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‘Today, I’m five!’ A Poprock Record retrospective

04 Friday Sep 2020

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark, Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

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Aaron Lee Tasjan, Aimee Mann, Billy Cowsill, Billy Sullivan, Bombadil, Brett Newski, Brian Jay Cline, Buddy Holly, Cheers Elephant, Chris Staples, Coach Hop, Cut Worms, Daisy, Daisy House, Daveit Ferris, Dropkick, Edward O'Connell, Elvis Costello, Essex Green, Et Tu Bruce, Eugene Edwards, Ex Cops, Ezra Furman, Family of the Year, Fire Town, Gerry Cinnamon, Golden Seals, Gregory Pepper, Hayden, Jenny and Johnny, Jeremy Fisher, Jeremy Messersmith, Juliana Hatfield, Linus of Hollywood, Marshall Crenshaw, Martha, Miniature Tigers, Mo Troper, Mondello, Nick Lowe, Nick Piunti, Overlord, Primary 5, Propeller, Ruler, Screen Test, Shadow Show, Sitcom Neighbor, Soul Engines, Space Dingus, Sunday Sun, Suzanne Vega, Tally Hall, Teddy Thompson, Telekinesis, The Beatles, The Blue Shadows, The Carousels, The Enlows, The Fruit Bats, The Lolas, The Maple State, The On and Ons, The Secret Sisters, The Sighs, The Top Boost, The Vapour Trails, The Well Wishers, The Young Veins, The Zombies, Wyatt Blair, Wyatt Funderburk

It’s been five years since I embarked on this mad journey: to write a music blog. I dithered over the decision to start one for a number of months. There’s nothing more pathetic than to start something with maximum fanfare and enthusiasm, only to have it flame out a half dozen posts later. The questions I had to ask myself were: (a) was there enough of ‘my kind’ of music to regularly post about, and (b) could I sustain the effort to get regular posts up on the blog? Well here’s the proof. In five years I’ve managed to produce 347 blogs posts. I’ve written more than 170,000 words about poprock tunes. And, most importantly, I’ve featured almost 1000 different artists. Guess the answers to (a) and (b) are both a resounding yes!

I think the biggest reason this blog thing has worked out for me is that it is such a great outlet for being creative and having fun with something that has always been pretty central to my life: music. I love doing all the mock serious regular features (e.g. Breaking news, Around the Dial, Should be a hit single) and coming up with goofy themes as a way to feature different artists (e.g. “Telephonic Poprock,” “Summer’s Coming,” and the Cover me! series. Sometimes I’ve pushed the posts in more serious directions (“Is That So Gay,” “Campaigning for Hooks,” and “Pandemic Poprock“) but only if the melodies and hooks were there in abundance. The blog has also allowed me to pay tribute to my musical heroes (Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Zombies, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Marshall Crenshaw, Suzanne Vega, Aimee Mann). But, as regular readers know, such luminaries mostly appear as reference points to better help people get of a sense of what all these new acts are doing.

If you’ve just tuned in, I’m not assigning the past five years of posts as homework. Instead, I offer today’s anniversary post as a retrospective of what’s been happening here. I reviewed all 347 posts to pick out some choice examples of the range of styles I can cram under the rubrik of ‘poprock’. It wasn’t easy! My first go round produced a list of 118 songs. When I converted that to a playlist I got the number down to 81 tracks. Ack! Still too many. So I’ve broken things down into themes. This is not a ‘greatest hits’ or ‘best of’ Poprock Record. I’ve left out a lot of acts I really love. It’s just a representative sample of what goes on here, to borrow some lingo from my day job. Click on the highlighted band names to go to the original posts on the blog.

Let’s start by recognizing that not all that appears here is new. The blog has allowed me to explore a huge number of acts I’ve missed over the years, particularly in the 1990s when my new day job (academe) took over my life. I can’t believe I somehow missed great bands like Fire Town and the Soul Engines with their incredible guitar hooks. The Sighs “Make You Cry” is a pretty perfect poprock single. I knew about Billy Cowsills’ Blue Northern but had never heard of his later group, the Blue Shadows. And Eugene Edwards’ sole solo release, My Favorite Revolution, is a must add for any melodic rock and roll fan.

Fire Town – She Reminds Me of You
Soul Engines – Just Another Day
The Sighs – Make You Cry
Eugene Edwards – Congratulations My Darling

There have been acts that appeared again and again on the blog, my ‘old reliables’ as I might call them. These are performers I can pretty much carve out space in the queue for whenever I hear a new release is on the way. Gregory Pepper is probably my most covered artist. I love his quirky, always hooky, sometimes touching efforts. Ezra Furman was another great find who has an unerring knack of placing a memorable hook at the centre of whatever he’s doing, whether it’s retro 1950s pop or a punkish political ode. I discovered Jeremy Fisher long before the blog but I’ve used it to feature his work, old and new. He’s like a new wave Paul Simon with great videos. Edward O’Connell only has two albums, but they are reliably good. We really need a third. Mo Troper always delivers something wonderfully weird but still melodic and ‘can’t get it out of your head’ good. Finally, Jeremy Messersmith’s records regularly encompass big vision but he doles it out in memorable should-be hit singles.

Edward O’Connell – The End of the Line
Jeremy Messersmith – Fast Times in Minnesota

In my world of poprock, while any instrument goes, the electric guitar is arguably pretty central. Some bands really know how to ride a guitar-driven song right into your head. Jeff Shelton’s Well Wishers excel at putting the guitar up front. “Feeling Fine” is practically a ‘how to’ example of killer guitar-dominant poprock. The David James Situation and The Format are no slouches either. Jangle is a related field of guitar poprock and takes a number of forms, from the 1960s-inflected Byrds sound of The Vapour Trails to the more jaunty bubblegum feel of The Lolas “We’re Going Down to the Boathouse.” Jangle also usually features pretty addictive harmony vocals, showcased below in Propeller’s “Summer Arrives.”

David James Situation – I Should Know
The Format – Wait Wait Wait

As the original and defining decade of poprock (in my view), the 1960s sound continues to be mined by new artists. Daisy House have few rivals in nailing the late 1960s California poprock vibe, sounding like time travelers from San Francisco’s 1968 club scene. Space Dingus have got The Monkees feel down. Both Shadow Show and The On and Ons gives us that rockier pop sound of the mid 1960s, with the latter delivering killer lead guitar hooks. By contrast, both Cut Worms and The Young Veins offer a candy-coated pop sound more akin to The Cyrkle and Simon and Garfunkel.

The On and Ons – Before Our Eyes
The Young Veins – Cape Town

I’m a sucker for shivery harmony vocals so they’ve been featured regularly on the blog. One of Jenny Lewis’ side projects is the one-off album from Jenny and Johnny, I’m Having Fun Now. Aptly named, the record gently rocks and delivers amazing vocals. The Secret Sisters offer up a punchy tune where the harmony vocals seal the hooky deal. The Carousels “Call Along the Coast” has a big sound the rides a wave of harmony vocalizing and Beatlesque guitar work. Meanwhile Scotland’s Dropkick corner the market on delightful lilting songcraft on “Dog and Cat.” The blog sometimes shades into retro country and folk territory. Bomabil are an eccentric outfit who stretch our sense of song but never drop the melody.  The Top Boost are pretty new wave but on “Tell Me That You’re Mine” they’re channeling Bakersfield via the Beatles 65. The Fruit Bats put the banjo upfront in “Humbug Mountain,” where it belongs. Gerry Cinnamon is like Scotland’s Billy Bragg and he shows what you can do with just an acoustic guitar and a Springsteen harmonica.

Jenny and Johnny – Scissor Runner
The Secret Sisters – Black and Blue
The Carousels – Call Along the Coast

Gerry Cinnamon – What Have You Done

I’m proud to say that the blog has sometimes strayed off the beaten path of conventional poprock into more eccentric territory with bands that are smart and quirky and not afraid to lodge a hook in a more complex setting. Tally Hall pretty much define this approach. So ‘out there’ but still so good melodically. Chris Staples and Hayden offer up more low key, moody tunes but they still have a strong melodic grab. Overlord take clever to a new level, like a grad school version of They Might Be Giants. Coach Hop is just funny and hooky with his unabashed ode to liking Taylor Swift.

Tally Hall – Sacred Beast
Overlord – The Song That Saved the World

After the 1960s the new wave era is the renaissance of poprock for me with its combination of hooky guitars, harmony vocals, and melody-driven rock and roll. Screen Test capture this ambience perfectly on “Notes from Trevor” with a chorus that really delivers. The Enlows drive the guitar hook right into your head on the dance-madness single “Without Your Love.” Billy Sullivan epitomizes the reinvention of 1960s elements that occurred in the 1980s, well embodied in “Everywhere I Go.” Another strong theme in the blog has been the “I Get Mail” feature, populated largely by DIY songsters who write me about their garage or basement recorded releases. It is inspiring to hear from so many people doing their thing and getting it out there, especially when it is generally really good. Daveit Ferris is a DIY workaholic with an amazing range of song and recording styles. “Immeasurable” is a good illustration of his genius, with a banjo-driven chorus that always makes me smile. Mondello is practically the classic indie artist movie script, struggling to get an album out after 20 years. But then his follow up single, “My Girl Goes By,” is gold!

Screen Test – Notes from Trevor
Billy Sullivan – Everywhere I Go

I want to leave you with a two-four of should-be hits from Poprock Record. These songs are all quality cuts, grade A poprock with melodies and harmonies and hooks to spare. Some of these songs leave me panting, they’re so good. I kicked off the blog back in 2015 with Family of Year and I still think “Make You Mine” is a textbook should-be AM radio hit. Sunday Sun channel The Beatles through a 1980s song filter, in the very best way. Sitcom Neighbor’s “Tourist Attraction” is a delightful earworm affliction. Wyatt Blair has somehow boiled down the essential formula of a 1960s-influenced poprock hit. Wyatt Funderburk understands how to assemble the perfect melody-driven single. And so on. Get your clicking finger warmed up and you’ll be introduced to the essence of Poprock Record in 24 melodious increments.

Family of the Year – Make You Mine

Ex Cops – James

Sitcom Neighbor – Tourist Attraction
The Primary 5 – Mailman
Daisy – I Just Don’t Believe It

One thing I didn’t anticipate was all the great people I’d come in contact with writing a music blog. Thanks to all the bands, record labels, and readers who have responded so positively to what I’ve been doing here. A special thanks to Best Indie Songs, Tim at Powerpopulist and Don at I Don’t Hear a Single for their advice over the years and to my friends Rob at Swizzle and Dale at The View from Here for encouraging me to do this.

This post features pics from my poprock-postered 1985-7 apartment in Vancouver’s West End. Just $285 a month, all inclusive. No wonder I could buy so many records.

Should be a hit single: Wyatt Funderburk “Love Will Lead the Way”

29 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Should be a Hit Single

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Love Will Lead the Way, Never Seen the Sun, Novel and Profane, Wyatt Funderburk

WFI know what you’re thinking. Just what kind of name is Funderburk anyway? I was thinking that too as I absent-mindedly hit play on “Love Will Lead the Way.” And then I didn’t care because this single’s magnetic quality completely drew me in. The chimey guitar made the sparse hair on my forearms stand on end. Then the drum kicked in, setting the scene for a John Waite “Missing You” kind of hypnotic tempo. What followed was a marvelous piece of hit-single-worthy songcraft. “Love Will Lead the Way” has a beautifully restrained musical arrangement, vocals and performance that delivers its melodic punch all the more effectively for it. The later Fountains of Wayne effervescent harmonies were just the icing on the cake. As the song faded out I knew I’d be hitting replay more than a few times.

Before I knew it, I was downloading Funderburk’s entire catalogue from Bandcamp, including two albums from his band Second Saturday, a teenage release and an album of demos. As I skimmed these many recordings I was thinking, who is this fricking poprock genius? All this stuff is great, and that is not even getting to the album that includes our featured single, 2013’s Novel and Profane, which is also, by the way, freakin’ fantastic. The record is loaded up with tunes that sound like a Beach Boys beach party, if Fountains of Wayne and Bowling for Soup were put in charge of updating the sound. I knew I should spend some time with all these recordings and pull together a career retrospective – Funderburk deserves it – but I’m not feeling particularly patient right now. People need to know how great this single is pronto!

Now, if I may be so bold Wyatt, I’m going to mess with the past and reconfigure the release of this single. The current b-side – “The Reason” – is great but I’m convinced that another song from Novel and Profane would turn this baby into a killer double A-sided single. So I’m going to add “Never Seen the Sun” as the new b-side. I love the subtleness of the hooks in this song, particularly in the change up of the lyric measure on the ‘but you’ve never seen the sun’ line. Overall, the tempo and general feel is very Beatles country, with splashes of FOW on the vocals here and there. Brilliant!

It’s hard to find that much out about Funderburk. It appears he is producer that has worked with artists like Kurt Baker, the Wellingtons, and Bowling for Soup, among many others (Funderburk features recordings by many of the artists he’s worked with on his Soundcloud page). But a one-stop career recap is hard to come by. Nevermind. His recording are readily available on Bandcamp, iTunes, and elsewhere. Don’t deny yourself.

A James Bond song redux

15 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by Dennis Pilon in Poprock Themepark

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Big Box Store, Freedy Johnston, Jay Gonzalez, Lannie Flowers, Look Park, Mike Viola, Ryan Hamilton, Songs Bond Songs, Wyatt Funderburk

Songs BondI don’t often get to use a word like ‘redux’ but when I do it’s definitely for collections like this. In Songs, Bond Songs: The Music of 007 twenty-five artists ‘restore, bring back’ and ‘present in a new way’ the entire canon of theme songs from the James Bond movies, with an accent on indie, poprock treatments. Why bother, you might ask? Well the Bond canon is unique in so many ways. The quality of the songs stretching over a half century is surprisingly strong and consistent. And, as is apparent from the performances on this record, they are open to broad and varied re-interpretations. Some performances here are fairly safe and unremarkable but most try to do something original with the basic raw material of their specific Bond song. I won’t comment on everything but rather just highlight what I think are the more unique, sometimes daring, and ultimately single-worthy remakes from the collection.

It makes sense to start with the ever-present James Bond Theme itself. Peppered throughout the various Bond films, often featuring wildly different arrangements and orchestrations, the theme never failed to raise audience excitement, at least for my crew of 1970s ten year olds. What different kind of treatment could possibly be offered up now? Well Lannie Flowers rises to the challenge, offering up a self-referential postmodern pastiche of the theme, including bits from songs that were themselves influenced by it. First, Flowers cuts up the traditional parts and puts them back together in a new and interesting way. The basic electric guitar hook is there and played just a bit faster with a nice trebly bite. Then at 1:13 he throws in a riff from McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” which ultimately segues into the orchestral Bond-ish intro that appeared on the Beatles’ American album recording of “Help” – brilliant and inspired!

Next up, the amazingly talented and criminally underappreciated Wyatt Funderburk’s cover of Bacharach and David’s “The Look of Love.” Is he Dusty Springfield? No, nobody can touch that goddess. But what we have here is a classy treatment that offers up some nice vocal and instrumental twists, vibing ever so slightly on the Pet Shop Boys at times. In the ‘didn’t see that coming’ department, Ryan Hamilton put out a very boppy poprock record recently (2015’s Hell of a Day) so handing him Louis Armstrong’s rather laconic “We Have All the Time in the World” might seem a curious choice. But it works. Sometimes spare, sometimes intricate acoustic guitar work undergirds Ryan’s spacious take on the vocal. Very car-top-down wind-blowing sunshine music. Shifting gears, can you be an undiscovered superstar? Because Mike Viola has it all going on: record producer, movie music provider, songwriter, recording artist, etc. But his synthesizer-laden remake of Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does it Better” highlights his impressive vocal talent. Ultimately, understated and ear-wormy.

What we see on this record is a tendency to downplay glamour and bombast, staples of the Bond music genre, in favour of subtlety and nuance. Take the Freedy Johnston contribution, for instance. Now personally I’d gladly listen to Johnston sing his grocery list – there is just something about the combination of his voice and acoustic guitar. But his re-imagining of Sheena Easton’s “For Your Eyes Only” adds up to more than his usual genius. He has such a light touch on the vocal and guitar, it lets the tenderness and vulnerability of song really come through. Another surprising cover featured here is Jay Gonzalez’s samba-inflected take on Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill.” He really rescues this tune from its overwrought mid-1980s over-production, demonstrating there really is a song here and it’s a good one. Look Park’s cover of “The World is Not Enough” represents another rescue mission, this time recovering the hooks buried in the original Garbage version. Hard to believe this is the same song. But if ever there was a song doctor, it would Chris Collingwood from Fountains of Wayne, working here with his new vehicle Look Park. Last up on this Bond remake playlist is Big Box Store’s playful remake of Madonna’s “Die Another Day.” I had a soft soft for the original, even if it was a bit busy and overwrought at times. BBS strip away everything that is not essential, anchoring the song in what sound like the low buttons on the accordion. Eerie, haunting, and catchy.

Songs, Bond Songs is a creative project put together by Curry Cuts, some guys who seem to have nothing better to do than dream up kooky compilation ideas and then get a whole load of cool bands to go along with their crazy schemes. I say we encourage them.

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Recent Posts

  • Prescribing for pop pandemics
  • Poprock Records’ 25 must-have LPs for 2020
  • Time capsule take 5: Tim Burgess, Dirty Girls, Valley Lodge, The Squirrels, and the Rosquettes
  • Poprock Record’s should-be hit singles of 2020
  • Around the dial: Steven Bradley, Jim Shorts, Daniel Romano, Gary Ritchie and John Dunbar

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