Greetings from Popdose.com!

When Benevolent Power Pop Overlord (and generally righteous dude) Curty Ray asked me to contribute some titles for a Best Of 2012, I had a lot of thinking to do. There were plenty of records I appreciated this year, but I wanted to make sure to offer up a shortlist of things guaranteed to make the listener happy, or at least not want to hunt me down in retribution...so here we go.

1. Brendan Benson - What Kind Of World: It would be petty to say this record asks and answers the question, "Jack who?" Benson, the "other guy" in The Raconteurs not only nailed it with this release, he recorded what may be his finest moment thus far, the killer track "Bad For Me." Seek this out!

2. Bill Lloyd - Boy King Of Tokyo: This is probably the album I have shared with people the most this year. Has Bill Lloyd ever let us down? No, never, and of the releases from 2012 this is the one I wish was on vinyl because it is such a warm, fuzzy throwback to the best pop of yore. I dare you to not hum along to "Up In The Air" or to laugh at the dark humor that surfaces in "Com-Trol."

3. Imperial State Electric - Pop War: Nicke from The Hellacopters has captured '70s power pop in a concise bottle called Pop War without sounding like a rip-off. It's a little glam, a little Cheap Trick, but it never is little in the hooks department. It's crunchy, it's tasty, and it demands to be played ever so loudly.

4. David Myhr - Soundshine: The album that is most like the title of the album, this disc is designed to put a big old stupid smile on your face from ear to ear. To crib a line from Mike Viola, this was the soundtrack to my summer with windows rolled down all the way. For anyone who wishes the Merrymakers would reunite, I don't know how that would be possible, but the overall joy of this recording helps one to forget the prospect (if temporarily).

5. Calexico - Algiers: Okay so it isn't technically a power pop record, but when you need a disc to chill out with, the band co-founded by Joey Burns and John Convertino make a truly international flavor of Americana. The song "Fortune Teller" is easily one of their best out of a sterling career of bests.

Best reissue(s): Has to be Jellyfish landing on vinyl via Omnivore Records. The label released the band's two classics Bellybutton and Spilt Milk with the respect we always knew they deserved.

Biggest disappointment of 2012: This kills me to say it, as there are a few really good cuts on it AND it appears to be a huge hit, but Some Nights by fun. is nowhere near the majesty that was their debut Aim & Ignite. Just sayin'.

There are plenty more great records from the year, but they don't quite fit the power pop mode, so I'll leave it here. But remember, folks. If you like what you're hearing, go out and buy it. That's how we keep this thing going. Have a happy holiday, whatever yours may be, and be ready to rock in 2013. We're counting on you, so don't let us down!

John Wicks - Works In Progress now at Kool Kat

John Wicks is currently taking a break from live Records' shows for a while to concentrate on his songwriting activities, and also to resume recording brand new Records' songs. In the meantime, this 12-song collection of demos, rare and unreleased recordings from 1982-2012 is the perfect conduit between The Records of yesterday and tomorrow and is a must have for any fan! Features track by track annotations and insight by John. TRACK LISTING: "Cry A Million Tears" ("Rock-Ola" demo), "Her Stars Are My Stars" ("Rock-Ola" demo), "Union Jack" ("Rock-Ola" demo), "Holding On To A Dream", "Every Word We Say" ("Rock-Ola" demo), "The Heroes", "She's All I Need", "Forever Blue" ("Rock-Ola" demo), "Golden Sunlight", "Liverpool" ("Rock-Ola" demo), and "Nowhere Left To Run". EXCELLENT!!

This is a special CDR release priced to move at $12, so order it while you can. You can hear audio clips here or ORDER YOUR COPY HERE.

xo for the Holidays

When is it the right time to start pushing holiday music… WHEN Justin Bieber’s holiday album is charting top 20 on itunes! YIKES!

Christmas is almost here and I am sure there will be no shortage of gift ideas placed in your path during the next few weeks. Newspapers, Radio and TV will be filled with ads offering novel, interesting, compelling, and occasionally useful gifts for those on your list!

Home of the fabulous Backsliders, xo publicity offers up their fifth installment of "xo for the Holidays"! Best of all, this one is free! Ho Ho Ho! Happy Holidays from xo!

V/A - xo for the Holidays - 2012

xo-kaytea
www.xopublicity.com
http://xopublicity.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/xopublicity

No Secret Saturday this week, but it will return next week

Sorry

Green - Green - 1986

In the mid-'80s, Chicago's music scene was dominated by muscular, hard-edged punk-inspired acts like Naked Raygun, Big Black, and the Effigies, and in this context Green stuck out like a sore thumb, as Jeff Lescher and his bandmates wrote smart, tuneful, and energetic pop tunes and played them with the appropriate degree of spunk communicated through simple, well-crafted arrangements. Listening to Green's first full-length album years after the fact, it often seems as if Green were pushing the aggressive factor of some of their songs in order to better fit in with their peers; the anger of "Hurt You" and the snarky attitude of "Big in Japan" and "I'm Not Going Down (Anymore)" feel forced, and while these guys could rock out when they wanted, they were always at their best when they were willing to fly their flag for the hooky stuff they loved. And there are some top-shelf pop tunes on Green's self-titled debut; the nervy "Gotta Getta Record Out" is an anthem for every band with more ambition than experience, "Curry Your Favor" is full of heartfelt romantic yearning, the mostly acoustic "For You" shows off a folk-rock influence that fit this band nicely, "I Don't Wanna Say No" does the same for rhythm & blues, and "I Play the Records" is a irresistible rocker with a snaky guitar line. Lescher's guitar and vocal work is strong throughout, bassist John Diamond and drummer John Valley fill in the empty spaces and keep the music moving forward at all times, and if the production is a bit thin in spots, it captures the essence of the band very well indeed. Green may not have been the hippest band in Chicago in 1986, but the album they made that year shows they could write a great song and make it work on tape, and that's a skill to be appreciated whatever the time, place, or fashion. -AMG

George Usher - Dutch April - 1998

They just don't write pop songs like George Usher's anymore -- jangly, sparkling and effortlessly irresistible, his music is a throwback to another era, with rich melodies and sugar-sweet arrangements harking back to the glory days of the Beach Boys and the Left Banke (with a considerable tip of the hat to the Byrds as well). Dutch April is a small treasure, a virtual primer in pop craftsmanship -- highlights like "You Better Let It Go" and "Begging for Rain" possess a timeless quality that's all too rare, being instantly memorable but also fresh upon each repeat listening. -AMG

The Pencils + bonus disk available this week at Kool Kat

Available for the first time ever on CD is the self-titled, ridiculously rare, previously vinyl-LP by 80's British power poppers The Pencils! And, in true Kool Kat style, we've fleshed it out with an additional two discs worth of previously unreleased material! The Pencils were a band that were never even a blip on the radar of power pop experts and aficionados, but once you hear them I think you'll agree that a true "lost gem" of a band/record has been unleashed upon pop fans everywhere! COMES WITH AN EXCLUSIVE BONUS DISC - "EARLY SKETCHES" - AN 8-SONG COLLECTION OF EARLY "HOME DEMOS" RECORDED BY THE BAND IN 1981.  To order, simply click here ! If you're a fan of Squeeze, The Kinks, The Pinkees, The Romantics, Elvis Costello, and Sire Records-period Searchers, then you're gonna LOVE this!

Drink A Toast To Innocence: A Tribute To Lite Rock

Longtime friend of Power Pop Overdose , Andrew Curry, is putting together an album that pays tribute to the Lite Rock classics of the late '70s and early '80s. Scheduled for a spring 2013 release, "Drink A Toast To Innocence: A Tribute To Lite Rock" will spotlight those songs originally made famous by the likes of Robbie Dupree, Randy VanWarmer, Ambrosia, Rupert Holmes and many more, and features an artist roster that includes Mike Viola, Bleu, Linus of Hollywood, and David Myhr, among others. Join the Facebook page devoted to the project to learn more about the album, the participating artists, and the songs they'll be covering (https://www.facebook.com/DrinkAToastToInnocence).

Here is a quick teaser for the album featuring Michael Carpenter's contribution of Cliff Richard's classic, We Don't Talk Anymore.

The Condors - Tales of Drunkeness and Cruelty - 2001

With jumping rhythms and catchy guitar figures running throughout the album, the Condors find a comfortable sense of energy; it's the link between rockabilly, classic R&B, mod and first-wave punk. With a slightly dirty sound, the band cranks out down-home rockers smacking of fun times. Songs like 'Got No Reason,' sparkling with the spice of mod-pop guitar work, or the chicken-pickin' country-rock guitar of 'Drinkin' Myself to Sleep,' offer nothing but good, clean rock'n'roll fun. -Matt Schild, AVERSION.com 

The Lightning Seeds - Cloudcookland - 1990

Taking what he learned from his days in Big in Japan and his '80s production work with A-listers Echo & the Bunnymen, Ian Broudie created the Lightning Seeds project to better serve his cravings for shameless, lush pop. Even in these early days, with singles like "Pure" and "All I Want," you can hear why comparisons to a less burlesque Pet Shop Boys or a Matthew Sweet synth tribute band didn't have to be unpleasant criticisms. Ian Broudie has always had an evident love for freshly squeezed, exquisitely produced conservatism, but as in the decidedly odd "Control the Flame," not without the awareness of discovering it with well-constructed unsophistication. For some, Broudie destroyed his subsequent career by trying to recreate the gelatinous flavor of Cloudcuckooland without its flaws, relying too much on its John Hughes sonics, and mistaking his very strengths for hard and fast rules that would not and should not be deconstructed again. -AMG

Kurt Baker live on BreakThru Radio

Serious Business on BTR is hosted by Travis Harrison, head of Serious Business record label, and each week he invites a new band to his studio for exclusive interviews where anything goes. This week's episode features Portland singer/songwriter, Kurt Baker. Check it out.

The Men - The men Return - 2006

The Men is a Mod outfit from Lund, Sweden, and something of a small “supergroup” since they formed out of four already established Swedish garage bands, The Sinners, The Girls, Thee Expression and Colubrids. They got together a few years ago to form the ultimate live-band; explosive, stylish, tight, groovy, cool and fun (No shoegazers!) – a band the members themselves would love to see. For their first album The Men picked their songs from the same sources The Stones, The Who, The Action and The Small Faces did when they started. Simple, gutsy and groovy black R&B and soul, delivered in a white guitar group-style with high three-part harmony vocals, á la spring 1965 in London. This album was recorded quickly in a two-day session and released in Sweden by Border Music in 2002 and by Pure Pop Records in Australia 2003. Fans as well as critics both home and abroad overwhelmingly received the album. The record received great reviews in Rolling Stone and Scootering to name a few. The Men were rapidly becoming one of the most interesting up and coming acts on the Swedish music scene. -CD Baby

Chevelles - Gigantic - 1993

Power-popsters the Chevelles formed in Perth, Australia in the early 1990s; comprising singers / guitarists Duane Smith and Adrian Allen, bassist Jeff Halley and drummer Julian Buckland, the group debuted in 1993 with the LP Gigantic, followed three years later by Rollerball Candy. -AMG

Candy Butchers - Play With Your Head - 2002

On their/his full-length debut album, Falling Into Place, Candy Butchers' Mike Viola (the group name is really a polite fiction) came off as a successor to Graham Parker and early Elvis Costello in the romantically angered post-punk new wave vein, a worthy enough position that tends to delight critics without engaging the critical mass of fans it takes to maintain a major-label record contract. On his/their second album (this time the billing is Candy Butchers instead of Mike Viola & Candy Butchers), Viola often comes off as a Marshall Crenshaw-style power popper, steeped in the sound of mid-'60s pop/rock and its fascination with unusual sounds audible on the margins of tracks dominated by electric guitar riffs and hooky choruses. "Baby, It's a Long Way Down," for example, is distinctly Beatlesque, while "My Monkey Made a Man Out of Me," apparently a celebration of addiction, boasts an intro and outro that recall George Harrison's flirtation with Indian music. On Falling Into Place, Viola seemed to be writing the same song of romantic disappointment over and over; here he is still disappointed, but his frustration is more global. "The older I get the more it seems/I watch my dreams get smaller," he begins on "It's a Line," and this sense of diminished expectations pervades the songs. The romantic element is not absent, but things are more specific and more desperate, notably on "I Let Her Get Away," in which a pregnancy is compared to mold. By album's end, Viola has practically abandoned the studio trickery to return to a Parker/Costello-like stance on "Make No Mistake," singing over acoustic guitar accompaniment with bitter wordplay that continues into the elegiac closer, "Call Off the Dogs." The album makes another impressive, if severe, statement likely to play well to the brainy and miss the masses. -AMG

Kurt Baker - Brand New Beat Out 10/30/12

Well He has done it again, Kurt Baker has come up with another great album. The master of DIY marketing will be releasing his new album, Brand New Beat, on October 30. You don`t get Power Pop better than this. A great mix mix of Classic Power Pop, Power Punk and pure unadulterated fun, Brand New Beat is sure to make the PPO Top Ten for 2012.  Not a bad track in the whole lot, short and sweet, great vocals and a rock solid band, this one is hard to stop listening to!!  In another time this would have filled up the airwaves and Kurt Baker would have been a household name. You must pick this one up!

Brand New Beat will be released on Collector’s Club Records! Vinyl will be pressed by Jolly Ronnie Records and Torreznetes Entertainment in España!

 www.kurtbakermusic.com
twitter @kurtmiltonbaker
facebook.com/kurtbakermusic
instagram: kurtmiltonbaker
 

True Hearts now at Kool Kat

"An excellent power pop band who, like many other equally talented bands, never got the chance they deserved back in the day. Thankfully, Kool Kat has wrested this fine album from the jaws of obscurity, and it deserves to claim a spot on the shelves of any fan of the genre!" - David Bash/IPO GREAT!!!

The original True Hearts album has been rediscovered and released on the KoolKat Musik label and is available now. Don't miss it this time around!

The RATBOYS ....are Stupid Brats

Once again The Ratboys display their amazing brand of 77 punk and powerpop! Infectious lyrics, solid guitar riffs, and more than a passing nod to 60s garage rock . . . with a shitload of 77 snottiness thrown in for good measure, just what Curty Ray likes, I think you will too.

The EP is available only as a digital download! Jump over to Bandcamp and get it today!

It looks like I will try...

Going to give zippyshare a whirl.  I will post links in the comments section for now.  It is going to take a while to upload all the links so be patient.  If there is anything you must have right away just leave a comment or email PPO.

Mediafire

Looks like Mediafire has suspended my account.  Not sure where this leaves us but PPO is not dead yet. Any ideas would be helpful.

Thanks
Curty Ray

Protones - Nothing To Say - 1996

A power pop band from Spain, Protones debuted with the release of an EP attached to the first issue of a fanzine called Rock Indiana, followed by their first album, Cartunes. After issuing Nothing to Say in 1996, the Plimsouls' Paul Collins teamed up with the band, producing their following record, Not That Difficult. Protones moved to California to participate in the International Pop Overthrow soon after. In 1999, guitarist Octavio (aka Octavio Vinck) and bassist Tato (aka David Tato) joined the band. In 2001, the Spanish group returned with Come Out and Play, including "Now That I Think of It," a song featured in the movie No Te Fallaré. -AMC