STEWART COPELAND - "The Rhythmatist" (1985)

 

This solo record by Police drummer Stewart Copeland, the soundtrack for a 1985 film called "The Rhythmatist," which he also co-wrote, just shows you what an integral part of The Police's sound he really was. 

STEWART COPELAND - "Brazzaville" 

THE AGENTS - "Modern Girl" (1983)

 

The Agents were a Power Pop band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and as far as I can tell, their total output was this one single in 1983.

Sounds like a pretty big production for a one off single. 

THE AGENTS - "Modern Girl" 

BLUR - "Song 2" (1997)

 

Blur's 4th album came out in 1997, and was titled simply "Blur."

Oddly enough, the second song is titled "Song 2."

I've dug this song ever since the second time I heard it.

BLUR - "Song 2" 

LORD KITCHENER - "Kitch 67" (1966)

 

A couple of years before he died, Lord Litter confessed to me that this gentleman right here named Lord Kitchener was where he got the idea for his name.

Lord Kitchener, aka Aldwyn Roberts, was a giant in the world of Calypso. "Kitch 67" came out in 1966 and was his 4th album out of the 37 he recorded.

Here's a great song about telling a person to mind their own business! 

 LORD KITCHENER - "Take You' Meat Out Me Rice"

Four Essential Power Pop Songs

 

In the Seventies as Rock got heavier, it also got less melodic. Led Zeppelin may have been the biggest band of the '70s, but with only a handful of exceptions, their music wasn't really known for memorable melodies. It was all about the heavy guitar riffs. 

 

Unfortunately, the pop charts didn't offer much of an alternative. Whereas Sixties pop had led a creative charge as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Kinks, and others expanded the intellectual and musical palette of rock and pop music without losing any of its melodic and harmonic inventiveness, by the beginning of the Seventies, the majority of pop bands littering the radio waves were wispy and lightweight. 

 

However, a few early Seventies bands -- most notably Badfinger, The Raspberries, and Big Star -- attempted to marry the tunefulness of the Sixties with the heavier sounds of the Seventies. Specifically, the music of these POWER POP bands was full of Beatles, Byrds, and Beach Boys melodic and harmonic influences accompanied by crunchy guitars and power chords. (A few years earlier Pete Townsend had described The Who's music as Power Pop.)

 

Nonetheless, despite a modicum of commercial success, Power Pop pretty much died from public view by the mid-Seventies. 

 

But then in 1975 The Ramones and The Sex Pistols came along, and the chaos of Punk ensued, followed in short order by New Wave; i.e., punk-influenced music that was more pop-oriented (see: The Talking Heads, The Cars)

 

And, surprisingly, bubbling under the Punk & New Wave scene came a new generation of power pop bands who, in addition to resurrecting the hook-laden sounds of original early '70s power pop, also incorporated the aggressiveness of punk. Although these new power pop records only scratched the bottom of the charts, they were significant enough to establish a New Underground Era of Power Pop that exists to this day. 

 

Here are four that you should know about:

 

SHOES - "Tomorrow Night" (1978)

 THE RECORDS - "Starry Eyes" (1978) 

  BRAM TCHAIKOVSKY - "Girl of My Dreams" (1979) 

 THE PLIMSOULS - "A Million Miles Away" (1983) 

THE WIPEOUTERS - "P' Twaaang!!!" (2001)

 

This 2001 surf music side project by 3 of 4 of the members of Devo is a kick in the pants. They called themselves The Wipeouters, and the name of their only release was "P' Twaaang!!!" 

It's an excellent crossbreed of Devo and Surf, and it's a damn shame they never came out with a second album!

THE WIPEOUTERS - "Bikini Beach" 

SONNY SHARROCK - "Space Ghost Theme" (1994)

 

One of the best TV theme songs from one of the best cartoon shows of all time happened in 1994, and I doubt it will ever be duplicated as far as originality is concerned.

Short & Sweet! Sonny Sharrock is in a world of his own!

SONNY SHARROCK - "Space Ghost Theme"