‘The origins of jigsaw puzzles go back to the 1760s when European map makers pasted maps onto wood and cut them into small pieces. The “dissected map” has been a successful educational toy ever since.
‘Puzzles for adults emerged around 1900, and by 1908 a full-blown craze was in progress in the United States. Most had pieces cut exactly on the color lines. There were no transition pieces with two colors to signal, for example, that the brown area (roof) fit next to the blues (sky).
‘A sneeze or a careless move could undo an evening’s work because the pieces did not interlock. And, unlike children’s puzzles, the adult puzzles had no guide picture on the box; if the title was vague or misleading, the true subject could remain a mystery until the last pieces were fitted into place.
‘Because wood puzzles had to be cut one piece at a time, they were expensive. A 500-piece puzzle typically cost $5 in 1908, far beyond the means of the average worker who earned only $50 per month.
‘High society, however, embraced the new amusement. Peak sales came on Saturday mornings when customers selected puzzles for their weekend house parties in Newport and other country retreats.
‘The next few years brought two significant innovations. First, Parker Brothers, the famous game manufacturer, introduced figure pieces into its “Pastime” brand puzzles.
‘Figure pieces made puzzles a bit easier to assemble. But the fascination of pieces shaped like dogs, birds, and other recognizable objects more than offset the somewhat reduced challenge.
‘Second, Pastimes and other brands moved to an interlocking style that reduced the risk of spilling or losing pieces. Pastime puzzles were so successful that Parker Brothers stopped making games and devoted its entire factory to puzzle production in 1909.
‘Following this craze, puzzles continued as a regular adult diversion for the next two decades.
‘With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, puzzles for adults enjoyed a resurgence of popularity, peaking in early 1933 when sales reached an astounding 10 million per week.
‘With incomes depleted, home amusements like puzzles replaced outside entertainment like restaurants and night clubs. Puzzles became more affordable too.
‘Many of the unemployed architects, carpenters, and other skilled craftsmen began to cut jigsaw puzzles in home workshops and to sell or rent them locally.
‘During the 1930s craze for puzzles, drugstores and circulating libraries added puzzle rentals to their offerings. They charged three to ten cents per day, depending on size.
‘Another important development was the introduction of die-cut cardboard puzzles for adults. Mass production allowed the manufacturers to cut prices substantially.
‘There was a vogue for advertising puzzles in mid-1932. Retail stores offered free puzzles with the purchase of a toothbrush, a flashlight, or hundreds of other products.
‘The autumn of 1932 brought a novel concept, the weekly jigsaw puzzle. The die-cut “Jig of the Week” retailed for 25 cents and appeared on the news stands every Wednesday. People rushed to buy them and to be the first among their friends to solve that week’s puzzle.
‘The Depression led to the birth of Par Puzzles, long dubbed the “Rolls Royce of jigsaw puzzles.” Frank Ware and John Henriques, young men with no job prospects, cut their first puzzle at the dining room table in 1932.
‘Parr marketed them to affluent movie stars, industrialists and even royalty. They specialized in customized puzzles, often cutting the owner’s name or birth date as figure pieces. They also perfected the irregular edge to frustrate puzzlers who tried to start with the corners and edge pieces.
‘After World War II, the wood jigsaw puzzle went into a decline. At the same time improvements in lithography and die-cutting made the cardboard puzzles more attractive.
‘High quality reproductions of fine art were introduced on jigsaws. In 1965 hundreds of thousands of Americans struggled to assemble Jackson Pollock’s “Convergence,” billed as “the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle.”
‘One by one, the surviving brands of wood puzzles disappeared. Parker Brothers discontinued its Pastime puzzles in 1958. By 1974, Par had retired from the business. The English “Victory” puzzles, easily found in department stores in the 1950s and 1960s, almost completely vanished.
‘In the 1980s, Stave Puzzles succeeded Par as the leader in wood puzzles. Stave went several steps beyond Par, commissioning original artwork that was specially designed to interact with the cutting patterns.
Yoshitomo Nara
Francesco Clementi
Takashi Murakami
Jeremy Deller
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Gunther Forg
Fabian Delberghe
Andres Serrano
‘Experimentation with pop-up figure pieces led to three-dimensional puzzles and many trick puzzles that fit together in several different wrong ways, but with only one correct solution. — Anne D. Williams
—-
*
p.s. Hey. ** Poecilia, They’ll be so flattered and thrilled, trust me. Thank you again! ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi. Post-Jam Weller has yet to find my sweet spot. ** Carsten, I think the Stones wanted to be very successful pretty quickly. As soon as they started writing their own songs basically. I think there might two or three good tracks post-‘Exile’ but that’s it. ‘Goats Head Soup’ is where they started just knowingly fulfilling the expectations of what they thought Rolling Stone fans expected, and they never experimented again. ** Dr. Kosten Koper, Hi, sir. That’s interesting. I hadn’t pegged you as a Power Pop guy. But then people don’t peg me as one either. I’ll watch/hear The Embarrassment, thank you. I don’t know them from Adam. ** DonW, Hi. I saw one of the earliest Redd Kross gigs when they were about 15 years old. They were adorable. And they’re still doing it, yeah. And one of them is a current member of the almighty Melvins. I want to see that Bill Bartell doc. It’s by Dave Markey, who’s a cool filmmaker. We tried Clinton Street Theater and Tomorrow Theater, but not those two you mentioned. I’ll look them up and see if I can a contact for the programmers. We need those contacts to start. Thanks, buddy. ** Thom, Thanks, happy to collude. How did the story and prose poem work go? The latter’s premise is most intriguing. Good week starting to you. ** Måns BT, Hi, Måns! I’ve been good, up to the usual. We haven’t talked about what to do in Stockholm yet. I’ll check to see what’s up. Any suggestions would be highly wonderful. I know, sucks about the timing re: Gronalund. Really sucks. Zac sent the materials to the Zita people yesterday. Maybe you were cc’ed on that. Don’t worry about the Q&A. It’ll be fun. We’re nice and easy. I don’t know how long. Hm, maybe you can feel it out at the time and see if folks are still into it or getting antsy? I think ‘The Weaklings (XL) is o.o.p, but I’m not sure. If you remind me close to the time when we’re coming, I can bring you a copy. Thanks, pal. Excited! ** Steve, No, the haunt project is on the back burner until we get the new film locked in with a producer, I suspect. Yes, I think you’re mid-blizzard as I type if the news is correct. I hope you find a way to luxuriate in it. Cool, new episode! Everyone, Here’s Steve with his newest treat for us: ‘The latest “Radio Not Radio” episode is out now. This one features Grote Geelstaart, Mandy, Indiana, Microhm, Only Now X Jajiju, Xaviersobased, Young Posse, Kidene Fighter, DJ Artigo016, Seo, DJ Kanji, Herbie Hancock, Sepalot, Three 6 Mafia, ELUCID & Sebb Bash, Dessa, Problema, EsDeeKid, Spice, Project Future, B-Boys, Nilza Costa, Barry Walker Jr., Sleeves, Anjimile, Charli XCX, Holodec, Marielle V. Jakobsons, Jaymin, Fall of Saigon, Amon Düül, Red Crayola and Chris Watson.’ ** Joshua, Hey, Joshua” I’m happy the gig sat well with you. That Athens, Georgia music scene was so fruitful for a while. Also, Love Tractor, Oh-OK, Matthew Sweet, Elephant 6, B-52s, etc. I’m glad you like Chris Olsen’s stuff. He’s great. He’s also a fantastic sculptor. Cool about the upcoming job. I’ve always romanticised working in a library. Yes, I would live to hear more about your multi-media piece when it’s at a point when you feel like going into it verbally. Sounds really exciting! Great! Happy Monday (and beyond). ** Steven Purtill, Steven! Shoes are among the greatest masters of that form. Tragic that they were just a little too intelligent and formally concentrated to be the success that the world deserved. I’m good, and you too, I sure hope? <3 ** Danny Benair, Hi, Danny. Well, of course! Honored to have you here, maestro! ** HaRpEr //, Yes, as good as the recorded Quick were, the unrecorded Quick is exceedingly even better. If record companies hadn’t lacked foresight and guts, they would have been huge. I use last.fm too. Very useful. I love Emitt Rhodes. I did a post about him here years ago. One of the very major proto-Power Pop figures. Exciting to hear that Charlie Fox has something new coming out. I’ve been waiting and hoping. ‘This Young Monster’ is fantastic. I met him once, and he’s a really great guy. ** Antonia, Hi, Antonia! It’s so good to meet you! I know I’ve had Wiktor Grodecki’s films, or at least ‘Body Without Soul’ here in some context or other, but I don’t think I’ve done a post about him and his films. I’ll see if there’s enough online to do that. Thank you so, so much about my books and for all of your kind words. I hope you’ll hang out here again if you feel like it. Tell me more about you and what you do, if you wish. xo. ** Steeqhen, I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope you’re upswinging notably by now. ** Bill, Adam Mars-Jones, wow, flashback to the ‘gay lit’ boom early days. I don’t think I ever read him. Not sure if I should? ** Uday, Interesting. I assume people in the US are crying all the time these days. Unless they’re too freaked out to. Sorry, mess, horrible timing, on your internal cold and the external one. But I’m glad it occasioned you sharing that beautiful passage with me. I hope your chest is starting to sing again. ** ANGUSRAZE, Hey! I’m alright, thank you. Well, of course, on the bandcamp linking. Share the wealth and all of that. Sure, I’d love to premiere the video. Just tell me how you want to do that, and we’ll sort it. Thanks! It sounds tasty. Album: will do. Love back to you, sir! ** Okay. I guess you’ve already seen what I’ve cooked up for you today. See you tomorrow.
The Three O’Clock ‘The Three O’Clock were the quintessential L.A. Paisley Underground band. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio in fact coined the term to describe the set of bands, including the Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green on Red, and the Bangles, who incorporated the chiming guitars of the Byrds and the Beatles into their pop songs with a psychedelic bent, and the clothes to match.’
Her Head’s Revolving (1982)
Jet Fighter (1983)
20/20 ‘One of the key bands in the Los Angeles power pop explosion of the late 1970s and early ‘80s, 20/20 never quite scored a hit single, but they were a powerful draw on the West Coast in their heyday, and their signature song, “Yellow Pills,” became a cult favorite, covered by a number of later power pop acts and providing a noted pop fanzine with its name.’
Yellow Pills (1979)
Remember The Lightning (1979)
Nuclear Boy (1981)
Let’s Active ‘Mitch Easter carved his place in music history as a hip producer in the ’80s, most notably for the early R.E.M. albums Murmur and Reckoning; unfortunately, these achievements often overshadowed and distracted him from giving his full commitment to his own recording career with Let’s Active, a band that, between 1983 and 1988, released some of the finest Southern power pop/jangle pop of the decade.’
Waters Part (1984)
The Hollywood Stars ‘While they never earned more than a tiny cult following outside their home state of California, the Hollywood Stars became heroes to glam and power pop fans with their tight, hooky, guitar-driven music, which emerged at a time when prog rock and singer/songwriters were dominating the rock scene. The sole album they released during their heyday, 1977’s Hollywood Stars, was an overcooked disappointment with too much polish and not enough punch. But a pair of post-breakup collections of unreleased material, Shine Like a Radio: The Lost 1974 Album and Sound City, captured the band’s sound with fewer frills and revealed them to be a tough but tuneful rock band with a confident guitar attack, strong melodic hooks, and expert harmonies that didn’t blunt their swagger. Their style and approach wouldn’t have been out of place in the West Coast new wave pop boom that swept the city just two years after their album came and went.’
Escape (1974)
Supermen are Always Gentlemen (1974)
The Last ‘The Nolte brothers formed the band in 1976, and the band’s sound was influenced by garage rock, surf rock, folk rock and psychedelic rock. The first settled line-up also included Vitus Mataré (keyboards, flute) and Jack Reynolds (drums). After three self-financed singles, the band was signed by Bomp! Records, who issued the debut album L.A. Explosion! in 1979 (described by Trouser Press as “a near-perfect debut”). It was also issued in the UK by London Records. They reverted to their own Backlash label for second album Look Again (1980), and split up in the mid-1980s.’
She Don’t Know Why I’m Here (1979)
The Boys ‘The Boys have on occasion been described as The Beatles of punk, which seems a fair comparison if you think ‘Love Me Do’ rather than ‘I Am The Walrus’. Certainly, they were purveyors of a superior brand of high-speed guitar pop, with camp Cockney vocals, a tinkling piano and a tendency to keep most songs under three minutes. In addition, the band celebrated Christmas each year as did The Beatles (with their fan club Xmas flexis), but The Boys celebrated in proper punk style by recording abusive yuletide songs as The Yobs. They did not, however, go all Sgt Pepper on us.’
The First Time (1977)
Brickfield Nights (1979)
The Jam ‘Possibly the key to the groups overwhelming success was not only Weller’s outstanding ability as a songwriter and musician but also his ability to move with the times. Punk faded away in 1979 and whilst the group’s second album ‘This Is The Modern World’ contained elements of the Post-Punk songwriting that appeared on the previous Album, a new audience began to associate themselves with the group; the early 80s Mod Revival or ‘Jam Boys’ as they became known. Famously, the first draft of the ‘All Mod Cons’ album was scrapped in a trying period for the band with Weller temporarily lacking motivation. However the revised version of the album was well received and three more successful albums followed: ‘Setting Sons’, ‘Sound Affects’ and ‘The Gift’. The group became synonymous with the 70s/80s mod scene (partly against their will), influencing other bands in the process.’
All around the world (1977)
Strange Town (1979)
Shoes ‘Shoes pushed forward, beginning with the power pop classic Black Vinyl Shoes, a record which showcased their signature sound: fuzzy electric and bright acoustic guitars, jangly melodies, melancholy lyrics, and shimmering harmonies. When it was self-released in 1977, it received excellent press, including a glowing review in The Village Voice, and was eventually picked up for re-release by JEM/PVC Records. With increased distribution, Black Vinyl Shoes drew the attention of major labels, and Shoes signed with Elektra/Asylum in early 1979. Their three Elektra records—Present Tense (1979), Tongue Twister (1981), and Boomerang (1982)—won Shoes an international following and solid critical respect. They worked with Mike Stone, who had produced Queen, and Richard Dashut, who had helmed both Fleetwood Mac’s massive best-seller Rumors and its experimental follow-up, Tusk. Shoes’ videos—“Too Late” and “Tomorrow Night” in particular—were prominently featured on early MTV. But Shoes had signed during the devastating Crash of ’79, and they struggled to break out during these years against the backdrop of an industry in free-fall. They were released from their Elektra contract in late 1982.’
Now and Then (1979)
Too Late (1979)
When It Hits (1980)
Yachts ‘Retrospective appraisals of the band’s output vary. M.C. Strong dismisses Yachts as “one of the many outfits jostling for recognition in the overcrowded pop / rock marketplace”. Colin Larkin is more generous, writing that “Yachts’ popularity was fleeting but they left behind several great three-minute slices of pop, including a cover of R. Dean Taylor’s “There’s a Ghost in my House”. Vernon Joynson summed up Yacht’s approach. “Lyrically, much of their material was in the usual boy / girl realm but with humour. Musically, they ranged from sixties influenced rock with [farfisa] organ to fast-paced punk-cum-[new wave]”.’
Yachting Type (1978)
Plimsouls ‘Formed in Los Angeles in 1978, the Plimsouls merged roots, retro and guitar rock with a ramshackle punk aesthetic. At a time when rock music was shifting gears, the Plimsouls’ brand of soul-punk — a modern take on ’60s soul, British Invasion and garage rock sounds — fit right in with the ’80s post-punk American guitar band movement. Known for their kinetic live performances, the Plimsouls had an exceptional frontman in singer/songwriter Peter Case whose decision to pursue a solo career effectively ended their ’80s run, but whose songs have kept the group’s slight catalog and legacy in the public eye.’
Now (1981)
A Million Miles Away (1983)
The Records ‘Will Birch and John Wicks founded The Records in 1978. Will thought of the name in the bathtub. Influences included Big Star, The Raspberries, Blue Ash, Badfinger, Stealers Wheel and the Beatles’ Revolver LP. Will and John immediately wrote 11 songs including Teenarama, Up All Night and Held Up High. They advertised in Melody Maker and located Phil Brown (bass) and Huw Gower (guitar). In 1978 The Records joined the Be Stiff tour as backing group for Rachel Sweet. They recorded the 45 Starry Eyes and signed to Virgin Records. Their debut album Shades In Bed (aka ‘The Records’) helped to establish their reputation, particularly in the USA, where Starry Eyes was a minor hit. The Records disbanded in 1982.’
Starry Eyes (1979)
Nick Lowe ‘As the house producer for Stiff, he recorded many seminal records by the likes of the Damned, Elvis Costello, and the Pretenders. His rough, ragged production style earned him the nickname “Basher” and also established the amateurish, D.I.Y. aesthetics of punk. Despite his massive influence on punk rock, Lowe was never really a punk rocker. He was concerned with bringing back the tradition of three-minute pop singles and hard-driving rock & roll, but he subverted his melodic songcraft with a nasty sense of humor. His early solo singles and albums, Jesus of Cool and Labour of Lust, overflowed with hooks, bizarre jokes, and an infectious energy that made them some of the most acclaimed pop records of the new wave era.’
So It Goes (1978)
Marie Provost (1978)
Cruel to Be Kind (1979)
The Bangles ‘The Bangles combined the chiming riffs and catchy melodies of British Invasion guitar pop with a hint of the energy of new wave. In the process, they became one of the handful of all-female bands of the ’80s to win both critical and commercial success. The critical success came first — with their self-titled debut EP and full-length album, All Over the Place — and popular success arrived once they polished their sound, added some synthesizers, and deviated slightly from their trademark jangling guitar hooks. Once they were selling at the platinum level, the Bangles didn’t stay together long, but they left several pop gems in their wake.’
Real World (1984)
The Headboys ‘Formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, from the ashes of pop group Badger, the Headboys – Lou Lewis (guitar/vocals), Calum Malcolm (keyboards/vocals), George Boyter (bass/vocals) and Davy Ross (drums/vocals) – secured a lucrative contract with Robert Stigwood’s RSO label on the strength of a set of superior demos recorded at Malcolm’s own studio. They enjoyed a minor hit with ‘The Shape Of Things To Come’ (1979), but a faintly ludicrous schoolboy image undermined their grasp of power pop. The Headboys was not a commercial success and the group split up soon after its release.’
The Shape of Things to Come (1980)
The Nerves ‘L.A. power pop trio the Nerves are best known for writing “Hanging on the Telephone”, which was famously covered by Blondie (and, later, L7 and Cat Power, among others). The Nerves were only a band for a few years (from 1975-1978), and that– plus the fact that their only recorded output is a four-song, self-titled EP– has led them to be largely overlooked in the discussion of proto-new wave pop music.’
Hanging on the Telephone (1976)
Give Me Some Time (1976)
Cheap Trick ‘Combining a love for British guitar pop songcraft with crunching power chords and a flair for the absurd, Cheap Trick provided the necessary links between ’60s pop, heavy metal, and punk. Led by guitarist Rick Nielsen, the band’s early albums were filled with highly melodic, well-written songs that drew equally from the crafted pop of the Beatles, the sonic assault of the Who, and the tongue-in-cheek musical eclecticism and humor of the Move. A canny student of ’60s rock, Nielsen first worked with bassist Tom Petersson in the band Fuse, who released one album in 1969 before dissolving. Nielsen and Petersson continued working together in several formats until they teamed with drummer Bun E. Carlos and vocalist Robin Zander to form the definitive lineup of Cheap Trick in 1975. After developing a cult following after three outstanding albums — 1977’s Cheap Trick and In Color and 1978’s Heaven Tonight — and relentless touring, Cheap Trick scored an unexpected hit with 1978’s At Budokan, a live album originally issued only in Japan that became their international breakthrough.’
Big Eyes (1977)
Southern Girls (1977)
Way of the World (1980)
Pandoras ‘One of the leading acts on the Los Angeles garage punk scene of the ’80s, the Pandoras were also one of the few all-female acts on the fuzztone and Farfisa circuit, though they were more stylistically diverse than most of their peers.’
It’s About Time (1984)
Dwight Twilley Band ‘Though the Dwight Twilley Band only had one hit (Twilley had another on his own), Twilley and partner Phil Seymour created an enduring and highly memorable brand of power pop that blended Beatlesque pop and Sun rockabilly “slapback” echo. Only a fraction of the band’s early output was made available at the time, but these records are highly revered by power pop aficionados. According to the legend, Dwight Twilley met Phil Seymour in 1967 at a theater where they had gone to see the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. After the film they immediately went to Twilley’s house to start writing and recording. The two continued the partnership over the next several years, calling themselves Oister and recruiting another part-time member, Bill Pitcock IV, on lead guitar. After developing their sound in their homemade studio, “the Shop,” they decided to take a stab at professional recording and headed out to Nashville, though they ended up stopping first at the legendary Sun Studios. Jerry Phillips (Sam’s son) was impressed enough to team them up with former Sun artist Ray Harris, who introduced them to “the Sun sound,” roughing up their Beatles-obsessed style a bit and creating a unique and endearing sound.’
That I Remember (1977)
England (1976)
Lookin’ for the Magic’ (1977)
Flamin Groovies ‘Shake Some Action is rightly championed by collectors and critics extolling its effortless pop perfection. If it had been released in 1966, it could have been a smash and a popular landmark, but a decade later, the Spector-loving sound and Beatle-loving songcraft (they even covered “Misery”) sank like a stone in the marketplace. It would be one thing if the record merely aped an era the band had spent playing other music, but the Groovies had the songs and nuanced understanding of the music needed to elevate themselves above pastiche.’
Shake Some Action (1976)
Undertones ‘The Undertones slam-bang punk-pop drew its strength from one simple fact: you didn’t need a secret handshake to enjoy it. John and Damian O’Neill mated infectious guitar hooks to ’60s garage, ’70s glam rock, and Feargal Sharkey’s signature vocal quaver. Those qualities came together on their breakout hit “Teenage Kicks,” whose simplicity harked back to ’60s ideals of when the song was king.’
Jimmy Jimmy (1979)
My Perfect Cousin (1980)
The Bongos ‘Hoboken’s Bongos — founded as a trio consisting of Richard Barone (guitar, vocals), Rob Norris (bass), and Frank Giannini (drums, vocals) — made no pretense of being anything other than a pop band; fortunately, they were a good pop band, covering guitar pop from the Byrds to T. Rex, all of it pulled together by Barone’s original songs.’
Bulrushes (1981)
The Neighborhoods ‘Led by singer and guitarist David Minehan, the Neighborhoods were a Boston-based rock band whose sound and approach found them residing in several camps at once, fusing the tuneful approach of a power pop group, the rebellious attitude of a punk band, and the big sound and swagger of a traditional hard rock act.’
Prettiest Girl (1979)
The Diodes ‘The first Canadian punk band signed to a major label, the Diodes are best-remembered for their moody, head-banging hit “Tired of Waking Up Tired” and their hard-hitting interpretation of the Paul Simon-penned tune “Red Rubber Ball.” With vocalist Paul Robinson backed by guitarist John Catto, bassist Ian MacKay, and drummers John Hamilton and, later, Mike Lengyell, the Toronto-based band roared with unabashed intensity.’
Tired of Waking Up Tired (1977)
Great Buildings ‘Great Buildings were a power pop/new wave group formed in the early ’80s by Danny Wilde (vocal/guitar), Richard Sanford (drums), Philip Solem (guitar/vocals), and Ian Ainsworth (bass/keyboard/vocals). They recorded one album for Columbia in 1981 before breaking up a short time later. Wilde went on to release one solo album in 1989 for Geffen before teaming up again with Solem to form the Rembrandts the following year.’
Another Day in My Life (1981)
The dB’s ‘Playing sharp, tuneful songs with a hint of psychedelia and some challenging melodic angles, the dB’s were the band that bridged the gap between classic ’70s power pop (defined by bands such as Big Star, Badfinger, and the Scruffs) and the jangly new wave of smart pop, personified by R.E.M. And while the dB’s spent the bunk of their career living and working on the East Coast, they were the among the first and most important representatives of the Southern branch of the new wave; most of the group’s members hailed from North Carolina, bringing a Southern warmth to music that sometimes sounded cold and spare in the hands of others.’
Black and White (1981)
Neverland (1982)
Milk ‘n’ Cookies ‘Milk ‘N’ Cookies were a band in the wrong place at the wrong time. If they’d shown up a few years later, they could have been part of the poppy end of the late-’70s/early-’80s punk/new wave explosion. If they’d made their name a year or two earlier, they could have been part of the glam explosion that inspired them. And if they’d been from Los Angeles or the U.K., they’d probably have found friendlier press. But it was their fate to emerge in Long Island, New York in 1974, where they didn’t fit in with the sound of the day. They had to settle for being an influential and revered cult item instead of achieving genuine rock stardom.’
(Dee, Dee You’re) Stuck On A Star (1975)
I’m Just a Kid (1976)
Teenage Radio Stars ‘Singer/guitarist Sean Kelly’s first band was Spred, which he formed in Melbourne (Australia) in 1977 with his school chum James Freud (born Colin McGlinchey). The band made its live debut on New Year’s Eve as part of a festival called ‘Punk Gunk’ (alongside The Boys Next Door). After joining the independent Suicide label (a Mushroom subsidiary through RCA) they changed the name of the band to Teenage Radio Stars. With a new rhythm section of Pierre Voltaire (bass) and Dave Osbourne (drums), Teenage Radio Stars contributed two tracks to Suicide’s punk compilation Lethal Weapons. The band also issued the single Wanna Be Ya Baby (April 1978) and appeared on TV pop show Countdown to promote its release.’
Sweet Boredom (1979)
Rezillos ‘Although frequently aligned with the punk movement, the Rezillos’ (later known as the Revillos) irreverent glam rock image and affection for campy girl group iconography set them distinctly apart from their peers. Formed in 1976 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the group was initially a fluid and highly informal collective centered around lead vocalists Eugene Reynolds (born Alan Forbes) and Fay Fife (Sheila Hynde), and fleshed out by lead guitarist Luke Warm (Jo Callis), second guitarist Hi-Fi Harris (Mark Harris), Dr. D.K. Smythe on bass, drummer Angel Paterson (Alan Patterson), and backing vocalist Gale Warning.’
Top of the Pops (1978)
Wreckless Eric ‘A gifted songwriter whose style is informed by playful eccentricity as well as “regular guy from the pub” wisdom, Wreckless Eric first earned recognition as part of Stiff Records’ willfully quirky roster of punk and new wave artists during the late ’70s. Early on, Eric bashed out a series of ragged, three-chord punk-pop singles driven by his pent-up energy and a knack for melodic pop hooks. Tunes like “Whole Wide World,” “Semaphore Signals,” and “Take the Cash (K.A.S.H.)” made him a cult hero due to his engaging sense of humor and fondness for simple rock & roll.’
Whole Wide World (1976)
The Quick ‘The key component of The Quick’s sound was its guitarist and leader, Steven Hufsteter, a Jagger-esque figure whose playing combined a slashing Townsend style attack with a fussy, classically influenced melodicism. It seems that Hufsteter’s mission on Earth was to meld the Teutonic bombast of Wagner and Mahler with the power chord driven sound of mod era groups like The Move and The Creation. A trademark example of this is the band’s thundering cover of the Beatle’s “It Won’t Be Long”, into which Hufsteter worked melodic lines from Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.” Unlike more mainstream classical rocks acts like ELO, however, Hufsteter wished only to incorporate classical music’s grandeur and drama, but not it’s gentility. His method was not to put a respectable face on rock, but to give classical music a much needed dirtying up.’
It Won’t Be Long (1976)
My Purgatory Years (1976)
Pretty Please (1978)
Tommy Keene ‘Keene first received critical acclaim with his pioneering pop band The Razz, who released several local independent singles. His 1984 EP Places That Are Gone became one of the year’s top selling independent releases. The EP garnered a four-star review in Rolling Stone, and was voted the No. 1 EP in the following year’s Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll. Keene recorded and released numerous albums on such labels as Dolphin, Geffen and Matador Records. He worked with producers T-Bone Burnett, Don Dixon, and R. Walt Vincent. He continued to record and tour and released an album with Robert Pollard, of Guided by Voices, as ‘The Keene Brothers.’ Keene also played guitar on the Goo Goo Dolls’ hit song, “Broadway”, on their 1998 album, Dizzy Up The Girl.’
Places That Are Gone (1984)
The Flys ‘The Flys were a British pop punk rock band that originally formed in 1976 in Coventry, England. After the self-release of their initial EP, Bunch of Fives, they were signed by EMI Records. With EMI they released the albums Waikiki BeachRefugees and Own. In 1980 they changed labels to Parlophone but soon disbanded.’
Name Dropping (1979)
The Dickies ‘The Dickies were the clown princes of punk, not to mention surprisingly longstanding veterans of the L.A. scene. In fact, by the new millennium, they’d become the oldest surviving punk band still recording new material. In contrast to the snotty, intentionally offensive humor of many comedically inclined punk bands, the Dickies were winningly goofy, inspired mostly by trashy movies and other pop culture camp. Their covers were just as ridiculous as their originals, transforming arena rock anthems and bubblegum pop chestnuts alike into the loud, speed-blur punk-pop — basically the Ramones crossed with L.A. hardcore — that was their musical stock in trade. As the band got older, their music slowed down little by little, but their sound and their sense of humor stayed largely the same, and they were an avowed influence on new-school punkers like Green Day and the Offspring.’
Fan Mail (1979)
I’m Stuck in a Pagoda with Tricia Toyota (1979)
Manny, Moe, and Jack (1979)
Pezband ‘Hailing from the same state as Cheap Trick (Illinois), the Pezband was a mostly fine, occasionally wonderful, power pop band that specialized in hook-filled hard rock with sweet multi-part harmonies. Led by the strong, blues-inflected singing of Mimi (a guy) Betinis and the rampaging Jeff Beck-influenced guitar playing of Tommy Gawenda, the Pezzers’ first LP (released in 1977) was not as hard and heavy as Cheap Trick, nor did it exhibit the berserk panache of their fellow Illinoisans. But that all changed with their second LP, Laughing in the Dark, which contained a high quotient of good-to-great songs, excellent production by Jesse Hood Jackson, and a wonderful lack of smugness and calculation that was slowly infiltrating every power pop band in America.’
Love Goes Underground (1978)
Big Star ‘If the short-lived but fondly remembered Big Star could have experienced popular success in direct proportion to its posthumous influence, the rangy Memphis rock quartet would have lived up to its ambitious name, and then some. With the possible exception of the Velvet Underground (which enjoyed considerably more notoriety in its heyday), no other underground pop band has left such a lasting and indelible legacy. Although its original four members recorded only one album, #1 Record, and the group was dissolving rapidly when the second, Radio City, was completed, those records have influenced countless ‘80s and ‘90s rockers on both sides of the Atlantic, from the Replacements and REM to England’s Primal Scream and Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub.’
September gurls (1974)
She’s a Mover (1974)
Kizza Me (1978)
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p.s. Hey. ** tomk, Hi, Tom! I’m surviving winter but it’s getting really dreary and repetitive. I listened to/saw your Zeischegg interview. Nice! That’s such amazing news about the French and Spanish translations. Dude, it’s so fucking heartening to see your work getting such long deserved attention and respect! RT will be streaming only in France starting in late March. Our plan is for it go to streaming elsewhere in early summer because we want to keep screening it for a while. We’ve been trying and trying to set up a London screening, but no luck so far. It’s very strange actually. But we’re still trying. Great to see you, pal! ** _Black_Acrylic, And how did find ‘Bride of Chucky’? ** l@rst, Hi, L. I think ‘Malina’ is an amazing novel. What’s your bookclub like, or I guess I mean how does it work? ** Thom, Cool, score. Keeping up with Pollard is a full time gig, for sure. Unfortunately the girth of work keeps a lot of people who would be amazed away. ‘A Crick Uphill’, what a cool choice. I have so many favorites. I dare not even start to list them. Radiguet is really interesting, yeah, writer and figure. ‘The Devil in the Flesh’ is terrific, I agree. ‘Le Bal du comte d’Orgel’ is very interesting too. What a cool place to start loving novels. Have a sweet weekend. ** Steeqhen, It’s interesting that outside of France Topor seems to be mostly known for ‘Fantastic Planet’. He was super famous here in his time, I think mostly for his drawings. I believe it has rained here every day since New Years as well. It has gotten very, very old. Good news about that person, obviously. ** Carsten, No, KCP solicited me to join the fan club like he did with basically everyone, but I was fine being a Ramones fan without that affiliation. As for your question, it depends on what you mean by mainstream and artwork, I guess. Mainstream to me means something that at least partly has the intention or hope of being popular and successful? My definition of what constitutes an artwork is pretty broad. If that’s the case, then I think I like quite a lot of things with that tag: home haunts, amusement parks, disaster movies, the music in the post this weekend, early Kinks, Rolling Stones, The Who, Beach Boys, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. I could go on and on. Is that what you mean? ** Steve, I haven’t seen the Chucky TV series. I guess I was kind of wary of it. Yes, I’m in the throes of the visa application. It’s a big hassle. I’m hoping my extension visa will be for longer than a year, but I don’t know. More snow, wild. ** kenley, Hey, k! The minimalist haunts, which are often also high tech haunts, are more interesting to use to study how horror and fear work and don’t work than being actually exciting. They tend to be very ‘theater’ with some self-styled ‘artfulness’ in the backgrounds. I missed Halloween haunt season last because we were at a film festival over here, so I’m not up to the minute on the trends. It’s usually that some new reference point or special effect will come along that a lot of the haunts use that year. The last time I did the LA haunt trawl there were a lot of ‘Terrifier’ masks and costumes involved. And there was this special effect that involved lasers protecting a kind of water-like illusionary surface low to the ground that you walked through. So the changes are mostly in the details. The visa stuff is very stressful, but hopefully it’ll work. Thanks! ** Joshua, Hi! Welcome back! I’m so happy you got to see ‘RT’ at the Cleveland screening, and I’m obviously even happier that you liked it so much. Thank you, that’s so good to hear. And the things you liked were things we were hoping would be alluring. We’re really against the massive trend of way over-saturating films with music/score. We only use music that the characters themselves can hear. Yes, the song Andre sings was actually composed by the guy who played Paul the janitor, Chris Olsen. He has albums on bandcamp, and they’re terrific. We’re planning for a physical release and streaming, probably in the early summer. Thank you!! It wouldn’t hugely surprise me if the ‘Silent Hill’ designers knew Topor’s work, yeah. Great to talk with you too. How are you and what are you up to, if you feel like telling? ** HaRpEr //, My first few ‘books’ were poetry chapbooks that I self-published. It seemed to work. I occasionally will find some really old thing I wrote that I never finished because it wasn’t working and I’ll go back and finish/revise it. That’s a good way to get through the periods when I don’t have any fresh ideas that seem good enough. ** DonW, Hi! Yeah, Topor was one of those multi-talented guys. Like Cocteau but a lot more interesting. Ugh, sorry about your stomach thing. Coddle it. ‘RT’ screened in Seattle a few weeks ago. We approached a couple of venues in Portland, but they didn’t accept, sadly. Might try there again if another good prospect pops up. Take care, you. ** darbz (⊙ 0⊙ ), I’ve never had a Playstation system ever. Strange, I guess. That Neutral Milk Hotel video is blocked in France. Oh, well. Dude, looking younger is a good thing, I swear. You’ll come to appreciate it, I swear again. The art you sent … I think so? You mean on insta? I’ll go recheck. Great about the Dominoes gig! What’s your specific job? I’ve never watched Anthony Bourdain’s show, but I watched the documentary about him. I’ll probably just the eat the usual stuff this weekend unless I can coax a friend into going to a restaurant. ** horatio, Cool, glad you liked his stuff. Mushrooms are a frequent go-to meaty substitute. I’ll try that. Make some for yourself! Yikes, three sicknesses in a row? Hopefully it’s just the invasive, soon-to-be dead winter. Haha, the leather cap and jacket. My mind’s eye illustrated that with no problem. I hope that seemingly interested guy knows which side his bread is buttered on, as it were. I’ve seen no new movies that are good. I saw ‘Send Help’, which was very blah, and ‘Train Dreams’, which I thought was very boring. Splendiferous weekend! ** hagai aviel, Hi. You’re right, that is strange. Good eye there. ** Poecilia, Haha: grate. Oh, my god, those drawings are amazing! Wow, thank you. Assuming it’s okay, I’ll going to send or message them to Benjamin (Roman), Milo (Leon’s Friend), and Sylvain (Guillaume). I would send that one to ‘Ollie’ but I’ve lost track of him. Thank you. Such a beautiful honor!! <3 ** Laura, Sunny hello. Cool about your lingering fondness for Heikens’ stuff. Yikes, ixnay on that friend of a friend. Intense. ‘Hogg’, haha, yeah, I’ve read it. I haven’t read Delany’s sci-fi stuff because that’s not my genre, but, from what I have read, ‘Hogg’ is kind of the one. Don’t remember if the kid gets a name. I’m writing women in Zac’s and my films, if that counts. Today doesn’t seem like it’s going to be especially good to me, but it’s still early on. Weekend of bliss and plaudits to you. ** Right. So I went down a Power Pop rabbit hole the other day as it’s a genre/form that I’m a bit of fetishist about, and said journey lead me to restore this old Power Pop gig for you. If you don’t like Power Pop, you’re in trouble around here for the next two days. See you on Monday.
Now available in North America 
