Hi Everyone,

    I just checked the line-ups for IPO LA and I am tempted to fly across 
country to see Tuesday Evening's show.  Adam Daniel, Ken Sharp and the 
Shambles?  Wow!  I'd be a fixture at the  merch table to be sure.  I was 
pleased to see that Maryz Eyez are playing - I saw them live here in 
Michigan and they deserve to be world famous.  Perhaps now I can look 
forward to a new CD from them.

    Speaking of new CDs, I've been enjoying quite a few of them.  Number One 
on my list has to be "B-Side Oblivion" by Three Hour Tour.  To be honest, I 
thought this was going to be an "Odds and Sods" collection of old b-sides 
and unreleased vault stuff.  Wrong!  This album rocked right out of the gate 
and the songs (well, the first seven anyway) were complete gems with great 
playing and arrangements.  I began to dig through the liner notes to 
discover that Adam Schmitt and most of the Velvet Crush are in this group. 
The tracks "Lonely Place" and "B-Side Oblivion" are stunning.  It's at the 
top of my mid-year list.

    Some of the CDs I had been anticipating for a while were slightly 
disappointing.  The new Private Jets disc is pleasant and poppy, but does 
not have the impact of their debut EP "A Four-Leaf Clover in E-Major".  The 
same could be said of the new Spongetones.  It is pleasant to listen to and 
I don't regret spending time with it, but nothing grabbed my ears in the way 
classic Spongetones music does.  The Drowners, The New Odds and Ike 
registered the same way.  I am glad to own all of them, but I'll put on 
their older stuff if I get the urge to hear them.

    Which makes the following observation all the more surprising, the best 
2008 album by a veteran act I've listened to for years was by...Jeremy! 
"Pop Explosion" is his best CD.  Period.  He comes on like Cheap Trick on 
the opening cut and things pick up from there.  The album has variety and a 
...thicker sound.  There are more layered instruments in the arrangements, 
and there is a real full band sound to the rockers.  This fleshes out the 
Byrds-like "Superstar" and supports the killer riff in "Time Is Running 
Out".  The piano ballad "The Perfect Love" is beautiful, but my favorite cut 
of all is "You're Gonna Get It".  The Liam Gallagher-like snarl that Jeremy 
brings to his live renditions of "Heaven To Pay" comes through here on CD. 
In the chorus, the protagonist snarls with righteous indignation

"You're gonna get what you deserve
It all comes down to who you serve
You're gonna get what you deserve
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"

    I'm betting Jeremy can't wait to showcase  this one live.  The disc 
comes with a bonus collection of covers Jeremy has done for various comp 
discs.  It is a nice dessert after the meaty main course that is "Pop 
Explosion".

    The best older CD I've just recently discovered was "Bowling For Soup 
Goes To The Movies".  I also like "Champion" by The Audition.  The best new 
song I've heard is the as-yet unreleased "She's Under My Skin" by the Smith 
Bros.  (who were fantastic in Chicago) and the best older song I heard for 
the first time was "Keeping The Dream Alive" by Freiheit.  "Oh Me Oh My" is 
a fun song off the new Nerf Herder CD, but the CD that has stayed in the 
player the longest this summer is by Nerf Herder's lead singer, Parry Gripp. 
It's titled "For Those About To Shop, We Salute You".  Each 'song' is a 
minute-long jingle for a different product.  They are catchy as heck and my 
kids and I love 'em.  The samples on I-tunes contain nearly the whole song. 
Sample "Bran Flakes", "Golf is Groovy" and even "London's Calling" if you 
want to hear a touch of Ray Davies.

    Back to lurking.

Mike

BTW - is there any news on a new Redd Kross CD in our future?