Log Rolling in Our Time (An Occasional Series): Special Professional Jealousy Edition

So Friday last, when I posted that Marc Jonson song he wrote and performed in tribute to the late Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens, I had one of my increasingly rare moments of self-aware insight.

To wit: That every time I start to get a little big-headed about music by one of my various bands over the years that...well, that frankly I really need to listen (or re-listen) to stuff made by many far more talented friends and acquaintances of mine and -- frankly -- get over myself.

Which leads me, for reasons that will soon become clear, to my chum Marc Platt.

Marc fronted a punkish mid-80s Los Angeles power pop band called The Real Impossibles, and a compilation of their stuff came out on Zero Hour Records a few months after the Zero Hour release of Floor Your Love. Which made us label mates, of course. I had never heard of the band until the CD, but it knocked me out, and we struck up an intertube friendship, with me mostly telling him "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!"

Here's a representative track...



...that absolutely kills me. I think comparisons to The Plimsouls are not implausible, and for my money the whole CD is great; you can order it at our mutual label's website HERE.

I should also add that Marc is an extremely accomplished music scribe and the author of the fab (obviously) E-book How the Beatles Did It, which you can and should order at the link right here. (Have I mentioned I hate him?).

But enough of the history lesson.

The bottom line is that Marc has a new album about to come out. The concept of which is self-described by its auteur as "One man lo-fi garage band."

Hey -- works for me. As you can hear from this representative track -- a swell re-imagining of The Stones' classic "The Last Time."



And here's a fun video for another of the songs. (Obviously, any excuse to ogle Louise Brooks is alright with me, folks.)



In any case, the album drops, as the kids say, on April 9th on iTunes and everywhere. When it does I'll be back with a proper review of the whole shebang, but in the meantime, I thought you oughta know.

BTW, have I mentioned that there's a Facebook page devoted to the album?. And that the album also features a very cool cover of a Flamin' Groovies classic on it? Well there is, and it does. So there.

The Marc of the Beast

From his fabulous just released EP, please enjoy friend of PowerPop (and moi) Marc Platt and its quite wonderfully cosmic title song "Colors of the Universe."

A great performance and tune, obviously, and I should add that rhyming "perverse" and "universe" is a feat most of us mere mortals will never surpass.

In any case, if you don't know Marc's work, here's the short version: Although he's been a prolific solo artist for a bunch of years now, he first came to my attention when I discovered that he was a labelmate; a collection of his 80s work with his power pop band The Real Impossibles -- who as they say, were world famous in Los Angeles -- was reissued on Australia's Zero Hour records a few months after the Floor Models' Floor Your Love.

I heard this track from the compilation...

...and I was an instant fan. Why these guys weren't as critically fawned over as The Plimsouls was and is utterly beyond my ken.

In any case, the new EP has seven terrific songs -- I posted "Everything Dies" the other day -- all more or less in the same vein of catchy punkish folk-psychedelia as "Colors," and it's one of the most entertaining things I've been privileged to hear in ages.

You can -- and very definitely should -- order it (either to stream or buy the physical CD) over at Amazon HERE. Act now.

And BTW, you can snag a copy of the Real Impossibles album over at the official website of Zero Hour Records. You'll thank me.

PS: Marc also is a terrific deejay, and he has a new internet radio show, which airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday (at 3pm PDT) over HERE.

It's New Years Day! (Special What Fresh Hell is This? Edition)

That's right, kids, it's now 2016. Which, given the example of 2015, is clearly going to be the suckiest year since I was in college.

Seriously -- I am convinced that what we're gonna see in this country for the rest of the decade at least is gonna be a display of bigotry, paranoia and violence that's gonna make the late '60s look like a PTA bake sale.

Or, to paraphrase a friend of a friend -- I feel really sorry for aspiring dystopian sci-fi writers whose best ideas keep being stolen by today's Republican Party.

Which leads me, for reasons that will soon become clear, to my chum Marc Platt.

Marc fronted a mid-80s Los Angeles punkish power pop band called The Real Impossibles, and a compilation of their stuff came out on Zero Hour Records a few months after the Zero Hour release of Floor Your Love. Which made us labelmates, of course. I had never heard of the band until the CD, but it knocked me out, and we struck up an intertube friendship, with me mostly telling him "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy"!

Here's a representative track...



...that absolutely kills me. I think comparisons to The Plimsouls are not implausible, and for my money the whole CD is great; you can order it at our mutual label's website HERE

I should add that Marc is also the author of the fab (obviously) E-book HOW THE BEATLES DID IT, which you can and should order at the link.

He also blogs about politics and stuff and he's continued to perform, write and record.

And now, for obvious reasons, here's a new song he sang in the aftermath of the murder by cop of Tamir Rice.

It's called "This Ain't Who We Are."



And let me just say, to bring everything around, full circle, to 2016 -- I'm afraid Marc is an optimist. That IS who we are.

So Happy New Year, everybody!!!

Bright Lights....

The story so far: Marc Platt used to front one of my favorite lost bands of the 80s, L.A.'s The Real Impossibles (seen here...ohmigod...with Martha freaking Quinn)...



...whose music was a canny mix of power pop, garage and New Wave energy; I usually compare them to the Plimsouls and Peter Case, which I do not think is overblown at all. Bottom line: They were a killer band and they should have been household words.

Cut to 2018, and Marc is still making great music. To wit: His just released solo album...

...which is in more or less the same style as his previous work, although a little rawer and more garage...

...and in this case including three really fabulous covers -- a dark, menacing take on The Stones' "The Last Time," a spooky stomp through Elvis Costello's "You Belong to Me," and a straight-ahead version of The Flamin' Groovies' "I Can't Hide" that may rock harder the original.

Have I mentioned that Marc has thoughtfully included a bunch of his new songs that are instantly addictive?

To wit, the sort of folk-rockish "High Road"...



...and the moody jangle-fest "Feelin' the Heat."



Plus lots more, and the whole thing adds up to one of the best albums of the year so far. You can (and very definitely should) order it Amazon over HERE.

I thank you.

It's Never Too Late to Say You're Sorry

From his just released album Tambourine Alley, please enjoy the annoyingly talented Marc Platt...

...and his should be a hit single "Make Your Amends."



Marc, who by the way is a genuine mensch, used to be in an absolutely sensational 80s L.A. band called The Real Impossibles, who were in the same general vein as The Plimsouls and every bit as good; I got to know him when Zero Hour Records, the Australian home of the fabulous Floor Models, put out a Real Impossibles compilation (which I highly recommend and you can and should order it over HERE). I should add that it is a source of some pride to me that he and I are labelmates.

I should also add that you can -- and very definitely should -- download Tambourine Alley, which is so good that it makes me want to quit trying to make music, over at Amazon HERE.

You're welcome.

Radio Free Canuckistan

Hey Canadians -- friend of PowerPop Marc Platt will be hosting another episode of his syndicated Radio Candy show today and it will be beaming into the ether at Q108 FM in Kingston.

The rest of the world can listen to it streaming HERE, but in either case we are delighted that Marc will be playing -- in more or less its terrestrial radio debut -- "You'll Come Aroud," from the fabulous Floor Models (featuring some guy whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels) great album Floor Your Love.

The show airs at 3pm and 8pm (EST) -- be there or be square!!!

La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question: Special "Skinny Ties Rule, Okay!" Edition

From 1986, and liver (heh) than you'll ever be, please enjoy utterly fab gear quartet The Real Impossibles and their totally kick-ass meditation on what happens "Since You've Been Gone."

Long time readers will doubtless recall my enthusiasm for these guys, but if you're new here, this is the backstory as it first appeared in 2020.

...The Real Impossibles, fronted by Marc Platt [stage left in the video] were a mid-80s Los Angeles punkish power pop band, and a compilation of their stuff (entitled It's About Time) came out on Zero Hour Records a few months after the 2013 Zero Hour release of Floor Your Love. Which made us labelmates, of course. I had never heard of the band until the CD, but it knocked me out, and Marc and I struck up a long-distance friendship, with me mostly telling him "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy"!, that persists to this day.

Here's a representative track, which also happens to be the coolest Neil Diamond cover since the heyday of The Monkees.

That absolutely kills me; I think comparisons to The Plimsouls are not implausible (which is about the highest praise I can give anything), and for my money the whole CD is just freaking great guitar driven rock-and-roll.

I should add that the good folks at Rum/Bar Records have recently reissued It's About Time, completely remastered and with bonus tracks, and the damn thing is better than before. If ever there was a Great Lost Album of the 80s, this is it. (Grab it at Amazon over HERE.)

Which inevitably leads us to today's business. To wit:

...and the '80s New Wave pop/punk artist/band(s) that you think should have been much better known/more commercially successful than they were is/are...???

No arbitrary rules, but if the act you posit actually started recording in the late 70s -- like, for example, The Records -- we'll let it slide.

And I mention The Records because they'd be my nominee, to the surprise of no one who's ever hung out here.

Discuss/have fun.

And have a great weekend, everyody!!

Attention, Lousy Stinking Francophonic Bacon-Eating Bastards...

...i.e., Canadians.

Friend of PowerPop Marc Platt will be hosting another episode of his syndicated Radio Candy show today and it will be beaming into the ether at Q108 FM in Kingston.

The rest of the world can listen to it streaming HERE, but in either case we are delighted that Marc will be playing -- for the second week in a row!-- "You'll Come Aroud," from the fabulous Floor Models (featuring some guy whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels) great album Floor Your Love.

The show airs at 3pm and 8pm (EST) -- be there or be square!!!

Programming Notes from the Great White North

Hey Canadians -- friend of PowerPop Marc Platt will be hosting another episode of his syndicated Radio Candy show today and it will be beaming into the ether at Q108 FM in Kingston.

The rest of the world can listen to it streaming at www.q108kingston.com, but in either case we are delighted that Marc will be playing -- in more or less its terrestrial radio debut -- "Letter From Liverpool," the fabulous "new" old song by the fabulous Floor Models (featuring some guy whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels).

The show airs at 3pm and 8pm (EST) -- be there or be square!!!

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (An Occasional Series)

Yes, lets. Specifically my chum Marc Platt.

Marc fronted a mid-80s Los Angeles punkish power pop band called The Real Impossibles, and a compilation of their stuff (entitled It's About Time) came out on Zero Hour Records a few months after the 2013 Zero Hour release of Floor Your Love. Which made us labelmates, of course.

I had never heard of the band until the CD, but it knocked me out, and we struck up an intertube friendship, with me mostly telling him "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy"!

Here's a representative track...



...that absolutely kills me. I think comparisons to The Plimsouls are not implausible (which is about the highest praise I can give anything), and for my money the whole CD is just freaking great guitar driven rock-and-roll.

Oh, and have I mentioned perhaps my favorite Neil Diamond cover ever?



So why am I bringing this up now? Because the good folks at Rum/Bar Records have just reissued It's About Time, completely remastered and with bonus tracks, and the damn thing is better than before. If ever there was a Great Lost Album of the 80s, this is it.

Bottom line: You can -- and should -- order it from Amazon HERE or directly from Rum/Bar over HERE.

Your Monday Moment of the Coolest Songs in the World

From 2019, please enjoy...

...The Weeklings (featuring Peter Noone) and a very sharp cover of The Easybeats classic "Friday on My Mind."



And also from 2019, it's The Tearaways (featuring the great Clem Burke on drums) and their tribute to "The Wrecking Crew."



The above was recorded before the passing of the great Hal Blaine last week, BTW (Hal actually got to hear it before he went to the great recording studio in the sky).

I should add that in the last two weeks, both of these tracks got the nod as Coolest Song of the Week over at Little Steven's Underground Garage Sirius XM radio show. Which is itself the coolest thing of the week in perpetuity.

For more on The Weeklings, head over to their website HERE.

For more on The Tearaways, their website is HERE. And you should immediately check out their fantastic CD Anthems and Lullabies, which can -- and very definitely should -- be previewed and ordered at iTunes Music HERE.

[h/t Marc Platt]

Non-Power Pop Song of the Week (An Occasional Series)

From his 2015 EP Hell Hole Swamp...

...please enjoy L.A. based Americana/alt-country kind of guy RJ Comer and his quite stunningly beautiful "Losing What You're Losing."



I had never heard this song -- or any of Comer's work for that matter -- until yesterday, when friend of PowerPop Marc Platt programmed it on his syndicated radio show up in Canada (along with some other tune featuring a bass player whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels). Obviously, in terms of genre, it's not exactly the sort of thing that generally justifies the mission statement of this here blog, but I think it's riveting nonetheless and I thought I'd share. You're welcome very much.

Meanwhile, you can and should order Mr. Comer's EP over at Amazon HERE.

Ivories, Well Tickled: An Occasional Series

Ever wonder what inspired Paul McCartney's way cool piano part on "Lady Madonna"?

Lyttleton was a homegrown Brit jazz guy, and the above was a big chart hit in England in 1956 (that's him on trumpet -- the piano was by Johnny Parker). Obviously, the record had a big impact on the teenage Macca.

Have a great weekend, everybody!!!

[h/t Marc Platt]

The Year of Living Miserably

So I think that we can all agree that 2016 has been one of the suckiest years in the history of suckitude. I have personal reasons for saying that, obviously, but across the board the year has been pretty damn horrible on about a zillion levels.

Still, for me anyway, there has been one constant bright spot -- music. I have been lucky enough to be turned on this year to all sorts of great stuff -- largely in the genre that defines the mission statement of this here blog -- to the point where 2016 will be the first time I will find it easy to vote a Top Ten album list in the Village Voice Critics Poll in over a decade. I mean, for The Swedish Polarbears alone, and they're just the tip of the iceberg.

In any case, courtesy of my chum Marc Platt -- and may I just say, and for the record, that the fact I never got to see his band The Real Impossibles in a club back in the day is now the great regret of my adult life -- I've just discovered the incredibly great Nick Piunti.



Holy Cheap Trick, Beatles, Matthew Sweet, Willie Nile et al, Batman!

The above song is from a 2013 album; Nick's newest CD came out at the end of September (on Marty Scott's JEM Records imprint, which I hadn't realized still existed) and it's more of the same and possibly even more infectiously memorable.

You can find out the skinny on Nick -- who's been doing this kind of stuff for years, and why didn't I get the memo previously? -- over at his official website here. You can also order his albums, which I recommend you do posthaste.

Have I mentioned that this guy is so great I hate him?

Have a great weekend, everybody!

The Best Traditional (Non-Hyphenated) Rock Band in the World?

Currently, yeah, possibly; could be, could be. Although you could, if pressed, describe them as power-pop.

I refer of course to The Tearaways, fueled by the incredible drumming of Blondie's Clem Burke, aka the second coming of Keith Moon. And who will be, you should pardon the expression, tearing it up on a tour of England starting this Wednesday, despite the sudden death of their bass player and manager John Ferriter. (Friend of PowerPop Marc Platt, formerly of The Real Impossibles, has stepped into the tragic breach.)

On a happier note, here's the band's latest video, to give you an idea of what they're about.



Incidentally, that was produced by Ron (Archies/Pat Benatar/Barry Manilow) Dante, who you may recall as the voice of "Sugar, Sugar," so these guys pop/rock credentials are obviously pretty impressive.

More news on the English shows as they develop.

Your Friday Moment of Shameless Plugola

I now give the floor to my pal Marc Platt -- musician, book writer (How the Beatles Did It), political blogger and all around mensch:

EAST COAST ROCKER IS A ONE-MAN ARMY FOR GOOD...

Brian Kroll is an east coast recording artist who has shifted the focus from his dreams of rock-and-roll stardom towards doing something with his art to make things better. His videos are a call to action, along the lines of long-form PSA's (public service announcements).

Kroll is based in Oceanside, New York and has used the recording moniker 'My Son The Bum' since 2007, but has shifted his focus towards making videos that have been used by several media outlets like MGM Casinos, Shopping Malls and Time Warner in Upstate New York.

Sounds pretty good to me, so here's a great example of Brian's work. From 2014, it's his cautionary tale of the digital age "Death By Texting."



The song's auteur explains: "I realized that every person texting and driving might think the other driver will see them, 'In car 'A' they didn't see, I was the guy driving in car 'B'."

Indeed. I really like that one, BTW, but I like this one even more. Especially after last night's Republican debate.



You can -- and definitely should -- listen to more of Brian's music over HERE.

You're welcome.

Closed for Monkey Business: Now With Coming Attractions!!!

Way behind schedule for reasons I won't bore you with.

That said, music posting returns tomorrow, beginning with a review of the great new EP by friend of PowerPop and moi Marc Platt.

Here's a teaser song until then.

By the way, despite the title of that song, I am still very much not dead despite everything, if you know what I mean.

Give the Drummer Some (Part Deux)

From 2020, please enjoy the just released official video for "Charlie, Keith and Ringo," the fabulous tribute song by the equally fabulous Tearaways we posted the audio for back in early August.



Incidentally, the gent bashing those pagan skins is, of course, the incomparable Clem Burke of Blondie fame.

In any event, a terrific clip that fully lives up to the drum greats who inspired it. Hats off to all involved.

I should also add that you can -- and should -- download the audio of "Charlie, Keith and Ringo" over at bandcamp HERE.

[h/t Marc Platt]