Pop Fuss – Details, episodes & analysis

Power pop is experiencing a new wave of younger artists, and the music is great! We've assembled a round table of music geeks to listen to a dozen of today's best newer power pop artists. On the panel is Steve Coulter (Tsar) aka author SW Lauden, The Well Wishers' Jeff Shelton, and Tik Tok'r Allen Lulu. Get your pen and paper ready to write down these great recommendations as we nerd out to some excellent tunes!   Be sure to check out our previous round table episode: Power Pop in the 90's!   Find Pop Fuss on Instagram @PopFussPod, also on Twitter, Tik Tok and Facebook. Email: PopFuss@gmail.com  

S.W. Lauden is the editor of Remember The Lightning (Substack) and the semi-annual Remember The Lightning Guitar Pop Journals (print/e-book). His power pop-themed crime fiction novellas include That'll Be The Day:A Power Pop Heist and Good Girls Don't. S.W. Lauden is the pen name of Steve Coulter, drummer for various LA-based pop rock bands including Ridel High, Tsar, and the Brothers Steve. Follow him on Instagram @SWLauden

Jeff Shelton, former band leader of the Spinning Jennies, and long time host of the radio program, "The Power Pop Show," is the man behind The Well Wishers. Bandcamp is his primary home base:  https://thewellwishers.bandcamp.com/. Be sure to check out his latest record, "Just So You Know." It's full of rockin', infectious ear candy! Allen Lulu goes by the handle @areallulu on TikTok where he features unstreamable & nearly forgotten Power Pop albums from days gone by as well as new artists. He is the instigator & one of the admins of The Listening Post: The 80s on Facebook, a group dedicated to hunting down, listening to, rating and reviewing every rock album from that decade, where there are thousands of albums in and still, somehow only in 1983. (If that interests you, ask to be included and I will let you in) In his past life he was the frontman for the Los Angeles rock band, Throttle Back Sparky, whose 2005 album will see a remastered re-release on vinyl in 2025.

Chime School joins us this episode to discuss their great new LP, "The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel." As the creative force behind the group, Andy Pastalaniec wrote and performed the new record by himself, and the group is fleshed out on the road with a top notch band. Chime School is getting a ton of buzz from multiple outlets as their ringing Rickenbacker's have given us sunny jangle pop juxtaposed at times by melancholy lyrics.   Listen to our chat wherever you find your favorite podcasts!   Find Chime School at their Instagram page @Chime.School, and pick up the new record at https://chimeschool.bandcamp.com/ or from their label slumberlandrecords.com.   Follow Pop Fuss on Instagram @PopFussPod and follow and subscribe to hear today's best new artists!

The Cle Elum joins Pop Fuss to discuss their debut LP "It's OK If It Falls Apart." Love came first for Ian and Sarah, then their successful touring business. The world stopped and they wrote a album. It's an interesting story for these road vets/recording newbies. Single "I Am a Robot" features good friend Matthew Caws of Nada Surf. "Handclaps & Tambourines" is as infectious as it gets. Dig into the whole record, it's great!

Find The Cle Elum at thecleelum.bandcamp.com and be sure to follow them on Instagram @TheCleElum and find them on TikTok, Facebook, and their cool videos on YouTube.

Follow Pop Fuss at their Instagram @PopFussPod and listen to episodes wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Tamar Berk joins Pop Fuss to discuss her latest LP "Good Times For A Change." This "Tall glass of indie pop with a twist of 90's" artist brings her 4th record in four years and continues her confessional lyrics but with a more diverse sound across 12 dynamic tracks. As Tamar states, "all the songs on Good Times for a Change feel like meditations on being somewhere in between the willingness to let go, and the desire to hold on."

Be sure to check out tamarberk.bandcamp.com for the LP and follow Tamar across all her social media platforms (And YouTube - she makes fun videos!)

Find Pop Fuss on Instagram @PopFussPod, and also Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok

Power trio Jr. Juggernaut joins Pop Fuss to discuss their rockin' new album "Another Big Explosion." Fans of late 80's to mid-90's alt rock with a dose of power pop & punk (Sugar/Bob Mould/Husker Du, Goo Goo Dolls, The Posies, Dinosaur Jr.) will love this record! Combining muscular riffs and sing along choruses, their fourth LP will satiate your ears with musical goodness! Be sure to follow Jr. J on their Instagram @jr.juggernaut and check out their linktr.ee/jrjuggernaut   Find Pop Fuss on IG @PopFussPod, also on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok at popfuss.

Paul Kelly is The Martial Arts and he joins Pop Fuss to discuss his great new album, "In There Like Swimwear." If you like catchy, bubble gummy pop/rock ala The Apples In Stereo, Of Montreal, and a very healthy heap of The Beach Boys, you'll really love this record! Be sure to check it out at his bandcamp page, and find all things Martial Arts on their linktr.ee/themartialarts

Follow Pop Fuss on IG @PopFussPod, or send us an email at popfuss@gmail.com

Yours & Mine joins Pop Fuss to discuss their excellent new album "The Shadow You Cast." If you dig late 80's to mid-90's jangle pop ala REM, The Posies, or the Gin Blossoms, you'll love this record! Harder rocking tunes recall the best of Oasis as well. Thoroughly enjoyable record from top to bottom!

Find Yours & Mine on Instagram @YoursAndMineBand or at their Bandcamp page - https://yoursandmineband.bandcamp.com/

Follow Pop Fuss on Instagram @PopFussPod and listen to episodes wherever you download podcasts!

Power Pop in the 90's! Our first round table episode welcomes Linus of Hollywood, Mike Randle (Baby Lemonade) and Steve Coulter (Tsar) as we each bring songs to the table and debate if the 90's were power pop's best decade! Loads of laughs and stories (an insane Evan Dando tale, is Julianna Hatfield an honest person, why Jon Auer abuses his Gibson SG's, and did someone say KISS was the best power pop band of the 70's?? Tune in for some fun!   Be sure to check out @LinusDotson's electro-pop band @ablemachines.They're great! Look out for Mike Randle's chronicle MY LITTLE RED BOOK: a story of life, friendship and LOVE due in 2025. And be sure to subscribe to Steve's music writing on Substack at Remember The Lightning. It's MUST reading for power pop fans! Find Steve on IG @swlauden   Follow Pop Fuss on Instragram @PopFussPod, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. Listen to episodes wherever you find podcasts!

Pop Fuss welcomes alt pop artist MOONY to discuss his mind bending work of art, WARNING HIGH CUBE. Seth discusses his upbringing, influences, and how he came to create the MOONYVERSE. He has a real vision for this album, both sonically and visually and we get into all of it!

Be sure to check out Moony's world on Instagram @sethismoony and at https://sethismoony.com

Follow Pop Fuss on Instagram @PopFussPod and stream all episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

Indie pop/folk artist Whitney Fenimore joins Pop Fuss to discuss her new singles and what she has planned next. We get into her song craft, her confessional lyrics, and advocating for mental health awareness. We chat about her American Idol tryouts, making it onto The Voice (and being coached by Adam and Miley!) Whitney has had a very interesting career and we touch on it all!

Be sure to follow Whitney on Spotify and at WhitneyFenimore.com

Find Pop Fuss on IG @PopFussPod, or on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.