November 2013 – POWER OF POP

THE FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT DVD [REVIEW]

Virtually impossible to watch this without the inevitable lump in throat and teary-eyed response. The measure of love, admiration and respect that the late great Freddie Mercury and Queen engendered amongst their peers is plainly obvious judging from the stellar lineup of this tribute concert.

This 3-DVD collection contains the whole shebang – the opening acts (Extreme does an awesome Queen medley), the main event itself (simply mind-boggling from start to finish) and a bonus DVD of extras (10th anniversary documentary, rehearsal performances and photo galleries).

Simply essential for the diehard Queen fan.

LENKA – LIVE IN SINGAPORE

Aussie singer-songwriter Lenka‘s recent concert at the Esplanade Theatre was actually her fourth one in Singapore! Judging by the sizable crowd, there was no danger of over-familiarity yet! Lenka’s pixie like demeanor, her vibrant stage presence and her strong melodic songs account for her popularity and she had no problem with holding the attention of a rapt audience in her hour-plus set.

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HOSTESS CLUB WEEKENDER LAUNCHES IN SINGAPORE! [NEWS]

It is an exciting time to be a music lover in Singapore as leading pan-Asian independent music company Hostess Entertainment Unlimited launches its unique live series Hostess Club Weekender in Singapore!

As part of Hostess’s continuing regional expansion, HCW will land in Fort Canning Park on Saturday February 22nd next year. The inaugural show in Singapore will feature critics’ darlings The National, Mogwai as well as up-and-comers King Krule, Asgeir and Buke & Gase to make the most compelling, irresistible and fresh lineup.

More details to come!

PoP ART

A PoP feature where we examine the influence on ART on rock and pop music, in particular album covers.

Today we look at Pop-art, a movement that began in UK and the USA in the 50s. The dominant figure in this ‘genre’ is probably one of the most influential artists in contemporary art – Andy Warhol.

Released in 1967, The Velvet Underground & Nico may not have sold many units but it’s enduring significance cannot be over-emphasized. What was also unique about the album design was that early copies of the album invited the owner to “Peel slowly and see”, peeling back the banana skin revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. Recently, there was a legal battle between the Andy Warhol Foundation of Visual Arts and the band over copyrights over the cover design.

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BLURB-O-RAMA

BUBBLEGUM LEMONADE Some Like It Pop

This is the kind of pop music that inspired Power of Pop to begin with viz. retro-pop-rock that looks back to the 60s with echoes of The Byrds, The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys and The Beatles unashamedly reflected in songs like “This is the New Normal”, “It Must Be Summer” and “Famous Blue Anorak”. Lover-ly.
Like! Follow!

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DISCOVERED @ SPOTIFY

Nowadays with streaming sites like Spotify, it’s a cinch to check out the new albums that music tastemakers (like yours truly) are raving about and then you can decide whether you wanna buy the CD or the vinyl versions, download the digital album or just listen. The choice is yours. Here are a couple of recent albums I gave the thumbs up over for, over at TODAY online.

Throwing Muses – Purgatory/Paradise: read review

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PoP RECOMMENDS: WAX FANG

WAX FANG – “Hearts Are For Beating”

After three digital singles in 2013, Wax Fang will be releasing its third album – The Astronaut – in January 2014. Check out the official video to the latest single.

Sounds like: David Bowie, Television, Pixies.

Check out the other singles at Spotify.

Official Site

THE CRIBS: CAMP SYMMETRY ROUNDTABLE BY MELISSA NG

The Cribs Interview – Camp Symmetry 2013
2^nd November 2013

Power of Pop, along with representatives from other media, sat down with Ryan and Ross of The Cribs at Camp Symmetry two weekends ago, at a roundtable interview. It was conducted after their energetic, frenetic and rocking set at Camp Symmetry, and though the guys were tired and sweaty, they obliged us in answering our questions and were very fun to talk to!

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DISCOVERED @ SPOTIFY

Obscure prog!

In the 70s, during the hey day of progressive rock, record labels were looking out for bands that might be the next money-spinner like Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull or Genesis. Thus, numerous second tier prog-rock bands were given the opportunity to become viable recording artists. Not all of these LPs were easily available in Singapore and even if they were, I would be spending my hard-earned allowance on those aforementioned top-tier bands… But thanks to Spotify, I can now listen to these now lesser known outfits. Enjoy…

U.K.

A supergroup in every sense of that word, U.K. originally consisted of John Wetton (vocals/bass), Bill Bruford (drums), Eddie Jobson (keyboards/violin) and Allan Holdsworth (guitar). That lineup recorded a eponymous debut LP which was released in 1978 but the band subsequently imploded. Still, this record remains a wonderful landmark for progressive circa the late 70s.

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CAMP SYMMETRY BY MELISSA NG

Best Coast courtesy of Symmetry Entertainment

Camp Symmetry
2 November 2013
The Meadow, Gardens By The Bay

Last Saturday, indie fans descended on The Meadow at Gardens By The Bay for the first edition of the annual Camp Symmetry, organised by Symmetry Entertainment, who has brought us gigs by Beach Fossils, Yacht, Carl Barat & The Libertines and The Drums. Starting at 12 noon, the festival line-up presented 12 hours of indie folk, indie pop, indie rock and post-rock. The festival expectedly attracted hipsters and music lovers ranging from the ages of 15 to 40. Camp Symmetry invited comparisons to Laneway Festival – having similar programming, targeting the same audience, being held at the same venue, and the festival held up very well. There was a good variety and somewhat affordable F&B choices for a festival, with more activities like bouncy castles and ping-pong tables. The festival also ran like clockwork, with each set starting and ending at its scheduled time, which is remarkable for a festival!

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DISCOVERED @ SPOTIFY

More recommended listening @ Spotify! This week we look at obscure post-punk from the late 70s/80s that fans of contemporary revivalist bands might wanna check out…

SOUTHERN DEATH CULT (1981 – 1983)

A early 80s goth rock band that is best remembered for providing singer Ian Astbury the platform from which he would form Death Cult with guitarist Billy Duffy before finding success as The Cult. Listen to its eponymous debut LP below.

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GEEK OUT!

ENDER’S GAME (Directed by Gavin Hood)

I read Orson Scott Card’s scifi masterpiece when it was first published in 1985 and at the time, I was thinking that it was a superb cross of Starship Troopers and Lord of the Flies. It’s one of my favourite stories and you can imagine my emotional state as I was watching this film adaptation. Yes, I was crying like a baby. The adaptation is very faithful (I believe Card made that a condition of the option and license) and director Gavin Hood did a fairly reasonable job in getting the main plot points and themes of the book across. This achievement is aided by the strong cast with Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley and the young Asa Butterfield giving solid performances.

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