FURTHER OBSERVATIONS FROM A JANGLY MUSIC FAN

Now that the holiday season is behind me, it's time to turn my attention to the stack of CDs that had been piling up - waiting for an opportunity to be listened to. That opportunity finally occurred over the past two weeks. If you're like me, you'd much rather listen to primo pop than to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings regarding John Ashcroft's nomination to be our next Attorney General!

Many thanks to Jeremy Morris, who sent me a copy of JAM Records' first release of 2001 - Dish Full of Ringles by the Ringles. This is very cool midwestern pop, with just the right amount of Rickenbacker jangle. Byrds fans should be pleased by the chiming song "She Doesn't Know" (an early candidate for song of the year) and Beatles fans should enjoy listening to "Sour Dough Sky." I finally had a chance to listen to the Villas' Secrets album - it, too, is very cool. Husband/wife duo Bill and Angel Ali Villa have composed some catchy contemporary folk/rock tunes - such as "When We Were Friends" and "Like There's No Tomorrow." Like others who have heard the great Hello Helen CDR that this Swedish band is circulating within the pop community, I am amazed that this band hasn't been signed yet. "She Said" ranks among the top ten songs of 2000.

Austin, Texas is home to the pop-punk trio Spoon; although their material is decidedly more alt-rock oriented than pop-oriented, the all-too-short and very Beatlesque tune, "1020 AM" (on their latest album, Girls Can Tell) showcases the band's melodic side. Sticking with the radio title theme, the George Usher Group shines on "Channel 104" and each of the other songs that are featured on Days Of Plenty. This is George Usher's finest album to date, and it benefits from Mitch Easter's expert production. Steve Almaas, another artist on the Parasol label, also benefits from Easter's skills on his latest disc - Kingo A Wild One. "Pretty Picture" is a pseudo-60s Brit-Beat gem that smacks of Beatles and Cyrkle influences. Almaas also does a fine job of covering Gene Clark's "Set You Free This Time," which is featured on Hit The Hay Volume 4.

Semion (kind of the British counterpart to Shane Faubert's Cheapskates) has a terrific CD EP, Get A Grip, to its credit. The jangly "Dumb" and more psych/pop-oriented "Under The Sea" are standout tunes on the EP. Speaking of pysch/pop (that is very reminiscent of the Green Pajamas' repertoire), Not Lame recently uncovered some early releases by the Jigsaw Seen. The title track to one of these CD EPs, "My Name Is Tom," is a killer tune! While visiting San Diego recently, I stopped by the area's finest record/CD store, Off The Record, and discovered the excellent Beat Party: Worldwide Power Pop Compilation (on the Japanese 1+2 Records label) with 23 mostly crunchy songs. Tunes by some of my favorite artists (e.g., the Kwyet Kings and the Shambles) made it tough to pass up. Fellow pop enthusiast Alan Haber was kind enough to share a copy of a double CD compilation with me - featuring material by the Australian band, Beathoven, and its spin-off band, the Innocents. The Beathoven songs are decidedly Beatlesque; "Please Don't Go" opens with the riff from "Rain."

The Lowen & Navarro fan club released its annual compilation of unreleased L&N nuggets on CD this year - and among the highlights is "Old Boyfriend" - performed by L&N friend and song-writing collaborator, Susanna Hoffs (referred to as "Rickenbacker Babe"). This song eventually morphed into the L&N standard "Do With Me What You Will." After seeing the Bangles at a rare club show in September, this song is a treat that will have to keep me going until Susanna and her bandmates release their next album. Coincidentally, local pal Robbie White brought the Bangles' first 45 (under the moniker the Bangs) with him to our most recent "pop shoot-out" party. Robbie brought along several other terrific girl group 45s. I encourage "fufkin.com" readers to track down anything by the European 80s band the Expressos - who sounded quite a bit like the Go Gos. Area musicians Pete and Maura Kennedy (AKA the Kennedys), who originated the "pop shoot-out" concept, treated party-goers to a preview of songs that will appear on their next album. Fans can look forward to more great folk/rock/pop tunes with those trademark Rickenbacker hooks.

That's the latest from Arlington, Virginia. Until next month, jangle on!

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Eric Sorensen: January, 2001, December, 2000

Eric Sorensen Reviews: February, 2001

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