Back From The Grave

Happy New Year!!!

I left this blog alone almost completely in 2010. but have decided to resurrect it in 2011, and want to do that with a really terrific song...

I have literally been exposed to thousands of new songs and scores of new bands with the explosion of music blogs and filesharing that exists today. A genre that has become a favorite of mine through this newfound exposure is Power Pop. I like all kinds of Power Pop, but the peak late 70's early 80's mixed Punk and New Wave into the formula and this era has quickly become a favorite of mine.

One of the best songs from that era is this one...

When We Were Young

by a band called Pumphouse Gang.

A fellow named James at a blog called Worthless Trash gave me my first introduction to them and keeps a dedication page to them at that link. They apparently have an unreleased record that James shared a few low quality samples of in the past.

I am sharing his file of "When We Were Young" with you here and it is a low quality MP3 but somehow that makes me like it even more. Something bittersweet and sentimental about this song always keeps me playing it... a great example of a time and place that gave rise to a really addictive sound! (more of which will follow)

The Shirts!

My Parents had a reel to reel tape player on top of our stereo cabinet during the 70's and 80's. I swear to god that it was the same model used in the Evil Dead movies,but that could just be the similarities of most reel to reel tape players.

I remember my dad kept a couple dozen reels in the bottom of the cabinet and would play them from time to time. Steppenwolf, the Beatles, Jesus Christ Superstar and others. The Hair soundtrack was also played, which really is quite awful, but one of the female stars in the motion picture was Annie Golden lead singer of the band The Shirts.

The Shirts were among the first wave of bands to play CBGB in the late 70's art/punk movement. Not really given the notoriety of the Talking Heads, Television or the Ramones, The Shirts having a much poppier sound, they still add to an impressive list of the acts coming from that time and place.

Why didn't my parents go the extra mile and get a couple Shirts LPs and play those? Didn't they know Annie Golden was involved in something way cooler than Hair...all you had to do was Google it.... in the 1970s....

Here is a song called "Teenage Crutch" from their self titled debut LP.

Teenage Crutch

The Shirts apparently reformed after many years of inactivity... www.theshirts.net

The Banned "Him Or Me"

This single happened to be out on my stacks of CDs, and it is great...so I have posted it.

A nice slice of 1978 punk/power pop, a cover of Paul Revere & the Raider's "Him or Me".

From Tooting (!) England, one of several bands that made a moderately successful single and then vanished. This is NOT their moderately successful single - it is the follow up, which I like better. Besides their moderately successful single was a less interesting cover (Little Girl by Syndicate of Sound.)

enjoy!

http://www.the-banned.com/

Him Or Me

The Incredible Kidda Band

Formed in 1977 The Incredible Kidda Band released a couple singles in the late 70's but seemed to have recorded a lot of music. A CD only compilation of 29 of their songs came out and apparently sold out.

Thanks to the great blog Powerpop Overdose for turning me on to this group.

This is straight out of the time of skinny ties and feathered hair but it is pop at its best, good guitar riffs and classic melodies and songs... rough production is kind of endearing to me, the whole reissue cd is fabulous.

Here are two tracks from that CD.

Radio Caroline

Fighting My Way Back

New to me...

The Keys released a few singles and one LP in 1979 every time i see them mentioned there seems to be the obligatory mention that Joe Jackson produced their LP. This seems, to me, more of a sign of the quality of the record that any resemblance to Joe Jackson's sound.

I learned about this band here on the terrific blog called "PVAc to 44.1 kHz". A lot of the power pop bloggers I read know a bout this record but it was new to me. I really like the classic 80's vibe that this has without out sounding too cheesy. There is a kind of annoying slight tinny sound to the mp3s but I'll take it rather than never having heard them.

They sound like a 80's movie soundtrack band with better songs.

These are the first and last tracks from their one and only LP called: The Keys Album.

Hello, Hello

World Ain't Turning

Baby Goes To 11!

Quickly now people, I have a diaper to change and noses to wipe....

Superdrag were (are again now) a powerpop group from Tennessee. They had a minor hit in the mid 90's with this first track

Sucked Out

This is one of those "songs that reminds me of a place and time" songs. I was moving from Baltimore to Fremont, Ohio. My Friend Ken was driving and I had a drugged to a stupor cat (named Blurt) lying limp on a pillow on my lap and the stupid Ryder truck said we had a quarter tank of gas but ran out of gas anyway somewhere near Warren, Ohio.

A great song from a band I tend to rediscover from time to time and really enjoy. The Blogosphere was kind enough to find me their albums I have yet to purchase (but will). They are all good powerpop records... here is proof from their 2000 LP "In the Valley of Dying Stars"

Lighting The Way

Superdrag have reformed and their new record will be out on St. Patty's Day

First person to comment gets a free CDR of In the Valley of Dying Stars, get to it.