Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio

Nearly three and a half years and more than 8,300 songs after flipping the switch on Pure Pop Radio, we’re still in the trenches, bringing you new music that exemplifies the art of melodic pop music.

Today, we bring you a list of three outstanding artists and their latest and archival releases that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the unique mix of melody and harmony that melodic pop music brings to your ears is one of the greatest gifts that you could ever unwrap and enjoy.

Eytan Mirsky | Funny Money We’re only about a month and a half into 2016 and already we’ve reviewed and added tracks from two truly outstanding albums: Terry Draper’s Searching and Emitt Rhodes’ Rainbow Ends. We now add another platter to this list of top-notch long players: Eytan Mirsky’s fantastic Funny Money.

Eytan has written a dozen pop classics, all driven by his strong, emotive vocals and a high grade of musicanship, most of it performed by Jon Gordon. We were blown away by everything on offer here, from the rocking title song, a frank look at a partner who isn’t what she appears to be (“Your love is nothing but a game of let’s pretend/What good is money I can’t save and I can’t spend?”) to “Watching ‘Dawson’s Creek,’” the tender examination of a lost union still bound by the love of an old TV show (“And now I’m watching ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and thinking of you/Oh, I hope that Katie Holmes is happy now/And I hope that you are too”).

Funny Money scores on every level, providing a fun listen from first song to last. And a laugh, even as Eytan makes a good point about positivity in one’s life, as in this album’s final number, “Good Hair Day”: “Good hair days, they don’t come often/You gotta make ’em work for you/You gotta get down to it and do everything/That you always wanted to do.” Which Eytan has done on this fantastic album, another of the best of this young year.

We’re playing every track in rotation, from those mentioned above to “I’m Gonna Fight It,” “My Dog Likes Your Dog,” “You Got It Made,” “I Saw Something in You,” “It’s a Jungle Out There,” “You Gave Me Sugar,” and “I Don’t Wanna Fall.” Awesome through and through.

Don Dixon | I Lived in the Time of Organ Grinders Inspiration comes from all quarters. In the case of the great Don Dixon and his new EP, it comes from a childhood memory set at a street fair and starring an organ grinder and his Capuchin monkey, collecting tips from the enthralled onlookers.

These are blues songs, says the artist, who sings them with his trademark, soulful delivery, but we hear them differently. We’re confident they’re nothing less than Dixon songs, which is a very good thing. We’ve added four numbers to our playlist: “Everyday Laugh,” a percussively frank assessment of a life that maybe ends with a revenge-filled stinger: “I had a dream that you were dead/I woke up to a glorious last laugh”; “Sweet Dynamite,” in which the narrator just can not win ’em all (“I got a tap without a keg/Will somebody stop and buy me a beer?”); “Searching for Art,” about the eternal search for the creator’s magical spark (“I’m searching for art/Everyday I confess/In a state of euphoria or state of duress”); and “S.O.F.S.O.L,” a look at the essence of love and deep attraction (“I’ll be all right, with the stars above/On this ship of fools on this lucky sea of love”).

I Lived in the Time of Organ Grinders is another triumph for the man named Dixon. We’re honored to be able to continue to play his music for a universe full of waiting ears.

Daisy House | Daisy House and Beaus and Arrows We just added Daisy House’s latest album, Western Man, a week ago, and now we’re adding songs from the duo’s first two releases because that is what you do when the music and the harmonies and the sheer wonderfulness of it all call out to you.

Doug Hammond and his daughter Tatiana were first heard from with a self-titled release in early 2013. Offering beautifully rendered songscapes driven by strong vocals and entrancing melodies, the duo announced itself as vital right from the start. We’re playing five great songs: “Crushed by a Flower,” “Ready to Go,” “Two Sisters,” “This Bottle’s Red,” and Statue Maker,” a lovely run of poetic freedom set to a beautiful melody.

From Daisy House’s second album, Beaus and Arrows, perhaps a bit more of a stylistically diverse collection, we’re spinning the upbeat folk-popper “In Between Girl”; the rustic, beat-driven “Plague Song”; the playful, nostalgic “Time to Make Up For,” all about a reunited couple (“When you’re gone away from me boy for even an hour/I’m ’bout ready to flee this ivory tower”); and two more still: “The Woman from Walkern” and “Why Do You Dive So Deep in Beauty.”

As you can tell, we’re big Daisy House fans. We expect that you will be, too.

That’s it for today. We’ll have more new songs and artists for you tomorrow. While you wait, why not click on one of the listen links below to hear our 24-hour-a-day mix of the greatest melodic pop music from the ’60s to today?

Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio is the original 24-hour Internet radio station playing the greatest melodic pop music from the ’60s to today. From the Beatles to the Spongetones, the Nines, Kurt Baker, the Connection and the New Trocaderos, we play the hits and a whole lot more. Tune in by clicking on one of the listen links below.

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