"surfin' bird" || the trashmen || 1964

Family Guy finally forced me to include this song in my blog. No complaints, though, because it was indeed a very important tune for rock n' roll music.

A glorious gem from the glorious era of surf rock, "Surfin' Bird" is just one of many examples of the genius thought put into pop music in the early 1960s. "Pop" was still a fairly new idea at the time, and I don't really believe that it was swallowed by other genres until the British Invasion happened in the mid-'60s. Really, before the boys from Liverpool came along to do their thing, pop music in the states was influenced by black jazz and r&b singers from the '40s. I once heard a record store clerk (who specializes in 45s from the 1950s) say that rock & roll was invented by black jazz musicians, and I agree with him.

Surf rock was a not-so-clear progression of that sound. I'm not just saying that because this song is the result of combining two '50s songs by The Rivingtons (a black r&b group from the '50s). Take a surf rock 45 and play it on the 33 rpm speed. You'll hear doo-wop music, the sound of which has a very clear correlation with early r&b music.

OK, enough of a music history / theory lesson.

Seriously, surf rock is really cool stuff. I also love that Family Guy's cultural influence extends as far as it does; as of this post, this tune is #9 on the Top Sellers in Rock on iTunes.

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"everybody wants to rule the world" || tears for fears || 1986

This song is a bit mainstream for me to post about it, but it's earned its place here.

This is quite simply one of the greatest songs ever recorded.

Hearing this on the radio tonight totally took me to another dimension. It's one of the first songs that I remember listening to very intently as a little kid; I had it on a mixtape that my dad made for me in his studio/office and I listened to it on the bus and in my little tape player at home. I remember the lyric "Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down / When they're through I'll be right behind you" totally blindsiding me with imagery even at that very young age.

Lyrically this song is very important. Right from the opening lyrics of "Welcome to your life / There's no turning back," you know you're dealing with some serious material. There is no fucking around. Congratulations, you're in charge of your own destiny. Now wake up, and get to work. So indicative of the mid-'80s Wall Street era.

The song could be about so many things! It could be about those annoying co-workers who kiss ass and act snidely appropriate at all the right times to get noticed by the boss. It could be an outcry about how capitalism creates greed. It could even simply be about the fact that everyone has a natural inclination to try to take over their own little worlds.

What I love so much about the vocals is how they follow a rigid, almost corporate-like structure in the first couple of verses, and then suddenly erupt into an almost volcanic outpour of emotion at the bridge. It's like the anarchy that breaks down the existing, structured society and restores power to the people. The vocals tone down again for the last verse, but not completely, the singer maintains the edge in his voice for the rest of the song.

It's simply a brilliantly crafted piece of music, and it needs to find its way into your collection.

Now.

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"boyfriend" || alphabeat || 2008

Hooray for well-crafted European pop music!

I'm sad that I haven't stumbled across Alphabeat before now. They've apparently been making records in Denmark for a few years now, but I just came across "Boyfriend" about a month ago. It took the song a few spins to stick with me, but now I'm addicted.

Definitely a throwback to mid-'80s pop music (no complaints from me), "Boyfriend" almost sounds like it was written by a modern girl-pop group in a "write an '80s song" contest.

When the song started, I was digging the groove of the music, and then I was thrown off-kilter by the singer's vocals. They were warbly, just like all modern female pop singers, but not warbly enough to make me turn off the song. (Warbly girl vocals almost always make me immediately shut off a song during the first listen.) The song is also in a minor key, which gives it a very moden touch.

The Europeans are masters of melodic pop music. I'm absolutely exhausted with American pop, because it's all spawned from R&B music, which I've had enough of, and the vocals all suck. Europe seems to put more emphasis on vocal ability, but more importantly they spotlight producers and bands who know how to write quality pop music. That's why Europop doesn't suck.

One final point I'd like to say about modern USA pop vs. modern Europop: If you hear a pop single by a European group and then go buy the album, you're likely to find an album filled with quality songs. This doesn't seem to hold true with modern USA pop albums. For an example, compare Alphabeat's album alongside Madonna's latest Hard Candy. I can get through MAYBE two songs on Hard Candy, but I can find something redeemable about every song on this album.

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"i'm always manic (when i'm around you)" || a big yes and a small no || 2008

Another song that falls into this "college pop" genre that I discussed in the previous post.

This is a surefire college radio classic. The first time I heard this tune, I complimented our station's music director on what I thought was the best song she'd chosen since taking the position four months ago.

College radio is built for tunes like this one. You'd never hear this on MTV, or on your local Top 40 station, but for college radio, it's a superhit. (If you're looking for another great example of college radio superhit, check out the song "Beard Lust" by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head from just a few posts back.)

Another tune that falls somewhere between indie rock and ska, "Manic" leaves you feeling sugary and delightful. It almost sounds like a tune that would have played in the background during an episode of Ren & Stimpy. I could just be saying that, however, because it makes me think of angular furniture, cookouts, and shag carpeting, but in a totally cool way.

If I were making compilations of college radio classics about 10 years from now, I'd include this track on my first release. I think it's a perfect milestone for this moment in modern music, and a song that should be tucked in the backs of anyone's mind who works in college radio during this era.

A final thought: The title of their album will make you smile.

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"makeup artist" || marching band || 2008

Songs like this serve as reminders why college radio is the place to find the coolest music that you'll never hear anywhere else.

"Makeup Artist" is deliciously infectious, from its agreeable drumline and guitar riff to its dainty sing-along hook. There's definitely a heavy ska influence, but without the undertone of douchiness that usually comes with ska tunes.

I must admit that I feel a bit dirty liking the song, because liking it puts me on the fringe of indie hipster territory (to use a scientific term). The song is carefully crafted to be neither a ska song nor an indie rock song, instead landing safely in the middle. It's one of those tunes that's cool enough for the skater crowd and mellow enough for the singer-songwriter acoustic crowd. It sounds like a college party.

I'm glad that this is one of the prevalent sounds in college radio, because it's taking the idea of "pop" to a new dimension. When examined alongside another trend in college radio, rock music with powerful electronics (mainly drum machines and synths), I'd say that the whole lot could be grouped into a "college pop" category. This stuff is today what the Spin Doctors and 4 Non Blondes were in the '90s.

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Buy it here

"i know ur girlfriend hates me" || annie || 2008

While Crystal Castles' "Crimewave" remains my favorite song of the year thus far overall, I think this is now my favorite pop song.

A friend of mine sent this to me about two months ago, and I started playing it on my club/dance radio show. It's now very easily my most-requested song.

Annie has a knack for making songs that seem to spill over you like cool milk. She's cute, she's sleek, she's Swedish. What's not to love?

"Girlfriend" is a perfect follow-up single to "Chewing Gum," from her last album, which has a similar feel, but is slower. This song cranks it up a bit, making it more likely to hit club floors across the countries. It's about having a guy friend with an overprotective girlfriend, a topic to which I was even able to relate as a male. Nobody likes a bitchy girlfriend.

For some reason, I can't help but make a comparison between this tune and the so-called "sophisti-pop" sound that was cool in the '80s for acts like Swing Out Sister and Scritti Politti. I feel like if those groups were to make modern electropop, it would sound like this.

This song will land in the annals of music as an underground electropop classic. It's just too cute not to love.

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Available On:
I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me	CD5"	Buy It Here

the traxx that defined my summer

Enjoy these songs that were critical in defining my summer. Some have received previous Traxx entries, so if the title is a link, it'll take you back to the post where it was previously featured. Enjoy! Lots more Traxx coming in the next few days!

• "Crimewave" by Crystal Castles

I got this CD right at the beginning of summer, and it didn't leave my car stereo until mid-June. It's the most solid album I've heard in years. It remains consistent from start to finish, but not too consistent, as is the fatal flaw of many electronic albums. There's enough variation in the tracks to establish a mood and a character for each song, yet they all share similar qualities that tie them together as an album. "Crimewave" is the masterwork, and I know that any time I hear it for the rest of my life, I'll be instantly transported back to this summer.

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• "Breakout" by Swing Out Sister

A friend of mine asked me about this song toward the beginning of summer, and although I've known this song since I was a little kid, I hadn't thought about it in a long time. It's a really great tune, and I'm glad that it re-entered the forefront of my mind.

Swing Out Sister is an exceptionally unique group. They took the "sophisi-pop" sound that brits like Scritti Politti and Spandau Ballet had been playing for years and gave it a more jazzy twinge. They also have very colorful outfits and crazy, stylish music videos. "Breakout" is the shining star of their first album, It's Better To Travel, but if you did contemporary jazz that uses electronics without becoming smooth jazz, then you'll like the entire album. I don't think American audiences were open at the time to swallowing jazzy pop music, which is probably why Swing Out Sister stuck to their guns in the UK and not here. With modern acts like Norah Jones and Colbie Caillait though, who knows? Maybe they should give it another crack.

The video for this song is a riot. The way my friend describes it, it's as if two well-dressed mobsters kidnap a seamstress and put her in a fashion show. I think my favorite part about it is the extremely uncomfortable look on singer Corinne Drewery's face when her bandmates shuffle in from either side to help her sing the song's chorus. Priceless!

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• "Johnny & June" by Heidi Newfield

This was one of the first tunes that I latched onto when I started working at a country radio station at the beginning of summer. I still think it's a timeless love song that will become a country classic.

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• "That Song In My Head" by Julianne Hough

Another song that I know because of country radio, but that doesn't stop it from being a quality pop tune. I remember playing this on the jukebox at Froggy's one night, and all the waitresses were quite shocked that this was my choice, but I think they thought it was cute.

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• "Beard Lust" by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

This is Revolution 91.7's superhit of the summer. This goofy little indie electro band has come up with a catchy tune about facial hair, and you could not ask for anything more perfect for college radio. The lyrics revolve around the singer's lamenting the costliness of maintaining quality facial hair, an issue which never occurred to me, but I suppose it's true. Who wants to look at a nasty, scraggly beard or a moustache that's unkempt and has food stuck in it?

These guys will probably never have another superhit, but this one is worth it. They've created a college radio classic, and I hope every college kid drops their Weezer disc and buys this album, even if they just buy it to have this song. The band has earned it.

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• "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry

This song should be on everyone's summer 2008 playlist, if they were awake. Every summer has this song. Summer 2007's song was Rihanna's "Umbrella," and this was our song this summer.

I'm really proud of Katy Perry. I first heard her last October or November, when the station got a copy of her "Ur So Gay" single. I found the title track and its remixes atrocious, but her cover of The Outfield's song "Your Love" was incredible, and I hoped that she'd do more great things like that.

She did, and now she has a #1 single to her name. In fact, here's a random bit of music trivia: "I Kissed A Girl" is the 1,000th song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. I think that's pretty freaking cool.

And hey, extra cool points to Katy for bringing some lesbian action to the mainstream.

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• "Downtown" by One 2 Many

This is one of the many artists to which I was alerted by my good buddy Nasty G over at The Isle Of Failed Pop Stars. I snagged this album from his blog because it was a later project of one of the members of Norwegian powerhouse a-ha (yes, the "Take On Me" guys). When I heard this song, I was in love.

"Downtown" combines all the best elements of power pop, pop rock, and a general '80s pop sound, all while remaining very Norwegian. It starts with a bright piano riff, but very quickly builds up and makes you want to slam your foot up and down to the beat. The rest of the album is pretty synth heavy, which is great, but this single was obviously the band's shining moment. It's a shame there wasn't a follow-up album.

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• "All I Need Is A Miracle" by Mike + The Mechanics

A few weeks ago I was with some friends in a very southern bar. I was tired of hearing Skynyrd and Soundgarden playing from the jukebox, and for some reason, I had this song caught in my head. After looking through 50 CDs (no exaggeration), I found it. After thirty minutes of other requests, it played, and we all sang along happily.

I've since tracked down Mike + The Mechanics' first two albums, which are much more heavily into the synth-pop/power pop sound than I would have guessed. In my mind, they were always a lite rock band with a couple of uptempo tunes, but the opposite turned out to be true. It just so happens that a few of their lighter tunes ("Silent Running" and "The Living Years") were released as singles. The albums as a whole are actually quite danceable.

As an added bonus, the song has a story music video that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

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As summer comes to an end, this is always a very important reflection. Now, I turn to you.

What were your traxx for summer 2008? What traxx will you hear in 20 years and remember this summer?