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| From | "T. J. Cruz" <cruz992@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: New group question/20 All-time Favorites |
| Date | Sun, 3 Feb 2008 13:25:58 -0800 (PST) |
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I'm another long time lurker here who will follow the migration to a new list. A Google list would be okay with me. I would like to thank Michael Coxe for running the list all of these years, and also Mike Bennett and David Bash for being class acts 100% of the time.
As for names, how about "Shake Some Action" in honor of the recent Borack/Brodeen collaboration, or "Starting Over", the #1 listing in the book.
Though this year's poll had a low turnout, there were several (unknown to me) bands/artists listed that I've made a point to check out. Even this morning, a smile was brought to my face as Mr. Coxe introduced me to a band I hadn't heard of before, The Laughing Dogs. I even plan to purchase "Wackering Heights" in the near future.
Of all the lists I subscribe to, this one would be the one I would miss
the most. Mostly for the number of recommendations I have gleaned, but
also for the collective wit and goodwill of the vast majority of the active members (I unfortunately don't have the online stamina to be anything more than a passive list member). Even though most of the female subscribers have left, Audities still had the vibe of a true online community.
Here is my Top 20 List. It changed quite a bit from my first draft, from basically a list of my current all-time faves, to a list more far-reaching in scope, as seen from the view of my many years as a power pop fan, weaned on the Borack/Cafarelli Goldmine years and to a lesser extent, Trouser Press and Yellow Pills. This shift has homogenized the list quite a bit, to mostly feature mostly the well-known power pop Gods.
Despite my previous point, there are no Beatles albums to be found on the list, simply because I consider them bigger than power pop. Three more albums that I loved, The Orgone Box' self titled debut, The Grip Weeds "House of Vibes" and Chris Bell's "I Am the Cosmos", didn't make the cut with me (though they made Borack's list) because I personally don't consider them power pop. Also, I loved The Posies and The Hummingbirds in their heyday, but always felt like neither reached their true potential.
1. The Someloves-Something Or Other (This is the holy grail for me. I should list the "Don't Talk About Us..." reissue instead, since it includes many bonus tracks, but
this is the one that I've listened to while staring at the cd cover for hours on end.)
2. Any Trouble-Where Are All the Nice Girls? (If a Martian visited Earth and wanted to hear an example of prototypical power pop, this is the cd I would play for him.)
3. Sam Phillips-The Indescribable Wow (This one is aided greatly by a timeless T-Bone Burnett production job.)
4. Big Star-Radio City
5. The Three O’Clock-16 Tambourines (This one was dropped down a few notches because I don't consider it true power pop. But I love this album so much, I had to
include it.)
6. Dancing Hoods-12 Jealous Roses (I'm so glad that John Borack included this lp in his book. I consider the Eric Williams tracks on this album among the finest
ever pop songs. Does anybody know why he seemed to disappear after this album? I read rumors...)
7. Marshall Crenshaw-Field Day
8. Tommy Keene-The Real Underground (A compilation, yes, but since it isn't a Best of..., I felt okay with listing it. Those first 2 eps are still my favorites from Tommy's
remarkably consistent body of work.)
9. Marshall Crenshaw-Marshall Crenshaw
10. The Windbreakers-Disciples of Agriculture (I chose this over other Windbreakers comps because of track "Rerun".)
11. The Cavedogs-Joyrides For Shut-Ins (This is the band omitted from "Shake Some Action" that had me shaking my head.)
12. The dB’s-Like This (Many would chose their first album above this, and was a big fan before I purchased "Like This", but this is the one I sang along to while driving.)
13. The Smithereens-Especially For You (I can't believe I never listen to this one anymore.)
14. The Plimsouls-Everywhere At Once (I consider this more a true rock record than power pop, so it dropped down a bit. Peter Case is my all time favorite rock singer.)
15. The dB’s-Stands For Decibels
16. Jellyfish-Bellybutton (What could've been. If only they allowed Jason to contribute his songs-maybe they wouldn't have flamed out so quickly.)
17. Big Star-#1 Record
18. Sloan-Between The Bridges
19. Myracle Brah-Life On Planet Eartsnop
20a.Matthew Sweet-Girlfriend
20b.Marshall Crenshaw-Downtown
20c.Sloan-Navy Blues
20d.Game Theory-The Big Shot Chronicles (This I consider more a psych pop record, but I have to include Scott Miller in any best of list I write.)
20e.The Wind-Wind-Jammer: Where`s It At With The Wind Plus (I probably wouldn't list this if the "Guest of the Staphs ep" wasn't added. I played that one to death.)
20f. The Bangles-The Bangles EP (I wish somebody would reissue their earliest recordings. I like "All Over the Place", but love the more retro vibe of this ep.)
I am sure I missed something, but gotta cut it off somewhere.
Best,
TJ Cruz.
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