At long last, here is the Absolute Powerpop Top 25 of 2008, First Quarter Edition. Looks like a good year for self-titled discs:
1. Clint Sutton-Clint Sutton
2. Pale Hollow-Pale Hollow
3. Adrian Bourgeois-Adrian Bourgeois
4. Scott's Garage-Scott's Garage
5. The Galaxies-Here We Go!
6. The Afternoons-Sweet Action
7. Roger Joseph Manning Jr.-Catnip Dynamite
8. Pugwash-Eleven Modern Antiquities
9. The Goldbergs-Under The Radar
10. Ted Lukas-Misled
11. The Meadows-First Nervous Breakdown
12. Mike Viola-Lurch
13. Three Hour Tour-B Side Oblivion
14. The Cheeksters-Movers and Shakers
15. In Elvis Garage-Winning by Cheating
16. Scott Murray-Vinyl Generation
17. Dave Dill-Follow The Summer
18. The General Store-Mountain Rescue
19. Kevin Bents-The Means
20. Nada Surf-Lucky
21. Codaphonic-The Battle of Codaphonic
22. Sheboygan-It's OK Say Yes
23. Ike-Where to Begin
24. The Pinder Brothers-Ordinary Man
25. Captain Wilberforce-Everybody Loves a Villain
Top EP of 2008 (to date):
The Calico Brothers-God Left Town
What about Bryan Scary's Flight of the Knife???
ReplyDeleteI don't dislike the disc, but I can't get heavily into it - just a little too baroque for me.
ReplyDeletenew roger manning is a sedaka/manilow mash up. Yuck, what a disappointment!
ReplyDeletetrying with clint sutton but just dont get it.At the moment wouldn't be in the list at all-warren pash, pugwash,phux(may be last year)all outstanding but mike viola miles out in front.
ReplyDeleteSteve -
ReplyDeleteI recommend you check out James Freud as a 2008 best of contender...http://billsmusicforum.blogspot.com/2008/04/review-james-freud-see-you-in-hell.html
Steve - a couple of thoughts:
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm crazy about you and your site, but I can't believe "Flight of the Knife" hasn't made your top 25 of 2008. What an outrageous hook-drenched joyride from start to finish.
I picked up Clint Sutton on your advice and found it pretty dull, but then again, our power pop tastes are pretty divergent.
And anonymous #1, you think "Catnip Dynamite" is a disappointment? Holy crap, what album are you listening to? First off, it sounds exactly like what you would expect/want an RJM album to be, and plus, it's utterly astounding. As much as I raved about "Knife" on my blog last week, I think "Catnip Dynamite" might even be better.
Steve, if you think "Knife" is too baroque, I'm amazed you've got RJM up so high - I hear harpsichord on just about every track, and there's a freaking carousel-style-music breakdown in the middle of "Survival Machine," for Christ's sake.
I sample everything you recommend, and buy way too much of it, especially when it's a rave. So, I have the Clint Sutton and like it well enough, but it's not even in my top 10. It veers into catchy AOR - Gin Blossoms, Athaeneum - in spots, and even the the hooks and guitars are spot on (and I like the guitars ALOT), his voice doesn't cut it, which is where the Matthew Sweet comparison falls apart for me. And as a siren record, doesn't come close to The Foreign Films from last year, which I never would have discovered without you.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why no P. Hux? Didn't come out any later than than Mike Viola or the Cheeksters, both technically 2007 releases. Not just his best album, but a great album, IMHO.
Others I'm quite digging are the Brent Cash, Even, Wisely and Eric Matthews (too long, but WOW). And I'm also disappointed with the RJM, though not on the "yuck" level. Reminds me of when everyone went nuts over the L.E.O. album, where the associations with the artists make it seem better than it really is. If is name weren't on it, I'd be surprised if it got anything more than a "nice record" from Steve or Bruce Brodeen or other PP aficianados.
Hey Steve! Thank you for the very kind words and for including our band in your Top 25 Albums for the year's first quarter. We are really amazed, happy, and humbled to be included on your list together with all those other great bands. There is some great music going on this year. Anyway, consider us new fans of your site! Sincerely, Bobby Cox/The Galaxies
ReplyDeleteHi, maybe you would like our cd, we are Vinilo, an argentinian band and our record is at www.notlame.com and our myspace is wwww.myspace.com/vinilo99
ReplyDeleteWHOA! thx so much for putting us at #2!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome and so appreciated!
Thx!
Nick - Pale Hollow
I really enjoy your blog and use it to find new cd's to buy, but have to agree with rwonline. Flight of the Knife should be at the top of that list no matter what! All pretty good albums and I have heard almost all of them, but Knife is a classic that will outlive them all, thanks for your hard work, it is much appreciated!
ReplyDelete