New on Pure Pop Radio 05.18.17: Songs, Bond Songs: The Music of 007; Chris Price; Fun of the Pier, and More

May 18, 2017May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

Spins and Reviews | 05.18.17
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio

Various Artists | Songs, Bond Songs: The Music of 007 (2017)
Curry Cuts’ third release, after swimming with lite rockers and second British Invasioneers, continues the label’s successful run of specially-curated themed compilations with this gathering of 26 covers of all of the songs featured in James Bond films.

This merry mix of moods invites repeat listens: standouts include Popdudes’ straight-ahead, rocking take on Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die”; Lannie Flowers’ Merseybeat-ish “James Bond Theme,” which glistens with power pop polish and a pair of nifty nods to Fab notions; and Zach Jones’ brightly-lit, soulful run through “All-Time High.” The Corner Laughers’ sprightly, jazzy version of “Diamonds are Forever” is a keeper, and don’t count out Big-Box Store, aka The New Pornographers’ Joe Seiders, who turns in a commanding, moody performance of “Die Another Day.”

Grab a martini–shaken, stirred, or otherwise appointed–and know how it feels to have an all-time high. (If you missed out on Curry Cuts’ first two releases, Drink a Toast to Innocence: A Tribute to Lite Rock and Here Comes the Reign Again: The Second British Invasion, click here with due speed.)

black box Now playing on Pure Pop Radio: “All Time High,” Zach Jones; “Diamonds are Forever,” The Corner Laughers; “Die Another Day,” Big-Box Store; “For Your Eyes Only,” Freedy Johnston; “From Russia with Love,” The Stereo Twins; “Golden Eye,” Identical Suns; “James Bond Theme,” Lannie Flowers; “Live and Let Die,” Popdudes; “Moonraker,” Gary Frenay; “The Living Daylights,” Cirrone; and “Writing’s On the Wall,” Cliff Hillis
black box Where to Get It: Bandcamp

Chris Price | Stop Talking (2017)
The blue-gray washed inner, two-panel spread of Chris Price’s second album shows Price in contemplative repose standing at the foot of the ocean, at the beach, wearing a suit and tie, his hands in his pockets, his longish hair being blown back softly as the tempered waves draw close behind him. Even the blue-tinted dog on the cover looks like he, or she, has a few things on his mind.

chris price ocean photo 5 Five years on from his first solo album, and after producing Emitt Rhodes and Linda Perhacs, these 14 songs recorded by Price between 2013 and 2016 make up the ironically-titled Stop Talking, which isn’t really what this thinking-man’s popster wants you to do after hearing the catchy “One of Them,” the Paul McCartney-meets-Stephen Bishop-meets-Rupert Holmes “Man Down,” and the tour de force, “Darkness.”

Stop talking? No, no. What Price wants you to do is listen and then talk about these songs. Tell your friends, your family, your neighbors–the guy who delivers bread to your local supermarket, even. In this social media age especially, it’s word of mouth, communicated far and wide, that moves souls in search of the next big thing from point a to b.

So let’s start talking. This album’s highlights are many, brought to life by Price who, in addition to being the artist, wore the hats of producer, engineer and mixer, and a number of additional musicians. The tender, Nilsson-esque “You and Me (And Everyone Else),” co-written by Price and The New Pornographers’ Joe Seiders, who plays a delicate piano here, puts the spotlight on Price’s voice, a strong, emotional instrument. The pounding piano song “One of Them” is a pure pop delight. And the toe-tapping, orchestrated charmer “Once Was True” puts a lovely chord progression and melodic structure center stage.

Perhaps the centerpiece of Stop Talking is “Darkness,” a patchwork of a song, rallying different time signatures around a handsome melody for a bravura performance that takes less than three minutes to bring to a close.

The man at the foot of the ocean can stop contemplating now. Stop Talking is a keeper.

black box Now playing on Pure Pop Radio: “Hi Lo,” “Man Down,” “Once Was True,” “You and Me (And Everyone Else),” “Sigh,” “Darkness,” “James Bond Theme,” “One of Them,” and “Anhedonia”
Where to Get It: Kool Kat Musik, Amazon

Fun of the Pier | “Cavern Song” and “(In) My Town” (from the forthcoming album, 14:42)
Nottingham, England’s Mark and Helen Luker, along with Richard Hattersley, make a welcome return to the pop landscape with two new songs that will feature on the duo’s forthcoming, long-awaited album, 14:42.

“Cavern Song” is a sprightly toe-tapper about getting into the world famous venue on a number of fronts. Taking to task entitlement (“What d’you mean we have to pay?”), expressing the excitement of being there on social media in the most basic of terms (“Take a photo of a photograph/Now upload it to your page/Oh we’re havin’ such a laugh/Take a selfie on the stage”), and the power of the artist (“And at least I get to work it out/With some lyrics…”), the song is perhaps the very first lively, happy-sounding cautionary tale of 2017. Somewhat recalling the vibe of Paul McCartney’s “Hope of Deliverance,” “(In) My Town” examines life in a small burg under siege, from which youth is unable to break out (“Is it any wonder they can’t meet/The demands of a world unknown”). All three players shine, but let’s give Mark top marks for some quite inventive bass playing.

A CD containing both of these songs is slated to be given away at the Cavern Club in conjunction with Fun of the Pier’s performance at International Pop Overthrow this coming weekend. Meanwhile, bring on the album. We’ve loved Fun of the Pier’s sound for a long time. Welcome back.

black box Now playing on Pure Pop Radio: “Cavern Song” and “(In) My Town”
Where to Get It: Not yet available

Strangely Alright | “Now is the Time” (2017)
Regan Lane and company return to the Pure Pop Radio airwaves, and your stereo components, with this spacey, Marc Bolan-in-space vibe-y number. Hypnotic and inviting, the song fills the here-and-now stereo soundfield with ’60s-inspired joy. Don’t miss it.

black box Now playing on Pure Pop Radio
Where to Get It: iTunes, CD Baby

Crime Scene | “Carnival Queen” and “The Highs and Lows of Love” (2017)
Former members of the great Swedish Longplayer Orchestra–Ulf Holmberg, Jon Sundberg, and Göran Holmberg–join Per Östling to deliver one of the big treats of the spring on this nifty digital single.

“Carnival Queen” is a majestic mid-paced, McCartney-esque ballad with a catchy chorus; “The Highs and Lows of Love” starts out as a rockin’ blues belter that becomes a pure pop delight in the chorus, which is preceded by a sly nod to the Electric Light Orchestra (spot it if you dare!) and topped off with a surprise coda. Whew! Lots of fun.

black box Now playing on Pure Pop Radio: “Carnival Queen” and “The Highs and Lows of Love”
Where to Get It: Not yet available

Also added to the Pure Pop Radio playlist and currently spinning in rotation:

Your Gracious Host | Boomerang (2017) | “Boomerang,” “Honor the Aim,” “Rest of Us in the Third World,” “Spritely,” and “You See Right Through Me” Bandcamp, Kool Kat Musik

Plasticsoul | Therapy (2017) | “Her Raincoat,” “The Girl of Many Tribes,” and “Babylon” Plasticsoul Pre-Order

Love Minus Zero | “Mary Says” Bandcamp

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We’re Groovin’ to the Tunes on a Wednesday! It’s Day Two of Pure Pop Radio’s Four-Day New Music Songfest!

May 4, 2016May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

It’s a good day–a very good day–that fills your heart with lovely melodic sounds from today’s top melodic pop artists. That day–that very good day– is today…day two of Pure Pop Radio’s Four-Day New Music Songfest.

What do we have on tap for you today? Which new songs and artists are we tapping our feet to? Following on from yesterday’s mix of the Monkees, Mark Lindsay and Susan Cowsill, the Posies, McPherson/Grant, Joe Giddings, Sundown, Hector and the Leaves, and Matt Duncan, we’re posied…uh, poised to serve up another rundown of great music we’re now playing in rotation on the air.

Here we go. We lead off with a couple of releases that will be hogging our air time and nestling comfortably in your CD players and on your turntables…

The Explorers Club | Together Aspiring harmony singers, here is your virtual textbook, a collection of songs imbued with the spirit of the best of the Beach Boys, the Four Freshman, the Association and other time-honored practitioners of the art. Here are songs that are beautiful and beautifully sung, lovely and lovelier still.

Jason Brewer, Wyatt Funderburk, Paul Runyon, Kyle Polk and Mike Williamson are the right people in the right place at just the right time, serving up delicious melodic constructs that are as soulful as they are true. From the southern California harmony- and sun-soaked sound of “California’s Callin’ Ya” to the Four Freshmen-meets-“Graduation Day”-by-way-of-Les Paul ballad “Perfect Day,” Together invites listeners to bathe in the beauty of harmony-filled dreams.

We’re playing all of the following songs in rotation: “”California’s Callin’ Ya,” “Once in a While,” “Be Around,” “Gold Winds,” “Perfect Day,” “Quietly,” “My Friend,” “No Strings Attached,” “Don’t Waster Her Time,” and “Before I’m Gone,” the album’s penultimate number that sings a sweet a cappella close. Delicious.

Winterpills | Love Songs We’ve been playing this Massachusetts band’s seventh album over and over for days on end, living with the songs’ emotions and sensibilities as if they were our own. These songs get under your skin; they become you in some celestial kind of way. You are frankly powerless to regress from their charms.

These songs function on many different levels, even as they share a single attribute that defines them as part of a whole: the vocals of songwriter Philip Price and his wife, guitarist and keyboard player Flora Reed, are the glue that holds these proceedings together–the glue that gives them life. Consider “Wanderer White,” a rolling, rhythmic song about a fall from grace, in which Philip takes the lower notes and Flora the higher ones. Or “Freeze Your Light,” which starts off as if in church with a slight, ghostly choral singsong and becomes a folk-into-pop number with a delectable chorus buoyed by the same low-and-high vocals.

The poppy bopper and should-be-hit-bound “Celia Johnson” turns the tables with Philip initially taking the high vocal part and Flora following closely. A trumpet and coronet serenade add to the song’s beauty; a lovely, echoed piano part comes in for a beautiful coda. The album closer, the gospel-tinged ballad “It Will All Come Back to You, with appropriate harmony vocal stacks and a tender trumpet solo, is all manner of charm and emotion–even when it amps up the pace and volume towards the end.

The album package is a marvel of grace and intelligent design, with its highly striking cover and Edward Gorey-styled illustration in the foldout of the digipak. And in these days of streaming and downloads overtaking physical media as the music delivery method of choice for so many, a striking package is something to behold and treasure.

Winterpills’ Love Songs is so good, we’ve added six songs to our playlist: “A New England Deluge,” “Bringing Down the Body Count,” “Freeze Your Light,” “It Will All Come Back to You,” “Wanderer White,” and the catchy and hit worthy “Celia Johnson.” This album is a keeper and will be for years to come.

Peter Lacey | “Jonny and the Aspirations” This lively, horn-shaded, Stax-ian rumination on the price of success, or lack thereof, in the music business marks a new chapter in the evolution of Peter Lacey the recording artist. With nary a Beach Boys or folk nod within earshot, “Jonny and the Aspirations” wouldn’t have sounded out of place following Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets” on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Peter’s new album, New Way Lane, is only days away; we can’t wait to hear what that album has in store for our, and your, ears. Now playing in rotation, naturally.

Gretchen’s Wheel | Behind the Curtain Nashville-based Lindsay Murray’s second project as Gretchen’s Wheel is a meaty, inspired collection of songs imbued with powerful emotion. Sounding like a musical cousin to Aimee Mann, Lindsay sings with conviction and spirit on songs like the poppy, mid-tempo ballad “The Good Things” and the waiting-to-be-a-hit-single smash, “Try to Make It.” Catchy melodies and intelligent songwriting abound. We’re playing six songs in rotation: “Invisible Thief,” “Younger Every Year,” “The Good Things,” “Live Through You,” “Vapors,” and “Try to Make It.” Good going, Lindsay.

Nerf Herder | Rockingham Geek rockers Parry Gripp, Steve Sherlock, Linus of Hollywood and Ben Pringle take no prisoners with their fifth album, full of in-your-face pop-punk, most of which is not aimed squarely at our rather less-than-punky playlist. Nevertheless, we’ve added three groovy songs punctuated with pop culture references and a whole lot of fun: “The Girl Who Listened to Rush,” “Allie Goertz,” and “We Opened for Weezer.”

Tin Toy Cars | Falling, Rust and Bones And now for something sorta, kinda totally different from the usual Pure Pop Radio fare: a mandolin-fronted, pop-washed Americana band from Las Vegas. The band’s website makes its brief clear: “With mandolin, violin, banjo, guitar and upright bass, one might expect bluegrass or something with an old time slant, but add the compositional drumming of Aaron Guidry (Cirque du Soleil), and a songwriting approach more in line with Paul Simon than Bill Monroe, and a new image begins to emerge.” Indeed. The songs we’re playing in rotation–“Not for Nothing,” “Addicted to You,” “Desert Dogs,” and “Down on the Bowery” (a gypsy-folk bopper sounding like an otherworldly Roches)–are your entree to this band’s enticing, inviting sound. We dig it.

Torbjorn Petersson and Keith Klingensmith | “Open Up Your Eyes” Indie pop stalwarts Torbjorn Petersson and Keith Klingensmith, the latter a member of the much-loved Legal Matters, turn in a delicious cover of a song by Stereo Tiger. If you look up the word “catchy” in the dictionary, this song will undoubtedly play. Harmonies, melody, and top-flight vocals propel this one into your hearts. Now playing in rotation.

Laurie Biagini | “Stranger in the Mirror” This welcome return to recording finds this Vancouver, British Columbia popster in top form, delivering an infectious shuffle of a tune centered around a strong, catchy melody. Business as usual, as it turns out. Glorious.

Strangely Alright | “Shake It” Regan Lane and crew shake the floorboards with this propulsive, beat-driven pop-rocker. Electric guitars blaze and strong, committed vocals carry the melody along. There is enough energy in this recording to power Las Vegas on a really hot day. Nice.

The Recreations | “Swing Together” Thanks to Pop 4’s Scott McPherson for hipping us to this inventive slice of pure pop from Tokyo’s the Recreations. Fronted by pop visionary Yohei, this is a vital mix of soft pop, Burt Bacharach, Jellyfish, swing and jazz that comes together as a wholly unique creation you will never forget. More to come, but for now this one’s in rotation. Enjoy.

Adam Walsh | “Calico Skies” Here we go again: another fantastic cover from the immensely talented Adam Walsh, whose taste in music is eclipsed only by his own prowess. In Adam’s capable hands, Paul McCartney’s lovely “Calico Skies” gets a slightly sped-up reading, no less emotional than the original. Keep ’em coming, Adam.

Preoccupied Pipers |”Mayday” We’ve said, many times, that KC Bowman, he of Pop 4, Agony Aunts, and the Corner Laughers, is the hardest working man in show business, because he’s also got this Preoccupied Pipers project through which he every-so-often releases such catchy nuggets as this uptempo pop-rocker, which clocks in at 1:47 (that’s minutes, not hours), which is Roger Miller territory, but this is not “King of the Road” or “England Swings,” so make of that what you will. In any case, you’ll love this kicker of a tune. Whew.

You might think we’ve run out of gas for today, but we haven’t. We’ve got to stop somewhere and leave some nuggets for tomorrow. So, tomorrow, we will have another run of reviews of the latest songs added to our playlist. See you then!

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 Monkees, the Posies, McPherson Grant, 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.

Listen to Pure Pop Radio on the go using your Android or iOS devices! Download Our Mobile App.

Click on the image to listen to Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio through players like iTunes — Click on the image to listen to Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio through players like iTunes

More New Music? Why, We’ve Got Some of that!

February 11, 2016May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

Further on from yesterday’s list of new songs and artists recently added to our ever-growing playlist, we’ve got another parade of truly excellent melodic pop sounds that are now spinning in rotation.

Much more to come next week. Until then, here’s a tasty sampling of a few choice nuggets:

Brett Harris | Up in the Air Yesterday, we proclaimed Eytan Mirsky’s new album Funny Money to be one of the great albums thus far released in this young year. Here’s another great one you’ll want to be playing in your home and on the go. Brett Harris’s second full-length is a terrific collection of 10 wonderful pop songs delivered with skill and heart.

We love these songs so much that we’ve added all of them to the playlist. “End of the Rope” is a catchy, infectious number that reminds us of Microdisney’s “Singer’s Hampstead Home,” even as it echoes the classic ’60s sound. “Spanish Moss” is a quite pretty song that features some beautiful harmonies and a tinge of thoughtful sadness, punctuated by an understated, effective string arrangement. And the title cut is nothing less than a bonafide toe-tapper, a righteous, delectable slice of musical joy.

Also playing in rotation from this great album: “Don’t Look Back,” “Lies,” “Out of the Blue,” “High Times,” “Rumor,” “Summer Nights,” and “Shadetree.” This is another great album for 2016, releasing on March 4. Hey, we ought to make a list of these great albums. Consider it done!

PS: Brett Harris will be Alan’s guest on an upcoming, all-new edition of Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation. Keep an eye on these pages for details, coming soon!

Crash and the Crapenters | “Everything is Coming My Way” Pure Pop Radio favorite Michael Carpenter and his brother Chris have teamed up to stir a steaming pot of sizzling ska-soaked punky rock and pop that made our ears stand up at attention. In just under two and a half minutes, Chris and Michael take over and demand your attention with organ and chugging electric guitar lines and plugged-in-to-the-walls vocals. Plus, it’s hookariffic, it is. This song demands your attention and called out to us to add it to our playlist. Which we did. Now playing in rotation and taking no prisoners. As nature intended.

Cotton Mather | “Child Bride” and “The Book of Too Late Changes” To say that the return of Cotton Mather, the makers of the always and truly hall-of-fame album Kontiki, is welcomed with open arms is hardly telling it completely like it is. We were thrilled to hear these great songs, both of which are now playing in rotation. “Child Bride” is a mix of sixties motif (Left Banke, anyone?) that opens with a Byrds-like intro. “The Book of Too Late Changes” is a whole other thing, channeling the propulsive side of the Who with a melodic pop-rocker for the ages that closes with a quite thrilling vocal array. More please, and please, let the more come soon.

Strangely Alright | “We Still Can” Regan Lane and company’s latest song is a lovely mid-tempo ballad with a gorgeous melody and a solid, hooky chorus. We’re proud to be playing this group’s songs on our air and look forward to the next great release.

Dermot | “My Love’s a Light that Will Never Go Out” We’ve been playing this song since it came out last December. It’s been a favorite spin since then. This really pretty, affecting number about everlasting love will absolutely resonate with you, and you too. Consider this bit of lyric: “My darling/When we sing/All the angels up in heaven are envious/Of our harmony.” See what we mean? Lovely, lovely, lovely, and now playing in rotation.

There you go–more great music added to our playlist. More coming next week. While you wait, why not click on one of the listen links below so you can enjoy our continuous, original 24-hour stream of the greatest melodic pop in the universe? Enjoy!

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.

Listen to Pure Pop Radio on the go using your Android and iOS devices! Download Our Mobile App.

Buckle Up: We Begin the Long Rundown of New Music and Artists Recently Added to the Pure Pop Radio Playlist

December 3, 2015May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

A message from Alan Haber:

For the past few months, I have been adding hundreds of new songs and artists to the Pure Pop Radio playlist. For a lot of reasons, most notably ongoing health concerns, I have been unable to report on these adds.

Since time is marching on at a rather rapid pace, and 2015 will be over before you know it, I have decided to simply list the adds with minimal commentary because, otherwise, this task, as important as it is, would never get done. I thank you for your understanding.

So, join with me today by perusing this first in a series of lists of new music and artists recently added to the Pure Pop Radio playlist. All of these artists and songs are wonderful specimens that have contributed to this year being one of the best, if not the best, years for melodic pop music in a very long time. It has been my privilege and honor to preview this music and ultimately make it part of the Pure Pop Radio listening experience.

Without further ado, let’s get to it. Installment number one:

Pete Kennedy | Heart of Gotham The third Kennedys-related release this year puts Pete Kennedy in the spotlight for a glorious song cycle about New York City. We’ve added all but the album-ending reprise of the song “Union Square”: “The Bells Rang,” “Williamsburg Bridge,” “Never Stopped Believin’,” “Unbreakable,” “Rise Above,” “People Like Me,” Harken,” “Asphodel,” Riot in Bushwick,” “New York,” “Gotham Serenade,” and “Union Square.”

The Del Zorros | Wilmington Now playing in rotation are all but two of the stellar songs on the Del Zorros’ wonderful new album, a love letter to Wilmington, North Carolina, the duo’s adopted home town. Stede and Monte sing and play their hearts out on “The Bells of Wilmington,” “Biscuits for Breakfast,” “The Henrietta,” “The Carriage Man,” “Bella’s,” “Halfway to Heaven,” “Orange Street,” “Surfin’ Wrightsville Beach,” “The King of Wilmington,” and “The House on Dawson’s Creek.” A real winner of an album that’s one of the best of the year.

Tommy Sistak | “A Better Time” Since his great Short Songs album appeared, Tommy has released a few additional tracks that prove he is one of the great practitioners of the retro sound. “A Better Time” is a danceable rave-up, as good as anything he has released.

The Dahlmanns | “Girl Band” Speaking of rave-ups, this happy celebration of the girl band-as-“kick-ass rock and roll band” makes us smile and yearn for a nearby dance floor. Plus, it’s a great pop song, and of course we’re playing it in rotation. More Dahlmanns tracks added are noted in an upcoming list.

Adam Walsh | “High Time (at Frisco Bay)” Here is yet another classic track, written and performed by an artist we are quite enamored with. A sort-of seventies-styled, mid-tempo ballad, this one is, as you would expect, a real keeper.

Strangely Alright | “I See the Sun” A recent song from this hard-charging pop group fronted by the great Regan Lane, “I See the Sun” boasts a powerful, hooky chorus and a whole lot of heart.

Silver Ships | “Roads that Lead Us Home” This group, led by Chazz Bessette, has released a single track from their upcoming album. It’s very pop, so singalongable and it will make you smile, so job well done.

Arvidson | Arvidson From Sweden comes this majestic 2001 pop album that we’re thrilled to be playing from stem to stern. Featuring the ultra-catchy power pop number “I Hear a Sound” and 11 other great numbers, this is one of the great finds for us this year. We’re playing “Wake Up,” “I’ll Bear It In Mind,” “Get Well,” “Will Never Know,” “Get In(to) the Car,” “I’d Hate to See You Go,” “Our Days,” “You Caught My Eye,” “Still on the Wrong Side,” “Slide,” “I Hear a Sound,” and “Daffodil.”

Kurt Baker Combo | “Give It Up” It’s no surprise that this is another electric, quite alive number from one of power pop’s top recording artists. One side of a new single (the other side will be noted in a future report), it’s a guaranteed favorite for fans that ends in spectacular fashion with a warmhearted Beatles chord.

Jeri Sykes, Scott McPherson and KC Bowman | “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” Recorded for the Tower of Song Challenge, this slightly-slowed-down cover of the Electric Light Orchestra’s famed song is reworked in the manner of an early rock ‘n’ roll number, kinda sorta, and features Jeri Sykes on most of the instruments (Pop 4’s KC Bowman plays bass and drums, and Pop 4’s Scott McPherson sings). Pretty awesome.

Kontiki Suite | The Greatest Show on Earth The follow-up to this much-loved British band’s 2013 inaugural release, On Sunset Lake, finds Kontiki Suite in fine form, delivering another set of lovely Americana/country songs with a decidedly smooth pop edge. We’re playing nearly all of this album, in rotation: “Bring Our Empire Down,” “My Own Little World,” “Free from Sound,” “Here for You Now,” “Pages of My Mind,” “Keep Up With My Old Self,” “All I Can Say,” and “Years Roll On.”

There is much more to come. We’ll try to report on all of the recent adds to the playlist before Christmas. As we said, there’s a lot of adds to report, which really is a very good thing. Thanks for hanging in there with us.

Listen to Pure Pop Radio on the go using your Android and iOS devices! Download Our Mobile App.

Your Official Pop Tunes Deejay Show Track List is Here!

September 22, 2015May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

We’re continuing to throw a party every Monday night on Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show. Did you hear show seven last night? If you missed it, or want to hear it again, you can listen this Thursday at noon ET (9 am PT) and this Sunday at 3 pm ET (noon PT).

Alan Haber: Proud Music Geek! — Your host, Alan Haber

Here’s what Alan played last night:

Set One: One and Begun
Bay City Rollers | “Saturday Night” from The Definitive Collection

Set Two: Rolling Stones Now!
The Rolling Stones | “I Wanna Be Your Man” from GRRR!
The Rolling Stones | “Get Off of My Cloud” from December’s Children (and Everybody’s)
The Rolling Stones | “Let’s Spend the Night Together” from Between the Buttons
The Connection | “Connection” from the “Crawling from the Wreckage” single)
The Rolling Stones | “Dandelion” from Through the Past, Darkly: Big hits, Vol. 2

Set Three: New at Pure Pop Radio (1)
Michael Ryther | “I Love the Dirt” from Kids of the Earth – Songs for the Green Generation
mylittlebrother | “Steve” from We’re All Gonna Die
The Nines | “Cathy” from Night Surfer and the Cassette Kids
Daniel Wylie’s Cosmic Rough Riders | “I’m Out of My Mind” from Chrome Cassettes

Set Four: You Rock!
Mister Fusty | “I Knew You” from Cloth Ears
Freiheit | “Baby It’s You” (Single)
Ze Malibu Kids | “I Won’t Forget You” from Sound It Out
Carl Wayne and the Vikings | “You Could Be Fun (At the End of a Party)” from Ripples, Vol. 4
Rick Nelson | “You are the Only One” from Million Sellers

Set Five: New at Pure Pop Radio (2)
Strangely Alright | “Paint Outside the Lines” (Single)
The Sunchymes | “Time Will Tell” from Present
Nevski | “Alligator” from Nevski
Maxi Dunn | “Operation Bubble” from Operation Bubble

Set Six: Beatle Blast
Wings | “Tomorrow” from Wild Life

Set Seven: One and Done
Nick Lowe | “Cruel to be Kind” from Labor of Lust

There you go…Pop Tunes, show number seven, is in the can. We hope you enjoyed it. You can listen again this coming Thursday, September 24 at noon ET (9 am PT) and Sunday at 3 pm ET (noon PT). We’re taking the next couple of weeks off–the next new Pop Tunes show will air on Monday, October 12. Until then, pop happy!

Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes is a cool deejay show playing the greatest melodic pop music from the ’60s to today. The show airs every Monday night at 9 pm ET (6 pm PT) on Pure Pop Radio, and repeats on Thursday afternoons at noon ET (9 am PT) and Sundays at 3 pm ET (noon PT). Please like us on Facebook by clicking here.

Listen to Pure Pop Radio on the go using your Android or iOS devices! Download Our Mobile App.

More New Music Is In the Spotlight Today: It’s Day Three of Pure Pop Radio’s New Music Explosion!

June 10, 2015May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to day three of Pure Pop Radio’s New Music Explosion! We hope you’ve been enjoying the new songs and artists we’ve been adding this week to our playlist. It’s time to unveil another list of newly added treasures now spinning in rotation. Without further ado, let’s see what’s in store today! We know you’re going to say…”Wow!”

The Jangle Band | “Kill the Lovers” and “This Soul is Not For Sale” They were initially called the Jangle Brothers and were formed to play a couple of gigs this past April in Perth, Australia. That was supposed to be the long and the short of it. And then, fate intervened: the Jangle Brothers suddenly became the Jangle Band, a jangly and poppy and bright and shiny and catchy real live thing, with not one but two sets of members spread across both sides of Australia. It’s a story, alright, which we can get around to at a later date. For now, though, all you need to know is the debut single from the band, coupling a pair of tracks with a whole lot of jangle on their minds, is nothing less than the two greatest Byrds songs the Byrds never wrote or performed. Plus, it is one of the top releases of this year. Pure Pop Radio favorite Joe Algeri is one of the janglers present; you probably need not know more than that. Both songs are now playing in rotation. In a word…well, a made-up word: jangle-riffic. Killer.

Zombie Garden Club | Zombie Garden Club Surprise! It’s another heavy hitting slab of genius rock ‘n’ pop ‘n’ roll from Bongo Boy Records–another killer, in-your-face, slamming, aching, take-no-prisoners kind of album full of vim, vigor, vitamins and God knows what else. And speaking of “what else”… holy cow…this is something else…entirely something else and fresh and free and you’d better get out of the way, kids, if you know what’s good for you! Chief Clubber Johnny Douglas, from Canada and now making musical hay in Nashville, is a breath of cool, fresh air on an album sporting dynamically sounding tracks embodying different styles that thrill, many of which have been used on television shows like Showtime’s Shameless. There’s gold in these hills, folks. We’re spinning six cool numbers as a sneak preview of the upcoming release, including the jazz-pop of “Diamond Daze,” “Call It Love,” “One Step, Two Steps, Three Steps Gone,” “Boom,” “Hey Little School Girl,” and the lovely, anthemic “Calling Andromeda.” Killer diller.

Gary Frenay | File Under Pop Vocal The award for Truest Album Title of 2015 goes, without hesitation, to the Flashcubes’ Gary Frenay, whose solo collection of ultra-catchy pop songs is one of the pure pop delights of the year. Nothing less than a master class in melody and hooks, the album features famous guests playing along, from Gary’s son, Nick, and Maura and Pete Kennedy to Marshall Crenshaw and Flashcubes Arty Lenin and Tommy Allen, who also produced and mixed. From the opener, a made-for-radio, should-be-zooming-up-the-charts-with-a-bullet charmer, “Blue Topaz,” to “Luckiest Man,” a gorgeous love song that will melt your heart, this is the kind of album that melodic pop music fans will cherish. We’re playing eight songs in rotation, all top-notch numbers: the previously mentioned tracks, and “Forgot How Good Love Feels,” “Our Eyes Have Voices,” “It’s Like Heaven” (all Beach Boys-y, with George Harrison-esque slide guitar–a Brian Wilson co-write), “We Could Be Brothers,” “You’re Only Hurting Yourself,” and “Everything But Love.” The answer to the question, “Do you have any albums that will demonstrate what it is you love about pop music?”, is “Gary Frenay’s File Under Pop Vocal.”

Luzer | Come On Mandy EP, Fake Ass Rock Star EP, Greatest Hits, and Reset If Pure Pop Radio had an all-star team, Timmy Sean would be head something-or-other. He’d be right there on the front lines, for sure. Timmy’s current project, Songs of the Week, offers up a new recording of a past release of his or a new song, even. Studio and live. Before Songs of the Week, there was Timmy’s solo career and, before that, the band Luzer. Luzer’s music is somewhat harder edged than Timmy’s current output, but no less tuneful or wonderful. We’ve cherry-picked some choice nuggets from Luzer’s catalog, all of which are now spinning in rotation. From the Come On Mandy EP, we’re playing the title track (which appeared in a different version back in January as part of the Songs of the Week project) and the poppy, upbeat “Give Me a Sign.” From the Fake Ass Rock Star EP: the synth-soaked popper “Send Me a Photograph” and the not-quite-a-power-ballad “Eighteen.” We’re playing the acoustic ballad “In the End (The Acoustic Song)” from Greatest Hits. And from Reset, we’re playing the rocking popper “I Want You to Know,” the upbeat pop song “When She Cries,” and “Hey Jodie,” revived for the Songs of the Week project. Pure Pop Radio, we guess, is the official Timmy Sean radio station, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Willie Wisely | Cassettarcana Comprising four-track recordings made from 1982 onwards, Cassettarcana is a must-have for Wisely aficionados, a group of like-minded folks we are absolutely comfortable hobnobbing about with. We’re spinning four wonderful tracks: “Real,” the cowboy-folk-blueser “Glued for Breakin’,” “Mule,” and “Two Charcoal Hearts,” a great song that appeared on Willie’s 1997 album, Turbosherbert. Simply wonderful.

Finchey | Murmurations Robbie Burley is a little bit folk, a singer-songwriter, a popster–one of those guys who stirs the influences pot and comes out with a finely-tuned mix that purposefully reflects his own musical outlook. Producer Dave Ody (Mothboxer) gets the best out of Burley, who’s already got the goods, you should know. Performed with gusto by Burley, Ody and Pat Davidson, the songs on Murmurations are catchy nuggets, carefully constructed and quite simply fantastic. We’re playing, in rotation, seven songs from this album: the toe-tapper “Devil Put a Spell on You,” and “She Loves Me,” “Must Have Been an Omen,” “Snowed Last Night,” “Warrior,” “Eyes Closed,” and “Red Robin,” the last of which is a mighty pretty number, with gorgeous background vocals and majestic atmosphere. Quite grand, all of it.

Strangely Alright | “I See the Sun” We were first hipped to the music of Regan Lane back in 2004, when we got hold of his solo album, ICU in Dandylions. These days, Regan is behind the group Strangely Alright; we’ve been playing tracks from their album, The Time Machine is Broken; their new song is a marathon pop-rock-gospel number, immensely catchy and fine as fine can be. “I See the Sun” is now playing in rotation.

Tommy Sistak | “You Can Have Your Way With Me” In the same groovy pure pop/sixties/seventies/Merseybeat/catchy-as-all-get-out bag as the songs we’re playing from Tommy’s Short Songs album, “You Can Have Your Way With Me” is instantly memorable…one of those songs you’ll not be surprised to be singing to yourself at three o’clock in the morning. Now playing in rotation, naturally.

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That’s a wrap on day three of Pure Pop Radio’s New Music Explosion. We’ll be back tomorrow with yet another list of great songs and artists newly-added to our playlist. Stick with us…the best is yet to come!

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We’re Spinning New Platters that Matter. It’s Pure Pop Radio’s New Music Wednesday !

March 11, 2015May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

We’ve added to our playlist…again! Our aim is true and this time around, we’ve hit the jackpot: Lots of new artists and songs are now newly playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio. Here is what we’ve introduced to the greatest mix of melodic pop music on Internet radio:

The Kennedys | West Pete and Maura Kennedy have come up with what we believe to be their best work yet. As we said in our review of this outstanding album, “West is a journey taken along purposeful roads; it is a journey worth taking again and again.” (If you missed Alan’s review, click here.) We’ve added 11 songs from West: the title track, “Elegy,” “Sisters of the Road,” “Signs,” “Jubilee Time,” “Locket,” “Southern Jumbo,” “Travel Day Blues,” “The Queen of Hollywood High,” “Perfect Love,” and “Good, Better, Best.” You should add West to your music library today. File under Perfection.

Stereo Tiger | Two Weeks It’s always thrilling to witness a band coming out of the gate with great songs. Picture us thrilled. Stereo Tiger’s Two Weeks makes a bid for best-of-the-year honors with this outstanding album. Lovers of seventies pop and gorgeous melodies will find much to savor here. We’ve added seven songs to our playlist: “Magic Balloon,” “Perfect World,” “Open Up Your Eyes,” “All These Years,” “Philly Girl,” “Did You Ever Love Me,” and “Push the Pencil.” Simply outstanding. There’s this to savor in the album’s credits: “Recorded in 10 Days. Mixed in 2 Days. Mastered in 1 Day.” To which we’d add “Loved in seconds.”

Bill DeMain | Extended Stay Of course, everyone, including you, knows Bill’s work as one-half of the great duo Swan Dive. But did you know that last year he released a masterful six-song EP called Extended Stay? Well, you do now. These pure pop gems are masterpieces of melody that will put a big smile on your face. From the lovely “Honeylove” to the Randy Newman-as-Harry Nilsson slice of joy, “In Your Letter” and the all-Nilsson-esque, clever love song, “Raggedy Man,” this is a hall-of-fame worthy recording. Bill’s sweet voice makes these songs come alive–each one is a joyous celebration of the purest pop. Your music collection is quite simply not complete without this one.

Hot Knives | Hot Knives Another gem from Got Kinda Lost records (we added songs from their Promise album last week), this collection of single tracks and previously-unreleased material from the seventies is another great find. A mix of pop and rock, Hot Knives features terrific harmonies reminiscent of the Association, the Mamas and the Papas and Jefferson Airplane (yes, you read that correctly). Great melodies, too. We’re playing four songs in rotation: “Sooner or Later,” “Lovin’ You,” “I Hear the Wind Blow,” and “Winter’s Come.” Great stuff.

Daniel Wylie’s Cosmic Rough Riders | “Another Wasted Day” We’re always up for a new slice of melodic wonder from Daniel Wylie. Now billed as Daniel Wylie’s Cosmic Rough Riders, the band has delivered another great tune in “Another Wasted Day.” Jangly and catchy, it’s from the forthcoming album, Chrome Cassettes. We can’t wait.

Dana Countryman | “Every Kiss Reminds Me of You” It has become regular practice around these parts to add a new or new-to-you song from one of our most favorite pop practitioners every time we post one of these station updates. Another new song from the forthcoming album Pop3! Welcome to my Time Warp!, this retro, hooky and genuinely wonderful song sounds like an outtake from the 5cc years of 10cc, a very good thing! Featuring guest turns from Dee Long (Klaatu), who plays electric guitar, and Pure Pop Radio fave Matt Tyson, who sings on the fade, this is another keeper from the one of our favorite wizards of wonder. Now playing in rotation.

Red Caravan | Sleepless Night Red Caravan, aka Pete and John Carr, are making some cool sounds down under. The first fruits of their recording labors, “Sleepless Night” and “If I Return,” are electrically charged and pretty, acoustic melodic wonders, respectively. An album is on the near horizon. We await its debut. Meanwhile, here are two great songs now playing in rotation.

Strangely Alright | “Come On” The latest release from Regan Lane and company is a propulsive pop song with a great, catchy melody and an in-your-face vocal. “Come On” pushes our buttons, most assuredly.

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That’s it for today. We love bringing you new songs and artists to savor! More new adds to the playlist coming soon. See you on the radio!

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