It’s vacation time already? Awesome! Time to kick back, relax, and…oh, wait, I forgot: this is only a part-time writing gig, and I still have to keep doing my full-time writing gig. Oh, well, at least this means I get a bit of a break from going completely insane on Monday afternoons as I try to finish up my column on time (and inevitably fail miserably at it).

Our commander in chief, Mr. Giles, has told me on several occasions that I shouldn’t feel bad about skipping a week here and there with “Hooks ‘N’ You,” since he knows how much I have to do for Bullz-Eye. Thing is, I enjoy writing this column for the same reason all of us here at Popdose offer our contributions to the site: not because we have to, but because we want to. It’s one big ol’ labor of love, folks. Plus, really, where else on the ‘net could I have the flexibility to write a column that spotlights albums ranging from George Burns to Kylie Minogue?

What it’s also given me, however, is the opportunity to have conversations with several of the artists whose records have provided me with a lot of great spins over the years. I realize that the beauty of having a regular column on a website is that people can just click on the appropriate tag and pull up every single one of your previous works, but when I looked back myself, I realized that A) I’ve talked to a lot of great artists since kicking off this column in January ‘08, and B) even *I* got bored clicking through a year’s worth of columns. So for your easy access, here’s a quick list of the folks who were kind enough to talk with me either by phone or E-mail for “Hooks ‘N’ You” in 2008:

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When Kyle Vincent released his eponymous album on Hollywood Records in 1997, it looked for all the world that, after spending over a decade on a quest to earn himself a Billboard Top 100 hit, he was about to bring a dream to fruition. Unfortunately, that did not prove to be the case, but he made enough of an impact with the album’s single, “Wake Me Up (When The World’s Worth Waking Up For),” to show up on the radar of quite a few pop fans…including me. (Like you didn’t see that revelation coming up Main Street.)

Although Vincent’s stint on Hollywood Records only lasted for that one record, he didn’t let any moss grow under his feet. Indeed, he’d returned to the studio even before Hollywood went through the corporate restructuring that would cost both he and virtually every other artist on the label their deals. In the end, he released the follow-up to Kyle Vincent on his own label, SongTree Records, but it featured just as much gloss and sparkle as anything released on the majors that year.

Sadly, the sound of Wow & Flutter was a far cry from what the cool kids of the world were listening to in 1999. Their mothers, however, would’ve loved it…if only they’d had ample opportunity to hear it.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve often found myself listening to a song and thought, “My mom would like this,” and when I do so, I’m not thinking it in a sneering, disparaging way. On a Mother’s Day many moons ago, I made my mother a mix tape called A Little Bit of Mom Music, If You Please, and I filled it with songs by They Might Be Giants, The Beautiful South, the Cure, the Smiths, Captain Sensible, 10,000 Maniacs, the Blue Nile, and probably a dozen other artists…and she loved it. I think she played in the car until they finally upgraded from a cassette player to a CD player, in fact. Just because your parents might listen to music that you can’t readily defend in a court of cool - my mother’s love of Anne Murray is one which I’ve never personally been able to embrace - doesn’t mean that they can’t appreciate some of the tunes you’re grooving to, and Wow & Flutter is definitely a record that multiple generations can appreciate.

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Pop rules.

I mean, it must. If it didn’t, would David Bash sign all of his E-mails with that phrase?

Actually, he probably would.

There are few individuals out there who’ve done quite so much in recent years to keep the genre of power pop in the public eye (and ear) than Mr. Bash, otherwise known as the founder of the pop musical festival known as International Pop Overthrow. As I type this sentence, the 2008 Los Angeles festival has come to a conclusion…and if this was 11 years ago, then David would be breathing a sigh of relief and relaxing for a couple of days before starting the planning on the 2009 festival. Nowadays, however, I have a suspicion that the guy doesn’t even take time to breathe…and how can he? The San Francisco leg of IPO begins tomorrow and continues through the 16th. The Portland stop of IPO - the first time the festival has ever traveled to Oregon - will occur from Aug. 20th - 23rd, and then it’s up to Vancouver from Aug. 26th - 30th.

A long time ago, in a lifetime far, far away (i.e. before I was married and had a lovely daughter), I attended the 3rd annual IPO in Los Angeles, where I absorbed way too many pop hooks than could possibly have been good for me, but I walked away with an experience that I’ve wanted to duplicate ever since. In this one year alone, I was witness to performances by Starbelly, Doug Powell, The Shazam, Myracle Brah, Martin Luther Lennon, the Mockers, the Rubinoos, Cockeyed Ghost, Kyle Vincent, Kara’s Flowers, Michael Carpenter, Blue Cartoon, and Phantom Planet…and that’s only to name, like, a tenth of the artists I saw. I wouldn’t pretend to claim that every line-up since ‘99 has ranked up there with that one (indeed, from what I’ve seen, some have been even better), but it certainly left this pop fan in awe…and if you’ve experienced IPO for yourself, don’t be afraid to cite some of your own favorite memories in the comments section.

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