It’s no joke apparently, and the band plays a farewell concert on June 6th at The Borderline. Orange Yard, London W1D 4JB. Get tickets here. The new Jackdaw album is expected about the same time. And I guess as Klaatu put it, “all good things must end.”
I have a busy week planned (with IPO NYC coming up any day now) and I get this news from Willie Wisely’s blog basically saying that albums are “too hulking, too far between, too all consuming” and “the whole thing is too painfully putzy to be enjoyed any longer.” So he’ll be making singles and EPs from now on. While I love a great single, and lots of people cherry pick from an LP – any one who grew up loving the long-play format will loathe its demise.
And while Bob Lefsetz may disagree, in music there is nothing better than listening to a great concept album beginning to end. Think about Dark Side of The Moon or Who’s Next. And while most albums are not worthy of that greatness, I wouldn’t want to discourage artists from trying. It’s like the 5-course prix fixe restaurant going out of business because Chipotle moved next door.
Above is a writing session demo for the first new single, Willie goes back and forth with power-pop favorite, Cliff Hillis.
The legendary Southern California band who coined the term “Paisley Underground” aka “Paisey Pop” returns! The Three O’Clock mixed pure-pop sensibilities with psychedelic overtones and now the original band is getting back together for Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in April. In addition, The Hidden World Revealed, comes on June 25, 2013 – it’s a re-mastered 20-track collection from the years 1981-1986.
We’ve already mentioned Andrew Curry’s awesome Tribute to Lite Rock CD Kickstarter project. Now hear why the artists wanted to do it. We also have the full line up: Mike Viola, Eytan Mirsky, Michael Carpenter, Brandon Schott, Linus Of Hollywood, Bleu, Willie Wisley, Kyle Vincent, Kelly Jones, Lisa Mychols, Mike Ruekberg, Lannie Flowers, Vegas With Randolph, Paul Bertolino, Throwback Suburbia, Paul Myers, Seth Swirsky, Cliff Hillis, The Davenports, Greg Pope, An American Underdog, David Myhr, Sonic Executive Sessions, Wyatt Funderburk, Joe Giddings, Chris Von Sneidern, Plasticsoul, Sunshine On Mars and Popdudes (whew!). This all ends on March 9, 2013 – so hurry up!
NPR’s Radiolab had a great little program this weekend about pop music. One thing about great power pop is its ability to stay “stuck” in your head. Why does this happen? The Radiolab crew attempt to answer this question.