smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | William Rabeneck <largro13@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: Losing my religion, sorta. |
| Date | Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:34:25 -0700 (PDT) |
[Part 1 text/plain us-ascii (4.1 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
I can totally relate. I've been a Power-Pop fan, off and on, for about 28 years. But I listened to it pretty hard from about 2002 to 2006. I tried really hard in 2007 but just didn't like much that I heard. I've exhibited the same signs of burn-out. And I've turned toward various things from Cow-Punk/Country Rock to the Hair Metal that ruled when I was in my late teens and early twenties.
Lately, I've been listening to the Old 97s new one "Blame It On Gravity" - I like the songs, but the production/recording is a little to 'slick' for me. And I've been listening to new ones by Whitesnake "Good To Be Bad", Def Leppard "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge", Dokken "Lightning Strikes Again", and Tesla "Reel to Real" and "Reel to Real 2". The Def Leppard and the Tesla are A-list efforts, as far as I'm concerned. The Dokken and Whitesnake are B-list, but have their excellent moments on certain songs.
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:48:24 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
From: J&J Giddings <jandjgiddings@mindspring.com>
To: audities@smoe.org
Subject: Losing my religion, sorta.
Message-ID:
<32559153.1213368504698.JavaMail.root@mswamui-swiss.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
Friends, I have truely left the "Power-pop" building. I don't
know when it happened...sometime around 2006? I think mainly the sheer amount
of music I consume daily caused it, but I came to realize that Power-pop. was
only a blip on the radar of music. As if I hadn't known. I'd blinded
myself with Power-pop, but I'm recovering. I've begun an ongoing
search for new, old and VERY different musics. The catalyst for this was my
recent discovery of Sparks. Of course they are the proverbial definition of
Different or Unique. Prior to this recent time I was a Power-pop die hard.
I would play P.P. compilations(Pop 2k, Pop 'Till You Drop) for
"outsiders" who would ask if the next song was the same band. Or,
I'd turn someone onto a bunch of bands and again I'd be told they all
sound alike. I disagreed. They just weren't hearing the Power-pop
craftsmanship that I had deluded myself into believing was the 'Only
Way'. I mean other people might have a different taste in music than I,
right?
Well, I was the narrow minded one this time. At some point it seemed anytime
I'd check out Audities suggestions I felt disappointed for not having it be
at the same level of quality as Jellyfish. That's my own fault. Jellyfish
spoiled me. But I don't consider them Power-Pop now; rock with pop
abundance in some songs, yes, but I can play Jellyfish and nobody gets bored.
My eyes have been opened. I have discovered,(and spent too much $ on), a
poop-load of 70's prog bands from the UK and all over the world...bands,
sadly, near no one's heard such as Stallion(Hi Phil!), Spring, Fantasy,
Fields, Strawbs, Triumvirat, Kayak, Magnus, , the list goes on. Not just prog,
but good psychedelic rock and UK sike-pop from the late sixties and early
seventies like Skip Bifferty, Edwards Hand, Piccadilly Line, The Casuals,
etc...
I won't shun good P.P., but I can't spend money on any more Beatle
re-dux. Being able to quickly sing along to a song doesn't make it good
power-pop either- it makes it catchy.
Big difference. There is a lot of catchy stuff out there that is not P.P. that
I haven't heard, yet. But I'm trying.
I think the last proper "Power-pop" record I bought this year was The
Quick's, "Mondo Deco", used on vinyl. Great record and VERY
Sparks-ish. Produced by an-ex-Spark no less. I suppose if I want to hear
classic power-pop I can always find another obscure band like the Quick,
Planets, Airways, Buckeye, The Jags, etc. I know there's plenty out there.
It's true that after many years of the same type of music anyone would
leave the fold.
Apparently, I have. As a musician/songwriter I haven't gone from major to
minor or used the word "love" in any new songs in 3 years. I now play
bass in a rock and roll band called The Pinx.
myspace.com/thepinxatlanta -if ya wanna check it out.
Warning: There are no Rickenbackers or harmonies.
...not that there's anything wrong with that...
Long Live Power-pop.
Joe Giddings
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.