American Power Pop Poll: Rhino's "Come Out and Play" and "Shake It Up" Comps

I Am The Cosmos.. duh.

The 2 Nerves songs tie for 2nd place.

― billstevejim, Saturday, 19 May 2012 06:42 (1 year ago) Permalink

"Southern Girls" on my short list, but I don't think it's really that much of a power pop song.

It doesn't need to be power pop.

― timellison, Saturday, 19 May 2012 07:24 (1 year ago) Permalink

pulled my copy of this great CD from the shelf and the case was empty :(

get bent has great taste - "blow yourself up" and the live pezband track ("stop") are my favorites. also love the artful dodger and off broadway songs.

― (REAL NAME) (m coleman), Saturday, 19 May 2012 10:26 (1 year ago) Permalink

Artful Dodger for personal and "regional pride" reasons. (They're from Northern Va but were always HUGE in the Cleveland area.)

Aside from that, The Nerves or Chris Bell.

― i love the large auns pictures! (Phil D.), Saturday, 19 May 2012 11:40 (1 year ago) Permalink

Lurve these comps as well as this entire series. I've been digging back into power pop lately and just ordered the Yellow Pills: Prefill comp which is a nice companion for these.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 19 May 2012 12:48 (1 year ago) Permalink

I could vote for "Shake Some Action," but this might be the only time I ever get to vote for the Shoes in a poll, so "Too Late." It's not their best song, but it's one of their 10 best, which is good enough. Besides those two, also love: "My Mind," "Southern Girls," "Tired of Waking Up Tired," "The Summer Sun," "and "Tomorrow Night." I don't really remember "I am the Cosmos"--I kept "Speed of Sound" on my computer instead. Three things I wish were on one of these compilations: Creme Soda's "Tonight," Pointed Sticks' "Apologies," and the Martians' "Baby Hold On." I saw Artful Dodger open up for Blue Oyster Cult and Kiss in 1976.

― clemenza, Saturday, 19 May 2012 13:09 (1 year ago) Permalink

Shake Some Action is the best song, but The Scruffs were a fine fine band. If you haven't heard My Mind, you are in for a treat.

― kornrulez6969, Saturday, 19 May 2012 13:26 (1 year ago) Permalink

Lots to like on here, but I went with "Hit The Floor." (Had never heard of these comps before -- The Rhino one I have is Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of The '70s, from 1997, which unfortunately does not have anything by Piper, Earthquake, Real Kids, the Pop, or the Diodes.)

― xhuxk, Saturday, 19 May 2012 13:39 (1 year ago) Permalink

"Southern Girls" over "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," I guess. Never heard some of them.

― timellison, Saturday, 19 May 2012 16:35 (1 year ago) Permalink

BTW Fotomaker is Wally Bryson's post-Raspberries band. "Where Have You Been All My Life" is like an Eric Carmen song with none of the gutsiness of The Raspberries.

― i love the large auns pictures! (Phil D.), Saturday, 19 May 2012 16:39 (1 year ago) Permalink

Voted Off Broadway:

Played on WLS-AM Chicago with the regularity of a traffic report in 1979.

― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Saturday, 19 May 2012 20:31 (1 year ago) Permalink

Wow, first time I've ever heard that--excellent.

― clemenza, Saturday, 19 May 2012 20:40 (1 year ago) Permalink

BTW Fotomaker is Wally Bryson's post-Raspberries band. "Where Have You Been All My Life" is like an Eric Carmen song with none of the gutsiness of The Raspberries.

Disagree. This is one of the most unintentionally sad songs ever, a lament about finding your perfect lover in middle age, and realizing how great your life would have been if only you'd met when you were young instead of the agonizing life and dysfunctional relationships you actually did have. For those who can relate to it, it hits hard.

― Lee626, Sunday, 20 May 2012 00:29 (1 year ago) Permalink

You could kind of hear the Rapsberries rhythm section rocking that out more, though.

― timellison, Sunday, 20 May 2012 01:59 (1 year ago) Permalink

Agreed, though the bigger problem here is that the producer/arranger buried the rhythm section in the mix behind strings/harmonica/piano that shouldn't have been there at all. Even then it still wouldn't be "gutsy", but it's not trying to be.

― Lee626, Sunday, 20 May 2012 03:14 (1 year ago) Permalink

"What I Like About You".

― jetfan, Sunday, 20 May 2012 20:23 (1 year ago) Permalink

and these CDs are even better than the UK ones - I like the cheesy side of power pop more than the mod side.

#1 Shoes – Tomorrow Night 3:00
#2 Tommy Hoehn – Blow Yourself Up 2:56

Honorable mentions to Fotomaker, Off Broadway, Cheap Trick, The Real Kids...etc...and the Flamin Groovies and Chris Bell tracks are probably best of all but almost too canonical for their own good.

― skip, Wednesday, 23 May 2012 21:17 (1 year ago) Permalink

reviving because the companion poll is at the top of new answers.

― mario bataille (get bent), Sunday, 27 May 2012 18:31 (11 months ago) Permalink

Nerves, Hangin'

― da croupier, Sunday, 27 May 2012 18:34 (11 months ago) Permalink

Need to quickly spin these again before voting. Have the whole series but spent more time with the UK pop ones.

― Look at how funky he is! (jer.fairall), Sunday, 27 May 2012 22:34 (11 months ago) Permalink

Holly & the Italians just barely over Flamin' Groovies.

― Snowqueen's Icedragon (crüt), Monday, 28 May 2012 14:04 (11 months ago) Permalink

This isn't any harder than the UK set, though I think I like these songs better, overall. "Shake Some Action" hands down, no questions or regrets. Not saying it wasn't close. Love these, too:

Nerves, The – Hangin' On the Telephone
Cheap Trick – Southern Girls
Real Kids, The – All Kindsa Girls
Diodes, The – Tired Of Waking Up Tired
Chris Bell – I Am The Cosmos
Cryers, The – Shake It Up (Ain't It Time?)*
Shoes – Tomorrow Night
20/20 – Yellow Pills
Romantics, The – What I Like About You
Know, The – I Like Girls ("and, without exception, they like me" lol)

* the real sleeper here, imo. verse vocals occasionally remind me of phil lynott.

― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Monday, 28 May 2012 19:33 (11 months ago) Permalink

lol @ 3 songs about girls, two about shaking

― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Monday, 28 May 2012 20:17 (11 months ago) Permalink

I voted for Holly and the Italians but wondering now whether I should have gone with "What I Like About You" -- overexposure has dimmed my ability to hear its merits but not the merits itself. No, I think I'm happy with "Tell That Girl To Shut Up."

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 29 May 2012 16:18 (11 months ago) Permalink

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― System, Wednesday, 30 May 2012 00:01 (11 months ago) Permalink

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― System, Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:01 (11 months ago) Permalink

Hard to argue with this result.

― skip, Thursday, 31 May 2012 03:44 (11 months ago) Permalink

True. I voted for the winner, but maybe should have gone with The Rubinoos "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" so it wouldn't have received a zero

― Ian Hunter Is Learning the Game (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 31 May 2012 04:11 (11 months ago) Permalink

Oh fuck. I had no idea Tommy Hoehn died. RIP

http://memphismeansmusic.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/beloved-memphis-musician-tommy-hoehn-1955-2010/

― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 31 May 2012 04:25 (11 months ago) Permalink

Nice to see Rubinoos shout-out.

― timellison, Thursday, 31 May 2012 04:27 (11 months ago) Permalink

(But not nice to see them SHUT OUT!)

― timellison, Thursday, 31 May 2012 04:30 (11 months ago) Permalink

as in the other thread, some of my favorites got shut down cold:

Know, The – I Like Girls
20/20 – Yellow Pills
Cryers, The – Shake It Up (Ain't It Time?)

glad that the diodes' "tired of waking up tired" and the real kids' "all kindsa girls" each got at least one vote. otoh, my mind is kind of blown by the fact that chris bell's "i am the cosmos" tied with them. damn! i thought that was ILX canon. i'd have voted for it back in '92 when i first heard it, but i'm not so fond of it now as i was then.

― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Thursday, 31 May 2012 05:01 (11 months ago) Permalink

I Am the Cosmos almost feels like a different genre than the rest of the CD. obviously a classic but it's going for something different.

― skip, Thursday, 31 May 2012 12:49 (11 months ago) Permalink

disappointed that pezband got no votes. also surprised at the low voter turnout for "i am the cosmos."

― mario bataille (get bent), Thursday, 31 May 2012 18:21 (11 months ago) Permalink

jbr otm

― Ian Hunter Is Learning the Game (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 31 May 2012 23:24 (11 months ago) Permalink