Welcome!

Just what the world needs - another blog.

Just what I need - another blog to end up neglecting.

Nevertheless, there aren't that many power pop blogs out there, at least that I'm aware of. And as a huge fan of power pop who likes to evangelize about bands and artists that I continually come across, I figure that a blog is a good an outlet as any. I probably bought about 250-300 newly-issued power pop releases last year, and throughout the day I listen to a random sampling of some 16000 tracks on my ipod, about 3/4 of which are power pop.

The mecca of the online power pop world is Not Lame. If you're reading this, you probably know this already. I can't say enough about what a great job Bruce & company do over there, and their podcast is a must-listen (except for people like me, who usually already have about 80-90% of what's on). One of the features I plan to run on this blog is a quick look at their new front page offerings, which are typically updated every Tuesday and Friday. In many cases, I've already heard some of the albums which they feature, so I'll give my 2 cents. I'm also planning on linking to mp3s which are freely available online, or in the alternative, to the band/artist's myspace page, in order to give you, the reader, a better shot at sampling it. With all respect to Not Lame, one area in which they're lacking a bit is in providing samples. The samples provided are usually short clips at a low bitrate, and there's no "play all" function. Recently, they've added a music player to stream some titles they've been really hyping (the Willie Wisely "Parador" and Toms releases), and that's a nice step.

Another great site is CD Baby. But unless you know what you're looking for, it can be a slog to discover new stuff on there among the dozens of titles they add each day. Nevertheless, it's a slog I gladly undertake on a near-daily basis, and I make some great finds there, many of which later end up promoted on Not Lame. And I'll bring them to your attention here.

Finally, no discussion of the online power pop world is complete without the Audities mailing list. This is the best place to discuss "insanely great pop music" with like-minded individuals, and is the pulse of the community. I'm a (very) occasional poster there, and I'm going to try to restrain myself in whoring this blog on the list. :)