Marc Fagel's Blog: Jittery White Guy Music: The Blog, page 135

Cheap Trick: Heaven Tonight (1978)

I generally use this space to share the albums I love. But I'm making an exception here, because, as much as I want to like Cheap Trick, I simply don't. I like a few of their songs, maybe a greatest hits collection's worth, but for the most part the band just doesn't do it for me.

I do, however, love power pop. And for some reason, Cheap Trick is one of the go-to names people drop when they're trying to make a comparison to harder-edged power pop. And I just don't see it. When I think harder-edge...

Bo Burnham: Inside (2021)

Ok, not an album I can see myself playing very often, but it gives me an excuse to jump on the bandwagon and kvell about what's not just a surprisingly moving Netflix film (which nabbed a bunch of Emmy nominations), but arguably the most perfect encapsulation of the pandemic era that pop culture has offered to date.

Now, I'm the first to admit that I'm about 30 years older than the target audience (I'd never heard of Burnham until my 25-year-old son told me to watch this). I did see the excellent...

Ben Vaughn Combo: Beautiful Thing (1987)

Ben Vaughn has long been one of the great traditionalists of the modern age, mining the humble sounds of '50s rock & roll and rockabilly and country and giving them a fresh (but not too fresh) sheen. His stripped-down musicality and heart-on-his-sleeve lyrical guilelessness at times resembles Jonathan Richman, but without the wild-eyed childlike whimsy.

1987's Beautiful Thing is one of his earliest full-length releases, back before he dropped the "Combo," and it's a work of unassuming joy. It sou...

Colleen Green: Cool (2021)

Here's another new release I've been getting into. Massachusetts-based musician Colleen Green had a couple earlier albums of mostly lo-fi indie pop-punk, quirky and fun; but her new one adds a little more sonic and songwriting sophistication--still a home-brewed affair with Green apparently playing pretty much everything, but polished enough to make it more approachable. It's hard to nail down exactly what it sounds like: I hear touches of 80s new wave like Missing Persons, 90s indie pop-rock li...

The Kinks: The Theatrical Kinks (1973-1975)

The run of Kinks albums from 1966 to 1971 was a marvel to behold. You had the post-British-Invasion pop masterpiece Something Else, the stripped down pastoral slice-of-life Village Green Preservation Society , the rocking yet nuanced concept albums Arthur and Lola , and the humble Americana of Muswell Hillbillies. But by the early 70s, Ray Davies was ready to take his broadly thematic rock operas to a new level of theatricality, music tied to more explicit narratives and increasing reliance on sho...

Ducks Ltd.: Modern Fiction (2021)

It's been a great couple of years for indie bands emulating the 90s indie sound, particularly the New Zealand/Kiwi Rock scene of bands like the Clean, Bats, and Chills. (See, e.g., the Salad Boys, Kiwi Jr., Bull, Blanketman, etc.)

The latest is Toronto-based Ducks Ltd. Their second release (following an EP earlier this year) is hot off the presses and already a new favorite, a clear front-runner for the best of 2021. It's short (barely half an hour), speedy, and straight to the point, kinetic gui...

The Trash Can Sinatras: Cake (1990)

Scotland's Trash Can Sinatras (sometimes also referred to as the Trashcan Sinatras) are a long-running jangly pop band, with songs full of wistful melodies and gentle harmonies; their quirky wordsmithery makes them particularly appealing for an afternoon on the couch with the lyric sheet. Some of their music suggests a blend of the Smiths and countrymates Teenage Fanclub, or maybe a bit of the Lilac Time (another fave of mine). I got some flack on Twitter for calling them "perfectly solid early ...

The 500... No, Make It 900 Greatest Songs Of All Time

Yeah, so Rolling Stone went and released their latest take on the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time last week. And, meh, whatever; I've only skimmed it, and it's the usual predictable bits, a few worth surprises, and a deliberate attempt at being all-inclusive that's commendable but locks out a whole lot of rock & roll.

I tried my hand at a Top 500 about five years ago, and I finally got around to updating the damn thing. I made it into a Top 900 (I figured I should leave some room to make it a prop...

Translator: Heartbeats & Triggers (1982)

San Francisco-based Translator were an earlier purveyor of the jangly guitar rock that would entrench the 1980s college radio scene, with shades of R.E.M. and Dumptruck. But they also had one foot more firmly in harder-edged post-punk, calling to mind Television and Dream Syndicate, as well as the offbeat new wave-infused power pop of the dB's and Plimsouls. Their debut album is highlighted by the killer single "Everywhere That I'm Not," a wonderfully catchy new wave-ish shoulda-been-massive tra...

The Shams (feat. Amy Rigby): Quilt (1991)

The Shams, a female trio that only stuck around for a single album (and a short EP), are most notable for the presence of a young Amy Rigby, who would reappear as a solo artist five years later. (If you don't already have her wonderful solo albums, run, don't walk, and grab them now, starting with her amazing debut Diary of a Mod Housewife .) Rigby wrote most of the songs on the record and plays guitar, and hints of her biting, deeply intimate, observational humor that would permeate her solo car...