And speaking as we have been for the last couple of days of the fabulous Yellow Pills volume 3...
...please enjoy my third favorite cut from it -- ex-Raspberry Scott McCarl and his infernally catch "Nobody Knows."
And speaking of nobody knows, I have no idea whatever happened to that guy (the track dates from the early '90s). I know he wasn't in the band when they did a fabulous reunion show at the Highline in New York City in 2007.
I should add that a certain Shady Dame and I had our first date at that show. Gee, I wonder why I fell in love with her.
Thank you, I'm here all week -- try the veal. And please tip your waitresses -- they all have massive drug habits to support.
Oh, and here's Fred Armisen telling some other musician jokes.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
And speaking as we have been for the last couple of days of the fabulous Yellow Pills volume 3...
...please enjoy my favorite track. "Time Will Tell on You" by The Rock Club.
If truth be told, I have sort of personal reasons for loving that song. For starters, the drummer is my colleague in The Floor Models (and my musical director for the last fifty years) Glen Robert Allen. And the song's composer and singer is none other than honorary Floor Model Ronnie D'Addario.
Log-rolling aside, I think you'll admit that's a pretty gorgeous tune. I should also add that Ronnie is currently enjoying being the father to pop phenoms The Lemon Twigs (who, incidentally, now own my 1961 Fender Bassman amp, which is considerably older than they are). And that you can find out more about Ronnie and his own music -- which is a really high quality body of work, if I do say so -- over at his official website HERE.
And speaking as we were last week about the late great John Wicks and his contribution to Yellow Pills Vol. 3...
A really lovely song, if not as great a performance as the stuff on the first Records album; when I saw him do it live, however, at the Yellow Pills record release party in 1995, it was considerably more glorious sounding, as was his entire set. Plus, as I mentioned last time, I got to meet John before he went onstage, which was one of the real thrills of my adult life.
Another song from the Yellow Pills comp -- one that's a little closer to home for me -- tomorrow.
Got this from friend of PowerPop (and a guy who distributes Floor Models CDs, so he has excellent taste) Ray Gianchetti, proprietor of Kool Kat Musik:
Goodbye Kayfabe, the third (and latest) album from British multi-instrumentalist and producer Nick Frater sees a tougher sound, kicking off with sensational power-pop smash “Built To Last”! Featuring guest vocals from Nicolai Prowse (Do Me Bad Things) the song is a joyful blast of Raspberries meets Cheap Trick! "...impressive opener ‘Built To Last’ is one of the best retro-Raspberries singles I’ve heard this year. It’s almost impossible to top!" -- Powerpopaholic.com
Goodbye Kayfabe continues with the punchy jangle-pop of "Paperchase," with other tracks painting in Frater’s broad sonic palette - tropilia, brass band, vintage synth arpeggiators -- and ending with another trademark Beatle-esque ballad. "An absolute joy of a listen that’s right up our street." – IDontHearASingle.com “Frater’s music reminds me of Jellyfish’s incredibly knowing but lovingly crafted meta pop" – SongsFromSoDeep.com
Met with rapturous reviews when digitally released in early 2018, Kool Kat Musik has included three bonus tracks, including “Sara," which brings a hint of yacht-rock to the song’s narrative about witnessing a misguided workplace romance! Final track “The Sombrero Fallout Suite” is a truly staggering musical achievement! It’s an eighteen minute power-pop song-cycle, in nine movements! Imagine if The Flaming Lips had produced side two of Abbey Road
As you can hear from the above, Ray isn't indulging in hyperbole about "Built to Last," and I am here to tell you that his description of the rest of the album is spot on; this is modern pop with power at it's most inspired (although I must confess I haven't quite figured out the reference to yacht-rock).
In any case, you can (and definitely should) order it from the Kool Kat link up top; you can also find out more about Nick's other albums, including Something/Nothing (yes, it's a tribute to Todd Rundgren) over HERE.
So last night a certain Shady Dame and I went to the opening of the brilliant new Velvet Underground exhibition in Greenwich Village.
Boy, was it like old times for me (notwithstanding that the Village is all but unrecognizable from when I lived there in the early 80s). Lights, cameras, loads of press, plus free hors d'oeuvres, an open bar and celebrities.
You can't see them in that clip, but as I was shooting it I noticed John Cale and Laurie Anderson going nose to nose in a corner.
And I was particularly pleased that The Velvet Underground Played at My High School -- a brilliant animated short by my old college chum Tony Janelli -- was playing on a continuous loop.
It's a true story, BTW -- Summit (N.J.) High, in 1965.
In any event, the show runs through the end of the year and it's well worth your attention. I should add that we had dinner at a great Italian place nearby called Bar Primi, which is at 325 Bowery; if you go see the show, you could do a lot worse than try the pasta with pancetta and pecorino.
I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of John Wicks, lead singer of the enormously influential power pop band The Records.
And co-writer of one of the most perfect songs of all time -- "Starry Eyes."
The Records first album -- The Records in the US, Shades in Bed in the UK -- is an absolute stone classic; there isn't a less than memorable song on it.
Here's perhaps my faborite. And certainly the most gorgeous.
I should add that The Floor Models were huge fans. Here's our cover of "Hearts in Her Eyes," another classic from that debut album. We used to play it live so often everybody in Greenwich Village thought we wrote it.
I got to meet John at the 1995 record release party for this great power pop compilation put together by Jordan Oakes; John, who was sort of making a comeback, contributed a stunning tune called "Her Stars Are My Stars."
Here's a very nice unplugged performance of it from a few years later.
Some bandmates of mine had a song on the same album as well, but alas, I can't find Mp3s of either of the studio versions of those on my iTunes library or on the intertubes generally. I'll see if I can track them down later in the week.
In any case, you'll have to trust me -- John's performance at the aforementioned show was glorious. And he was incredibly nice when I introduced myself afterwards; he remembered a review of a Records best-of CD I had written in the early 90s, which blew my tiny mind.
End of story -- I've said it before and I'll say it again: This death shit is really starting to piss me off.
From 2018, please enjoy friend of PowerPop (and moi) Joe Benoit...
...and the lead off track of his forthcoming solo album Too Old to Be a Rock Star.
Apart from being stone gorgeous, that song seems obviously relevant to our current national trauma, but I won't beat you over the head about that.
In any case, Joe used to front a killer NYC power pop band called The Regulars (you can read and hear more about them over HERE) and he's super talented. He also recently, out of the great goodness of his heart, contributed angelic harmony vocals to a new Floor Models song.
I'll keep you posted as to when his album is coming out. I should add that he's doing a solo gig on October 19th, starting at 8:30 pm, at the fabulous Gutter Bar in Williamsburg...
...so if you're in Brooklyn that evening check him out. Here's the info:
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