Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

I had an internet discussion with friends a few weeks ago and was shocked to find out that one of them was a Pink Floyd fan. Either I never noticed or ignored it because he never really seemed like the type. Of course, there is nothing wrong with liking Floyd, but it got me thinking about what I want in music since prog always reminds me of hanging out with stoners and listening to Dark Side of the Moon for the thousandth time.  At his suggestion, I attempted to listen to Pink Floyd's Division Bell . I made it through, but I was awfully bored. I enjoyed parts of it, but my mind strayed, and I wanted to listen to something pithier and more straightforward. I know it is an unpopular opinion to rip on bands like Floyd in some circles, but they just don't do much for me. (Of course, other groups make a sport of it.) Nor does much radio classic rock because it lacks the hooks and melodies that I like. I'm not saying I don't listen to longer songs or other genres because I l...

Matthew Sweet's "Sick of Myself," the first track from 100% Fun is the type of pure power pop mastery that is good for whatever ails your tired old soul. From the palm-muted opening to the first full clean power chords, the song makes its intentions known, rocking heavily with tight drumming and blasting guitars. The song was a call-to-arms in 1995, and its even better now. Sweet's everyman vocals have a bit of sweetness to them, and it sounds like he's having so much fun. The track harks back to 20/20, the solo work of Chris Bell, and the like, but there is a larger guitar presence, if not a Phil Spector attention to detail. Sweet doesn't take himself too seriously and even with the backing of guitar legends Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd, both members of the far artier, yet no less explosive Television, the song maintains a ramshackle vibe. Listen to the sloppy, but spectacular, solos. Sweet's lyrical bent is pure power pop love and loss. His word ...

The new Brendan Benson album, My Old, Familiar Friend i s somewhat of a revelation. After years of being under the radar, he finally made some headway by being the first mate in Jack White's side project, The Raconteurs. (I say side project, but the Raconteur's are as fully realized a project as any other White has been involved with, or for that instance Benson). They have become his full time paying gig. But those who listen to the Raconteurs as just a White side project are missing something; the classicist power pop of Benson adds new dimensions to White's music. Likewise, Benson sounds revitalized on My Old Familiar Friend gaining confidence from the collaboration with a real "rock star." The title works as perfect description, because the record does feel like an old familiar friend (fitting firmly into the classic ranks of the poppier side of power pop), even though Benson tends to rock out a bit more than most power pop artists this side of Cheap Trick...