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Originally posted by LinnTate:
If I understand you correctly from the _Left of the Dial_ thread, pE, you've contacted Rhino asking for a Power Pop box to compliment _No Thanks!_, _Nuggets_, etc.?

So what's the track listing? I'll throw out just four from the early years to start:

"Go All the Way" _The Raspberries_
"I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" _The Rubinoos_
"September Gurls" _Big Star_
"Starry Eyes" _The Records_

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I've dropped my request to Rhino's reissues folks, along with my friend who works for Rhino but who has no influence in that department. I would certainly put all of those songs on the box, along with these:

"So It Goes" by Nick Lowe
"Do Anything You Wanna Do" by Eddie & The Hot Rods
"Teenage Kicks" by the Undertones (John Peel's favorite song!)
"Schooldays" by the Starjets
"Girl of My Dreams" by Bram Tchaikovsky
"Back of My Hand" by the Jags
"Shake Some Action" by the Flamin' Groovies
"Hangin' on the Telephone" by the Nerves
"Wayside" by Artful Dodger
"The Summer Sun" by Chris Stamey
"Yellow Pills" by 20/20
"Walking Out on Love" by The Beat
"Zero Hour" by the Plimsouls


Then I'd have to think about stuff from 1980 and beyond...Material Issue, Squeeze, Jellyfish, etc.

Any thoughts?

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Originally posted by flem_snopes:
Rhino's 1997 release [snip] contained all four of those songs.

It would be nice to see them expand it into a multidisc set, though.

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And how! I believe both Poptopia! and D.I.Y. collections are out of print. Given that Rhino has already licensed most of what they'd need for a pretty great Power Pop box at one time or another, I'd like to see them go ahead and pull it all together in one place.

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
Then I'd have to think about stuff from 1980 and beyond...Material Issue, Squeeze, Jellyfish, etc.

Any thoughts?

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I actually think it gets harder to pull stuff from the 80s on. As great as the classic 70s Power Pop bands were, the 80s and even 90s were such a fertile time and saw so many underappreciated groups you could easily go five or six discs.

Of course, that was true of the Left of the Dial, No Thanks!, and Nuggets boxes as well.

Material Issue, Squeeze, and Jellyfish are givens as are:

"Amplifier" The dB's
"Bittersweet" Hoodoo Gurus
"Every Word Means No" Let's Active
"Watusi Radio" Guadalcanal Diary <-- though perhaps I'm starting to go too far afield here...

I'm curious for your opinions on one question. When it comes to boxes like this, what's a good mix of the well-known and obscure? I mean, if you're going to do a Power Pop box, you pretty much have to include the well-known like Cheap Trick and The Knackk; the lesser-known, but influential like Big Star and the Records; and the unknown/forgotten but included in the hopes of saving them from permanent obscurity like any of a hundred different great, one-off groups.

What's the mix?

Now Playing: "Lift" Chris Potter Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard (SunnySide)

I like your additions, although "Amplifier" I skipped because it's on Left of the Dial and I was trying to avoid duplication. I might be include to put the Hoodoo Guru's "I Want You Back" on instead, but I think that's also on the 80's box...

I think Cheap Trick and the Knack have to be on there. I'd put "867-5309(Jenny)" on there for sure. Certainly Rick Springfield deserves a song.

In the 90's, I'd have to put some Posies, Matthew Sweet (probably "Girlfriend" but up for debate), Fountains of Wayne, Ben Folds Five.

Also Teenage Fanclub, Marvelous 3, Velvet Crush.

Older stuff: Badfinger, Marshall Crenshaw, Dwight Twilley, The Smithereens.

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
I like your additions, although "Amplifier" I skipped because it's on _Left of the Dial_ and I was trying to avoid duplication.

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D'OH! That's right!

I hadn't considered Rick Springfield, but it's hard to argue with his inclusion. Ben Folds Five is also a less obvious inclusion, and you know I think Velvet Crush is a given.

I am so very happy you include The Smithereens. I used to think they were terribly overlooked when it comes to Power Pop, perhaps because they were a bit harder for some people's taste. Now, though, I'm starting to think they're becoming largely forgotten. Especially for You was one of my favorite albums of the 80s.

How about Don Dixon's "Praying Mantis" from one of my favorite titled albums Most of the Girls Like to Dance but Only Some of the Boys Do? Or am I reaching a bit there?

The invitable mention of "Jenny" reminded me of this link I saw the other day. I think you all might appreicate it.

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10cc's "Sheet Music" is, in my book, one of the definitive 70's power pop albums.

The first three City Boy albums are of a similar vein.

"Little Willy" and "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet are a bit on the glam side, but I'd still call them worthy of consideration.



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After seeing that they haven't been mentioned yet, I'm a little unsure if they're considered power pop, but you guys forgot the Feelies, of all bands. Few records rule more than "Crazy Rhythms."

The Feelies are represented on Rhino's Left of the Dial box, which is probably a better home for them, but they're still a good call.

You're right about Crazy Rhythms, Crash and I think you'll find plenty of folks around here who agree. Now, if somebody would just bring their whole catalog back into print!

Now Playing: NPR's All Things Considered

I recently stumbled across a cool power pop comp for those with power pop leanings (LT, flem_snopes). It's called Yellow Pills-Prefill and it's on the boutique label The Numero Group. Here's the site: www.numerogroup.com

It's a collection of rare and OOP tracks from the late 70's and early 80's from bands like the Toms, Shoes, LMNOP, the Colors, The Trend (from Kennett, Missouri!) and others. It's curated (trendy new terminology, thanks to the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, I think) by St. Louis resident and power pop scribe Jordan Oakes. It's a very cool set.

I'm trying to connect to the link, but on dial-up, it takes forever. Based on the title, it obviously has 20/20 too. I saw them live at the late, great Cuckoo's Nest in Costa Mesa, CA.

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Originally posted by mark f:
I'm trying to connect to the link, but on dial-up, it takes forever. Based on the title, it obviously has 20/20 too. I saw them live at the late, great Cuckoo's Nest in Costa Mesa, CA.

I didn't see any 20/20 numbers listed.

But that does make me want to haul my 20/20-Look Out! two-fer disc out of storage.....


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Apparently, there's a series of these collections, but 20/20 did "High on Yellow Pills", which I'd consider a power pop masterpiece of the late 70s, for DANG sure! I'll guarantee they're a namesake for all these collections.

There isn't any 20/20 on this set. It focuses on extremely rare (read: non-popular) tracks. It's a sort of heir to the first Yellow Pills series (four discs, also by Oakes) that were connected to the Yellow Pills power pop 'zine, which was named after (TA-DAH!) the 20/20 track. Other than Shoes and the Toms, I'd never heard of any of them.

This is a really spectacular find, pE. Thanks so much for pointing to it.

I read an article about the Numero Group last November. It caught my attention not only because of what they are trying to do (rediscovering "lost" music), but the fact that one of the co-founders used to manage one of the Streetside Records locations when I worked there. I'm glad they're working with Jordan. He used to come into our store all the time. He's a great guy and an amazing resource.

I'm going to have to order the power pop and then go back over the next couple of months and catch up on the Numero Group's previous three releases. This is the kind of stuff that deserves wider support.

Oh, while we're talking St. Louis connections, pE. Have you ever checked out The Sun Sawed in 1/2? They were over and done before you ever moved to St. Louis, I think, but are well worth checking out. Jordan featured them on one of the Yellow Pills collections, if memory serves.

Now Playing: "Wheels Boredom" The Soundtrack of Our Lives Origin Volume 1 (Universal)

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Originally posted by LinnTate:
Have you ever checked out The Sun Sawed in 1/2?

I bought a copy of "Fizzylift" a few years back.

Nice pop CD, but have since heard that "Bewilderbeast" is really the band's tour de force.


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quote:

Originally posted by LinnTate:
Oh, while we're talking St. Louis connections, pE. Have you ever checked out The Sun Sawed in 1/2? They were over and done before you ever moved to St. Louis, I think, but are well worth checking out. Jordan featured them on one of the Yellow Pills collections, if memory serves.

They were still an active band when I got to St Louis in 2001. I saw one of their last shows, in the Duck Room. I have all five of their records (the first two are scary-rare, I hear) and the last three (Mind Flip, Fizzy Lift, Bewilderbeest) are all very solid, Jellyfish-esque power pop with some oddball stuff (Armenian instrumentation) thrown in. The first two records are more artsy than poppy, and didn't age as well.

Hello everyone,

You have a wealth of knowledge and I wanted to share my love for the music with you. Paul Collins' Beat used to be known as The Beat and are still together, performing, writing and recording as Paul Collins' Beat. The other day I found the official Paul Collins' Beat website http://www.paulcollinsbeat.com and he looks incredibly young for his age. The Paul Collins' Beat website even includes some live music videos of Paul Collins' Beat performing live on The Ramones Rock and Roll High School tour from back around 1979. I suppose in a lot of ways, Paul Collins' Beat is very similar in writing and sound to The Ramones. They should be, because Paul Collins knew The Ramones from back when he lived on the east coast.

For the folks who may not remember, Paul Collins' first band was called The Nerves with Jack Lee and Peter Case. They were a combination of r&b punk and 60s rock, but with a bit more class than your typical punk bands of that time. The Nerves wrote and recorded "Hanging on the telephone," which became a huge hit for Deborah Harry and Blondie shortly thereafter. When The Nerves split, Peter Case formed The Plimsouls and Paul Collins formed The Beat and The Paul Collins' Beat. Paul Collins wrote "Let Me into Your Life" with Eddie Money, who was initially responsible for The Beat's success. This comes to show that good friends come in all shapes, sizes and from all genres. I remember when Paul Collins' Beat did a series of US tour dates with The Jam and The Police, primarily hitting concert halls on the east and west coasts. I remember driving in a van with three of my buddies and our girlfriends at that time. At that point, we must have seen Paul Collins' Beat five or six times. Those were the good times, but I am just happy to see that a band as good as Paul Collins' Beat is still around after everything life can throw in your direction.

Hello Everyone,

I just saw that you mentioned The Records. I saw The Records twice many years ago. One of the times, they were on tour with Joe Jackson. A while back, I discovered that The Records are still performing, writing and recording. They are now called John Wicks and The Records to showcase the songwriting talents of John Wicks and to gratify his ego. John Wicks and The Records had three hits that I remember, one was "Starry Eyes," one was "Teenarama" and the other was "Hearts In Her Eyes." In fact, Jude Cole sang and played guitar on the song "Hearts In Her Eyes," a song that was later recorded by songwriter, Mary Chapin Carpenter. Too Much Joy also recorded one of The Records' songs, which I believe was also "Hearts In Her Eyes."

Apparently, John Wicks and The Records re-formed in the 1990s for a cd tribute to Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. Their version of "Darlin'" was well-received and John Wicks and The Records soon began touring and recorded a new album called "Rock 'Ola" on Rock Indiana Records.

I don't know what the future of John Wicks and The Records will be, but on their official website http://www.johnwicksandtherecords.com they are selling their new album, entitled "Rotate." If you want, you should still be able to hear the clips of those new songs at: http://www.johnwicksandtherecords.com/mp3s.htm

Also, their site says that John Wicks and The Records have contributed a song to the Of Hands and Hearts Music For Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund cd compilation, which I recently ordered. I'm glad to hear that some bands such as John Wicks and The Records are taking a stand and helping those in need. Not only do John Wicks and The Records make incredibly great music, they are also considerate and aware of the world on a global level. It makes more sense to help people, instead of preaching politics to them.

Hello everyone,

Here is another bit of information. Have you heard of Craig Marshall? His band contains members of Paul Collins' Beat and Craig Marshall himself was in a band as singer and guitarist called The Bluehearts with Ron Flynt from 20/20. The Craig Marshall official website is http://www.craigmarshall.com

I believe that Ron Flynt played bass and sang in The Bluehearts, which was after Ron Flynt and The Bluehearts made their debut. Apparently, Steve Allen is back with them?

calvinbrujera,

I am a power pop fan (and a fan of both the Records and Paul Collins Beat) but I can't help feeling that these posts are slightly spammy. I'm not sure if you're a fan plugging your favorite bands or if you've got some vested interest in these bands, but keep in mind that we will delete future posts that seem to boldface attempts to plug bands, websites, etc.

That being said, I'm inclined to let your posts stand for the time being because you are a new member and I don't see any blatant selling going on. If you continue to post with us, keep this in mind.

Oh...and Welcome!!! I'm always game for more power pop talk...

One of these days I've got to pick up a CD copy of "The Kids are the Same" by Paul Collins Beat.

That was one of my favorite vinyl LP's.

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