HOLY BATMAN!!
Boy, did I fall behind here but it did not mean that I was not accumulating information for you! We’ll hit this all rapid-fire – read 1-2 sentence summary, click fast – digest. Repeat.
COTTON MATHER – Gotta lead with this one! “Kon-Tiki” is being reissued with a bonus CD of extras and is shipping at Kool Kat on February 12th. You can pre-order at Kool Kat – HERE. Here’s what it’s all about: In 1997 Cotton Mather recorded their second record, “Kontiki, on 4 track cassette and ADAT in an old house about 30 minutes outside of Austin. It was released in the US without much fanfare on Copper Records (though dyed-in-the-wool power pop fans were certainly aware of its existence), but when it made its way to England a year later on the Rainbow Quartz label, the record was quite the hit with the press and music fans alike. Uncut Magazine gave the album five stars and called it “music to smile yourself to death to.” MOJO Magazine said the songs were “brought to life with daring vitality”, and in its own five-star review, The Guardian called the record “a bewildering, dizzy thrill.” With the spotlight shining on the album in their homeland, Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher discovered and fell in love with the record. “I f*cking wish it was ours! I play it all day at home.” exclaimed Liam. “Kontiki” has been out of print for years. This newly expanded 2CD version includes both the original album, plus a second disc of previously unreleased bonus tracks. Not just a few out-takes but an entire disc worth of extras, because when Robert Harrison dug back into the archives, he found some real treasures. The tracks on both discs have been remastered, there’s new artwork with extensive liner notes about the making of “Kontiki” and the history of Cotton Mather. If it is even thinkable, a classic has been made even better! – making this is an absolute “must-have” for poppers everywhere!
THE KAVANAUGHS: This band burst onto the scene back in 2009 with a strongly Raspberries inspired debut – their follow-up is out and they are giving away 4 songs(and more) to get you to check it out – Listen and enjoy – HERE
JAMIE HOOVER and Steve Stoeckel STEVE STOEKEL have a new project coming out I hear anyday – I’ve not found a direct link to it but monitor the news HERE
JELLYFISH NEWS – Vinyl! You want this – Yes, you do! “Bellybutton” and “Spilt Milk” – super, duper high quality vinyl – a limited edition of 1,500 copies will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl (Bellybutton will be on blue vinyl, Spilt Milk will now be on gold vinyl). Be prepared to drop around $22 on each – check it out HERE
VERY COOL, NEW BOOK SERIES ON CANADIAN POP – Jamie Vernon, the foremost expert of all things Canadian music and owner of the Bullseye label(who have released some excellent, important power pop releases over the years) has two books coming out in 2012 focusing on Canadian music. Similar to what I’m doing with POWER POP PRIME(Volume 9 ships February 1st, btw) – I just ordered the first volume a few days ago – the second will follow later in the year. The book comes with a CD and anything Jamie does connected to the Canadian music scene is guaranteed to be a keeper – Check out and order the book – HERE
IPO FOUNDER and MUSIC SCRIBE DAVID BASH UNVEILS HIS BEST OF 2010 LISTS – The most comprehensive ‘best of’ list done by any one individual, it has been seen to be appreciated. You will be in awe – and inspired to do some research. “Like” the IPO page and friend David to stay in touch with a continual, regular stream of interesting posts and video links….check it all out – HERE
MIKE VIOLA OF THE CANDY BUTCHERS – LIVE – I don’t think I need to say more – just go THIS LINK
GLEN TILBROOK’S NEW PROJECT – Just saw this on Power Pop Acholic – which should be a regular stop, book marked and RSS’d by everyone – check out this new one and a whole lot more – HERE
THE MONKEES – The Monkees GREATEST HITS, the band’s first compilation, was originally released in 1969, a year after the cancellation of their TV show. As a result, it has become one of the most sought-after vinyl collectibles from the group, with mint copies selling for big bucks. How does a copy of this one 180-gram vinyl sound? Rhino will fill you in – HERE
Speaking of Power Pop Aholic, there’s a new side project from members of THE PILLBUGS that is up on the blog. It’s called Dark Ocean Colors – HERE
BRAM TCHAIKOVSKY’S “Strange Man, Changed Man” came out in Japan on CD back in the late 90s for about a year before going out of print and becoming horrifically rare. Courtesy of The Heavy Metal Kids’ web site(their album “Anvil Chorus” is highly recommended for fans of mid 70s hard rock – about half of it is quite great…). You can pick up a quality copy of the album with bonus tracks that include B-sides, hard to find signles, EP tracks and live tracks. COOL! Check it out HERE (you can buy Heavy Metal Kids music there, too)
Bram Tchaikovsky BRA
GREAT MUSIC GEEK BLOG! It’s been around for 5 years but I had never come across it until a few weeks ago, sadly. Supremely funny, thoughtful, passionate articles and content that appeal to music geeks like us. ROCK TOWN HALL – HERE
A cool radio from Brazil is well worth checking out for the music pantheist here at Pop Geek Heaven. Done by fellow Pop Pioneer, Sergio Dias, it’s in Portuguese but that makes it all the more cool because it the show focuses on rare brazilian soft rock 70s, AM radio and power pop. Just go HERE and you are going to head out on a very, very cool journey.
An excellent, funny video celebreating their 5th Anniversary is below:
VEGAS RANDOLF have a new music video – hit play and dig!
AUDIOPHILES: Cnet has a pretty darn good column for fans of high fidelity or even those who are midly interested in all things ‘high-end’ when it comes to audio. I’m not one – I would like become one but I keep buying more music and books so I never save up for a proper kick-ass stereo! Check it out – HERE
LITTLE STEVEN’S UNDERGROUND RADIO ran a competition for the Coolest Song In The World for 2011 last month – the results of the voting are in! Listen to and check out all the finalists at THIS LINK. Coming in 5th place were the Deadbeat Poets featuring ex-members of Blue Ash and who have excellent releases on Pop Detective Records.
VAN HALEN RETURNS!! Come on – gotta love it. Sure, HATE the prices for the tickets – I ain’t doing that(I saw them 5 yrs ago – it was amazing). But the music? All over it, as long as Eddie plays guitars and stores the keyboards(what was he thinking!?!? Oh, yeah..he was drinkin’!) – Play the new video at their home page – HERE (they just look like they are having a really good time…warms the rock soul.)
NEIL YOUNG – speaking of, ahem, older acts. Neil’s busy – when is he not. Some interesting comments on the staet of ‘the quality of music’ at THIS SITE – play the videos.
THE SHINS – New music to check out – HERE
MUSIC BUSINESS STUFF: I used to be interested in such affairs during the Not Lame years, but I found the whole industry and business of music downright exhausting because of the leaders of the industry to embrace change – this is an interesting run-down on the last year but it still makes me want to slash my wrists – HERE
MORE MUSIC BIZ STUFF: CDs Still Make Up 76.1% of Album Sales In the UK – read about it HERE
LAST BIT OF MUSIC BIZ STUFF: The History of Recording Industry Sales, 1973-2010 – fascinating to observe – HERE
Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 3 is the new album in the critically acclaimed Minnesota Beatle Project series produced by Minnesota-based 501c3 charitable organization Vega Productions. the album features musicians born or based in Minnesota, including well known international touring bands: Tapes ‘n Tapes, Cloud Cult, Charlie Parr, Motion City Soundtrack, Solid Gold and The Honeydogs – check it out on CDbaby – HERE
REALLY good article on the state of music. “2011 may well be remembered as the most numbing year for mainstream rock music in history.” read more….. HERE
Found THIS baseball blog talking about power pop – specifically, talking about Seth Swirsky.
MILES DAVIS – I’m a big Miles fan. I’ve been spending time with “Jack Johnson” and “Bitches Brew” box sets the last three weeks(uh, mind numblingly awesome!). Then, I come across this about an upcoming movie on Miles starting Don Cheadle – Yeah! Read about it HERE
VELVET UNDERGROUND are doing some litigating. What else is new but this bit of writ is kinda interesting – read about it HERE
This one for United States citizens – “Ron Paul Punk Rock” video. 🙂
