Palo Alto Pop Overthrow

Here on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow, we've talked a lot about Splitsville, and thus we were delighted to have two members of this heroic power pop band, Tony Waddy and Brandt Huseman, on the show. We chatted with them about their release, "Let's Go! The Best of Splitsville."


We touched on:

• The "Splitsville Sound."
  
• The Baltimore power pop scene.
  
• Working with Dave Nachodsky at Invisible Sound Studios.
  
• The coda at the end of "I Wish I Never Met You.".
  
• Progress on the new album and their schedule appearance at the Los Angeles IPO on August 1st.
  
• ...and much more!
  

Here is the interview, for your listening pleasure:

Splitsville interview

Recommended tracks: all!

Label: Zip Records (SF), Popboomerang (Aus), Airmail Recordings (Japan)
RIYL: The Churchills, Ben Folds Five
Four and a half stars.

facebook, official site, myspace, wikipedia, AMG
Amazon: album (mp3)
cd baby
Rhapsody

The Rocket Summer, incredulously, is just one person: Bryce Avary, a 26 year old multi-instrumentalist and musical prodigy from Dallas, Texas. The name of his band was inspired by the Ray Bradbury story, "The Martian Chronicles." Bryce's sound is a mix of power pop, emo, piano pop, and alt rock.

While The Rocket Summer's sound has increasingly zeroed in on the tragically fashionable "emo" sound, Bryce's musical origins are definitely piano-heavy power pop. He credits Superchunk and a lot of indie rock as inspiration while growing up. His first album, "Calendar Days," was snapped up by The Militia Group, with whom he released one additional record before jumping to the majors.

On his album from 2007, "Do You Feel," Avary sings, plays bass, guitar, harmonica, drums, and a smattering of keys including organ, moog, wurlitzer, and piano. With all of those credits going to Bryce, there was "only" room enough on the disc to include the horn section from Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life", and a surprise credit of Patrick Warren on Chamberlin (keyboard,) a highly established session musician originally known for his work with Michael Penn.


Favorite tracks: 2. So Much Love, 1. Break It Out, 5. All I Have, 3. Do You Feel

Label: Island Def Jam
RIYL: Copeland, Ben Folds, Weezer
Three and a half stars.

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

Here's what was played on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow for April 23, 2009:

Artist	Track	Album/Label
+Case, Neko	People Got A Lotta Nerve	Middle Cyclone Anti, Inc.
Hanlon, Darren	Operator... Get Me Sweden	Hello Stranger Drive-In Records
Modern Skirts	Yugo	All Of Us In Our Night None
Belle And Sebastian	Dog On Wheels	Push Barman To Open Old Wounds Matador Records
Byrne, David & Brian Eno	Everything That Happens	Everything That Happens Will Happen Today Todomundo Ltd.
Shins, The	Sleeping Lessons	Wincing the Night Away Sub Pop Records
@Leo, Ted/The Pharmacists	Six Months in a Leaky Boat	Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead Lookout Records
Squeeze	Third Rail	Five Live Love Records
+Falkner, Jason	I'm OK... You're OK	NYC Noise McCartney Records
+Nines, The	Insanity (The Sanest Thing You've Got)	Gran Jukle's Field T.A.S. Gold Recordings
Phair, Liz	Somebody's Miracle	Somebody's Miracle Capitol Records
XTC	The Loving	Oranges and Lemons Virgin Records
Long Winters, The	Shapes	When I Pretend To Fall Barsuk Records
**Rocket Summer, The	Break It Out	Do You Feel? Island Def Jam
Splitsville	Dayjob	Repeater Big Deal
@Fountains of Wayne	Bright Future in Sales	Welcome Interstate Managers Virgin Records
**Rocket Summer, The	Do You Feel	Do You Feel Island Def Jam
New Pornographers, The	Twin Cinema	Twin Cinema Matador Records
+Jones, Kelly	Same Songs	SheBANG! Good Morning Monkey Records
**Rocket Summer, The	All I Have	Do You Feel Island Def Jam
Animal Collective	My Girls	Merriweather Post Pavilion Domino Recording Company
+Travis	Song to Self	Ode to J. Smith Red Telephone Box
Mann, Aimee & Penn, Michael	Two of Us	I Am Sam V2 Music Limited
@Buckley, Jeff	Grace	Live a L'Olympia Columbia
@Nilsson, Harry	Me And My Arrow	Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best Of Rca Records (Modern)
Antony And The Johnsons	Kiss My Name	Crying Light, The Secretly Canadian Records

** Featured Album

+ Former Feature
@ Request/Dedication

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

This week's featured album is "Buildings and Grounds" by pApAs fritAs.


Tony Goddess (guitar, vocals), Shivika Asthana (drums, vocals), and Keith Gendel (bass, vocals) originally met while students at Tufts University in Boston, and went on to form Papas Fritas. "Buildings and Grounds" is their third and final full album, not including the retrospective released in 2003.

Favorite tracks: 7. I Believe in Fate, 8. It's Over Now, 1. Girl
Label: Minty Fresh
RIYL: The Gay, Camera Obscura
Three stars.

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

Here's what was played on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow for April 16, 2009:

Artist	Track	Album/Label
Camera Obscura	If Looks Could Kill	Let's Get Out Of This Country Merge Records
New Pornographers, The	Sing Me Spanish Techno	Twin Cinema Matador Records
Long Winters, The	Shapes	When I Pretend To Fall Barsuk Records
+Lovely, Brian	Disappear	Superimpose The Beat Parlor
Animal Collective	My Girls	Merriweather Post Pavilion Domino Recording Company
Bleu	Feet Don't Fail	Headroom Lunch Records
Byrne, David & Brian Eno	Everything That Happens	Everything That Happens Will Happen Today Todomundo Ltd.
+Case, Neko	People Got A Lotta Nerve	Middle Cyclone Anti, Inc.
+Falkner, Jason	This Time	I'm OK... You're OK... Noise McCartney Records
+Handcuffs, The	Somebody Somewhere	Electroluv Oofl Records
+Wondermints	Hypnolove	Bali Varese Sarabande
+Crowded House	Don't Stop Now	Time on Earth ATO Records
+Travis	Song To Self	Ode To J. Smith Red Telephone Box
**Papas Fritas	I Believe in Fate	Buildings and Grounds Minty Fresh
+Difford, Chris	The Other Man In My Life	Last Temptation Of Chris, The Airline Records
+Belles, the	Never Said Anything	Omerta' Lakeshore Records
**Papas Fritas	It's Over Now	Buildings and Grounds Minty Fresh
+Fountains of Wayne	Please Don't Rock Me	Fountains of Wayne Tag Recordings
Smiths, The	Panic	The Sound of The Smiths Warner Music
**Papas Fritas	Girl	Buildings and Grounds Minty Fresh
+Jones, Kelly	Rooftop	SheBANG! Good Morning Monkey Records
+Viola, Mike	When I Hold You In My Arms	Lurch Good Morning Monkey Records
Shins, The	Phantom Limb	Wincing the Night Away Sub Pop Records
Hanlon, Darren	Operator... Get Me Sweden	Hello Stranger Drive-In Records
Splitsville	Manna (Say You Believe)	Repeater Big Deal
+Blue Sky Secret, The	In Your Eyes	What We Are EP http://www.myspace.com/tbssmusic

** Featured Album
+ Former Feature
@ Request/Dedication

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

Here's what was played on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow for April 9, 2009:

Artist	Track	Album/Label
Odds	Make You Mad	Nest Elektra Records (West Coast)
+Jellybricks, The	Eyes Wide	Goodnight To Everyone Primitive Records
+Manning Jr., Roger Joseph	The Quickening	Catnip Dynamite Oglio Records
Sweet, Matthew	Into Your Drug	Blue Sky on Mars Volcano Entertainment
International Espionage!	Deaddrop	Transmissions Noise To Infinity Records
Von Bondies, The	Pale Bride	Love Hate And Then There's You Shout Factory
Sloan	Gimme That	Action Pact Koch Records
Churchills, The	Sometimes Your Best Isn't Good Enough	EP Near Records
Stereo, the	Don't Say Uncle	Rewind + Record Fueled By Ramen
+Wondermints	Hypnolove	Bali Varese Sarabande Records
+Nines, The	Insanity (The Sanest Thing You've Got)	Gran Jukle's Field T.A.S. Gold Recordings
Wendy & Lisa	Red Bike	White Flags Of Winter Chimneys Self
+Travis	Song to Self	Ode to J. Smith Red Telephone Box
+Bleu	I won't go Hollywood	Redhead Columbia
**Splitsville	Ponce de Leon	Let's Go! (best of) Zip Records
**Splitsville	White Dwarf	Let's Go! (best of) Zip Records
**Splitsville	I Wish I Never Met You	Let's Go! (best of) Zip Records
+Hillis, Cliff	Elevator	Long Now, The Self
Dressy Bessy	Anyone Can See	Holler And Stomp Transdreamer Records
+Handcuffs, The	God Is Sure One Funny Girl	Electroluv Oofl Records
+@Ben Folds	You Don't Know Me (Featuring Regina Spektor)	Way To Normal Epic Records

** Featured Album
+ Former Feature
@ Request/Dedication

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

Join our host, Phil Andrews, as he interviews the boys from the quintessential power pop-punk band Splitsville, on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow this Thursday. As usual the show runs from 7-9AM on the west coast, streaming live at kzsulive.stanford.edu. Folks from Splitsville will be dropping by in the 8 o'clock hour - that's 11 o'clock for those of you playing along on the east coast. We'll be talking about their best of album, "Let's Go!" Be there or be square!

Here's a video of the Splitsville crew performing their ever so catchy song "Forever," which we featured on the P.A.P.O. last July.

Favorite tracks: Rooftop, Subway Song, Same Songs, There Goes My Baby, Fire Escape, Lovers

Tinges of country (There Goes My Baby) provide pointers to Kelly's musical past, while tons of 60s pop influences, channelled by Mike Viola--who cowrote and played on nearly all of the songs, and whose record label released the disc--make this album quite possibly one of my top five albums of the last two years. Like many awesome albums of late, this one was produced and recorded by Ducky Carlisle (of The Major Labels) at Ice Station Zebra in good ol' Medford, Massachusetts.



Label: Good Morning Monkey Records
RIYL: Lisa Loeb, Letters to Cleo
Five stars.

Trivia: the song “Crazy Talk” was penned by Kelly with Adam Schlesinger, who we all know for his band, Fountains of Wayne.

myspace, official site
Amazon: album
Rhapsody

Here's what was played on the Palo Alto Pop Overthrow for April 2nd, 2009:

Artist	Track	Album/Label
Sweet, Matthew & Hoffs, Susanna	I See The Rain (The Marmalade)	Under The Covers Shout Factory
Modern Skirts	Yugo	All Of Us In Our Night None
Matt Pond PA	St.Andrews	I Thought You Were Sleeping File 13
Jayhawks, the	Big Star	Sound of Lies American (Modern)
Apples In Stereo, The	Avril En Mai	Electronic Projects For Musicians Yep Roc Records
Buried Beds	Forever In You	Empty Rooms http://www.buriedbeds.com/
Mann, Aimee & Penn, Michael	Two of Us	I Am Sam V2 Music Limited
Camera Obscura	If Looks Could Kill	Let's Get Out Of This Country Merge Records
+Corner Laughers, The	Everybody Knows	Tomb of Leopards Sandbox Records
Beach Boys, the	Wouldn't It Be Nice	Pet Sounds Capitol Records (Jazz)
Splitsville	I Wish I Had Never Met You	Incorporated Houston Party
+Difford, Chris	The Other Man In My Life	Last Temptation Of Chris, The Airline Records
+Nines, The	Virginia	Gran Jukle's Field T.A.S. Gold Recordings
Byrds	Turn! Turn! Turn!	Essential, the Columbia Legacy
Dire Straits	So Far Away	Brothers In Arms Warner Bros
**Jones, Kelly	There Goes My Baby	SheBANG! Good Morning Monkey Records
+Wondermints	Hypnolove	Bali Varese Sarabande
XTC	Mayor of Simpleton	Oranges & Lemons Virgin
**Jones, Kelly	Subway Song	SheBANG! Good Morning Monkey Records
+Bleu	Could Be Worse	Redhead Columbia/Aware
Odds	Make You Mad	Nest Elektra Records (West Coast)
**Jones, Kelly	Rooftop	SheBANG! Good Morning Monkey Records
Animal Collective	Summertime Clothes	Merriweather Post Pavilion Domino Recording Company
+Case, Neko	People Got A Lotta Nerve	Middle Cyclone Anti, Inc.
Dressy Bessy	Anyone Can See	Holler And Stomp Transdreamer Records
@Gay, The	Opulent Canine	You Know The Rules Mint Records
Toy Matinee	Things She Said	Toy Matinee Reprise
+Blue Sky Secret, The	In Your Eyes	What We Are Ep http://www.myspace.com/tbssmusic

** Featured Album
+ Former Feature
@ Request/Dedication

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

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin: I'm Gabe McClelland: lover of maraschino cherries, haberdasher-about-town and life enthusiast. You may have heard another (substantially deeper) voice alongside your regular host last week; those succulently sanguine vocal chords belong to me. I'll spare you from the nascent details of my rise to radio fortune and fame; suffice it to say that Howard Stern was Howard Aloof before he met me.

Let's step back in time to last Thursday: The dollar was advancing against the yen, and DJ Phil Andrews had just handed me a CD that was surprisingly thicker than your everyday jewel case. I tried not to make eye contact with the young man on the cover, and opened the case to reveal not one, but two compact discs of equal shape and proportion. One, chosen at random, was pronounced our featured album of the week. "Which disc did we choose?" you inquire; hands clasped under your chin in eager anticipation.

We chose the one on the left, which happened to be "March of the Zapotec" by Beirut. Featuring the 19-piece "Jimenez Band," who hail from beautiful Teotitlan del Valle in Oaxaca, Mexico, this album takes us on a sonic journey of epic scale and largely departs from what you normally hear on Palo Alto Pop Overthrow.

Our first taste of the 'Zapotec' came to us in the form of The Akara, which introduces itself as what sounds to be a funeral dirge and ends up as a nostalgic tune from the old country. When we came back to our featured album with The Shrew, I was immediately reminded of the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack and the music of Devotchka (who, if you get a chance, is EXCELLENT live.) We said farewell to this album with My Wife, where I learned that Russian folk dancing is best performed in a space with a minimum of 6 feet in all directions.

Favorite track: My Wife

Label: Ba Da Bing
4 stars (but only because I went home and listened to the other EP in this album.)

official site, wikipedia
Last.fm: album