The Greatest Thing in the History of Things

Okay, I may be over-selling it. But there's no question that what you're about to see and hear is a) transplendent and b) an artifact that defines the mission statement of this here blog better than anything I've encountered in what seems like ages.

So, without any further hoo-hah, from 2023 please enjoy The Weeklings and their near-genius power pop reimagining of The Beatles' classic "I've Just Seen a Face."

Face it, if that doesn't bring a smile to your lips and/or a tear to your eye, there's no hope for you. How do I love this? Let me count the ways. For starters, rhythmically it's pretty much straight ahead punk, albeit overlaid with gloriously inventive harmonies, and unlike the Rubber Soul original, which had a vaguely bluegrass feel, it rocks, and irresistably. I was also gobsmacked by how cleverly the band appropriated the Beatles' original guitar intro to serve as a new instrumental break. And then those women in the vid -- particularly the one doing the McCartney impression -- are too loveable for words; for the first time ever, I think I understand what it must have been like to be a teenage girl losng their shit over four adorable moptops back in the day.

Incidentally, if you're not familiar with the Weeklings (as I wasn't, really, until a week or so ago), they're a bunch of rock lifers fronted (sort of) by Glen Burtnik (the guy on the left with the hat), who's a former member of Styx, a fixture on the Asbury Park music scene (he's worked with Little Steven, Bruce and all those folks), and a songwriter whose stuff has been recorded by the likes of Randy Travis, Patty Smyth and Don Henley. I don't know who the women guesting in the video are, but you can bet your bippy I'm gonna find out.

Meanwhile, to glom lots more Weeklings stuff, including how to check out more of their music, you need to head over to their official website HERE.

Oh, and have I mentioned that the first time I watched the vid, I immediately played it five more times in a row?

Burt Bacharach: The Brill Building Meets Les Six

A great musician (not to mention, as a friend of mine once oserved, a rather spectacular advertisement for what used to be called the Good Life) has passed.

Given the breadth of his body of work, the following Bacharach Top Five -- songs or performances or both -- is not meant to be definitive; in fact, it's wildly subjective, and, depending on the weather, I could easily change my picks on any given day. As of right this moment, however, these are my faves, and my life would be the poorer without any of them.

5. Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach -- I'll Never Fall in Love Again

Yeah yeah, it's from Austin Powers and it's self-consciously campy. I still say it's a gorgeous performance of a gorgeous song.

4. Dusty Springfield -- Wishin' and Hopin'

A lot of people consider Dusty to be Bacharach's premier interpreter, and I wouldn't necessarily disgree. Obviously, the sexual politics of this one are problematic for some killjoys of late, but the combination of innocence and yearning Springfield projects here remains a marvel.

3. Sandie Shaw -- (There's) Always SomethingThere to Remind Me

The great Sandie, and this one just screams Swinging London, IMHO. Hell, it's such a terrific song it survived the soulless 1983 synth-pop cover by the justly forgotten Naked Eyes.

2. Aretha Franklin -- I Say a Little Prayer

Dionne Warwick, who is the singer most closely identified with Bacharach, had the hit with this song, deservedly, but Aretha adds a gospel piano that takes it somewhere else. Just great, in any case.

And speaking of...

1. Dionne Warwick -- Trains and Boats and Planes

That electric piano/twangy guitar riff just slays me. And for my money this is one of the most haunting pop records ever made.

Oh -- and just because...

BTW, my titular reference to Les Six has to do with the fact that -- before he became one of the most awesome pop songwriters of the second half of the 20th century -- Bacharach studied composition with Darius Milhaud, the de facto leader of a group of simpatico French post-Impressionist classical guys who hung with the likes of Jean Cocteau; I suspect the subtle Gallic tinge you can detect in some of Burt's orchestral arrangements -- particularly his use of winds and horns -- is largely attributable to Milhaud's tutelage.

La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question: Special Genre Confusion Edition

Once again, let me send out a huge thank you to everybody who visited this newly reactivated blog last week. I love you guys more than food.

But now to the business at hand. To wit:

Is the above Spoonful classic -- "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" -- (proto)power pop or not?

Discuss.

PS: Some venerable readers may recall that I first raised this question to NYMary, shortly after she gave me the metaphorical keys to the car around here. But I can't recall what conclusion we reached at the time. I will say, however, that this is the first song the Floor Models played live before an unsuspecting audience, and that -- up on the stage at least -- it sure as hell struck my ears as power pop.

Okay, now that we've got that clarified, thanks again for stopping by --and have a great weekend, everybody!!!

PS: The great Burt Bachrach's passing caught me by surprise; I'll have nore to say on the man and his work on Monday.

George Santos Still Hasn’t Found What He’s Looking For

Words fail me.

In case you're wondering, the clip above is from the legendary 2011 flop Broadway, er, musical Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, a show which almost achieved its apparent goal of destroying the careers of genius director Julie Taymor (of The Lion Kng fame) and U2's Bono and The Edge, who wrote the alleged score.

Let me repeat -- words fail me.

In any case, it has long puzzled me how this turkey -- which cost 75 million(!) -- ever made it past the first cold reading of the script. I mean, a Spiderman musical-- really? But the mystery may at last have been solved.

To wit: Gorgeous George Santos.

Yup, him, the freshman Republican congressman from Long Island with the vivid fantasy life. I know, I know...I didn't have him pegged as a patron of the arts either, but apparently during his 2020 campaign George (AKA Milli Brazilli) told people he had been one of the producers of the aforementioned extravaganza. Like so many of George's claims, this can't be verified (for obvious reasons, everybody who actually saw the show burned their Playbills shortly thereafter) but I'm gving him the benefit of the doubt on this one. After all, it seems weirdly appropriate that George (if that is his name) has the theatrical equivalent of a black thumb.

Have I mentioned that words fail me?

Unknown Blues Singers Rule!!

Swear to God -- odious rightwing Brit tabloid rag the Daily Mail headlined Bonnie Raitt's upset Grammy win for Best Song as the work of "an unknown(!) blues singer."

Hey Daily Mail -- give your headline writer a bloody raise!

That said, if you were around these precincts on Monday, you may have gathered, correctly, that I am not now, nor have ever been, a fan of the Grammys. And as for Raitt in particular, although cognizant of her unquestionable natural gifts -- she's a great singer and guitarist -- I've always been kinda meh where her records are concerned. I mean, I wouldn't change the station if the stuff from Nick of Time came on the radio back in 1989, but none of those songs really spoke to me. And don't get me started on "Angel From Montgomery"; frankly, if I ever hear THAT again I'll take a freaking hostage.

But damn, girl...

...that's a stunning, heartbreaking adult piece of songcraft, and a great performance; Raitt thoroughly deserved the award for it.

And fear not -- I won't be posting that 50 Pastel Shades of Banal Dear Diary Faux Confessional Teen Pop crap (by Taylor Swift) that Raitt was up against by way of comparison.

Lest it die of inadequacy, obviously.

Worst Ever Album Track by a Major Artist/Band: (An Occasional Series): Special “The Sound of Your Brain Pan Frying” Edition

I dunno -- is it too soon?

I mean, I was as saddened by David Crosby's death as the next guy. But this, er, song was born dopey. As the saying goes, one would need a heart of stone not to snort derisively if it came on the radio.

“All They Do In This Town is Give Awards. Best Fascist Dictator — Adolf Hitler!”

In case you're wondering, no, I didn't watch last night's Grammy Awards.

If truth be told, I have something of a fraught relationship with the Grammys. I actually attended the 1978 ceremony, on the theory that you should never pass up the chance to get into a show at Radio City Music Hall for free; I don't remember much about the proceedings except that surprise guest Neil Diamond joined Babs Streisand for a rousing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" and that I mostly fidgeted in my seat thinking "what the fuck am I doing here?" the whole time.

Then, a couple of years later, I threw caution to the winds and did a snarky meditation on the Grammys (for Stereo Review, natch), the tone of which can be gleaned from the opening question it posed --

Q: Why are the Grammys named after the obsolete gramophone rather than the contemporary phonograph?

A: Because otherwise they would have to be called the Phonies.

I went on to describe the awards -- perhaps intemperately -- as "spectacularly corrupt," which, it turned out, struck Mike Greene, the then president of the Recording Academy, as objectionable; he threatened to sue SR if we didn't take it back, so I dutifully penned a craven mea culpa which ran in the next issue and demonstrated the flexibility of my convictions. Heh.

Oh well. Meanwhile, from a 2008 episode of Family Guy, here's the funniest parody of the Grammys ever

I should also add that Warren Zanes, of the Del Fuegos, had a very nice Grammy op-ed piece in last Saturday's Times that is, commendably, less cynical than I would have been, and it's well worth reading. Which you can do over HERE.

La Fin de la Semaine Essay Question

Let me start with a huge thank you to everybody who stopped by this here newly active blog in the last two days; I really lack the words to express my gratitude, and I'm getting verklempt so I'll just leave it at that.

Meanwhile, FYI -- for reasons I won't bore you with, I have to type this (and the next few weeks' posts) with one finger on an IPad Mini, so I can't really insert graphics or music links. Thanks in advance for your patience until this is, er, resolved.

That said, it's time to move on to the business at hand, to wit --

And Your Favorite Cover of a Chuck Berry Song (That ISN'T by the Beatles or the Stones) is...?

Discuss.

I should add that a Coveted PowerPop No-Prize™ will be awarded to the first reader who picks the one I'm thinking of.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Watch This Space!

We've been MIA due to health problems, but we should be moving and grooving with our normal panache by the end of the month.

Thanks for your patience, and stay tuned for more Power Pop goodness...we've got tons of stuff to share with you.

Christmastime Is Here!

 Like many of you, I imagine, I'm kind of done with superhero movies, etc. They're fine, and sometimes good fun, but if you had told me 20 years ago that it would be the whole of our media landscape, I would not have believed you. 

I would have been wrong, obviously. 

At this point, I'm what? 40 movies or so behind in the MCU, and have no real interest in catching up. I realize the Universe gave me whole damn pandemic with nothing much to do but watch superhero movies, but if you're caught up here, you know I had far more important things on my plate. (BTW, saw Sloan 11/23, and, though there was a little roughness in the brand-new songs, on the whole they were tight and rocking, as they have been every time I've seen them so far. And when I told Jay Ferguson where I was from, he recalled my (pretty small) town's 1980's AHL team, so there's that.) My obsessions do not tend toward the heroic and explosive.

But I have fallen into a couple of the more interesting (to me) MCU shows: WandaVision and SheHulk: Attorney at Law, the latter of which will probably stand as a model of third-wave feminism for many years. And I did see the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies (there are only two, right?), the problematic god-bothering of the lead actor notwithstanding. 

Which brings me to my delightful point. I love power pop (duh), but I have come to think of it as woodland fungi, to a certain extent. It needs to be sought, it does not come to you, usually. 

And yet here we are, Christmas 2022, with a bona fide power pop hit on the TV: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special's centerpiece hit by Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen, using ancient Earth instruments for the first time. 

It's the Old 97's, of course, a longtime fave in these parts, and Rhett Miller is really leaning into the goofiness of the whole thing. They even appeared with co-star Kevin Bacon on Jimmy Fallon a week or so ago. Damn, that's almost respectable!

There's also some fun other favorites on the soundtrack, including the only holiday tune that really feels like the holidays feel, the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York." Fountains of Wayne's "I Want an Alien for Christmas," also makes an appearance, and there are a handful of others. But the Old 97s are the stars here.

Anyway, I'm always glad to add new stuff to my Power Pop Christmas playlists, and this one's pretty fun. Enjoy!