July/August 2008
Editorial
It Just Doesn’t Matter
by Less Lee Moore
“Hey Spaz, I was watchin’ you out there.
Looked like you had a chance there for a second.”
Are You Ready For The Summer?
FEATURING: An Interview With The Bicycles, Summer Music and Movies, A Trip To The Beach
CLICK THIS LINK for hot fun in the Popshifter summertime!
Hot, sticky, sweet. . . from our heads to our feet.
Sparks Spectacular
From May 16 through June 11 of 2008, Sparks played all 20 of their albums in a row, one per night, at Carling Academy Islington in London. This astounding series of shows, from a band who’s been around for 37 years, was followed by the live premiere of their twenty-first studio release, Exotic Creatures of the Deep, on June 13 at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Fans from around the world submitted reviews for each night of the show to Popshifter, and we have published them in this issue.
Popcasts
by Mandy Mullins and Jaime Sparrowhawk
It’s A Family Affair: Top Ten Musical Siblings from Garbo’s Daughter
A Conversation With The Cowsills
Q & A
54-40 Has Northern Soul: Q & A with Neil Osborne
by Megashaun
Interviews
Speaking The Language of Pop: An Interview With Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.
by Less Lee Moore
Creating Utopia: An Interview With Jason Falkner
by Less Lee Moore
Please Don’t Spoil The Movie By Adding Your Own Soundtrack: An Interview With Mike Nelson
by Megashaun
No Shame In Flamboyance: An Interview With Gere Fennelly
by Less Lee Moore
Scene from Grace of My Heart
Directed by Alison Anders, 1996
Features
Nonconsensual Fandom
by Jessica Melusine
Bringin’ The Crazy: John Cale in the 1970s
by Emily C.
A Funny-Animal Comic Book: Cerebus
by Christian Lipski
You’re So Good To Me: Why “Hot” May Be The Perfect Pop Song
by Christian Lipski
Adventures with Metal Mania: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
by Ann Clarke
Out Of My Shell: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Me
by Megashaun
Reviews
They Are All, So Don’t Even Try: NXNE 2008 with Redd Kross
by Less Lee Moore
Glitter and Doom: Tom Waits
by J Howell
It Has To Be From The Heart: Firewater
by Ann Clarke
Jonathan Coulton Feels Fantastic
by Megashaun
“What sign are you? Because my mood ring
just like, totally changed colors.”
Scene from Lucas Reiner’s The Spirit of ’76, 1990
Pop Culture Holy Grail
Sometimes the search for that elusive pop culture treasure can seem like an epic quest for a mystical artifact.
The First Synthpop Song, Part One
by Less Lee Moore
Waxing Nostalgic
Popshifter trips down the turntable lane.
1983: Music For Twelve-Year-Olds?
by Jimmy Ether, Jemiah Jefferson, and Less Lee Moore
1988: Perk Up Your Ears
by Latanya and Christian Lipski