“What’s The Scoop?”

It sucks. Plain and simple, it just fucking sucks.

No, I’m not talking about Paul McCartney’s last record (although that description certainly fits). I’m talking about a death that hit the pop community recently, and one that hit way too close to home.

Rick McBrien, guitarist/raconteur extraordinaire from the Cleveland-area combo Paranoid Lovesick, passed away unexpectedly at his home on February 7th. Rick was only 34 years old and father to a three month-old daughter, so the whole thing is tragic in about five different ways.

While I can't claim to have known Rick all that well (just through instant messages and e-mail conversations over the past 5-6 years), the news hit me hard, especially being the father of two young children myself. It's a damn shame that Rick's beautiful daughter Catherine is going to have to grow up without her dad by her side, but I'm sure that his loved ones will never let his memory fade.

Rick had an amazingly caustic and unique sense of humor, and one that I truly appreciated. Reading his stuff on various AOL music folders often made me bust a gut laughing. He was honest, a good man, and one who wasn’t afraid to say exactly what was on his mind. The world could use more guys like Rick. R.I.P., my friend…

Been listening to Wizzard Brew, a rather tasty collection from the Japanese Wizzard in Vinyl label, which includes a mish-mash of popsongs from around the globe. Some of this stuff has seen release previously (like Martin Luther Lennon’s incredibly powerful and ridiculously catchy “I Own the World”), while other tracks are exclusive to this collection, such as Cloud Eleven’s gentle “Green Grass Sunny Day,” Eytan Mirsky’s jingly and jangly “Beautiful Inside” and American Suitcase’s simply perfect “Starfucker.” Oh, P76…Bram Tchaikovsky would like his “Girl of My Dreams” guitar riff back when you’re done borrowing it for “Headed Straight for the Sun.”

Speaking of jingly and jangly-like stuff, a disc that would have made my top 20 of last year (had I compiled one) has also been getting some heavy rotation around here---Blue Cartoon’s The Wonder of it All. Despite the fact that the quartet looks as if they should all be in different bands, musically they mesh perfectly to spin a web of heavenly, guitar-enriched tuneage that never fails to please.

Velvet Crush’s Soft Sounds surely is…and ain’t nothing wrong with that. It’s Chastain and Menck laid bare and prettying it up for a dozen feather-lite cuts, including a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Save Me a Place.”

Andrew (his last name is Sandoval, but he goes with the single name thing, much like Cher, Bono and Lassie) has unleashed Happily Ever After on Vibro-Phonic Records. It’s a five-song offering of pop-lite, made palatable by the fact that Sandoval can write a good choon; unfortunately, the boy can’t sing ‘em with anything resembling style…

The second installment of Sound Asleep Records’ Home Runs - Songs That’ll Take You All the Way has just been released, and it’s another corker. Subtitled “North American Pop From ’75 - ’85,” it’s jammed with 20 prime slices of good ‘ol American power pop, which I’ve long been a total sucker for. I’m particularly partial to The Dawgs’ “Shot of Your Love” (Plimsoulsmania!), Tom Stevens’ rootsy “Just One Night With You,” Beat Rodeo’s “Mimi” (one of Steve Almaas’ best-ever) and the Poppees and the rampant Beatleisms of “If She Cries.” Essential for fans of the genre, especially those who don’t have the $$$ to snap up the now-costly original 45’s.

The Last’s L.A. Explosion has recently been reissued on CD by Bomp, and it’s fortified by six rare bonus cuts, as well as Joe Nolte’s enlightening liner notes. One of the most loved of the first wave of L.A. power pop records, it includes the stone classic “Every Summer Day.”

Next month: a look at Bubblegum Motherfucker Favorites, a simply stunning compendium of rarer-than-hell bubblegum tracks from the ‘60s and ‘70s…

______________________________________________________

To reach any other page contained in this month's update on Fufkin.com, read the home page for the appropriate link and click on it. You can also search the site from any page using the search box located at the top of each page. Merely type in the word, phrase, name of the band, recording, name of the Fufkin writer that you are looking for or Whatever in the search box, and then click on "Search". If you would like to e-mail us, go to the About Us page for a list of e-mail addresses.

Go back to the home page by clicking here

______________________________________________________