Powerpopholic

Khalid Hanifi "Pamplemousee Presse"

September 5, 2008July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic

Khalid Hanifi (from the Maypops) comes out with his debut album, “Pamplemousse Presse” and fans of the soft side of Jason Falkner or The Rip Off Artists will appreciate this sound. We start with a superb pair of singles in “Mr. Wonderful” and “When You Wake Up” with easy going melody and ringing guitars that falls between XTC and Eric Matthews without sounding like either. “Hard To Believe” is another standout with a wonderful duet with his sister Sophie pitching into the harmonies. “Only Human” has a smart hook laden chorus that resembles an Andrew Gold song, and I consider it one of the best songs on the album – full of heavy contrasts in style. Another point of comparison for this song would be The Honeydog’s Adam Levy. Fans of solo McCartney and Tin Finn will also find Hanifi’s music totally accessible. “Truck” is a catchy tune “about dicking around forever” and it has a lot of fun twangy guitar noodling that makes for fun listening. The strong piano Todd Rundgren-like melody of “July” leads into the smooth guitar tune “Idiot Box” which is another album highlight. The album never loses it’s way, but continues in a low energy mode till we get to “I Want You To Do Things That I Say” which has some impressive key changes. It’s an impressive debut that deserves a spot on your playlist.

Khalid’s Site | My Space | CD Baby

Epicycle "Jingo Jangle"

September 4, 2008July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic

Brothers Ellis and Tom Clark are the duo behind Epicycle. The third album “Jingo Jangle” is a mix of progressive sixties pop sounds firing on all cylinders and Sgt. Pepperisms especially on the track “Girls Don’t Rule My World” which has wonderful sonic details in the multi-track piano and orchestral flourishes. The opener “8-Track Mind” brings together Bryds-styled guitar jangle and Cheap Trick riffs in a dense polished production. The piano ballad “Goodbye” is an impressive soulful song along the lines of Billy Joel. The brass and creepy Alice Cooper/Tom Waits vocal of “Ode To Branson” is a bit too strange till we get to the Roger Waters-like chorus. “Day for Night” revisits this style with a well done piano melody. The quirkiness of “Club Marmalade” and “Worst Rock Song” seems like an attempt to merge Zappa and 10cc. Like The Pillbugs, it has a tendency to overindulge in the pyschedelic effects too much toward the albums end. That mentioned a lot of other studio acrobatics here work well on most songs. It also features guest spots by Brad Elvis of the Elvis Brothers and Paul Mertens of Brian Wilson’s band. This album is worth a listen for sure. Fans of the above mentioned bands will reach musical nirvana with this one.

My Space | Epicycle Web Site | CD Baby (last Epicycle album) | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik

Power Pop internet radio shows

September 3, 2008July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic 1 Comment

After a number of issues that have threatened internet radio, I wanted to know what online stations are out there for my fellow powerpopaholics, so here is a short list so far. If you know any others just post a reply.

DJ Jeff’s Power Pop Show, KSCU Santa Clara

Popbang Radio

Michael McCartney’s Time Machine

Time Machine on live365

Radio That Doesn’t Suck

Ed Lynn’s Suitcase Full of Dimes

Pop Garden Radio

The New Up and Radio Days

September 3, 2008July 16, 2024 powerpopaholic

The New Up “Broken Machine” EP
Out of the San Francisco scene comes The New Up. From the trippy-dreamlike beats and strong bassline to ES Pitchers’s silky vocals (similar to Siouxsie Sue and P.J. Harvey) the music is poised to break out in a big way with pop fans. Beginning with the irresistable catchy pop of “Ginger Tea” and neo wave guitars on “Top of the Stairs” follows. If you’ve always wondered how Radiohead’s influence would have affected the sound of a band like 1000 Maniacs, look no further. Fans of The Cure, and classic Smashing Pumpkins will also dig the tight, aggressive style of rock coated in a cool candy shell. This is hip, modern pop that the indie masses will enjoy as well.
The New Up Site | My Space

Radio Days “Midnight Cemetery Rendezvous” EP
Lead by Dario Persi, the Italian group Radio Days have taken traditional power pop sound and mines it for great effect. Excellent songwriting and guitar work punctuate each song in the EP, that recalls Fotomaker, Weezer and Velvet Crush all at once. From the smooth Knack-like riffs on “Brand New Life” to the cover of Paul Collins Beat’s “Rock And Roll Girl” this is without a doubt a mind altering, sonic-sugar rush. “Don’t Keep Me Waiting” is a perfect mix of Cheap Trick guitars and pop bliss. With music this good you don’t ever notice the European accents (okay, you do – but it’s no worse than The Winnerys). I would keep my eye on this group for a follow up full length album, so in the meantime hunt this CD down, as it one of the best I’ve heard all year – Bellissimo!!
My Space | Interpunk | Subordination Records

Beatles Musicals: If at first you don’t succeed…

September 2, 2008July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic

beat the idea into the ground. I just got around to seeing and listening to the latest Beatles musical, Julie Taymor’s “Across The Universe” on DVD. It’s not as bad as the movie critics made it, but even a real Beatles fan must admit if you shoehorn as many songs into one movie, you will get a bit of a mess. To be honest, it is a spectaular triumph when you consider that the last Beatles musical that worked was “Yellow Submarine” in 1968 (and the fab four were actually involved in it). So here is a list of attempts in chronological order – I do not count stage shows like “Beatlemania” or Circ de Soleil’s “Love” or The Beatles own movies like “Help”- just filmed attempts using Beatles music:

All this and World War II (1976) A real mess that was an attempt to meld together Beatles cover songs and World War II footage. Soundtrack included Jeff Lynne, Peter Gabriel and The Bee Gees doing awful versions of your favorite songs. Because the movie never had a real theatrical release (although the soundtrack did) – the idea would live on…

Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary (1977) A monument to bad 70’s variety shows, and another example of famous singers doing rotten versions of Beatle covers. Starring Ted Neeley (fresh from Jesus Christ Superstar), and including Patti LaBelle, Richie Havens, and other celebs embarrassing themselves. Steve Martin was also included in this stinker.

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)Then they take the musical badness above and try to attach as story to it. Too bad the movie made no sense and induced vomiting from the audience. The some of covers are much better here (i.e. “Come Together” by Aerosmith and “Got To Get You Into My Life” by Earth, Wind & Fire) but they are surrounded by crap and Steve Martin returns doing “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”!

Across The Universe (2007) After looking at the previous treatments, this is like Citizen Kane. The story and songs sometimes work, and at other points feel forced. The actors do a good job on a lot of the covers, but much of it feels like a group of music videos strung together. Part of the problem (like the others) is mixing songs from different eras that don’t match well. If they had taken a single album (like Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”) it would have been a better movie. Here is my favorite clip from it (very Wall-like). Best of all no sign of Steve Martin…

So why were three attempts made to add Beatles music to film in the late seventies? Keep in mind, when they broke up the music loving public were suffering from Fab withdrawl, and nostalgia always sells well. In my opinion, as each member of the band passes on, the urgency to keep the music alive to a new generation increases among those who lived through their heyday.