Ramones,
Punk or Perfect Pop? Blietzkrieg Bop - Still The Best Pop Song Ever
-
Listen to the Youtube Video Some Alternative Rock Favourites 80's to Now - Garage, Pop, Punk, Indie or Whatever
1. Power Pop : 10 Ultimate Favourites of Mine 1980-2010 (punk, pop, garage-indie something)
Which music makes me happy and functional in this cesspool of
a world we got? I guess it depends on which decade you're born in. To somewhat
generalize: 1960's - pop, soul, 1970's - glamrock, progressive/krautrock, heavy
metal, punk, disco, 1980's - new wave, synth, funk-rap, all sorts of
shit, 1990's - grunge-indie, rap, idiot wailing torture type of R&B (absolutely
nothing to do with the classic beautiful R&B from the 50's though) etc.
My older sister gave me my first records, and i started listening to The Kinks
and The Who when i was 6-7 years old. Thanks Sis for your great taste,
it could've been lot worse. I like a lot of different types of music but it's
the classical pop genre that makes me tick, makes me happy. Nowadays, after
70's garage-punk and 80-90's new wave-indie-grunge eras maybe called Power Pop
- Alternative something? Great bands? 60:s - The Kinks, Who,
Brian Wilson/Beach Boys, Left Banke, 70:s - Ramones, Roxy Music, Blondie, Rezillos
and The New York Dolls. So i'm an really, really old geezer.
But there's other like me, even young folks, maybe contemptuosly called indie-kids
by the ultra-hip unsecure asshole music reviewers
Ramones,
Punk or Perfect Pop? Blietzkrieg Bop - Still The Best Pop Song Ever
-
Listen to the Youtube Video
My Favourites Between 1980-2010
Note: 9 out of these 10 were/are american artists so this great type of music
seems to be something of an american thing. Thanks America! And buy these songs
from
iTunes or buy the albums, if they're still available somewhere
1. 
The LA's
- There She Goes ...... Listen
to There She Goes - follow Youtube link here
One of the most beautiful pop songs ever made, and this whether
it's about drugs or not. Liverpool band The La's released this
miracle of a song
in 1988, nothing happened, and then again in 1990. It was written by Lee Mavers
and the group disbanded in 1992 after releasing only one single
album in 1990. I first heard it on the soundtrack to Fever Pitch (a film about
an Arsenal fan)
2. 
Urge Overkill - Sister Havana ...... Listen
to Sister Havana - follow Youtube link here
Underrated (if not almost
unknown today) group that released this their Saturation album in 1993 and was
featured on the soundtrack of Quentin
Tarantino's Pulp Fiction with a great Neil Diamond cover. Remember hearing this
masterpiece of delightful guitar riffs driving my car listening to the
normally very shitty swedish radio. I almost crashed my car, screaming and jumping
in a state of total bliss. Those guitars, those guitars...
3. 
Breeders - Cannonball ...... Listen
to Cannonball - follow Youtube link here
I already have raved about this great 1993 Last Splash album
from the Breeders and the lovely Kim Deal
in the Pixies section of my site.
Cannon Ball, the indie hit classic that could be the definition of
the decade as a whole, musically. The early 90's - a great place in time
4. 
Gun Club - She's Like Heroin to Me ...... Listen
to She's Like Heroin to Me - follow Youtube link here
One of the most influental albums of all time? Fire of Love
by The Gun Club from 1981 gave us something new, a mix of garage
style power pop
rock-punk psychobilly with a touch of southern Gris Gris magic feeling about
it. Fronted by troubled soul Jeffrey Lee Pierce and his silence-noice
silence-noice style of singing/music most clearly must have influenced Frank
Black. This album looks and sounds dangerous. There's the mighty Fire
Spirit and there's the manic Sex Beat, and there's the intense and scary She's
Like Heroin to Me
5. 
Pixies - Debaser ...... Listen
to Debaser by - follow Youtube link here
I already have a special page about The Pixies elsewhere
on this site, and i could've chosen Where is my Mind, Frank Black's Los Angeles
or some
other from Pixies Doolittle album, but Debaser is a masterpiece
of raw fresh energy
6. 
Matthew Sweet - Sick of Myself ...... Listen
to Sick of Myself - follow Youtube link here
Matthew Sweet,
the maker of almost perfect pop songs and virtually unknown i guess. This lovely
tune Sick of Myself got some adorable fake endings
and amazing guitar work, and was relesed in 1995 as a CD-single on Zoo Entertainment.
I remember playing it over and over and over again.
Aah, those were the happy days
7. 
Nada Surf - Popular ...... Listen
to Popular - follow Youtube link here
Remember seeing the music video to Popular
by Nada Surf in 1996, and i played the song the whole summer,
over and over again. The video depicting
highschool life the Hollywood style with all it's given clichés may be
a bit annoying to some today. But, when the chorus hits in, it really hits BIG.
A genius
production from The Cars Ric Ocasek, who also gave us Weezer's Blue Album. Listen
to the teacher kids, don't forget the the teenage guide to popularity!
8. 
Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray ...... Listen
to It's a Shame About Ray - follow Youtube link here
The Lemonheads
fronted by oh so talented, if destructive, songwriter Evan Dando made some great
albums. The mighty It's a Shame About Ray in
1992 and the somewhat less mighty but still great Car Button Cloth a couple
of years later. Then, the legendary bass player Bill Gibson had joined Dando.
Gibson once was a member of great aussie bands Lime Spiders and the fuckin'
über great trio Eastern Dark (Johnny and Dee Dee/Walkin'/Julie is a
Junkie). But i couldn't find the music video to If I
Could Talk I'd Tell You anywhere on Youtube anymore though
9. 
Aimee Mann - I Should've Known ...... Listen
to I Should've Known - follow Youtube link here
Today very, very serious singer/songwriter
Aimee Mann actually started out with new wave-pop oriented stuff in
the1980's in the group Til Tuesday.
Her first 2 solo albums Whatever in 93 and I'm With Stupid in 95 are filled
to the brim with almost perfect and smart pop-power pop songs worthy a Ray
Davies in his prime. I bought her CD single in 1993 and was stunned to hear
all these fantastic hooks. This is a true gem of a pop song
10. 
Weezer - My name is Jonas ...... Listen
to My name is Jonas - follow Youtube link here
Amazing album this Weezer's blue album, their debut from 1994.
Produced by Ric Ocasek it was an instant superhit. Fronted by the talented
Rivers Cuomo the album's full of smart teenage power pop and Buddy Holly, helped
by an amazing music video, was a HUGE hit everywhere.
However my favourite is the opening number the somewhat mysterious and unique
My Name is Jonas
................................................................................................................
And then we got
the coolest norwegian alive, the lovely Ida Maria Sivertsen with that nice gravelly
voice
Listen to the really, really Great Music Video of....
Ida Maria-Oh My
God! - Follow link to Youtube
Ida Maria Sivertsen
This Girl's a
Great Live Power
Her first album Fortress Round
My Heart (2008) got some great songs and some less great, but a promising
debut. She's the real thing Live
(a rarity today) and she explodes on stage with furious energy. After touring
for 2 years in UK/US and getting Rave reviews she had a meltdown
in Boston september 2009 and she's on a Time-Out now. Get well Ida Maria, your
many fans love you and wish you the best
2. Raw 1980's US New Wave: Wild, Experimental, Scary and Influental. The Missing Link
Ok, there were some great Post-Punk New Wave bands in UK as
Cure, Joy Division, Monochrome Set etc. but mostly lame synth bands or
minimalistic art student groups full of pretension. So, where's the energy then,
the missing link between the 70's punk bands and the re-animated
music scene the with indie-alt. rock movement and Pixies in 1987? This raw power
& energy could be found in the US with post-punk hardcore
new wave bands as Hüsker Du, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Flipper, Violent
Femmes, Cramps, Agent Orange, Sonic Youth, TSOL, Wall of
Voodoo and the mighty Gun Club. Some favourites of mine...
Wall
of Voodoo
Great enigmatic band led by charismatic Stan Ridgway. Debuted 1980 with an amazing
experimental garage synth-rock EP incl. Longarm and a
killer version of Johnny Cash Ring of Fire. Factory is another classic and their
only almost hit were the unique and funny Mexican Radio.
Listen
to them Live from the fun 1981 music film Urgh! A Music War on Youtube
- Follow the Youtube Link Here
Flipper (1980-81 Live DVD from Target Video)
An influential (yes, Kurt Cobain loved them, too) avantgarde slow-fi hardcore
band that takes us on a scary journey into rock chaos. Remembered
for hardcore classics as Ha Ha Ha, Love Canal and Sex Bomb. This is pure energy
and far, far from lame brittish farts as Depeche Mode, Spandau
Ballet, Duran Duran etc. Buy their records and listen to their powerfully minimalistic
Ha Ha Ha on Youtube
- Follow the Youtube Link here
The
Cramps
An Even more influential rock group that melted 50's rockabilly and 60's garage
into a new music genre - Psychobilly. Bought everything by
them
since their 2nd single and 8 years onwards. Finally saw them 1986 at Göta
Lejon, Stockholm. They made tribute to great obscure american music
and to Grindhouse films (as Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) looong
before hipsters as Quentin Tarantino did. Lux Interior and Poison Ivy:
The greatest couple in rock? Lux died in February 2009 - R.I.P..
Listen to their fantastic version of Rockabilly desperado Hasil Adkins She
Said - Follow
the Youtube link here
3. Los Abandoned (A Great, almost unknown and disbanded Spanglish Power Pop band from Van Nuys, Los Angeles)
A Great 2006 Album
Mix Tape (2006, Vapor)
Jag upptäckte denna finfina grupp först 2009, och
deras enda riktiga album Mix Tape från 2006 har gått varm i min
spelare sen dess.
Massor av livsbejakande skön och smart Power Pop-Rock i en ovanligt lyckad
blandning av latino influenser, pop och garageosande punkstil.
Inte en enda svag låt på plattan av denna fina LA grupp ledda av
begåvade sångerskan låtskriverskan amerikansk-chilenskan Lady
P (Pilar Díaz).
De sjunger på engelska, ibland på spanska och ibland både
och, Spanglish. Van Nuys, Pantalón, A la mode, Stalk U och inte minst
avslutande
State of Affairs (som kanske rentav är min favorit). En KANON platta helt
enkelt!
Kollade med min favorit skivaffär i Stockholm (S:t Eriksgatan) och ingen
hade hört talas om gruppen. Sorgligt på en så fin grupp, så
kan det gå
Pilar Díaz avväpnande charmiga kärleksförklaring
till sitt något sunkiga Van Nuys i norra LA är gjord
med glimten i ögat i bästa highschool-
movie-skatepunk stil (kanske en homage till Nada Surf's fina 90-talsklassiker
Popular?) Helt enkelt en bedårande liten kärlekssång
till en av de
sunkigare delarna av LA med dess människor, och de gulligt taffliga cheerleader
tjejerna i bakgrunden är söta också. Fulla av energi och livsglädje
och kanske ännu inte ens medvetna om att de kommer från fel del av
stan, vilket livet väl snart kommer att lära dem
Lyssna på Van Nuys (Es Very Nice) - Följ YouTube länken här
Den borde (i en bättre värld
då naturligtvis) vara en sommarlåts-hit som Breeder's Cannonball,
Nada Surf's Popular eller Weezer's Buddy Holly.
Gruppen splittrades 2007 men hann släppa 2 EP, en 7" och så
detta album som möttes av strålande kritik från musikpressen
i USA
Sång, låtskrivare och gruppens
ledargestalt var Lady P./Pilar Díaz (ukulele och även klaviatur,
gitarr etc.) som flyttade från Chile till Van Nuys,
LA, när hon var 10 och hon kör vidare på egen hand (se mer nedan.)
Gitarr, låtar - Don Verde (Dave Green) , basgitarr - Vira Lata ( Moises
Baquiero) och på trummor Dulce (Anthony Reyes)
Pilar Díaz
(Med sin ukulele - tycks vara något av ett modeinstrument nu - i Quiksilver
projektet)
Pilar har fortsatt med sin musikkarriär (efter LA's splittring
2007) och övergett sin sköna power pop-rock för mer Art-alternative
music approach.
Bl a i Quiksilver site La projektet med ukulele-alternative-latino-Gameboy remix
experimenterande. Seriöst? Ganska. Trist? Nej, njaaee, tjaa....
Pilar Díaz nya riktning med art-alternative experimental
latino färgad (pop)musik (ev. lite påminnande om mexikanskan Julieta
Venegas tidiga stil)
kan då kanske intressera fler än de föredettingar som jag som
föredrar power pop garage. Hoppas att Pilar's musikaliska framtid blir
framgångsrik
She's released her first album "Pilar Díaz". Buy It. Visit
her at www.myspace.com/pilardiaz
Listen to her somewhat cool Friday
the 13th (trece) Gameboy Remix on Youtube - Follow the Link
Listen to her song Piñata
on Youtube
- Follow the Link (sätter sig i huvudet...i'm breaking like a piñata)
