Pop That Goes Crunch!

Seven Decades Of Melodic Rock & Roll

Archive for the tag “indie pop”

09 Apr 2015
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The Big Show: Season 2, Show #4

The Big Show

Some of the best rockin’ pop emanates from the Detroit, Michigan area. So, fittingly, the fourth installment of the second season of The Big Show features several tracks by artists that performed at the International Pop Overthrow festival as it wound its way to Detroit.

Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms begin the festivities with the rocking “Angela ’97” from their recently-relased album Heart String Soul, which is a shoo-in for this year’s “Best of” list. Nick Piunti checked in with “Six Bands” from his brilliant Beyond The Static, which was said to be the one “to beat” this year. Another shoo-in for this year’s “Best Of” list is The Hangabouts’ Illustrated Bird, which was released too late for consideration last year. The band’s infectious “Love Nothing” is featured in Show #4. A recent discovery, John Holk & The Sequins, contributed the immediately catchy title track from their 2010 release, If You See Her. Rounding out the Detroit IPO-ers in Show #4 was Dave Caruso, whose song “Sticks Keys & Wires” can be found on his Cardboard Vegas Roundabout long-player, which came in at Number 6 on my list of the Top Albums of 2014.

A truckload of new music is featured in Show #4, including tracks by Tenterhooks, Caddy, Love Axe, Jared Lekites, Salim Nourallah, DC Cardwell, Dr. Cosmo’s Tape Lab and Evil Arrows. The complete tracklist appears below the embed.

Be sure to check out the main mix on Pop That Goes Crunch radio, streaming 24/7.

 

Tracklist:

1.  Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms, “Angela ’97”

2.  Tenterhooks, “Helpless”

3.  Sugarmen, “Dirt”

4.  Caddy, “Wherever You Go”

5.  Pseudonym, “Art School Lady”

6.  Love Axe, “Such A Waste Of Time”

7.  Nick Piunti, “Six Bands”

8.  Jared Lekites, “Five Separate Lives”

9.  The Davenports, “Five Steps ’15”

10. John Holk & The Sequins, “If You See Her”

11. The See See, “Over & Under”

12. The Weeklings, “Leave Me With My Pride”

13. Salim Nourallah/Treefort 5, “Terlingua”

14. Chase Hamblin & The Roustabouts, “Way Back”

15. DC Cardwell, “In The Cloud”

16. The Valkarys, “We Are The World”

17. Dr. Cosmo’s Tape Lab, “The Painted Birds”

18. Greater California, “Long Shadows”

19. Sloan, “Waterfalls”

20. Postcards From Jeff, “Suburban Girl”

21. Dave Caruso, “Sticks Keys & Wires”

22. PT Walkley, “Sanitarium”

23. Wilco, “She’s A Jar”

24. And The Professors, “We Are”

25. The Hangabouts, “Love Nothing”

26. Evil Arrows, “False Alarm”

27. Pernice Brothers, “Subject Drop”

 

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06 Apr 2015
13 Comments

The Big Show: Season 2, Show #3

The Big Show, Season 2, Show #3

The third installment of the second season of The Big Show included a truck load of new music, including new rockin’ pop by Daniel Wylie’s Cosmic Rough Riders, Nick Piunti, DC Cardwell, Lannie Flowers, The Weeklings, The See See, The Explorers Club (doing a live cover of The Zombies’ “Tell Her No), Tenterhooks and Watts.

Perennial favorites — XTC, Elvis Costello, Teenage Fanclub and Big Star — also were on tap, as was a bit of Alt-County via Lucinda Williams and Golden Smog.

The complete track list appears below the embed. Turn it up loud, and tune in frequently to Pop That Goes Crunch radio, spinning the finest slices of melodic rock ‘n roll released over the past seven decades.

 

Track list:

1.  Daniel Wylie’s Cosmic Rough Riders, “Another Wasted Day”

2.  Nick Piunti, “It’s A Trap”

3.  Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms, “Keep Me Around”

4.  DC Cardwell, “The Sun, The Moon, The Stars”

5.  XTC, “The World Is Full Of Angry Young Men”

6.  The Power Cords, “Luxetine Dreams”

7.  Chuck Oney, “Dear Miss Roberts”

8.  Elvis Costello & The Attractions, “Lip Service”

9.  Lannie Flowers, “Radio Sweetheart”

10. King Kartel, “Run”

11. The Turnback, “Beyond Belief”

12. The Slapbacks, “Looking For The Magic”

13. The Weeklings, “Breathing Underwater”

14. The See See, “The Rain & The Snow”

15. The Explorers Club, “Tell Her No”

16. Coke Belda, “Looking For”

17. Marjorie Cardwell, “When We Both Fell Down”

18. The Byrds, “Lady Friend”

19. Teenage Fanclub, “Nowhere”

20. Big Star, “You Get What You Deserve”

21. Gretchen’s Wheel, “Why Try”

22. Lucinda Williams, “Side Of The Road”

23. Golden Smog, “V”

24. Tenterhooks, “Lucy”

25. Watts, “Trick”

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23 Mar 2015

The Big Show, Season 2, Show #2

Vintage Hi-FiSeason 2 of The Big Show rolled on with 25 rockin’ pop tracks, including new music by The New Trocaderos, Watts, Timmy Sean, The Popguns, Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms, One Like Son, Gretchen’s Wheel, etc., etc., etc.

A set late in the show featured a bit of vintage “mod,” a track from the mod revival of the early-80s and the contemporary mod-inspired stylings of Muscle Souls.

As is customary, the complete tracklist appears after the embed.

Play this one loud, and tune in frequently to Pop That Goes Crunch radio, spinning the best of seven decades of melodic rock ‘n roll 24/7.

Tracklist:

1.  The New Trocaderos, “Luckiest Man In The World”

2.  The Electric Mess, “Lemonade Man”

3.  Watts, “Flying Over With Bombs”

4.  Timmy Sean, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”

5.  Luzer, “Hard Luck Woman”

6.  Chris Richards and the Subtractions, “No Action”

7.  Faerground Accidents, “She Makes Me Want To Die”

8.  The Popguns, “City Lights”

9.  The June Brides, “Just The Same”

10. Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms, “Looking Forward To Looking Back”

11. One Like Son, “New American Gothic”

12. Baby Scream, “Back To Douche”

13. Lewis Wilson, “Manhattan Skies”

14. The Hangabouts, “She Hates You”

15. Gretchen’s Wheel, “Second To Last”

16. Mothboxer, “Laughing Out Loud”

17. Jonathan Rundman, “Flying On A Plane”

18. Jessepop [With The Weebees], “Johan & Elliott”

19. Muscle Souls, “Soul Down”

20. The Untouchables, “Free Yourself”

21. St. Louis Union, “East Side Story”

22. Dum Dum Girls, “Evil Blooms”

23. The Alarms, “Make It Better”

24. Quitty & The Don’ts, “Running Out Of Time”

25. The Crush, “Don’t Mind The Sunshine”

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03 Jan 2015
3 Comments

Top 10 EPs Of 2014

EPs

I struggled with whether I should rank the best ten EPs of the year, or simply list them in alphabetical order. EPs serve a lot of different purpose. Some of almost complete albums. Some are previews of albums to come. Sometimes the artist only has the time, money or material to release three, four or five songs at a time.

Ultimately, though, I decided it would be best to rank the ten best EPs in terms of overall quality, no matter the intended purpose.

Cliff Hillis grabbed the top slot on my Top 30 songs list with his track “Dashboard.” The platter where that song appears, Song Machine, is also my top EP of the year. In my original review from August, I said:

Each of the songs is intricately drawn, and Hillis has a keen ability to add touches of drama, detail and personal observation to his compositions. Clever phrasing abounds on Song Machine, but Hillis is also able to take a step back and apply restraint and a light touch when necessary.

You can read that review here.

The EPs occupying the remainder of my list are quite varied, ranging from the aptly-titled New Trocaderos record to the much quieter and contemplative works of Andy Klingensmith and Donny Brown. Muscle Souls check in with a wonderful collection of Northern Soul-tinged rockin’ pop, with horns! Make sure to listen to the acoustic versions of the five originals, particularly the title track (which made my top songs list), to get an even better sense of their keen melodic abilities. The Crush, at Number 2, serve up relentless pounding and catchy Power Pop. The Persian Leaps, at Number 3, deliver five tasty helpings of hook-filled noise pop. The first side of an upcoming double long-player by The Foreign Films, as Number 9, has some subtle psychedelic underpinnings. 

Click on the links to listen, purchase and support the artists.

1.  Cliff Hillis, Song Machine. (Purchase)

2.  The Crush, Future Blimps

3.  The Persian Leaps, Drive Drive Delay

4.  Muscle Souls, Mark On The World

5.  The New Trocaderos, Kick Your Ass

6.  Greg Ieronimo, Bipolar Love

7.  Andy Klingensmith, Bright Again

8.  Donny Brown, Hess Street

9.  The Foreign Films, Record Collector

10. Brandon Schott, Verdugo Park

 

 

 

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01 Jan 2015
3 Comments

Top 20 Albums Of 2014

The Legal MattersI heard a whole lot of albums over the past twelve months. The following is my attempt to distill it all down to the very best of the year.

There is substantial overlap between the artists on this list, and the artists on my Top 30 songs list, which you can find here. That is to be expected. The best songs of the year typically are not “one-offs.” Most appeared on albums to which I found myself returning many times during the year.

The Legal Matters’ self-titled “debut” grabs the top spot on my list. Its combination of incisive songwriting, beautiful production, memorable melodies and the best vocals of the year (particularly, of course, those sublime harmonies) propelled it to the top of the class. My original review can be found here. Aerial’s Why Don’t They Teach Heartbreak At School? came in at a close second with its clever and sometimes witty writing, and its brilliant melding of classic Power Pop and West Coast Pop sensibilities. My original review can be found here.

Each of these long-players on my list deserve a spot in any serious music collection. They fall squarely in the “indie pop” realm, but are nevertheless varied in approach and intent. The list includes the driving and fast-paced rocking pop of The Sugar Stems, the exquisitely crafted and personal melodic pop from Dave Caruso, the classic jangle pop of The Britannicas and The Carousels, the bright and shiny updated Power Pop of Ransom and the Subset and The Jellybricks, a walk through the Nuggets compilation with The Above, some early-80s-styled melodic rock from Edward O’Connell, and the quiet, almost chamber pop of Fauna Flora, among its mix.

Click on the links to listen and purchase — which you should. Quite happily.

1.  The Legal Matters — The Legal Matters

2.  Aerial — Why Don’t They Teach Heartbreak At School?

3.  phonograph — phonograph Vol. 1

4.  Linus Of Hollywood — Something Good

5.  The Paul & John — Inner Sunset

6.  Dave Caruso — Cardboard Vegas Roundabout

7.  Mothboxer — Sand And The Rain

8.  Dropkick — Homeward

9.  Ransom and the Subset — No Time To Lose

10. The Britannicas — High Tea

11. The Well Wishers — A Shattering Sky

12. Edward O’Connell — Vanishing Act

13. The Carousels — Love Changes Like The Seasons

14. The Above — Waterbury Street

15. The New Mendicants — Into The Lime

16. Rick Hromadka — Trippin’ Dinosaurs

17. Sugar Stems — Only Come Out At Night

18. The Jellybricks — Youngstown Tune-Up

19. Joe Sullivan — Schlock Star

20. Fauna Flora — Fauna Flora

You can here tracks from these great albums, and many others, at the streaming Pop That Goes Crunch radio station, which you can reach right here.

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30 Dec 2014
8 Comments

Top 30 Songs Of 2014

Song MachineFor this year, I expanded my list of the best songs of the year to 30. I heard upwards of 2,000 songs released this year. Consequently, the 30 that made my list are truly the best of the best.

Following the list, is an embed of a podcast where I “count down” the Top 30, and add some commentary. Complete versions of each song can be heard in the countdown. Last year’s Top 20 can be found here.

This list is biased heavily toward songs released in the first ten months of the year. That does not mean that songs released since October are not worthy of being listed. Those songs, however, did not have sufficient time to percolate so that they could be assessed adequately against songs that I have been on my listening devices for many months. They will be eligible for inclusion in next year’s list.

I also decided not to include any covers or live versions of songs. Instead, the focus is on original music released over the past twelve months. Well, one track (“The Kids”) was released in the waning days of 2013, but is much more of a “2014 song” than a song of the prior year.

As always, it is difficult to make fine line distinctions between great songs, and your mileage may, of course, vary. Mine could also vary over time, but this is how I see it at the end of 2014.

1.  Cliff Hillis, “Dashboard” (Song Machine EP)

2.  Linus Of Hollywood, “Biography” (Something Good)

3.  The Legal Matters, “The Legend Of Walter Wright” (S/T)

4.  phonograph, “Don’t You Bring Me Down” (phonograph Vol. 1)

5.  The Paul & John, “Long Way Back” (Inner Sunset)

6.  Aerial, “Why Don’t They Teach Heartbreak At School” (Why Don’t They Teach Heartbreak At School)

7.  Dave Caruso, “The Art Of Erica” (Cardboard Vegas Roundabout)

8.  Nick Piunti, “Quicksand” (single)

9.  The Hazey Janes, “(I’m) Telescoping” (The Language Of Faint Theory)

10. Mothboxer, “In The Morning” (Sand And The Rain)

11. Dropkick, “Halfway Round Again” (Homeward)

12. Ransom and the Subset, “When Will I See You” (No Time To Lose)

13. The New Mendicants, “Cruel Annette” (Into The Lime)

14. The Carousels, “My Beating Heart” (Love Changes Like The Seasons)

15. The New Trocaderos, “The Kids” (single)

16. The Crush, “Around” (Future Blimps EP)

17. The Well Wishers, “I Believe” (A Shattering Sky)

18. The Persian Leaps, “Pretty Boy” (Drive Drive Delay EP)

19. The Above, “Do Your Have A Healthy Mind” (Waterbury Street)

20. Edward O’Connell, “The End Of The Line” (Vanishing Act)

21. Propeller, “You Remind Me Of You” (single)

22. Chris Richard & The Subtractions, “Call Me Out” (Decayed)

23. Greg Ieronimo, “Roller Coaster Ride” (Bipolar Love)

24. The Person & The People, “Vitamin C” (What A Drag)

25. The Bon Mots, “Gallahad” (Best Revenge)

26. Sugar Stems, “Haunted” (Only Come Out At Night)

27. Muscle Souls, “Mark On The World” (Mark On The World EP)

28. Rick Hromadka, “Dreams Of A Hippy Summer” (Trippin’ Dinosaurs)

29. The Britannicas, “Got A Hold On Me” (High Tea)

30. Gen Pop, “Warm Sun” (Waiting For Disaster)

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21 Aug 2014

The Big Show #7: Going Themeless

The Big Show #7The next several installments of The Big Show are “themeless.” They simply present 20 hand-selected rockin’ pop songs (new, old and in-between) for your music discovery and distinct listening pleasure.

Show #7 kicks off with an alternate and slightly more rocking version of one of favorite songs by The Grip Weeds — “Rainy Day #3” — “pre-titled” as “Rainy Day #1 & 2.”

New music checks in with a wonderful track by the reconstituted Cleaners From Venus and a rather fun song by newcomer Joe Sullivan, whose long-player (produced and engineered by the great Andy Reed) can be purchased for a mere seven clams from Futureman Records.

Show #7 also includes Teenage Fanclub and the Pernice Brothers doing songs that rank among my favorites by two of the Greatest Bands of All-Time: “Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From” and “The Weakest Shade Of Blue,” respectively. The festivities conclude with The Zombies doing one of the Greatest Records Ever Made, “This Will Be Our Year.” Superlatives abound.

So, give it a listen, and tune in frequently to the main mix at Pop That Goes Crunch radio, streaming 24/7.

The complete tracklist appears below the embed.

 

Tracklist:

1.  The Grip Weeds, “Rainy Day #1 and 2”

2.  20/20, “Yellow Pills”

3.  Grant Lee Buffalo, “The Shining Hour”

4.  The Cleaners From Venus, “Cling To Me”

5.  Ballard, “I Know That You’re Watching Me”

6.  The Who, “So Sad About Us”

7.  And The Professors, “Turn Of The Century Recycling Blues”

8.  The Sharp Things, “Flowers For My Girl”

9.  Husker Du, “Could You Be The One”

10. Redd Kross, “Sick Love”

11. Velvet Crush, “Time Wraps Around You”

12. The Jayhawks, “Waiting For The Sun”

13. The Byrds, “Its All Over Now, Baby Blue”

14. Joe Sullivan, “Rock Star Boyfriend”

15. The Maureens, “Outta Sight”

16. Pernice Brothers, “Weakest Shade Of Blue”

17. Teenage Fanclub, “Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From”

18. The Green Tambourine Band, “I’m Free”

19. The Orange Peels, “Grey Holiday”

20. The Zombies, “This Will Be Our Year”

 

 

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13 Jul 2014

The Big Show #4: Women Who Rock

Bonnie "Guitar" Buckingham

The Big Show #3 was called “Girls, Girls, Girls!”  This week’s edition is “Women Who Rock,” a show devoted entirely to songs fronted by — and sometimes consisting entirely of — women.

Some of the sets are “themed.”

There is a set of quintessentially American rockin’ pop songs fronted by females.

There is a set of quintessentially British rockin’ pop songs fronted by females.

There is a set of “sass,” starting with two old-school put-down tracks (Blondie’s “Rip Her To Shreds” and Holly & The Italians‘ “Tell That Girl To Shut-Up”) and concluding with a more recent sassy song of empowerment (The Dollyrots’ “Because I’m Awesome”).

There is a set of “Bay Area” songs, one by a band out of France (The Leeds), one by a band out of Australia (Jane vs. The World) and one by a Bay Area-based band (The Corner Laughers).

It all ends with a bit of West Coast Pop about summer, and dreaming of summer, by Laurie Biagini.

You can hear it below by clicking on the photo of a pioneering rockin’ woman, Bonnie “Guitar” Buckingham, which also appears at the top of this page. The complete track list follows.

 

Track List:

1.  The Masticators, “Pop Sound”

2.  The Go-Go’s, “Skidmarks On My Heart”

3.  The Bangs, “Getting Out Of Hand”

4.  The Primitives, “Crash”

5.  Lush, “Ladykillers”

6.  Spacemaid, “Taxi”

7.  The Launderettes, “Red River”

8.  The Pandoras, “In And Out Of My Life (In A Day)”

9.  honeychain, “Lucky One”

10. Blondie, “Rip Her To Shreds”

11.  Holly & The Italians, “Tell That Girl To Shut-Up”

12. The Dollyrots, “Because I’m Awesome”

13. The Shivers, “Teen Line”

14. The Zippers, “He’s A Rebel”

15. The Leeds, “Anything”

16. Jane vs. The World, “The Subterraneans”

17. The Corner Laughers, “Transamerica Pyramid”

18. Kostars, “Red Umbrella”

19. Sam Phillips, “Same Rain”

20. Laurie Biagini, “Run To The Sun”

 

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06 Jul 2014

The Big Show #3: Girls, Girls, Girls!

Girls, Girls GirlsThe theme of The Big Show #3 its “Girls, Girls, Girls!” — a collection of songs in the vaunted rockin’ pop tradition of writing and recording songs about that special, or not-so-special, someone out there. All of the songs have the name of a “girl” in the title — Caroline, Emily, Melanie, Allison, Mary Anne etc. There is even a song about Emma Stone

On tap in this edition are songs by The Go-Betweens, The Liars Club, The Nines, Jupiter Affect, The Well Wishers, Kurt Baker, The Connection, a Phenomenal Cats/Legal Matters doubleheader, and much, much more.

The Big Show #3 is posted at Mixcloud, but you can hear it directly in this post by clicking on the picture, below. The complete track list appears directly below that:

 

Track List:

1.  The Go-Betweens, “Caroline and I”

2.  Josh Rouse, “Carolina”

3.  Splitsville, “Caroline Knows”

4.  Pink Floyd, “See Emily Play”

5.  Liar’s Club, “Emily”

6.  The Records, “That Girl Is Emily”

7.  Cosmic Rough Riders, “Melanie”

8.  The Nines, “Melenie”

9.  Material Issue, “Valerie Loves Me”

10. The New Mendicants, “Cruel Annette”

11. The Three O’Clock, “Marjorie Tells Me”

12. Jupiter Affect, “Druscilla I Dig Your Scene”

13. The Well Wishers, “Allison”

14. The Lemonheads, “Alison’s Starting To Happen”

15. The Phenomenal Cats, “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands”

16. The Legal Matters, “Mary Anne”

17. The Spongetones, “(My Girl) Maryanne”

18. Kurt Baker, “Emma Stone”

19. The Connection, “Melinda”

 

 

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11 Feb 2014
3 Comments

5 Reasons To Listen To Pop That Goes Crunch Radio

Records, Records, RecordsPop That Goes Crunch radio is streaming seven decades of melodically-driven rock and roll twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You can check it out through the link posted just above.

I now have some data on the “most” popular and the “least” popular tracks spinning in rotation based on listener retention. Here’s five of the most popular songs in the current playlist. A couple were released within the past year, a couple were released in the 1990s. Complete tracks are embedded to give you an idea of what is currently “hot” on Pop That Goes Crunch Radio:

Wyatt Funderburk, “Summer”:  Funderburk mixes the bitter and the sweet as well as anyone on the scene today. He also pens great couplets like: “Time and love are conflicted and unpredicted but who can complain?/Happiness and contentment are nothing but sentiment without heartache and pain”

Evil Arrows, “Jennifer Kills The Giant (Once A Week)”: Bryan Scary plans to release up to 60 songs this year under the Evil Arrows moniker. The five-song EP 1 is available right here. “Jennifer” is proof positive that “simple,” when done right, has an elegance all its own:

The Sun Sawed in 1/2, “Janet Greene”: This relentlessly pounding ode to a woman “slightly greater” than Bardot, Monroe and Farrah will ring in your ears for days on end:

Wilco, Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway (Again): Jeff Tweedy occasionally takes himself too seriously, but not on this slightly off-kilter, slightly satirical piece of pop brilliance. Its one of my favorite songs on my favorite Wilco album:

http://youtu.be/0IUmrq_1fQw

Spacemaid, “Baby Come On”: Insubstantial. Sickly sweet. Cotton candy. Bubblegum. And, of course, just perfect:

What are you waiting for? Run, don’t walk, over to Pop That Goes Crunch radio, where you can hear these cool five songs, along with more than 800 others spinning non-stop around-the-clock.

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