Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in late 1974, and reorganized with a new lineup 18 years later following a reunion concert at the University of Missouri. In its first era, the band's musical style drew on the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Byrds. Big Star produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations", in the words of Rolling Stone, as the "quintessential American power pop band", and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". Three of Big Star's studio albums are included in Rolling Stone's list of the Top 500 Albums of All-Time.
Power pop is a subgenre of rock music and a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and cheerful sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, despair, or self-empowerment. The sound is primarily rooted in pop and rock traditions of the early-to-mid 1960s, although some artists have occasionally drawn from later styles such as punk, new wave, glam rock, pub rock, college rock, and neo-psychedelia.
Spilt Milk is the second and last studio album by American rock band Jellyfish, released on February 9, 1993, by Charisma Records. It features a harsher and more ornate sound than their previous, Bellybutton (1990). As with Bellybutton, Spilt Milk was written and co-produced by founding members Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning. Albhy Galuten and Jack Joseph Puig also returned as producers.
The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroque" string arrangements, which led to their music being variously termed as "Bach-rock", "baroque rock" or "baroque pop". The band's vocal harmonies borrowed from contemporaries such as the Beatles, the Zombies and other British Invasion groups.
Lone Justice was an American country rock band formed in 1982 by guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and singer Maria McKee in Los Angeles. The band released two albums, Lone Justice in 1985 and Shelter the following year, before disbanding in 1987.
Permanent Vacation is the ninth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released by Geffen Records on August 25, 1987. The album marks the band's shift to a pop-metal sound that they would maintain up to 1993's Get a Grip.
Game Theory was an American power pop band, founded in 1982 by singer/songwriter Scott Miller, combining melodic jangle pop with dense experimental production and hyperliterate lyrics. MTV described their sound as "still visceral and vital" in 2013, with records "full of sweetly psychedelic-tinged, appealingly idiosyncratic gems" that continued "influencing a new generation of indie artists." Between 1982 and 1990, Game Theory released five studio albums and two EPs, which had long been out of print until 2014, when Omnivore Recordings began a series of remastered reissues of the entire Game Theory catalog. Miller's posthumously completed Game Theory album, Supercalifragile, was released in August 2017 in a limited first pressing.
Strangers on a Train is the third and final studio album by American baroque pop band the Left Banke and was released in March 1986.
Two Steps from the Middle Ages (1988) is the fifth studio album by power pop band Game Theory.
Scott Warren Miller was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work as leader of the 1980s band Game Theory and 1990s band The Loud Family, and as the author of a 2010 book of music criticism. He was described by The New York Times as "a hyperintellectual singer and songwriter who liked to tinker with pop the way a born mathematician tinkers with numbers", having "a shimmery-sweet pop sensibility, in the tradition of Brian Wilson and Alex Chilton."
"If You Want My Love" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1982 as the lead single from their sixth studio album One on One. It was written by guitarist Rick Nielsen and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It reached number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report chart.
2011 is the eleventh studio album by American rock band The Smithereens, released on April 5, 2011 by eOne Music.
"Tonight It's You" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, which was released in 1985 as the lead single from their eighth studio album Standing on the Edge. It was written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Jon Brant and Mark Radice, and produced by Jack Douglas. "Tonight It's You" reached No. 44 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks Chart.
Bradley Joel Skaught is the principal songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for The Bye Bye Blackbirds, an Oakland, California-based indie rock and power pop band. Skaught's vocals have been called "distinctive and lovely", "a unique drawl reminiscent of Tom Petty", and likened to John Lennon. The San Francisco Chronicle described his band's work as "British Invasion guitar-pop with a twinge of country and roots," in which "disparate rock influences – '60s rock, '70s power pop, '80s college radio and indie rock – come together for catchy, harmony-laden songs."
Real Nighttime is the second full-length album from Game Theory, a California power pop band founded by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Released in 1985, the album is cited as "a watershed work in '80s paisley underground pop." A 30th anniversary reissue was released in March 2015, on CD and in a limited first pressing on red vinyl, with 13 bonus tracks.
Distortion is a 1984 five-song EP by Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. A remastered reissue of Distortion was released by Omnivore Recordings in November 2014 as a 10-inch EP on green vinyl, with four of the songs released on CD as part of Omnivore's reissued Dead Center compilation.
Blaze of Glory is the 1982 debut album from Game Theory, a California power pop band founded by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. After Miller's death in 2013, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in a remastered edition with 15 bonus tracks which was released on CD and vinyl in 2014.
Third is the second studio album by Cait Brennan, released by Omnivore on April 21, 2017. The follow-up to 2016's critically lauded Debutante, Third was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, in the same studio and using many of the same instruments Big Star used during its Ardent heyday in the early 1970s.
Across the Barrier of Sound: PostScript is a 2020 compilation album consisting of material recorded in 1989 and 1990 by Game Theory, a California power pop band founded in 1982 by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. The band's lineup during this period included Michael Quercio, who had previously fronted the Paisley Underground group The Three O'Clock.
Alejandro "Alec" Palao is a British musician, music historian, writer, and reissue producer. In addition to his musical output with groups like the Sting-rays, the Sneetches, and Mushroom, his works include hundreds of production credits and liner notes on important compilations of vintage rock and soul from Ace Records, Rhino Records, and others, plus a wide array of music-related print and film credits. Palao is unusual in that he normally supervises each aspect of the projects he compiles, including audio transfers and restoration as well as research and liner notes. Honors include five Grammy Award nominations for historical albums and liner notes.
