Now Hear Diss: The Millions

Chicago's powerpoppin’ metallists The Millions have minted a hard-driving followup to their debut album, Million Dollar Rock. In Disrespectfully Yours, due to drop this Tuesday, the band fashion song after song of high energy rock and roll – yes, I said rock and roll – that readily reflects their disparate influences: The Wildhearts, Mötley Crüe, Sugarcult, Marvelous 3, Kiss, Tsar, Butch Walker, Cheap Trick, The Darkness, Sum 41, and Velvet Revolver. Guitar flash and lightning drum fills quickly alert you to the fact that this is not precisely your pop’s pop – though he'd be shaking the Spandex and bobbing the bill-up ball cap to channel the Crüe and the Trick. Anyway, I’m grateful to Matty Favaza of Curly Red PR and Chicago’s fabulous The Krinkles for the headsup and permission to post the title cut and one other from the new, highly entertaining album. Flick your Bics, poppers.

The Millions - Disrespectfully Yours

Disrespectfully Yours mp3

Give Up mp3

Season's Faves: The Happy Few

With the recent end of summer/winter, we can see the quarter whole and make certain judgments. It was a deeply satisfying season of musical discovery, but among the strong new throng, one group did it best for me: the merry band from Utrecht pictured above and cued up below. I previously effused without (a whole lot of) stint, so won’t do it again. I’m adding a third song to the two already posted. Gordon Gekko had it right, though understated and with different punctuation: “‘Greed’ is good.” Gimme more.

The Happy Few
Greed mp3

Give It to Me mp3

Red and Blue mp3

Gettin' Anssi: Snow Coloured Kid

Here's looking at you, . . .

Shortly before my recent temporary lapse of reasons to keep blogging, I directed "you" towards Indie-MP3 to check out the exceedingly pleasing "I Hope You're On My Side," by the Finnish group Snow Coloured Kid. During the lapse I secured permission from one of the fair-skinned juvies, Anssi, to post the song, along with the other below. You can lapp up more at their MySpace site.

Snow Coloured Kid

I Hope You're On My Side mp3

Untitled mp3

Memory Lane: Capes, April Skies, El Goodo, {thunderegg}, Citay, The Bedroom Singer

Here's another little setlist that came together during this night's full moon ramble. As with Sunday's post, I first encountered most of these songs in early 2006. I actually posted a couple of them in this blog's youth but don't see that mattering much.

The Capes (pic)

Supergirls mp3
Tightly Wound mp3

The April Skies - Three Minute Singles mp3 - Two more terrific downloadables await you at the Bergen band’s MySpace site.

El Goodo

If I Were A Song mp3

Stuck In The 60's mp3

{thunderegg}

There Should Be Wheels on Everything mp3

The Mighty Battlecat mp3

Citay - Nice Cuffs mp3

The Bedroom Singer - Your Lover From Berlin mp3

Click artists' names for more.

Sextet: Red Collar, Five O'Clock Heroes, A-Sides, Sick of Sarah, Most Serene Republic, SOFT

But why wait?
I'm way too excited about the music to spend time on verbiage. Oops, too late.

Red Collar - Witching Hour mp3 - I guess I oughta save this till late next month, but I'm not gonta.

The Five O'Clock Heroes

Skin Deep mp3 - Bend to the Breaks broke 9/18. And of course if I'm gonta play this one, I simply must reprise the excellent:

Head Games mp3

The A-Sides - We're The Trees mp3 - Silver Storms arose 9/18. Danke, Toolshed.

Sick of Sarah - Hello, Good Morning mp3

The Most Serene Republic - Why So Looking Back mp3 - Danke, spin.com.

SOFT - Higher mp3 - Their debut, Gone Faded, appears 10/23.

Click on artists' names for more further exploration.

A Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free

It was a nice walk tonight, made even better by some tunes discovered early last year. Click the artists' names if you want to learn and, sometimes, listen to more.

The Len Price 3 - Christian in the Desert mp3 - Okay, not that calm. . .

The Foxymorons
September Gurls (Big Star cover) mp3
Hesitation Eyes mp3

Darin Murphy

Don’t Look at Me mp3

She’s Better Than Me mp3
Metro B mp3

The Village Green - When the Creepers Creep In mp3
Track a Tiger - Glad To Be Scattered mp3
Portastatic - Chesapeake mp3 (pic)

Math and Physics Club

Graduation Day mp3

Darling Please Come Home mp3

Weekends Away mp3

The Silent League - Breathe mp3

Tuesday's: Film School, Real Tuesday Weld, Havana Guns, Tiny Masters of Today, Wooden Shjips, Frankel, Bottomless Pit

Recently found and enjoyed:

Film School - Two Kinds mp3 (pic)
The Real Tuesday Weld - Last Words mp3
Havana Guns - She Always Goes Down mp3

Tiny Masters Of Today - K.I.D.S. mp3
Wooden Shjips - We Ask You To Ride mp3
Frankel - Thermostat mp3

Bottomless Pit - The Cardinal Movements mp3

Around the Blogosphere: Stop the Presses Scruffy the Cat Edition

Post of the Quarter at Retro Music Snob: Boston's fabulous Scruffy the Cat with one of my very favorite songs of the late 80s. Bravísimo, Gary! And while I'm at it, I'll post a few others that had been queueing up. (From the enthusiasm he showed, I'm sure Gary won't mind my breaking Around the Blogosphere tradition and posting the picture he added to his post. Yes, I'm just that confident, not to mention excited.)

Scruffy the Cat - My Baby (She’s Alright) - Retro Music Snob
Ben Kweller - Wasted and Ready - Retro Music Snob
Soul Asylum - Cartoon - Retro Music Snob
Eugene McGuiness - Monsters Under the Bed - Good Weather for Airstrikes - Good to have the GWFA crew back in the air with palpable hits.
Belly - Star (Full Band Version) - Braggin Billy

The Cult - Fire Woman - Retro Music Snob

Come to think of it, a cover band I drummed in opened a performance with "My Baby (She's Alright)" and played "Fire Woman" later in the same set. Hunh.

Around the Blogosphere: Snow Coloured Kid, Muffs, Bugs Multiply, Caribou, Magic Numbers, Zambri, Hard-Fi, Teenage Fanclub, Gin Blossoms, Jimi Hendrix

Oops, almost forgot to write summat. Really.

Snow Coloured Kid - I Hope You’re On My Side - Indie-MP3 - Nice moves, Kid.
The Muffs - End It All - Retro Music Snob
Bugs Multiply - Thinking Still - Instrumental Analysis

Caribou - After Hours & Eli - The Muso
The Magic Numbers - Take a Chance & Love Me Like You - The Yellow Stereo
Zambri - Aliens & :20 - A Plague of Angels
Hard-Fi - Suburban Knights & Sick of It All - A Plague of Angels

Teenage Fanclub - Star Sign - Retro Music Snob
Gin Blossoms - Allison Road - bag of songs
Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower - Teenage Kicks – Let’s vote. Powerpop? Nay. Indie? Nay. Whatever We Like? Aye. Final Tally: The Ayes have it.

Almost forgot to thank the gracious hostpersons. Thanks, ghp's.

Slayer: iKiLLCaRs, Patterson Hood, 120 Days, Apples in Stereo, Jealous Girlfriends, Immaculate Machine, Raveonettes, Shout Out Louds, Ethnobabes

Anything else?

Yeh, it's one of those moods, and I probably shouldn't write even this much. Good tunes are present, though, so here goes.

iKiLLCaRs - MTV mp3

Patterson Hood - Burning Hell (REM cover) mp3 - from Finest Worksongs: Athens Bands Play the Music of REM

120 Days - Get Away mp3

The Apples in Stereo - Can You Feel It? (Full Length Edit) mp3
The Jealous Girlfriends - Something In The Water mp3

Immaculate Machine - Dear Confessor mp3

The Raveonettes - Love In A Trashcan mp3

Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have to Leave It mp3 - I resisted for weeks, but it eventually became futile.

Ethnobabes - My Favourite Fool mp3

Click artists' names for more info and, sometimes, more music.

Around the Blogosphere: Bram Tchaikovsky, Voice of the Beehive, Records, Stones, Springsteen, Hitchcock, Zevon, Tesco, Joe Christmas, et. al.

Busy, busy Mittwoch.

Bram Tchaikovsky - Girl of My Dreams - Retro Music Snob
Voice of the Beehive - I Say Nothing - Retro Music Snob
The Records - Heather and Hell - Retro Music Snob
The Rolling Stones - Before They Make Me Run - Retro Music Snob - Keef croaks nice.

Bruce Springsteen - Blinded by the Light - Heartache with Hard Work
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - My Wife and My Dead Wife - Timedoor
Warren Zevon - Splendid Isolation - Speed of Dark - + 6 more by the late excitable boy
Tesco Chainstore Mascara - Job Is A Four Letter Word - My Little Ghost Friend

Joe Christmas - Coupleskate - Optical Atlas
The Sunshine Fix - The Sound’s Around You - Optical Atlas
Thee American Revolution - Powerhouse - Optical Atlas

Wilkinson Tri-Cycle - 9-5 ’59 - Raven Sings the Blues - Nicely delineates the psych-blues connection
The British-North American Act - Give Yourself a Ride - Raven Sings the Blues
Wooden Shjips - We Ask You to Ride - Raven Sings the Blues - due out 9/11

Humptag Grinfest: Pollard, Springsteen, Kleveland, Brown Recluse Sings, Little Name, New Pornographers

Rock gods be grinnin' on us today. We grin back.

First we have three songs from Crickets, the 56-song, best-of compilation from former Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard's Fading Captain series. Thanks to Pitchfork for these.

Robert Pollard - Pop Zeus mp3

Lexo and the Leapers - Time Machines mp3

Elf God - Bunco Men mp3

Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere mp3 - Thanks to spin.com for this first single from Magic. Obligatory use of the words "The Boss" is hereby effected.

Kleveland - Jonny is a Klepto mp3 - Portland Oregonians get it done.

Brown Recluse Sings - Western Meadowlark mp3

Little Name - Tracy & I mp3 - Thanks to Team Clermont.

The New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed mp3

Clicking most artists' names will snag you more info.

Rogue Wave, They Might Be Giants, The Radio Dept, Club 8, AVO-8, The Go

RW enjoy the unalloyed pleasure of water and electricity.

Hope your week's off to a good start and that these help.

Rogue Wave - Lake Michigan mp3 - I love these earlier Rogue Wavers, too, not to mention the two here.

Endless Shovel mp3

Publish My Love mp3

They Might Be Giants - Careful What You Pack mp3 - Not quite your big bro's TMBG

The Radio Dept - Bachelor Kisses mp3 - Nice Go-Betweens cover

Club 8 - Heaven mp3 - Thanks to Pitchfork.

AVO-8 - Fame - mp3 - This one loads a little slowly, so be patient. It's worth it.

The Go - Invisible Friends mp3 - Thanks to GloNo.

Around the Blogosphere: Ride, Hives, Morrisey, Mansun, Levy, Ackleys, Starky, French Disco, 20-20, Racer X, Blinker the Star, Field Mice, et. al.

Yes, there it is: Ride's "Twisterella," one of the my five favorite songs of the 90s. The other four? All in good time. This haul is a nice mix of past and current, with plenty of old favorites but also some newbies to try on. Oh, and an historic moment: We post our first nonmusical bit. Sacrilege? Mebbe, but the Cheech and Chong is a long-time fave. We will send it to the bottom of the class, in case you're offended.

Ride - Twisterella - Retro Music Snob
The Hives - Tick Tick Boom - Badminton Stamps - Hot. Damn.
Morrisey - First of the Gang to Die - Retro Music Snob
Mansun - Drastic Surgeon - The Runout Groove - For all you cheeky sods. . .

Levy - Matthew - The Yellow Stereo
The Ackleys - Blank Mind Between The Traffic Lights - Can You See the Sunset from the Southside?
Starky - Hey Bang Bang - mp3hugger
French Disco - Avant Garde Bubblegum Factory - Speed of Dark

20/20 - She’s An Obsession - The 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s of Power Pop
Racer X - Driving Me Wild - The 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s of Power Pop
Blinker the Star - September Already - The Rawking Refuses to STOP!
The Field Mice - September’s Not So Far Away - The Rawking Refuses to STOP!

Cheech and Chong - Sister Mary Elephant - Retro Music Snob

Thanks to all the hosts and hostesses!

Happy Labor Day, if you celebrate it in your neck of the woods.

Sunday Sixpack: New Pornographers, Teenage Fanclub, Apples in Stereo, Cotton Mather, Myracle Brah, Shins

Here are a half-dozen personal faves on this lazy Sunday.
The New Pornographers - Graceland mp3
Teenage Fanclub - It's All In My Mind mp3
The Apples in Stereo - Please mp3
Cotton Mather - Lost My Motto (Millenium Chrome Version) mp3
Myracle Brah - I'd Rather Be mp3
The Shins - So Says I mp3

Around the Blogosphere: Beatles, R.E.M., Primitives, Church, Midnight Oil, Split Enz, a-ha, Ramones, Earlimart, Apples in Stereo, Built to Spill, etc.

I wanted to say a little something about this Around the Blogosphere series. I only do it to point you toward music I either already know and like or am newly discovering and like. I don't pretend to be hosting the music and only use the color coding to help you easily find the artists' names and to give credit to the generous bloggers who are hosting it. My thought always goes something like, "This is good stuff. I'll bet some visitors to Powerpopulist might like it, too." So far no hosting bloggers have complained about my sending them more traffic, but I would certainly cease mentioning them at the drop of a word.

I have been very grateful to the excellent aggregator Totally Fuzzy for letting me update at their blog and by their leave will continue to do so, but only songs that are downloadable from my blog. (I do post such music here, even if lately it hasn't been all that obvious.) At the Fuzzy Crew's request I will no longer be updating the Around the Blogosphere posts at Totally Fuzzy. If you have found these posts useful, please continue to stop by Powerpopulist to see some of what's available in the big, beneficent blogosphere, mainly in the realm of powerpop and indie but also "whatever we like." (You might also consider subscribing to a feed by clicking that orange feeder thingy in the upper right-hand corner.) I totally respect Totally Fuzzy and will abide by the rules and vision under which they operate. I have found tons of great music at TF and look forward to continuing to do so. As indicated, I will also continue to post music downloadable right here at Powerpopulist. My only purpose is to put you in touch with music we all might like.

Soooooo, here's some of what I've recently found. As I've said before, I try and post this information soon after finding it because most of these hosted songs only remain posted for a relatively short period of time, usually one or two weeks. I envy the bloggers who have been able to work out arrangements with the artists and record labels who let them host the music. A score or so artists and labels have allowed me to do so as well, and perhaps the longer I blog, the more I will have opportunities to host music here.

The Beatles - Across the Universe - Retro Music Snob - One of my very most favorites by my very most favorites
R.E.M. - So. Central Rain & Fall on Me & Talk About the Passion & The One I Love - Retro Music Snob - + a couple more
The Primitives - Crash & Secrets & Way Behind Me - Retro Music Snob
The Church - Under the Milky Way - Retro Music Snob

Midnight Oil - King of the Mountain & Blue Sky Mine - Retro Music Snob
Split Enz - Six Months in a Leaky Boat - Retro Music Snob
a-ha - Take on Me - Retro Music Snob
Ramones - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow & Little Bit O’ Soul - Retro Music Snob
Ramones - We’re a Happy Family - Retro Music Snob

Earlimart - Answers & Questions - 5 Acts
The Apples in Stereo - Can You Feel It - BragginBilly
Built to Spill - Mess with Time - Instrumental Analysis
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - American X - Instrumental Analysis