pierson

after 1985: some real crap....Jon Brion Replacements Pernice Brothers Pixies Prefab Sprout Jellyfish Posies Material Issue Matthew Sweet Tommy Keene Dramarama Sugar Elliott Smith Oasis Lemonheads A Girl Called Eddy Blue Nile Ivy Wonder Stuff Jesus & Mary Chain Teenage Fanclub Trashcan Sinatras Smiths/Morrissey Adorable Johan Even Johansen/Magnet Ed Harcourt Marjorie Fair Choo Choo Train/Velvet Crush Aimee Mann David Bowie Guided By Voices Pimlico Blur Ash Chris Von Sneidern Robyn Hitchcock Crowded House Neil Finn Flesh For Lulu Chameleons Something Happens Boo Radleys Autuers Black Box Recorder Blakes/ Readymade Breakup Fountains Of Wayne Strokes Denzil Dodgy Grant Lee Buffalo Jayhawks Wilco Sam Phillips Travis Rialto Ryan Adams My Morning Jacket Verve Red House Painters Wildhearts Bill Lloyd Marshall Crenshaw Richard Barone Hoodoo Gurus Lloyd Cole Pulp Mazzy Star Saint Etienne Keane Nick Heyward The Hold Steady Arcade Fire Nada Surf Belle & Sebastian Noonday Underground The 88 House Of Love Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Duffy/Lilac Time Doves Tsar Towers Of London House Of Freaks Waterboys The Veils Long Ryders Dancing Hoods Elvis Costello The Sleepy Jackson Game Theory Goldfrapp XTC Jesse Malin Damien Rice Arnold Cousteau

Raspberries- Rock & Roll Mama Eric Carmen- On Broadway Cheap Trick's "In Color"- You're All Talk Todd Rundgren's "Ballad Of Todd Rundgren"- Parole

for pop fans, it's tough to tell how 2007 will shape up.... I'm hoping for the long overdue Chamber Strings follow up to "Month Of Sundays"-- their myspace page has at least one great new song on it... for the best new pop I've heard since late late 2006, try Johan... the best to place to start is on their myspace page... it's: www.myspace.com/johan4all there should be songs from the new album ("JHN THX") on that page... what i've heard so far is pure amazing... for more eclectic tastes, K-os is the most out of the blue fluke genius hip-hop pop records I've ever heard.... imagine PM Dawn with more edge... for darker dronier rock tastes, Veitnam was another surprise... brings to mind Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, The Band & My Morning Jacket.....

definitely.... and to me, they are the only band who truly sounded inspired by Eric Carmen & Raspberries first & foremost... (although Off Broadway are a close second)....

that's like saying the New York Dolls are no match Poison.... it's one thing to not like Big Star... but to say Pezband is superior is kinda off the mark... to say that you might like them a lot more, is totally cool... "Daisy Glaze" alone puts them in a league far above Pezband...

i luv the songs from Go Girl Crazy, but I don't like the production on the album... i don't usually listen to it that much-- although, live, those songs are monumental... i also think they made their strongest album last (much like the Raspberries) the Strokes debut really held up for me

my 10 faves 1. New York Dolls- New York Dolls 2. Pernice Brothers- Overcome By Happiness 3. Van Duren- Are You Serious? 4. Wonder Stuff- 8 Legged Groove Machine 5. Even Johansen- Quiet & Still 6. Pretenders- Pretenders 7. Big Star- # 1 Record 8. Dwight Twilley Band- Sincerely 9. Psychedelic Furs- Psychedelic Furs 10. Trash Can Sinatras- Cake ten biggies 1. Jimi Hendrix- Are You Experienced 2. Velvet Underground & Nico- Velvet Underground & Nico 3. Ramones- Ramones 4. Sex Pistols- Never Mind The Bollocks... 5. The Who- Sings My Generation 6. George Harrison- All Things Must Pass 7. John Lennon- Plastic Ono Band 8. REM- Murmer 9. Nirvana- Nevermind 10. Byrds- Mr. Tambourine Man ten worthy of a place... 1. Oasis- Definitely Maybe 2. Jellyfish- Bellybutton 3. 20/20- 20/20 4. Marjorie Fair- Self Help Serenade 5. Bongos- Drums Along The Hudson 6. The Strokes- Is This It 7. Jarvis Cocker- The Jarvis Cocker Record 8. Vapors- New Clear Days 9. The Church- Of Skins & Heart 10. Nick Lowe- Pure Pop For Now People (aka Jesus Of Cool)

24 (despite this year's forced plot lines & disregard for plausibility) House

yeah... this article would have a different take on Eric's current status... which really was revelatory for power pop in ways that will never happen again... unless, of course they play again... wierd how writer's feel the need to "omit" bands or try to reshape the "debate".... but Badfinger really are part of the early '70s holy trinity.... and the too often overlooked Dwight Twilley Band... they hold equal footing w/ The Groovies (if not more)... the 'Berries and Big Star are the gods for me....

mine goes to 11 Beatles Beach Boys Byrds Kinks Zombies Rolling Stones The Who Turtles Small Faces Hollies Monkees

Well, there is a LOT to be considered with rock and roll bands and where they start... although it's not necessarily true in every case in the Beatles case, it CAN NOT be under estimated that being from Liverpool gave them some added variable that would be impossible to duplicate if they grew up in London (it has something to do with hunger and drive-- they really had something to prove, thus it was a very important part of their magic)... In REM's case, if they were from the north their aesthetic view would be much different, their southern roots gave them a very unique spin on their music (something that's not so apparent with the B-52s) in Eric's case, the Raspberries were an anomoly of sorts in the early '70s following a vision that was only hip in the UK at the time... since they were from Cleveland, it seems like it comes from out of nowhere... being that NY & LA would be the place where anglophiles breed (or flock to)... luckily, sometimes there's bands/artists who don't do the predictable thing and prove that you can make it anywhere... I don't think Weiner meant that Eric grew up in poverty, but that the mid-west was not a hotbed for anglophile mods in 1970, except, Cleveland... although outside of that region, it must've been close to impossible to be a band like the 'Berries in the wake of Woodstock and the birth of metal & prog...

well, a lot of it has & will be... but don't expect ALL of it to be.... sadly, i think most people will die before the issue does, and some of the greatest stuff will remain unheard... or at least, very hard to get... the first one that comes to my mind is Canada's Creamcheeze Goodtime Band...

Keane doing "Sunrise"

well, I would hope that a UK publication's list was "UK-music centered".... like Canada, they do help their own & of course, there's A LOT of amazing UK music to seek out... so it's very easy to come up with 500 songs from 1955-2007 that make the cut.... it sucks that most of us haven't heard some of the GREAT stuff... hopefully, such lists will push people to seek such things out... although judging from the list, some of it is dance-pop (i.e. Heaven 17, ABC, Associates, Altered Images, St. Etienne)... Very cool to see the Raspberries side by side with The Passions... "I'm In Love With A German Film Star" is a gorgeous hypnotic female-noir pop single from the early '80s... a must have

the only thing i can say in defense of anyone in need of hearing the music is this.... avoid buying bootlegs and do your best to get in contact w/ fans/friends who have the ability to burn the vinyl onto CD and just reimburse them for the postage... if the artist is unable to get their material released on CD one can not fault the fans on trying to share it on the new format, especially if it's obscure... as long as no one's making $$ off of it, there is nothing wrong with the practice... unless, of course, the artist does not want that material reissued (which is a sticky issue, because once it's been officially released--say, as a vinyl album or single back in the '60s or '70s--it's fair game to be heard by the masses)... I'm sure Eric is not losing sleep over the fact that the Cyrus Erie & Quick material is not getting enormous amounts of requests by the fans... from my side, I think it deserves a place in the reissue world... but for now we have to settle on friends to burn it or email it... And for the Artful Dodger freaks, a good quality burn of the vinyl onto CD will suffice & might actually sound better than a 2007 remaster from the source tapes, depending on who does the job & the quality of the masters... (it's happened w/ Alice Cooper)

no, it's pretty weak all the way around, except that the John demo version stands on its own as what it is; a demo he most likely thought wasn't up to snuff... all of Paul's "hard work" & "refinement" only made it worse, zapping the intimacy that's there in the demo... and the same goes for "Real Love" which is brilliant on its own (check the version on the "Imagine" soundtrack)... the LAME Jeff Lynne-mangled production of it is a disgrace... It does NOT sound like the Beatles, even though it is, I guess...

these days, it's getting way easier & way cheaper to hear & find music... even great old stuff, too... Youtube is a great place to seek out stuff, especially if you find pages/links that are akin to your tastes... finding stuff on Amazon is great & there's a lot of helpful bonuses there... it doesn't cost any money & you don't need to leave the house... once you learn how to use it, finding stuff isn't that hard... and since this site (EricCarmen.COM) has a lot of people talking about lots of various new bands/artists you can check a lot of them out before buying them, either on websites (myspace is great too) or at Amazon (if there's clips of songs available)....

OK.... one of the MOST continously ANNOYING things I hear people say is that "today's" music & music made by younger artists is devoid of melody & hooks... On the contrary, today's music has as much (if not more) to offer in hooks & melody than say the 1970s; mainly because there's a LOT more people making records today than 30 years ago... I would never say it could match the 1960s which wrote the book on pop... what sux is that NO ONE is hearing today's music... taken from my list, here is this year's Age Group Breakdown (looks the YOUNG ones win): 20somethings: 1. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – The Black Parade 2. THE FRATELLIS- Costello Music 3. THE STROKES – First Impressions Of Earth 4. ED HARCOURT- The Beautiful Lie 5. BUTCH WALKER – The Rise And Fall Of Butch Walker 6. THE SLEEPY JACKSON- Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird) 7. KEANE- Under The Iron Sea 8. ARCTIC MONKEYS – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not 9. BEN KWELLER – Ben Kweller 10. EDITORS – The Back Room 11. THE SOUNDS – Dying To Say This To You 12. KASABIAN – Empire 13. THE DECEMBERISTS – The Crane Wife 14. THE RAKES – Capture/Release 15. THE WALKMEN – Pussy Cats 30somethings: 1. BADLY DRAWN BOY- Born In The U.K. 2. JOHAN 3. PERNICE BROTHERS- Live A Little 4. THE LEMONHEADS- The Lemonheads 5. BELLE & SEBASTIAN – The Life Pursuit 6. THE HOLD STEADY – Boys And Girls In America 7. RHETT MILLER – The Believer 8. GOLDFRAPP – Supernature 9. SEAN LENNON – Friendly Fire 10. THE DIVINE COMEDY – Victory For The Comic Muse 11. RICHARD ASHCROFT – Keys To The World 40somethings: 1. LLOYD COLE – Anti Depressant 2. MORRISSEY – Ringleader Of The Tormentors 3. JARVIS COCKER- The Jarvis Cocker Record 4. GOLDEN SMOG – Another Fine Day 5. SMART BROWN HANDBAG – Harry Larry 6. PRIMAL SCREAM – Riot City Blues 7. ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3 – Olé! Tarantula 8. SCREEN TEST – Inspired Humans Making Noise: An Anthology 1980-1986 9. PAUL WESTERBERG – Open Season 50somethings: 1. NEW YORK DOLLS- One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This 60somethings: 1. NEIL YOUNG – Living With War 2. RAY DAVIES – Other People’s Lives

actually, i thought it was the best year since 2001... and i still have yet to get my hands on the new JOHAN disc, which will most likely be a top 5 contender.... 1. PERNICE BROTHERS- Live A Little (Ashmont) 2. JARVIS COCKER- The Jarvis Cocker Record (Rough Trade- UK import) 3. ED HARCOURT- The Beautiful Lie (Heavenly/EMI- UK import) 4. BADLY DRAWN BOY- Born In The U.K. (Astralwerks) 5 points 5. THE SLEEPY JACKSON- Personality (One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird) (Astralwerks) 6. KEANE- Under The Iron Sea (Interscope) 7. THE FRATELLIS- Costello Music (Universal/Island/Drop The Gun- UK import) 8. ARCTIC MONKEYS – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (Domino) 9. NEW YORK DOLLS- One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This (Roadrunner) 10. THE LEMONHEADS- The Lemonheads (Vagrant) Honorable mentions: BELLE & SEBASTIAN – The Life Pursuit (Matador) SMART BROWN HANDBAG – Harry Larry (Stonegarden) BEN KWELLER – Ben Kweller (ATO) THE HOLD STEADY – Boys And Girls In America (Vagrant) THE COUP – Pick A Bigger Weapon (Epitaph) THE SOUNDS – Dying To Say This To You (New Line) RHETT MILLER – The Believer (Verve Forecast) HAMELL ON TRIAL – Songs For Parents Who Enjoy Drugs (Righteous Babe) GOLDFRAPP – Supernature (Mute) BUTCH WALKER – The Rise And Fall Of Butch Walker EDITORS – The Back Room (Kitchenware) PRIMAL SCREAM – Riot City Blues (Columbia) ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3 – Olé! Tarantula (Yep Roc) MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – The Black Parade (Reprise) THE RAPTURE – Pieces Of The People We Love (Mercury/Universal) THE STROKES – First Impressions Of Earth (RCA) LLOYD COLE – Anti Depressant (One Little Indian) MORRISSEY – Ringleader Of The Tormentors (Sanctuary) KASABIAN – Empire (RCA) SCREEN TEST – Inspired Humans Making Noise: An Anthology 1980-1986 (Air Mail – Japanese import) THE DIVINE COMEDY – Victory For The Comic Muse (Parlophone) GOLDEN SMOG – Another Fine Day (Lost Highway) THE RAKES – Capture/Release (V2 Intl) RICHARD ASHCROFT – Keys To The World (Virgin) RAY DAVIES – Other People’s Lives (V2) THE DECEMBERISTS – The Crane Wife (Capitol) SEAN LENNON – Friendly Fire (Capitol) TOM WAITS – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (Anti) THE WALKMEN – Pussy Cats (Record Collection) PAUL WESTERBERG – Open Season (Lost Highway) NEIL YOUNG – Living With War (Reprise)

for Raspberries' sake i'd pick: 1. THE BEATLES- Please Please Me 2. SMALL FACES- Tin Soldier 3. SMALL FACES- Afterglow 4. LEFT BANKE- Walk Away Renee 5. BEACH BOYS- She Knows Me Too Well 6. THE WHO- Can't Explain 7. THE BEATLES- I'll Be Back 8. HOLLIES- I Can't Let Go 9. BEACH BOYS- God Only Knows 10. TURTLES- Can I Get To Know You Better

Jesse Owens- 'cause he ran in the 1936 (i think) Olympics and beat the Germans during the height of Hitler's era... too bad it didn't help the civil rights movement that much here in the states... it's arguably the most astounding moment in sports... Willie Mays- my one & only major league baseball game caught him (& the Mets) during his last season... Steve Prefontaine- great runner who has had 2 films ("Without Limits" & "Prefontaine") made about him & one documentary...

oh yeah... disco, not so bad at times... try: First Choice- Armed & Extremely Dangerous David Bowie- 1984 Roxy Music- Angel Eyes Donna Summer- I Feel Love SOS Band- Take Your Time Do It Right Bee Gees- Fanny Be Tender With My Love Tavares- Only Takes A Minute Yvonne Elliman- If I Can't Have You

well simply, Henley/Frey are allowed to be someone's "favorite" songwriting team and I would never argue that point... although, it's very hard to take anyone serious when they put someone like Glen Frey in such a HIGH category (he just doesn't cut it)... Henley, on the other hand, does, although it's by a very slim margin... Lennon & McCartney can be listed as the "best" mainly because they were so revolutionary and GOOD, although Marvin's point is very valid; not much of what they wrote was a true collaboration... i would actually say Bacharach/David are tops right along w/ Goffin/King if that's the criteria...

to wit: Foreigner may sound melodic enough & their songs are not as extended as many, but they never sound like they have any luv or devotion for the 1960s. The Offsrping, on the other hand do not fall into the "power pop" category mainly because of attitude & vocal style which is something more "pop-punk"... they have hooks and rock & keep it economical, but they rely on the novelty aspect of things which is definitely NOT a power pop trait...

well... it's more like: "NO!!!! NO!!! NO!!!!"