Poppin' the Cherry

Okay, this strikes me as thoroughly unlikely but it is nonetheless true: The Floor Models, i.e. the Eighties 12-string pop band I toiled with, who were world famous in Greenwich Village, have a song on a new box set from Cherry Red Records, aka the World's Coolest Label.

From the promo material:

In 1979, The Knack kicked open the doors for a global power pop explosion, and a year or so later, almost as quickly, the doors closed again, but not before a mass of their contemporaries followed them through. Soon, a bunch of others got caught up in the excitement and the record business relearned the power of guitar-driven pop - the first few years of the '80s were as exciting for power pop as the last couple of the 70s had been, and even when it returned to the underground, the music continued to flow throughout the decade.

‘I Wanna Be A Teen Again’ follows the 80s power pop explosion from its hypocentre early in the decade to its enduring late period gems, exploring both leading and lesser lights, the old hands and new talents who made it such an exciting musical happening. By the middle of the decade, the term power pop had been all but retired, but a handful of new bands found success by avoiding it, whilst new movements, including the Paisley Underground and indie pop, helped keep others alive under new brandings. All the while a small number of holdouts, the pop equivalent of the soldiers lost in the jungle after the war had ended, strove to keep the music and the name alive.

Packed with classic cuts and long-overlooked rough diamonds, and appearing at a time when new outfits like The Lemon Twigs pick through the body of 80s power pop for material and inspiration and some key artists like Redd Kross and The Bangles are celebrated in books and film, ‘I Wanna Be A Teen Again’ is a timely examination and celebration of this action-packed era and its thrilling sounds.

We're on the second disc, in between Marshall Crenshaw and Cheap Trick -- and how fabulous is that?

The set features over 75 songs, neatly alternating between hits and deep cuts from a myriad of name artists/genre faves (I can't believe we're on an album with The Bangles, Rick Springfield(!), The Go-Gos, Shoes and Eric Carmen) and obscure characters like us; you can peruse the complete track listing -- and pre-order the thing, which will be available starting July 18 -- over at the Cherry Red website HERE. I'm told there will be a booklet with extensive liner notes and lotsa cool photos, including one of the Flo Mos; I'm also informed that you'll be able to stream the set over at Spotify, and I'll keep you posted on further details as I get them.

And may I just say, and for the record (as it were) that I'm over the moon thrilled and honored that we're a part of this thing, and my only regret is that my departed bandmates -- 12 string ace Andy Pasternack, who wrote the song, and drummer Glen Robert Allen -- didn't live to see it.

PS: Oh, and here's the compilation's title song, which I must confess I was previously unfamiliar with.

Of course, I am now, unsurprisingly, totally nuts about it.

[cross-posted at Floor Your Love]