Shake Some Action!

The Monroes - What Do All The People Know (Merv Griffin show...

Thu, 10 May 2012 03:19:59 +0100

The Monroes - What Do All The People Know (Merv Griffin show 1982)

A San Diego-based band, The Monroes released one five-track EP on the small Japanese-owned label Alfa. This catchy song slowly crept up the charts, peaking at #59. As the band toured to support the single, Alfa decided to pull out of the US market, destroying the momentum built up already and putting an end to any follow-up recordings. The rest of the EP isn’t up to the standard of this track, sadly, but What Do All The People know remains an early New Wave classic still in American radio rotation.

imreallybadatthis: This album, “Stands for the Decibels”, and...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:54:00 +0100

imreallybadatthis:

This album, “Stands for the Decibels”, and this band are criminally underrated. Seriously go listen to some of their music, you won’t be disappointed.

AMP Magazine – It’s Gotta Be Pop! – The Plimsouls

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:31:55 +0000

AMP Magazine – It’s Gotta Be Pop! – The Plimsouls:

When the late great Jerry Lee Lewis sang about “Great Balls of Fire,” he may have been alluding to a sound that a group of fine tuned enthusiastic musicians from LA named the Plimsouls would emulate in stereo form some 30 years down the road of rock n’ roll history. White hot blazin’ fire can best describe the sound of this largely influential Power Pop group that not only played in a style that borrowed from the licks and hooks of the Mersey Beat, but also put forth the soul and passion that harkened back to the classic sounds of Stax and Motown records, and even adding the kind of introspective tendencies of American folk rock. All this and more can be heard on Beach Town Confidential, a live record that will be released on Alive Records on Feb. 7^th. Beach Town Confidential was recorded back in 1983 at the height of the Plimsouls’ popularity and just might be one of the best live records I’ve heard in quite some time. I was fortunate enough to get a chance to talk to lead singer and founding member Peter Case about the release of Beach Town and much, much more.. enjoy!

-Kurt Baker

Photo

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:21:17 +0000

The Poppees - She’s Got It

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:15:54 +0000

The Poppees - She’s Got It

localgod: Paul McCartney - Come And Get It [Live at Unipol...

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:40:33 +0000

localgod:

Paul McCartney - Come And Get It [Live at Unipol Arena, Bologna - 26-11-2011]

Paul wrote and demoed this song in 1969. A copy of the demo was given to the members of Badfinger so they could learn the song before Paul took them into the studio to produce it.

Badfinger’s Come And Get It was used in the film The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, and when released as a single it reached number 7 in the USA and number 4 in the UK. Many listeners thought it was The Beatles releasing a single under a pseudonym.

42 years later, here’s Paul playing the song live on stage for the very first time.

Photo

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:00:06 +0000

derickwynn: Sidewinder - Teenage Fanclub

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:39:07 +0000

derickwynn:

Sidewinder - Teenage Fanclub

Matthew Sweet - I’ve Been Waiting

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 17:48:07 +0000

Matthew Sweet - I’ve Been Waiting

Fountains of Wayne - Hey Julie (live in London 9th November...

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:59:40 +0000

Fountains of Wayne - Hey Julie (live in London 9th November 2011)

Yesterday I went to London and saw Fountains of Wayne for the second time. The first time was a staggering 9 years ago in San Francisco (Flickr helpfully informs me it was the 22nd), a few months before Welcome Interstate Managers came out. Then as now they certainly can rock live, but this time around there was a different mellow (doubt) side to the band.

Chris Collingwood played acoustic guitar on several of the tunes and Adam Schlesinger moved to the keyboards on songs like Stacy’s Mom (played in a slowed-down keys-led arrangement), and Hey Julie, for which they got three members of the audience on stage to play percussion.

As you can hear for yourself in the recording, the audience is singing along to every word. For a band like the Fountains, who sing of losers, lovers and loners, being in a room with a thousand other people all united by the music was a beautiful thing to be a part of.

Gotta get me a copy of this!

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:39:56 +0100

Gotta get me a copy of this!

Kurt Baker - Rockin’ For A Living promo Listen up,...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:46:25 +0100

Kurt Baker - Rockin’ For A Living promo

Listen up, friends: Portland, Maine’s Kurt Baker is the man. Imagine for a moment that Elvis Costello wasn’t an aging millionaire but a young up-and-coming songwriter with big hair and even bigger tunes, channeling the Ramones and Cheap Trick along with a healthy helping of Stiff-era British guitar pop. Kurt’s powerful pipes are eerily reminiscent of the early Costello at his poppiest, and today is the day that his record Rockin’ For A Living is finally unleashed on the world.

I’ve featured Mr. Baker here on the blog before, and it’s obvious he worships at the same altar this very blog was created to evangelise. Next week Kurt and his band (featuring another favourite of the blog, Mr. Geoff Useless on guitar) are heading out on a massive European tour. (If they were coming to the UK, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’d be there front and centre.) Not only is he a great singer and songwriter, he’s a stand-up fellow and he deserves all the acclaim and success that’s due to come his way. Check his site for all the tour dates and info on the record, which needs to be in your collection. Cheers, Kurt!

The only thing better than new music is new FREE music.

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:35:00 +0100

The only thing better than new music is new FREE music.:

The brilliant band The Explorers Club have a new LP coming next year. But for now they’re offering three tracks for your listening pleasure at Amazon’s MP3 download service. FOR FREE. The first song is a cover of the classic Walk On By, and the other two are work-in-progress mixes of tunes from the new album, which is being produced by the famed Beach Boys and Brian Wilson producer Mark Linett. Their 2008 debut Freedom Wind is an absolute classic, and I’m very very excited about a new record from these guys. If you like mid-1960s Beach Boys, this is the band for you!

pussybow: the nerves - hanging on the telephone

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:44:29 +0100

pussybow:

the nerves - hanging on the telephone

Listening to Matthew Sweet's 'Girlfriend' yet again.

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 19:24:59 +0100

perryljackson:

Classic album. But no one I know knows anything about it. It’s kind of saddening.

Come and join us, sir!

Erlend Øye - Thirteen (Live at Trænafestivalen 2011‬) Erlend...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:48:41 +0100

Erlend Øye - Thirteen (Live at Trænafestivalen 2011‬)

Erlend talks a little about Alex Chilton and does a quite lovely cover of Big Star’s Thirteen in this acoustic performance. He says this is Big Star’s best song.. and I think I’m in total agreement. It’s certainly their most innocent and heartfelt, that’s for sure.

5ivegearsinreverse: Big Brown Eyes - The dB’s “Everytime I look...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:39:43 +0100

5ivegearsinreverse:

Big Brown Eyes - The dB’s

“Everytime I look into your big brown eyes/I get paralyzed”

Some Power-Pop to soothe the soul.

The Flames - Your Love Is Slippin’ Away I love it when...

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:31:19 +0100

The Flames - Your Love Is Slippin’ Away

I love it when late-70s power pop bands look like Buddy Holly! And I love it even more when late-70s power pop bands sound like Buddy Holly too! What a treasure of a song.

mojomagazine: Big Star - Thirteen “Tell him what we said about...

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:30:08 +0100

mojomagazine:

Big Star - Thirteen

“Tell him what we said about Paint It Black”. Set to their beautiful ode to teenage desire, here’s some lovely footage of Big Star in the studio in 1971.

The Breakdowns - The Kids Don’t Wanna Bop Anymore The...

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:49:37 +0100

The Breakdowns - The Kids Don’t Wanna Bop Anymore

The title track from the new album by these Nottingham-based power-poppers. The whole record really is splendid. A dash of Ramones, a hefty helping of the Real Kids.. if it’s from the 1970s and wears denim and sunglasses these guys are probably all over it.

They’re doing a UK tour supporting Terrorvision soon and I highly suggest you check them out.