Some of my "not so famous" pop albums I like

[johnnie]

I love pop music. I used to hate it until I realized how hard it is to write good pop songs. I learned to like pop when I first heard "The Who Sell Out" and figured out that it was a pretty cool genre to try to accomplish to write. I can write songs till tomorrow, but writing a good pop song is tough.

Here are three of my favorite albums that never really made it big:











Any other good "pop" albums?

[Tikki]

1. New band....

I don't know...but I like what I hear....
http://www.myspace.com/thebarewires
best song...."Let Down"..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDww59Lt-8Y
from their album...."Artificial Clouds"...Bare Wires...

Pop Rocks


Tikki

[johnnie]

2. Very garagey

I like it. Is "garagey" a word?

[mvd]

4. They sound kind of like pop mixed with alternative rock

Also, I could mention the New Pornographers, but most here probably know them and some others I am thinking of.. I did tend to have a slightly relaxed standard for "not so famous" since many at DU aren't into modern music as much as I am.

[mvd]

3. Cool topic; I love pop in every category (mainstream, lesser known, indie-pop)

Here are some faves that aren't famous:

A Fine Frenzy - One Cell In The Sea



Leslie Mills - Different For Girls



Sloan - Never Hear The End Of It



The Like - Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking



Bonnie McKee - Trouble



Fransisca London - New Girl In Town



Butch Walker - Sycamore Meadows



Karmina - Backwards Into Beauty



Kay Hanley - Cherry Marmalade



The Pierces - Thirteen Tales Of Love And Revenge



Stacie Rose - Shadow & Splendor



Josh Ritter - The Animal Years



Kate Voegele - A Fine Mess



The Dollyrots - Beacause I'm Awesome



Imperial Teen - The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band



Nina Gordon - Tonight And The Rest Of My Life



Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country



The Format - Dog Problems

\

Eisley - Room Noises



Susan Cagle - The Subway Recordings



Those are just 20. There are more, including other albums from these same artists.

[unpossibles]

7. excellent list! I also very much dig Self, The Joe Jackson Band, Acid House Kings

as well as David Byrne, Deee Lite, and a lot of other pop, a genre which I did not appreciate at first.

[mvd]

8. Thanks! Sounds like you know many of the albums I listed

:hi:

[unpossibles]

13. many of them, although some not yet

I am a big fan of Imperial Teen and Camera Obscura and some of the others though, so I will check out your list.

[mvd]

5. And of course, there's also Leona Naess's I Tried To Rock You But You Only Roll

and others from her. I'm not sure how I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll did on the charts, but I don't think it's famous.

I'm sure I'll think of more "not famous" pop albums.

[SoxFan]

6. Some favorites

[Amerigo Vespucci]

9. I used to own "Mercy"...

...but one excellent non-Sex Pistols Steve Jones album I do still own on vinyl is "Chequered Past"...you can see him on the album cover, top left, with a permed mullet and a ton of eyeliner...

:rofl:



...their one and only album from 1984. I checked on Amazon before posting here...you can get the import CD for 20 bucks. If it was ever released on CD in the US, it sank without a trace.

This was a "supergroup" made up of flotsam and jetsam / "bad boys" from famous (or in the case of Michael Des Barres) semi-famous bands:

Tony Sales (guitar)...most famous for partnering with his drummer brother Hunt in bands for Bowie, Iggy, and Todd Rundgren

Nigel Harrison (bass) and Clem Burke (drums)...ex-Blondie

Steve Jones (guitar)...Sex Pistols

Michael Des Barres (ex-Detective, also briefly replaced Robert Palmer in the touring edition of Power Station).

As you might guess from the players, it's hard rock-pop. The strongest cut on the album, ironically enough, is Waylon Jennings' song "Are yOu Sure Hank Done It This Way." They re-arrange it into a stomping rocker, filled with attitude and a big chip on the shoulder (which was present in Jennings' original, too...it's a song about telling the music business to kiss his ass).

So I think there's an excellent chance you might like this one. I still do.

:toast:

[mitchum]

17. That's Michael "Kiss of Death" Des Barres

he's quite a good singer
none of his bands have been bad (Silverhead's "Sixteen and Savaged" is a glamtrash classic)
and he is a very witty and self-effacing individual
but any of his musical enterprises is doomed for failure.
It's guaranteed.

[bif]

10. Likke Li

The song "Little Bit" is a pop masterpiece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOEleaHmKsE

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. But, but, but,

what about Michael Jackson?

[mix]

12. Sniff 'n' the Tears-Fickle Heart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFwcmU6Ql0A

[reflection]

14. GREAT album. Very underrated.

Was glad to see it on this thread.

[mix]

15. I know

I've had Driver's Seat in my head since the early 80s!

[reflection]

18. That album is in my 6 CD changer in the car...

And there is a burned copy in the home stereo also. I think Sniff 'n' the Tears really screwed up when they chose that band name. They might have had more success otherwise. What was Paul Roberts thinking? :D

[tigereye]

16. there are so many types of pop, I'd probably have to think about it for a while

The House Martins come to mind, right off the bat. Don't have time to look up the album at the moment.


:hi: I agree that pop tunes are quite difficult to pen. I almost think that a really good serious songwriter song is quite difficult, too, without getting too schlocky.

For some reason Maia Sharp (whom I just saw last week in small club here) and also Kathleen Edwards (who can write a great serious rave up) come to mind.