Unless you inhabit the corner of the musical jungle that calls itself Power Pop, you may be unfamiliar with Bruce Brodeen. In 1994 he started a record company called Not Lame. If ever there was a well named label that was it. I came across one of his compilations in Revolver Records a few years later and got on the mailing list. I’m still there, despite Not Lame shutting up in 2010 and Bruce moving onto a portal site called Pop Geek Heaven.
Now however Bruce has hung up his jangly guitar and joined the grown up world. His big contribution for me was promoting the notion of music curation. I have talked about this before on the blog and given the speed with which the digital world is overwhelming what has gone before there will inevitably be a lot of music left behind that one day is lost forever. Thanks to Bruce the world will still have The Shazam, The Mockingbirds and many other proud purveyors of guitar pop. 150 compilation cds later he has just released his last.
If you haven’t caught up with the world of Power Pop then the starting point is “Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide” by John M Borack. The best music lists book bar none. Best of luck finding one, they do come up on E-Bay occasionally, the good news however is that a new edition is due out in 2018. However a google will give you an idea of some of the music recommended.
For music the DIY series are a good starting point and come up second hand regularly
DIY: Teenage Kicks – UK Pop 1 (1976-1979)
DIY: Starry Eyes – UK Pop 2 (1978-79)
DIY: Come Out and Play – American Power Pop (1975-78)
DIY: Shake It Up – American Power Pop 2 (1978-80)
If you find any of the the Rhino Poptopia series on sale grab them
The best intro to Not Lame’s catalogue is “Six Years of Power Pop!” available digitally.
Not only was Bruce a great promoter of the music but also of writers. Another book recommendation is “A Brief History of Jazz Rock” by Pop Geek Heaven contributor Mike Baron which takes an oblique and unique view of another niche.
So thank you Bruce Brodeen for 20 years of great music, and for introducing me to musical archaeology, I will keep digging but it won’t be the same without you.
