review: have mersey!
New! The Fore | Black and White (Beatnik Geek, 2007) Add the sparkling Fore to the growing list of current bands reveling, with a fountain of buoyant flourish, in the sheer joy of the Merseybeat era. The Fore's smashing first album, fourteen period-hardy slices of one, two, three, four, in-your-face pop 'n' roll, is an instant classic. more
review: tonight, the classics
New! The Tonighters | Closet Classics... Volumes 1 and 2 (Promotional CD-EPs, 2006-2008) I've got two CD-EPs repeating in the CD player and they're both by the fabulous British guitar pop band, the Tonighters. I have no idea if this music is available to you, and it might well be for all I know, but I'm not 
sure, so I advise you, here and now, to send an e-mail to the band and get the skinny on availability. I invite you to tell the band I sent you. I invite you to enrich your music collection with these songs that will, mark my words, more than do the trick. more
interview: thomas walsh's top pop
New! If Pure Pop were a 10 hour show, I would have Thomas Walsh, aka Mr. Pugwash, on for the whole 10 hours. This man can tell a story, let me tell you. He can also talk about the great pop songs that have enriched his life, and that is exactly what he does during this wide-ranging, passionate back-and-forth. Songs and stories--what a way to spend a couple of hours! This is one for the ages. I hope you enjoy it. 
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
interview: russ giguere
New! The Association, in their classic years, could not be beat for some of the most stirring vocal harmonies in popular music. Variously a six or seven man band, all members sang, wrote, played and gave their all, more than earning their place at the top of the sunshine pop heap. The group's Russ Giguere called in to the Pure Pop radio show for a quick talk with Alan before a show they were playing on August 30, 1997.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
interview: jeffrey foskett
New! Master of the melodic Beach Boys style and indispensable pop icon Jeffrey Foskett has appeared many times on Pure Pop. I'm partial to his very first appearance from
July 9, 1997. Jeffrey's stories of playing on the road with the Beach Boys, and meeting Brian Wilson, are highlights of this lively conversation, but there's a whole lot more to the man. Discover the inner Jeffrey Foskett, pop genius, right here. Bonus audio: There is a short section at the end of this interview that comes from another appearance, but it is not dated. Nonetheless, it's a great, lively listen.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
review: spongetones, very clever
The SpongeTones | Too Clever by Half (Loaded Goat, 2008) 
Proving once again that they are the collective gold standard for vocal pop groups, the SpongeTones return just one year on from their momentous best-of with a tremendously satisfying platter of digital wax that, like their stupendous Number 9 album from 2005, will be hard to beat when it comes time to tally up the list of best pop albums of 2008. more
interview: the spongetones
Three of the fabulous SpongeTones--Jamie Hoover, Steve Stoeckel and Pat Walters--gathered around their Alexander Graham Bellophones to chat about the group's awesome new album, Too Clever by Half. More fun on a Sunday afternoon you could not possibly have.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
congratulations to...
Terry Clarke and Daryll Collins, the winners of our "Win Signed Pugwash" contest. You lucky buhdgies! You'll both be receiving a copy of the new Pugwash CD, Eleven Modern Antiquities, signed by Thomas Pugwash Walsh himself. Watch for your local postal carrier pigeon! Thanks for entering, one and all. More cool contests to come!
column: are you buzzing? (No. 2)
Steve Somerset | The Shadow Kabinet February brings the rain—well, usually—and for this column I was thinking about writing something about songs with rain in the title. It’s a reoccurring motif in so many pop songs; my favourite being The Beatles’ “Rain,” a fantastic song that’s buried on the b-side of “Paperback Writer.” Not that long ago I came across someone who had never heard that track. What a treat to reveal to someone a Beatles track they’ve never heard. It’s like saying, “I got the Holy Grail in a cupboard back home. Fancy a look?” more
column: up the down escalator
(no. 2)
Frank Lee Sprague |
The Sprague Brothers Although tuning a guitar can be easy (if you have ears, neither of which is made of tin), it was made even easier for those looking for a quick way to tune by the emergence of electronic tuning devices a couple of decades ago. Nevertheless, I have always subscribed to the philosophy of tuning my instruments by ear. I have employed, occasionally, a tuning fork for a place to start, but this method is affected by weather and other conditions. more
column: echoes (no. 2)
Adam S. Leslie | Recording Artist
Small Faces | Small Faces (Immediate, 1967) These days, the Small Faces are probably best remembered for the sad duality of their cheery outlook and tragic personal lives. A band of cheeky Dickensian midgets (well, five-foot-four apiece) burdened by none of the portentous pretension of the era—a sort of anti-Doors—they lit up the sixties pop scene with some of most sparkling musical gems this side of Abbey Road Studios. Yet the songwriting talent behind the group reached the 1980s doomed and penniless. more
interview: nelson bragg
Percussionist and musician and songwriter extraordinaire Nelson Bragg talked about his wonderful album Day Into Night on the April 13 edition of Pure Pop. Due to an unfortunate studio glitch, the first half of the interview was not recorded. The second half, during which Nelson took listeners behind-the-scenes of the writing and recording of the gorgeous song "Death of Caroline" and sounded off about people's music listening habits in a download world, is presented here.
review: pugwash's eleven miracles
Pugwash | Eleven Modern Antiquities (1969 Records, 2008)
I remember reading a review of Pink Floyd's The Wall in which the reviewer described the Floyd as a band that never throws an idea away. The idea of a creative force so keenly tuned into their vision being able to use their every idea to bring that vision to life instantly intrigued me. And today, thinking about the idea of using ideas in such a complete way, I thought of Thomas Walsh, the Dublin songwriter whose ideas and vision fuel the musical engine that is Pugwash the band. more
interview: thomas walsh
The patron saint of Pugwash, Thomas Walsh, proves to be a lively storyteller and a fun guest on the March 30 edition of the Pure Pop radio show. Thomas walks listeners through the hall-of-fame-worthy songs of Eleven Modern Antiquities in a wide-ranging, hour-long chat that turns out to be his first American radio interview. We were thrilled to have him!
Part One: Part Two:
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
review: the goldbergs' pop smash
The Goldbergs | Under the Radar (Kool Kat, 2008) 
Hot on the heels of his 2006, self-released, jam-packed-with-hooks album Hooks, Lines & Sinkers, Long Island pop man Andy Goldberg returns with another jam-packed-with-hooks album, jam-packed with enough hooks to pack a tackle box full of hooks and, you know, the stuff you put in tackle boxes. more
interview: the goldbergs
Andy Goldberg knows his straight-ahead pop, let me tell you. Even better, let Andy tell you, as he talks about the Goldbergs' new album, Under the Radar, and the records he recorded with the glorious Sun Kings. The action happened on the March 16 edition of Pure Pop.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
interviews: meet the penguins
If Peter and the Penguins, Norway's hot Merseybeat-style combo, were plying their rocking trade back in the sixties, they'd certainly be creating some Merseybeat heat in the famed club. For fans of Merseybeat, the Penguins are the it band of the moment. Singer/songwriter Eyvind Lindberg talked about the band on the March 9 edition of Pure Pop.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
classic interviews: the rubinoos
Way back when, on the occasion of the release of the Rubinoos' Paleophonic album, Tommy Dunbar and the group's namesake Jon Rubin spoke to Alan live from Los Angeles. Seven tracks from the album were played during the interview--their first spins on any radio show! Travel on back to 1999 for this exclusive classic interview from the Pure Pop radio show.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
review: the rubinoos unreleased
The Rubinoos|One, Two, That's It!
Another Crimes and Unreleased (Air Mail, 2007) A couple of sweet lifetimes on from their Beserkley days, the lovely and talented Rubinoos have raided their cupboards for a sweet collection of mostly unreleased songs that proves just how vital and needed their kind of music is. Why, the people of the world would stop fighting with each other right away after a chorus of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend"! What kind of driver would even think to cut off another car on the highway with the choir boy vocals of the great Jon Rubin spinning in his CD player? What the world needs now, my friends, is love, sweet love, and that means the Rubinoos. more
interviews: The Squires rock!
Chris Earl, working in his Rochester, New York basement, round the clock, day and night, to and fro, is turning out some of the most inventive, melodic, DIY pop this side of upstate New York. Well, any side, really--wherever you live, Chris's alter-ego, the Squires of the Subterrain, are about as good as it gets. Surrounded by boxes of laundry that sorely needed folding, Chris spoke with Alan on the March 2 edition of Pure Pop.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
interviews: klaatu's dee long
We continue to bring you interviews with pop's biggest stars--
interviews you can only listen to here. Klaatu's Dee Long spoke with Alan on the Pure Pop radio show on August 15, 1998, on a show that also included guest spots from the SpongeTones' Jamie Hoover and the Bobbies' Kenny Cruz and Mickie Bliss. Dee's spot lasted about half an hour; here is a rather charming, scoped version of that interview.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
review: rising stars!
the doughboys
is it now?
The Doughboys | Is It Now? (Ram, 2007) This is the sound of the garage, wide open in the sweltering summer; guitars raging from overheated amplifiers; the singer bulleting sweat against the microphone; the bass and drums digging in deep, one passionate thump at a time. This is it, the returning sound of Plainfield, New Jersey's favorite sons, the Doughboys, ripping at their axes and skins for a whole new generation of beat fanatics. And a welcome return it is. more
review: the ones that get you
The SpongeTones | Always Carry On:
The Best of the SpongeTones 1980-2005 (Loaded Goat, 2007)
It was 12 years ago that I had the epiphany of all epiphanies, a life-changing realization that helped me clarify my pop music path, so sharp and crystal-clear it suddenly was. Listening to the entirety of the SpongeTones' Textural Drone Thing at a Borders Books and Music listening station, I felt the essential elements of pop music swirl around me in a powerful way, and for the first time I knew that they could work in concert with each other in the skillful hands of such musicians who were schooled in pop's rich history and able to present that history in a contemporary framework. It was clear to me then and there that the SpongeTones could not only create contemporary pop music that drew skillfully on their many, varied influences, but that they could create new classics for the now generation. more
review: fab pop from norway
denizens of the beat music era to a rousing chorus of yeah, yeah, yeahs. A round of hearty handclaps, then, for these boys from Norway. Prepare to get Penguin-ized! more
interviews: 3 classics from 1999
We present a trio of rare interviews from Pure Pop, from the good old days of 1999:
Ron Dante
Hans Rotenberry from The Shazam.
Check our audio interviews index for more archived interviews from the Pure Pop radio show.
review: a suite heartbreak
The Billie Burke Estate | Let Your Heart Break (Self-released, 
2008) Just look at the cover, will you? A camera lens is turned sideways on a child, who is wrapped in drapes. The lens cuts her off just below her shoulders, her red stocking feet still, just grazing the wood floor. Where is she?
more
review: carols a la sprague
New! Frank Lee Sprague | Traditional Carols Arranged as Traditional Rock Songs (Wichita Falls, 2007) Right up front, let me say that I know it is February and not December, and what's more it is not Christmas or approaching Christmas or anything like that, but I assert that this is the album you should be playing all year 'round because it features the unique rock 'n' roll stylings of Mr. Frank Lee Sprague, King of the Guitar, and in these here parts we bow to the king. So bow, and take a breath already, will ya? more
review: sharp crayons
Ken Sharp | Sonic Crayons (Jet Fighter, 2007) An acute Beatles fixation and frequent nods to the Beach Boys, bubblegum music and Sixties and Seventies pop are almost de rigueur for today's retro-fitted, melodic pop artists, which is at it should be and which is how it is with Ken Sharp, whose latest collection of songs is sure to please those enamored of the usual touchstones--you know, the ones simply just make you smile. more
review: jackdaw4 diversifies
Jackdaw 4 | Bipolar Diversions The secret to making a great, melodic pop record in is as it has always been: Wear your influences on your sleeves, both of them, but make sure the thing comes out sounding like you. Any cook can combine ingredients, but only a real artist can create a meal. And be sure to stock up on chutzpah, because you're going to need it. more
Listen to an exciting, previously unheard song from the bipolar diversions sessions! Straight from the Jackdaw4 archives comes a very cool, driving pop song that didn't quite make the bipolar diversions lineup. "Big Boys" is a totally fab number, and it's exclusive to buhdge, courtesy of songwriter Willie Dowling. Listen here, and enjoy! |
tv: the bionic season
Since the fall TV season follows the summer TV season, which naturally follows the spring TV season and the fall TV season before it, you would be forgiven for thinking there is too much TV seasoning in the goulash. For, in addition to the big three networks (or is it four? Or five?), just about every cable network is producing, for better or worse, original, scripted shows even as the reality genre continues to fester with twisted aplomb. It's a mess out there, people, a big, fat, clunky, screeching mess, and it's up to us discerning viewers to clean it up with a super-sized Mr. Clean® Magic Eraser®. more
review: the eagles soar
The Eagles | Long Road Out of Eden (ERC, 2007) If we're going to be absolutely honest about the Eagles' first album in 28 years, we're going to have to say it rocks like it's 1979, or 1976.
I certainly don't mean that as a dig. On the contrary, Long Road Out of Eden sounds just like classic Eagles; if it didn't, we'd be having an entirely different conversation in the yard after school. more
review: oh, my my! Ringo's best
Ringo Starr | Photograph, The Very Best of Ringo (Capitol, 2007)
Fab sticksman Richard Starkey M.B.E.'s best sides finally gets a first-class remastering with Photograph The Very Best of Ringo Starr, a most welcome release that earns Capitol Records a back-off-boogaloo's-worth of goodwill from fans. more
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