Palo Alto Pop Overthrow

Here's what was played on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow for October 28, 2008:

Artist	Track	Album/Label
Matt Pond PA	Everything Until the East Coast Ends	If You Want Blood Altitude Records
+Pernice Brothers	Somerville	Live a Little Ashmont Records
The Vines	I'm Only Sleeping	I Am Sam V2 Music Limited
Lee, Chris	Sail On	Cool Rock MISRA
Matthews, Eric	Worthy	Six Kinds of Passion Looking For an Exit Self Release
+@The Gay	Opulent Canine	You Know The Rules Mint Recordings
Lovely, Brian	Superimpose	Superimpose Flying Underground
+Julie Ocean	#1 Song	Long Gone And Nearly There Transit Of Venus
@Belle and Sebastian	Step Into My Office Baby	Dear Catastrophe Waitress Rough Trade Records
@New Pornographers	The Electric Version	Electric Version Matador Records
+Manning Jr., Roger Joseph	Love's Never Half as Good	Catnip Dynamite Pony Canyon
The Shins	Kissing the Lipless	Chutes Too Narrow Sub Pop Records
**Bleu	Intro / Forming of The Major Labels	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW http://www.palopop.org/
**The Major Labels	Velveteen Queen	Aquavia http://www.myspace.com/themajorlabels
The Churchills	It Only Hurts When I Breathe	The Odds of Winning Near Records
Pugwash	Take Me Away	Eleven Modern Antiquities 1969 Records
**Bleu	Favorite track or "single" from the album?	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW http://www.palopop.org/
**The Major Labels	Don't Hear a Single	Aquavia http://www.myspace.com/themajorlabels
Athenaeum	What I Didn't Know	Radiance Atlantic Records (Modern)
**Bleu	How do listeners get ahold of you?	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW http://www.palopop.org/
**The Major Labels	Richard Randolph	Aquavia http://www.myspace.com/themajorlabels
**Bleu	Collaborations / working with Dan Wilson	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW http://www.palopop.org/
+The Belles	Never Said Anything	Omerta' Lakeshore Records
**The Major Labels	Hummingbird	Aquavia http://www.myspace.com/themajorlabels
**Bleu	What's Next? / Goodbye	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW http://www.palopop.org/
The Mayflies USA	Walking in a Straight Line	Walking in a Straight Line Yep Roc Records
Semisonic	F.N.T	Great Divide Mca Records (Local)
+The Corner Laughers	See You in Hell	Tomb of Leopards Sandbox Recordings

Featured Album
* Featured Track
+ Former Feature
@ Request/Dedication

Palo Alto Pop Overthrow with Phil Andrews
Tuesdays from 7-9AM PDT/10-Noon EDT
KZSU Stanford, 90.1FM / http://kzsulive.stanford.edu/
Blog at http://www.palopop.org/

As promised, here's my concert report from the Bleu, The Wellingtons, and Scissors for Lefty show at the Rock-It Room from October 14th. A great time was had by all. Bleu as usual, charmed the crowd with his carefully assembled, multi-layered/looped approach to pop, while The Wellingtons put on a very tight and very bright set. Clearly, they were enjoying themselves. Finally all of the members of Scissors for Lefty took the stage to much applause; their garagey sound was just want the crowd wanted.

Bleu's set list:

1. Boy Meets Girl
   
2. Come N Go
   
3. Watchin' You Sleep
   
4. In Love With My Lover
   
5. Hollywood
   
6. 3's a Charm
   
7. Singin' in Tongues

The highlight of the show had to be when Bleu stepped in front of the stage monitor and away from the mic. He asked everyone to gather around the stage, up close, and he sang "In Love With My Lover" to the crowd, unamplified. It was a great moment.

Sadly, I bounced out of the venue just as Scissors for Lefty were going on, but for good reason: I conducted an interview with Bleu, which aired today on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow. Here's the audio:



Stay tuned for the special edition of the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow, today from 3-5PM PDT/6-8PM EDT on KZSU. You'll get to hear Bleu, Mike Viola, and Ducky Carlisle perform as The Major Labels, live, during the 4PM hour.

I have lots of updates for you this week about what's going on in San Francisco power pop.

First off, on this Tuesday's PAPO radio show, I'll be airing an exclusive interview I did with Bleu McCauley two weeks ago, when he was in town for a gig he did at the Rock-It Room. You'll get to learn about:

• How his L.E.O. side project/musical collective came together.
  
• What it was like working with Dan Wilson (ex-Semisonic) on the solo album Free Life.
  
• What's next for the ever-so-busy Bleu (solo releases? collaborations? you'll just have to tune in.)
  
• His current project, The Major Labels, which is a trio including Mike Viola and Ducky Carlisle. Speaking of which:

Extra edition of the PAPO, Tuesday 3-5PM PDT:
In-studio performance from The Major Labels

Tune in to KZSU from 3-5PM PDT/6PM-8PM EDT when you'd normally expect the most excellent I Once Was Canadian radio show, for a special edition of the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow. "Hey Phil, why the double duty?" you might ask. Well, it's for a good reason. Not only will you get the double dose of power pop you so rightly deserve, but you'll also get to hear a live, in-studio set from The Major Labels, starting at 4PM PDT/7PM EDT. The "Majors" include Bleu, New York City's own Mike Viola (of The Candy Butchers), and the Boston-based cult record producer Ducky Carlisle. They're in town for a gig that night, which is going to be fantastic:

The poppiest gig this month in SF
Tuesday night at the Red Devil Lounge

The Major Labels
(Mike Viola + Bleu + Ducky Carlisle)
Allen Clapp of The Orange Peels
Pedestrian
The Corner Laughers
(as featured on the PAPO)
Tickets are $5 and the show starts at 8PM.
Tickets: ticketweb.com.

What more could you want from a show? This is as good as it gets, folks. Come out and support our local favorites, The Corner Laughers and Allen Clapp, plus see some of the best rising musicians in power pop today.

Bad news, fans of modern power pop. The band Julie Ocean, whose album "Long Gone and Nearly There" was featured earlier this month on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow, has disbanded, according to Pitchfork and The Washington Post. Say it ain't so! If you're feeling sentimental, take another listen to the interview we conducted with Jim Spellman, the now ex-co-leader of the band:

Our original writeup on the band is still up here.

[via: Adrian of blog.ipickmynose.com]

Here's what was played on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow for October 21, 2008:

Artist	Track	Album/Label
+Coconut Records	West Coast	Nighttiming Young Baby Records
Shins, the	Young Pilgrims	Chutes Too Narrow Sub Pop Records
Belle and Sebastian	My Wandering Days Are Over	Tigermilk Matador Records
Semisonic	Across the Great Divide	Great Divide MCA Records
Long Winters, The	Delicate Hands	Ultimatum Barsuk Records
Lee, Chris	Sail On	Cool Rock MISRA
Case, Neko	Star Witness	Fox Confessor Brings The Flood Anti, Inc.
Matt Pond Pa	Measure 1	Measure Lancaster Records
Pernice Brothers	Blinded by the Stars	Yours, Mine & Ours Ashmont Records
+Falkner, Jason	Say It's True	I'm OK... You're OK Noise McCartney Records
Kirsty MacColl	My Affair	Electric Landlady Charisma (Modern)
**Jay, Matthew	Let Your Shoulder Fall	Draw EMI/Capitol
L.E.O.	Don't Let It Go	Alpacas Orgling Cheap Lullaby Records
*Sweet, Matthew	Let's Love	Sunshine Lies Shout! Factory
**Jay, Matthew	Call My Name Out	Draw EMI/Capitol
Westerberg, Paul	Nowhere Man	I Am Sam (soundtrack) V2 Music Limited
+Starbelly	Ordinary Now	Everyday and Then Some Not Lame Recordings
**Jay, Matthew	You're Always Going Too Soon	Draw EMI/Capitol
+Squeeze	Day I Get Home	Play Reprise

** Featured Album
* Featured Track
+ Former Feature
@ Request/Dedication

Palo Alto Pop Overthrow with Phil Andrews
Tuesdays from 7-9AM PDT/10-Noon EDT
KZSU Stanford, 90.1FM / http://kzsulive.stanford.edu/
Blog at http://www.palopop.org/

Matthew Jay was born in England and raised in Wales. He didn't do well in school, but he loved music and playing music. This small town boy, suddenly swept into a bargaining war between several labels, settled with EMI/Capitol in 2000 and released the album "Draw" in 2001.

The world entered a renewed turbulence later that year, when the events of September 11th cast a lot of doubt in the music industry. In fact Matthew's own brother, Eddy, was near the center of the attacks at the time (but survived, thankfully.) Matthew's deal with EMI ended in late 2002.

Tragically in September of 2003, Matthew fell from a 7th story window in London in the early hours of the morning. The cause was undetermined. Since then his family has gone on to promote his works with UNICEF, and a benefit for the charity was held in October of 2008.

Favorite tracks: 1. Let Your Shoulder Fall, 5. Call My Name Out, 8. Remember this Feeling, 2. You're Always Going Too Soon,

Label: EMI/Capitol
RIYL: John Lennon, David Gray
Four stars.

myspace, official site, wikipedia, AMG
Amazon: album
Rhapsody

Here's what was played on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow for October 14, 2008:

Artist	Track	Album/Label
Arian, Elana	This Time	Foreword Self Release
Velard, Julian	Little Demons	The Movies Without You Self Release
+Long Winters, The	Shapes	When I Pretend to Fall Barsuk Records
Simon Apple	Without a Sound	From the Toybox Trunk Records
Sweet, Matthew	I've Been Waiting	Girlfriend A&M Records
Case, Neko	Hold On Hold On	Fox Confessor Brings The Flood Anti, Inc.
Matt Pond PA	Halloween	Several Arrows Later Altitude Records
Digby	Caged	Falling Up Label X
Aprilsrain	Left Alone	Stellar Transmission Pvp Records
Fountains of Wayne	Red Dragon Tattoo	Utopia Parkway Atlantic Records (Modern)
Lemonheads	It's a Shame About Ray	It's a Shame About Ray Atlantic Records (Metal)
Ted Leo / Pharmacists	Where Have All the Rude Boys	Hearts of Oak Lookout Records
AM Radio	If This is the End of the World	Radioactive Elektra
**Bleu	Boy Meets Girl	A Watched Pot www.myspace.com/bleutopia
+Starbelly	Ordinary Now	Everyday and Then Some Not Lame Recordings
+Manning Jr., Roger Joseph	The Quickening	Catnip Dynamite Pony Canyon
**Bleu	Go	A Watched Pot www.myspace.com/bleutopia
Hang Ups, The	One of These Days	The Hang Ups Contact Records
Churchills, The	Sometimes Your Best Isn't Good Enough	The Odds of Winning Near Records
**Bleu	I Won't Go Hollywood	Redhead Aware Records
Finn, Neil	Driving Me Mad	One Nil EMI Records
*Squeeze	The Day I Get Home	Play Reprise Records
+Corner Laughers, The	The Red Queen	Tomb of Leopards Sandbox Records

** Featured Album
* Featured Track
+ Former Feature
@ Request/Dedication

Palo Alto Pop Overthrow with Phil Andrews
Tuesdays from 7-9AM PDT/10-Noon EDT
KZSU Stanford, 90.1FM / http://kzsulive.stanford.edu/
Blog at http://www.palopop.org/

Squeeze is a classic new wave/pop band from the 1970s and 1980s. A few tumultuous reincarnations followed, including the one that yielded the 1991 release "Play," from which today's featured track "Day I Get Home" originates. Curiously but unsurprising enough, this track also features backing vocals from Michael Penn. In the "surprising" category though, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean also sing backing vocals. You may know them from their musical career in the Mockumentaried band "Spinal Tap." No lie.

Label: Reprise Records
RIYL: XTC, The Candy Butchers

myspace, official site, wikipedia, AMG
Amazon: album

Bleu McAuley was (and is) a staple of the Boston Power Pop scene, having started his career there in the 90s. After independently releasing the album "Headroom," his second independent album "Redhead," was picked up and rereleased by Sony/Aware. Although that commercial outing was limited, Bleu picked himself back up and dove back into the Boston scene, where his hometown status only grew.

Over the years he's become well known in the pop underground for being an amazing songwriter, musician, and producer. Bleu has collaborated with all sorts of fine folks, including Dan Wilson (ex-Semisonic), whose album "Free Life" we featured last year, Mike Viola from The Candy Butchers, and most recently, Jon McLaughlin. McLaughin's new release "OK Now" features two tracks co-written by Bleu, along with lots of other songs on which he performs.

After a huge series of farewell concerts in Boston over a year ago, Bleu moved to L.A. to chase a music career on the west coast. Word on the street is that Bleu's most recent, long-time-coming album "A Watched Pot" has been contractually unlocked from Sony Records' vault in such a way that it might just make it onto the shelves through a different (as yet unnamed) label. In the meantime we heard a few cuts from the album, including the track "Boy Meets Girl" which is performed in the video below:


Good news - Bleu is coming to San Francisco twice in the next month. First up he'll be playing at the Rockit Room on Clement Street this Thursday, October 16th. Then, as a part of his project with Mike Viola and Ducky Carlisle, called The Major Labels, the band will play on Tuesday the 28th at the Red Devil Lounge. Get yourself psyched up in the meantime by listening to "A Watched Pot" on purevolume.com.

RIYL: L.E.O.. Mike Viola / The Candy Butchers

myspace, official site, AMG

Today's Palo Alto Pop Overthrow featured an interview from DC-based power pop-punk band Julie Ocean. Joined by guest co-host Rob Johnson, we celebrated Kirsty MacColl's 49th birthday with a three song tribute.

Here's what was played on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow for October 7, 2008:

Artist	Track	Album/Label
Finn, Neil	Driving Me Mad	One Nil EMI Records
Wanderlust	I Walked	Prize RCA Records
Shins, The	Phantom Limb	Wincing the Night Away Sub Pop Records
Matt Pond PA	Holiday Road	Winter Songs Altitude Records
Mann, Aimee	Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds	I Am Sam [Japan Import] V2 Records, Inc.
Aprilsrain	Stumbling	Stellar Transmission Pvp Records
Suggestions, The	Be True	Mix Tape Mr. Duck Records
I Can't Stop Smiling	Velocity Girl	Power Pop of the 90'S Rhino Records
Maccoll, Kirsty	Titanic Days	Titanic Days I.R.S. Records
MacColl, Kirsty	Children of the Revolution	Electric Landlady Charisma (Modern)
Maccoll, Kirsty	A New England	Real Maccoll, the Charisma (Modern)
**Julie Ocean	Interview: Welcome	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW www.myspace.com/julieoceandc
**Julie Ocean	#1 Song	Long Gone And Nearly There Transit Of Venus
Sweet, Matthew	Girlfriend	Girlfriend A&M Records
Sloan	Gimme That	Action Pact Koch Records
**Julie Ocean	Interview: the band's lineup	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW www.myspace.com/julieoceandc
**Julie Ocean	Ten Lonely Words	Long Gone And Nearly There Transit Of Venus
**Julie Ocean	Interview: band info & what's in their CD player	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW www.myspace.com/julieoceandc
@L.E.O.	Ya Had Me Goin'	Alpacas Orgling Cheap Lullaby
Falkner, Jason	NYC	I'm OK... You're OK Noise McCartney Records
**Julie Ocean	Interview: What's Next	EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW www.myspace.com/julieoceandc
**Julie Ocean	Ebb & Flow	Long Gone And Nearly There Transit Of Venus
Superdrag	I'm Expanding My Mind	Head Trip in Every Key Elektra Records (West Coast)
Gin Blossoms	My Car	Congratulations I'm Sorry A&M Records
Penn, Michael	Walter Reed	Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 Mimeograph

** Featured Album
* Featured Track
+ Former Feature
@ Request/Dedication

Palo Alto Pop Overthrow with Phil Andrews
Tuesdays from 7-9AM PDT/10-Noon EDT
KZSU Stanford, 90.1FM / http://kzsulive.stanford.edu/
Blog at http://www.palopop.org/

Today on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow, we have an exclusive interview with Jim Spellman, a guitarist and songwriter for the DC power pop-punk band Julie Ocean, whose album "Long Gone and Nearly There" is our featured album for this week. Here's the complete interview:

Fellow guitarists and songwriters Jim Spellman (ex-Velocity Girl) and Terry Banks (ex-Glo-Worm) are joined by Alex Daniels on drums and Hunter Bennett on bass.

What's in Jim's CD player right now? He makes mention of UK artists Johnny Foreigner and The Evangelicals, a band from Oklahoma.

Favorite tracks: 3. My Revenge, 8. Ebb and Flow, 1. Ten Lonely Words, 2. #1 Song

Label: Transit of Venus
RIYL: The Wedding Present, The Breakup Society
Three stars.

myspace, AMG
Amazon: album, mp3 album
Rhapsody