--- In audities@yahoogroups.com, DanAbnrml9@a... wrote:

> Okay, so, this is an admittedly bizarre question.
>
> I've found that in listening to Jellyfish's "Bellybutton" and the related
> demos in the box set as well as some of the early Cockeyed Ghost material
> (well, really, the Adam Marsland Band stuff) and the Bangles and a few
other
> things that I notice a common thread. Mainly it seems that there was a
> distinct school of late 80s/early 90s california power-pop that employed
> then-modern production techniques (shiny synths, a crisp almost A/C type
pop
> production) for a very mainstream sheen. Most would probably think this is
> bad, and I guess I do too from a technical standpoint, but I can't help
but
> feel like I want more of it. Maybe it's some kind of inexplicable
nostalgia
> thing, but it's just pushing my buttons.
>
> So my question, I guess, is where can I get more things in this vein? I've
> heard a lot about paisley pop (and, specifically, Three O'Clock) over the
> years but have never heard anything of it/them. I figure since there are
many
> Californians--including many who were making music at that time--on the
list,
> they can probably provide some insight. I'm pretty curious.
>
> --Jason

I would have to nominate The Three O'Clock's final album Vermillion for this
category.  Definitely lots of sheen and slickness, a change which you could
see coming with their previous album, Ever After.  Most Three O'Clock fans I
know would rank Vermillion at the bottom of their catalogue, but I'd have to
say it's either my favorite or a close second to Sixteen Tambourines.  I
mean, songs like "Love Explosion," "World On Fire," and "Neon Telephone" are
so delightfully twinkie and catchy.  (Footnote: although most people on
Audities already know this, at the time of Vermillion The Three O'Clock had
as one of its members a young man who would go on to bigger and better
things...Jason Falkner).

Another California album from the same year (1988) that's full of sheen is
the lone disc by The Buddy System, featuring Buddy Judge.  Very slick, but
very Rubinoo-esque power pop.  Interestingly, Falkner and Judge became 1/2
of The Grays, whose 1994 album was anything but slick.
--
Pop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David