A sad day in Power Pop.

Not Lame is closing its doors.

It didn't come as a shock, with the less frequent updates on the site and the steady stream of "blowout" sales as well as the general malaise in the CD-selling business, but it's a sad day nonetheless.

Bruce Brodeen has probably done more for power pop than anyone over the last 10-15 years, and Not Lame will be missed. Here's a video from him explaining his decision (Note that NL's last day will actually be November 24, not the October 31 mentioned in the video)



As always, Bruce has more irons in the fire, and if you want to stay in touch with him regarding his new projects, head over to this page and give him your email address.

New David Grahame Out

David Grahame has a new untitled album out, and Bruce at Not Lame has the limited 75-copy run. Aside from the limited quantities, there's a catch: It's priced at $11.50 per track. And there are only two tracks.

Sounds enticing, right? Actually the two tracks are two long song medleys that total 55 minutes, so it is the length of a full album. Apparently, Grahame is taking a page out of Lannie Flowers' (and Paul Westerberg's) book. This kind of thing isn't my cup of tea as I'm an iPod guy, and I'm not into 20+ minute tracks (I'm a huge Westerberg fan for example, and I have his 44:00 mp3, but I've never listened to the whole thing through once). But if you're a Grahame fan with $23 to burn and a long attention span, act now while Bruce still has them in stock.

Not Lame | mp3 of samples

CD of the Day, 8/4/09: The Shazam-Meteor

News like this doesn't get any better for a power pop fan. Not only is The Shazam back with a new disc, but it's the first new release on the Not Lame label in over two years (not counting the IPO comps which bear their imprint). Of course the wait has been longer for Shazam fans - Meteor is their first since 2002's Tomorrow the World. The Shazam is Power Pop with a capital "P" (or "PP"), and it's all here: crunchy guitars, power chords, hooky melodies, a touch of glam, and just enough attitude.

The disc opens with "So Awesome", which aside from serving as a two-word condensed version of this review, is the calling card to let you know that The Shazam is truly back. Frontman/Guitarist Hans Rotenberry (great name) pulls out all the rock-star moves on this killer track, and the sound behind the track can be traced all the way from T. Rex to Sloan. The midtempo "Don't Look Down" follows, a winner with its psychedelic flourishes and Beatlesque feel and "NFU" (which stands for "Not F----d Up - enough") rocks with the attitude its title implies. "Disco @ the Fairground" isn't quite what its title implies, but it's a refreshingly goofy glam number that recalls Queen in its mid-70s heyday.

"A Little Better" kicks off the midsection of the album, and its acoustic guitars and early 70s vibe make it sound like a lost classic rock tune from the bastard child of Led Zeppelin and The Move. "Always Tomorrow" features an easygoing melody in support of some rocking moves and recalls Big Star, and "Let it Fly" is the power pop equivalent of those quiet/loud tunes that the Pixies and Nirvana were well known for.

The final third of the disc sees them go in a Ramones-with-more-melody direction ("I Got the Bomb"), the glam rock theme for an imaginary superhero ("Latherman") and the double-entendre rock of "Time 4 Pie". All in all, it's the perfect return for a long-lost power pop staple and a long-lost power pop label. A definite year-end contender.

Not Lame | MySpace | iTunes

Meteor [album] by The Shazam

Not Lame has a blog!

The good folks at Not Lame have started their own blog. It's updated a bit sporadically at the moment, but there's some good stuff in there in the month or so they've been up. Check it out!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just want to wish all my readers a Happy Thanksgiving Day (whether or not you reside in the USA), and want to give thanks for the following (aside from my lovely wife and three wonderful boys):

* All of my readers. With so many sites out there, I appreciate all of you who take the time to visit Absolute Powerpop and who inspire me to continue to post.

* The artists. 99% of the discs I feature on here are from independent artists, many of whom have day jobs and who are releasing music for the love of it, and not under any illusions of fame and fortune. I thank you all for the blood, sweat and tears that go into making your discs and for the hours of listening pleasure that I (and hopefully most of my readers out there) have received.

* Bruce at Not Lame and Ray at Kool Kat. Without these guys, power pop on the internet as we know it doesn't exist, and the work they do to bring us artists and their music that we'd never know about otherwise can't be recognized enough.

* David Bash and International Pop Overthrow. These shows speak for themselves. Although I haven't been able to attend (it's tough to drop the kids, my business and everything else to jet across the country; how about an IPO Tampa someday?), anyone who can get the kind of power pop lineups together for these shows deserves our thanks.

* And to everyone else out there spreading the power pop gospel.

Happy Thanksgiving!