Overlooked

Popaganda is a perfect title for this album.  Pop music doesn't have to suck!  Head Automatica wants to rock your socks and make you tap your toes to the pop music!  Lead singer Daryl Palumbo wants to be in a pop band:

"...no one in America wants to say they're in a pop band. So many kids who start pop-punk bands insist they're not pop. To them I say, 'You don't even know what pop is. You've grown up with ****ing Blink-182 forced down your throat.' Whereas I want to be in a pop band."

Head Automatica is fronted by the former singer for Glassjaw, a fact which immediately makes me want to buy some Glassjaw.  His voice is just that compelling.  It's a voice - and an entire album, for that matter - that simply defies genres.  It's raw and honest, and I want more!

 This record is solid from front to back, and it's fascinating the way each song is great and catchy in its own way.  Each song is a departure from the song that preceded it, yet they're all Head Automatica.  I just gave the album a listen all the way through after not listening to it for a while, and it was fresh all over again.

Embrace the pop music, and give in to the Popaganda!

[mp3] Laughing at You
[mp3] Scandalous

Buy some Head Automatica: iTunes | Amazon
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Sometimes you kids today get too caught up in your Game Gears and your Hot Pockets, and you miss some pretty good music.  But don't despair, we're going to help you right your past wrongs and rock out to some killer tunes.  And perhaps you'll clue us in on some that we might have missed!

This time around we'll be talking about a singer-songwriter named Ronnie Day.  I first thought about posting something about Ronnie when I heard that Secondhand Serenade song (and subsequently began to hate it...) and thought "This guy's voice sounds just like Ronnie Day.  I wonder if he got hisself a band and got hisself some radio time?"  This was a weird thought because Ronnie Day used to be in a band with that guy from Secondhand Serenade.  I know, right?!

So it turns out, weird coincidence aside, it was not a Ronnie Day song I was hearing.  But the song structure and overall sound are strikingly similar.  Ronnie writes rock songs about heartache and travel, in a voice that is wise beyond his years.  His story is an interesting one, and worth a read to begin to understand where he's coming from.  These are a couple of my favorite songs from his poignant story-album The Album.

[mp3] My Only Friend

[mp3] Falling For You

he plays the message twice and then the dial tone/ reminds him that she's not around; it's a lonely sound.