A few more eMus.

Added this weekend at eMu (with CD Baby links for those who prefer something more tangible):

Rick Altizer has always been a Christian power popper; aside from his work in Dum Dog Run, most of his solo CDs have had tunes of faith sprinkled in among the "secular" tracks. Now, with Scripture Memory, he's gone fully devotional. This may not be for everyone, of course, but the power pop is still there. (CD Baby)

The latest from The Singles, Start Again, has finally made its way onto the service. Meat and potatoes power pop/garage, you know you want it. (CD Baby)

Canadian power poppers Two Hours Traffic are out with Little Jabs, their second disc, and it's quite good, at least what I've heard so far. (CD Baby)

Today would be a good day...

..to get an eMusic subscription. They added a massive number of CD Baby titles today that include many great discs that have been featured on this site in the past several months. (By the way, eMu is cutting the # of monthly downloads on each of its price plans in one week, but there's still time to lock in yearly subscriptions at the original plan rates, which can come to about 18 cents a track. The list in this post alone can keep you going for several months on the 40-download plan!)

First off, though, they added the new Saul Zonana disc, Love Over Money. As Bruce at Not Lame puts it, "Filled w/ the splendorous guitar, high energy hooks and expressive vocals found, the music falls into the schooling of such artists like Matthew Sweet, Rick Altizer, Michael Penn, Candy Butchers, Doug Powell , the Dotted Line and Greenberry Woods. It`s the type of power pop that would be right at home on most FM rock-oriented radio stations if radio played decent music."

And here are the rest:

Dave Stoops-Spill Your Drink. Bruce again: "Man, this album is so friggin` cool! Dave Stoops merges the a most interesting web of connection of cool, varied pop stylings with a most distinctive vocal style that evokes primo cool. Stoops sounds a lot like Karl Wallinger of World Party(and like Chris Bailey from The Saints), a very good thing and, in fact, much of the material sounds like the long, lost World Party album that fans have been waiting for the last 15 years or so."

Gary Henson-The Coast Is Clear. One of the very first discs we spotlighted on the site, and you can read all about it here. #27 on our current top 33 1/3 of 2006.

Kit Ashton-Blindsided EP. My favorite EP of 2006 to date. Here's my full take.

Mike Schmid-The High Cost of Living (A Love Story). Featured this one back in May as part of a singer-songwriter series.

Parallax Project-Perpetual Limbo. I don't think I mentioned this one on the site, but many power poppers will remember this one that came out almost a year ago to the date. Just missed my best of 2005 lists, and here's Bruce yet again: "But you`ll hear echoes, vague, happy reminders of not only Cherry Twister(naturally) but The Nines, Redd Kross, Splitsville, Raspberries, Shoes and early 70`s AM Radio summer hits(think Gallery, First Class and Gilbert O` Sullivan, for those in the know)."

Patrik Tanner-Soft. I briefly blurbed this one earlier, and to save a link, here's what I wrote: "This is a 2004 release I picked up early last year, and it's a good one. With an album titled "Soft", you're kind of know what you're getting. And Tanner delivers the goods - this is quality singer/songwriter pop. My favorite track is the Beatlesque "Hello Tomorrow", complete with chimes at the end."

Rick Altizer-Blue Plate Special. If you don't know Rick Altizer, start Googling and find out. I think we featured his Dum Dog Run project, but his solo stuff is compelling as well. This one from a few years back is a good a place to start as any.

Sheboygan-S/T EP. Great 4-song EP, check 'em out at their myspace page.

Stingray Green-Hard Numbers. Stingrays may be getting a bad rap these days, but these veteran Minneapolis power popppers put out a fine album that I overlooked earlier this year.

The Everyday Things-Lighten Up, Francis. From it's adoption of a classic line from Stripes to the fact it was produced by Jamie Hoover and released on Not Lame's own label, you can't beat this batch of punchy power pop in the vein of The Figgs, The Romantics and The Plimsouls.

The High Score-We Showed Up to Leave. As Splendidzine put it, "They`ve got Superdrag`s keen sense of melody, Sugar`s propensity for lacing pop songs with blistering riffs and a GBV-ish sort of ragtag charm".

The Humbugs-Twist The Truth. Bruce sez: "The Humbugs sound a lot like Tommy Keene playing with REM, Swan Dive and the poppy side of The Kennedys, a unique sound. There`s hints of Prefab Sprout, Crowded House, Aimee Mann, more modern day Pretenders and Trashcan Sinatras, as well."

The Slides-The View From Here. I really like this album a lot, and it's testimony to all the good music coming out this year that it's not on my top 33 1/3 list (but look for it on my special superduper year-end top 100 come the holidays).

Third Floor Story-Lonely City. I like this one even more, and it's #26 on the latest top 33 1/3. Great, great disc.

Wiretree-S/T EP. This was one of the great EPs of 2005, and a must-have. I elaborate about it here. Still waiting eagerly for the full-length.

So for any of you who have eMusic out there, bookmark this post in case you still have some leftover downloads at the end of the month, and for those who don't, it's still your most cost-effective way to legally get all this great power pop.

CD of the Day, 3/23/06: Dum Dog Run-Dum Dog Run

From the album cover to song titles like "Mullet", "Jennifer Aniston" and "Psycho Girlfriend" to the band's motto of "LOUD guitar rock that keeps it simple. No wimpy keyboards.", Rick Altizer's Dum Dog Run wins the Truth-In-Advertising Award by a country mile.

Altizer is a power pop vet with whom many of you may be familiar. He pretty much has had the field of CCM (Contemporary Christian) Power Pop to himself (at least until Superdrag's former frontman John Davis got on board last year). His solo records have been fine power pop with a touch of the devotional. In any event, he's gone secular here with DDR, and there's virtually zero chance you'll hear these songs played at any contemporary service at a church near you.

DDR doesn't stop rocking, and the comparisons of Cheap Trick, Weezer and even Kiss and AC/DC are well-earned here. And what makes DDR even more enjoyable is the sense of humor that prevails throughout here. There's even the obligatory power ballad, which is titled...."Power Ballad". There's a cover of the Cars' "Let's Go" as well, which excises the "wimpy keyboards". My favorite track on the album is "Superstar", in which Altizer both celebrates and mocks the desire to be famous ("I wanna be a superstar/I wanna see Ozzy throwing up in my yard"), but there are plenty of other winners here as well, including the three I mentioned at the outset as well as "Gig to Play".

Stream 'em at myspace, sample 'em at cdbaby, and buy from any of your favorite power pop retailers. This is about as much power pop fun as you can have.