blondie. He wrote X Offender and I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear. After he was booted from the band he formed The Know with the drummer from 20/20 and the old bass player from The Motels. They were highly touted but only managed just the one seven inch single and this is it.

Our Gazza sounds like Tom Verlaine's horny younger brother here in this frazzled frenzy of punky power pop.

Power Pop is almost always about male lust and liking girls and guess what I Like Girls is about.

Liking all kinds of girls.

I think one of the line's in this song is:

 

I like girls and without exception they like me

 

Which is abso-fucking-lutely legendary.

Here's a further sample of some of the hard to catch poetry:

Some guys like to wear them skinny ties and look in the mirror

And other guys like to think otherwise they make believe 

And there's only one thing that I like and it's the best thing in the world

You know what I like? 

I like girls 

I like girls who go to movies 

I like girls who watch TV 

I like girls because they're groovy 

Don't you agree?

One of the great coulda-been bands of the era.

The Nerves - When You Find Out

[1976]

The power pop party rages on.

Catchy bit of garage-y Beatlemania... a brisk bit of power pop action, ultra melodic with dazzling close harmonies and a hell of a beat... undeniably pretty bloody good.  

Hangin On The Telephone - The Nerves [1976]

Sorry but it's just impossible to go past quite possibly the most addictive two minutes of guitar pop that fucking rocks ever put to wax. The anguish and desperation of teenage lust is captured here with immense palpability.

Frantic.

Nerves singer/Guitarist Jack Lee wrote the greatest power-pop song of all time, a coupla years later Blondie brilliantly covered it. However The Nerves devastatingly delicious version of this tale of romantic teen turmoil is at least 75% better.

Power pop perfection forever baby.

Real Life Saver · Gary Charlson

[1978]

The power-pop party continues with all the misses and non memories from all the lost regional nobodies you never heard of.

Real Life Saver's got all of the lovely hooks...   melodiousness for days...  everything here is in the right place... an array of tasty guitar goodness... a Pizza dee resistance! A platter du jour!

Despite being released in the new wave era, no new-wave-ification detected here, this is just classic old school power-pop. Coulda been made five years earlier, know what I mean. Who the hell is/was this guy? All I know is this primo slice of pure power-pop turned up on one of those Shake Some Action cd compilations I bought many moons ago, twenty five years ago. Turns out Gazza came from Kansas City and made one of the sweetest unknown seven inch singles in the game... that's it. 

*B-side also rock'n'roll heaven see below.

Not The Way It Seems - Gary Charlson [1978]

A jangly power-pop sensation.

Toppermost of the poppermost.

Glorious. 

Life-affirming.

Doesn't get any better.

Come Back And Stay - Jack Lee

[1981]

Speaking of The Nerves Jack Lee used to perform this one with his old band back in '77. 

This is from his debut 1981 solo record and of course you know it because a coupla years later Paul Young covered Come Back And Stay which became one of his biggest hits that was also included on his million selling album from 1983 No Parlez.

However the original Jack Lee version is quite different: Melodious driving jangly power pop with some fantastic soaring tripped out guitars. A great lonesome & longing in the midnight hour atmosphere captured here. Top stuff. Shoulda been all over the FM airwaves then and now and forever.

Play it again Sam.

Let Me Into Your Life · The Beat

[1979]

The power pop party continues...

More tunes that are toppermost of the power-poppermost.

Let the good times roll and roll. Rock'n'roll dreams are made of this.

Lead singer Paul Collins is new-wave power-pop royalty as he was in the most legendary cult group of the entire milieu The Nerves.  

How was Let Me Into Your Life not a numero uno smasho hito???

A gloriously upbeat and infectious burst of rockin' pop.  

Fun alert, mucho joyousness occurring: Contains hand claps!

The Orbits - Make The Rules

[1980]

New-wave power-pop party time people!

Pop-rock perfection from one and done Milwaukee group The Orbits. 

A brief little burst of exuberant hook laden power pop. 

Toppermost of the power poppermost.

Diamond Girl · Seals & Crofts

[1973]

Soft rock gold keeps on coming. All the gold. All the soft rock magic. All the time. CardrossManiac delivering the soft rock golden goodness. 

Diamond Girl is most golden romantic soft rock with jazz inflections which = pop perfection: Makes you feel good, makes you feel fine.

This gets on such a euphoric in the pocket groove with that smooth driving bass, alluring guitar hooks and those swinging congas plus all the catchy vocal melodies, breezy harmonious back ups, jaunty keys, jazzy flute, enticing tempo changes... 

infectious to the core, goosebumps galore... 

Under The Jamaican Moon · Nick DeCaro

{1974}

Speaking of long lost summers, nostalgia and romance here's the ultra smooth soft rock masterpiece Under The Jamaican Moon.

Impeccable with its light latin feel, exquisite vocal melodies, breezy harmonies, sublime smooth jazz guitar and immaculate baroque touches from the master arranger Nick DeCaro himself. 

Get out your summer drinks with umbrellas in, pop on your best Hawaiian shirt and luxuriate in this splendorous tropical atmosphere... .

...it's time to get free and easy... 

Its all about the sand between your toes, the tide rippling at your ankles, the sea breeze in your hair, seduction on your lips and everything going just right in the moment...

Underrated... 

Outstanding.

Fennesz - Shisheido

[2001]

Absolutely gorgeous tune.

Nobody was expecting this at the time. His previous two cds had been non melodic, cold, pretty noisy affairs, so Endless Summer was quite a surprise. 

A place where the sonic aesthetics of glitch, shoegaze noise and Boards Of Canada's brand of idyllic electronica meet was unusual and unexpected too. 

Shisheido is the most blissfully pastoral tune on the cd evoking all sorts of nostalgia for romance and long lost summers at the beach. 

Lovely.

Endless Summer [2001]

It's hard to go past the hazy and aquatic electroacoustic mesmerizing magic of Endless Summer. 

All glitchy and haunted with psychedelic/folk/baroque pop elements. 

Dream-a-delic! 

Gas - The fifteen minute track from Königsforst

C aka Untitled #5 aka Königsforst 5 aka the 15 minute track from Königsforst [1998]

Now for a walk in the Black Forest.

Because some people have not heard this, here it is.

Worth checking out even if you were never that enamoured with techno. Fans of classical, ambient, minimalism and rock's outer reaches or anyone should be able to get into this splendid track as it's transcendent... undeniably great.

Where the ancient meets modern, putting the ye olde into the futuristic 90s.

Bringing the bucolic to the urban.

The swirling changing sameness will have you hypnotised.

Silicon Chip - Basil Kirchin

[1979]

Speaking of strange electronic novelty pop. What about this futuristic slice of state of the art disco pop made by Avant-guard composer Basil Kirchin. A somewhat positive ode to the silicon chip, I think... maybe. I guess old Basil wasn't to know the silicon chip would be instrumental in psy-ops, mind control and ultimately community division. Progress...

*This wasn't released in 1979. It languished in some vault for over 35 years until Jonny Trunk got his oven mitts on it and issued it on seven inch in 2016. Silicon Chip really coulda been in the same gang as the game changing futuristic chartbusting number one singles of 1979 like Are 'Friends' Electric?, Pop Musik, Video Killed The Radio Star, Cars etc.

Lothar And The Hand People - Machines

[1968]

Futuristic psych that pre-empts all the arty post-punk, shambling Beefheartian new wave, 80s Tom Waits etc.

Back then I guess this woulda just been an electronic novelty...

...albeit a prescient anomaly of the psychedelic era. 

Pretty weird kinda normal, know what I mean.

THE PURPLE CANTEEN - Brains In My Feet

[1969]

A fuzz monster.

Fuzzed up drone-y garage psychedelia. 

Lysergical fun for all the family..

Insane haunting intensity.

Heavy man.

Hey Monstruo - Los Monstruos

[1966]

A Mexican garage classico. 

We all know because La Flama Blanca: Kenny Fucking Powers!

Psycho swagger, mesmerising bass, mucho twangery and a groovy beat baby.

Rewind.

The Feelies - Moscow Nights

[1980]

The supreme jittery janglers from New Jersey doin their trembling thin and dry repetitive thing with frenetic intricacy. Their maniacal insistent instrumental build-ups, from silence to ominously slow burning evolving into frantically explosive, are legendary. These guys were tight.

Those that know, know that every tune's a winner on their toppermost debut LP Crazy Rhythms. The outstanding Moscow Nights has all the tense jangles and suspenseful strums along with a sharp focused intense and twitchy percussive track. All done with The Feelies signature youthful nervous urgency. 

The best!

Blue Velvet ost

Blue Velvet/Blue Star Montage - Isabella Rossillini and Angel Badalamenti [1986]

Speaking of Blue Velvet which is still kinda my favourite all time movie like The Pixies' Doolittle is my all time favourite record because I experienced these at the age of 16 and 17 and they were my favourites then and apparently this is how brains work...

Perhaps everything Lynch did after this was better but this was the seed from whereth it all groweth. 

Here we have the deliciously aberrant nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens played to perfection by Isabella Rossillini having a a bit of a sing. Accompanied by Angelo Badalamenti's stylish arrangements (he even appeared in the film as the cocktail lounge pianist). 

...so dark...

Lumberton U.S.A. / Going Down to Lincoln Sound Effects Suite - Angelo Badalamenti [1986]

Disorientating jazzy nightmares with unnerving creepy dark ambient and sound effects.

Akron Meets The Blues - Angelo Badalamenti [1986]

Further disorientating jazzy dreams, noir blues and quirky lounge-core.

Honky Tonk Part 1 - Bill Doggett 

I mean the title says it all. This is a supreme honky tonk instrumental jam perfect for the cinematic vision of David Lynch. What a groove, mesmerising guitar and rock'n'roll sax-a-muh-phone baby! Originally a hit single back in 1956.