Love Songs

A few years ago I heard about a band called Minky Starshine & the New Cardinals. You guessed it: I was intrigued by the male lead singer's voice... So, I got the album, enjoyed the music but never really found a good way to approach it. There were after all perhaps too many songs on the album: sixteen in total. Since then Starshine has gone solo.

It took a few more years and a second album to get a hold of Starshine. I slowly began to like the second album Unidentified Hit Record more and more... And I still enjoy it a little bit more each time I hear it. This album has definitely become a classic for me.

What is not to like here? The general production is awesome. There are fantastic drums and guitar, sax, cool piano, harpsichord, even strings, generally very energetic playing. Ken Stringfellow and Mike Musburger play (Ken also sings) on this album which certainly adds some familiar elements to the mix. And of course, Minky's vocals are fantastic.

This is pretty much a love song album. Love shows its bittersweetness and uplifting sides, misery and happiness as the usual counterparts. There are many moments that are just plain beautiful, and other parts are often dominated by a more complicated bittersweetness, that certain feel that isn't all happy or all sad, instead both at the same time.

You could say that Minky likes to use a certain type of hooks a bit too many times on the same album. Now that I have listened to the album probably more than twenty times, I just can't blame Starshine for using such great hooks. Everything comes together like a dream. It is not perfect, but not being perfect is an essential part of making humane music. And even though I don't cherish every song on this album equally much, it is just how the things usually are. If I have to mention a few favorites, I will give you Bitter End, Paper Rain, and of course Brand New.

Yeah, I know I am still one album behind because a third Minky Starshine album (Womanity, 2012) has already been released. I will check it out more carefully when I think it is time. There is also still the first album to explore more deeply.

Good to Me (video)

Minky Starshine website

The Posies Live = Euphoria!

To see the Posies full-band gig again... To see a new Posies album was another thing that seemed unlikely to me mainly because it took quite a few years for it to be released. Well, obviously I hadn't been following the news too carefully because everyone else seemed to know about the album before me. So, the news came, the album was released and I went running to the record store. Blood/Candy is a superb album, definitely an improvement after the 2005 album Every Kind of Light. Soon it was time for a new Posies gig! I chose Turku due to the possibility of also seeing some friends there. The same day Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow even played an acoustic set in 8raita record store, which I of course went to see. It was magnificent – those gorgeous harmonies can be heard so much easier without all the other instruments.

The lasttime the Posies visited Finland was in autumn 2007, if I remember correctly, but Jon and Ken didn't bring their rhythm section with them that time. The first time I saw the entire nowadays version of the Posies was in November 2005. At that time I hadn't seen a lot of gigs (by any band) yet, and the Posies definitely gave me some real shock therapy! I still remember it as the craziest, wildest, loveliest, as well as loudest gig I have ever seen. Excellent work, guys! That is how I would summarize that show now.

This time Jon and Ken were a bit more calm... But they rocked and rolled nevertheless! Jon, Ken, Darius (Minwalla), and Matt (Harris) played a solid show presenting almost every possible Posies classic, including some excellent rarities, and most of the songs on the new album. As always, lots of incomplete cover versions were also played. This time the band seemed to get kicks out of The Who's material.. Gosh, they could play excellent the Who tribute gigs anytime!

I tend to enjoy Jon Auer's voice a bit more than Ken Stringfellow's but that composition always gets reversed in live situations. Ken's voice is better suited for hard-rocking live performances and his presence is more energetic. Jon Auer surely is charming as well and his angelic voice and intriguing stage personality could never go unnoticed. Together Jon and Ken are invincible.

Thank you so much guys and welcome back anytime!

Acoustic live in 8raita record store:

She's Coming Down Again!

So Caroline

The Posies at MySpace

The Posies website

The Posies Live = Euphoria!

To see the Posies full-band gig again... To see a new Posies album was another thing that seemed unlikely to me mainly because it took quite a few years for it to be released. Well, obviously I hadn't been following the news too carefully because everyone else seemed to know about the album before me. So, the news came, the album was released and I went running to the record store. Blood/Candy is a superb album, definitely an improvement after the 2005 album Every Kind of Light. Soon it was time for a new Posies gig! I chose Turku due to the possibility of also seeing some friends there. The same day (October 26th) Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow even played an acoustic set in 8raita record store, which I of course went to see. It was magnificent – those gorgeous vocal harmonies can be heard so much easier without all the other instruments.

The last time the Posies visited Finland was in autumn 2007, if I remember correctly, but Jon and Ken didn't bring their rhythm section with them that time. The first time I saw the entire nowadays version of the Posies was in November 2005. At that time I hadn't seen a lot of gigs (by any band) yet, and the Posies definitely gave me some real shock therapy! I still remember it as the craziest, wildest, loveliest, as well as loudest gig I have ever seen. Excellent work, guys! That is how I would summarize that show now.

This time Jon and Ken were a bit more calm... But they rocked and rolled nevertheless! Jon, Ken, Darius (Minwalla), and Matt (Harris) played a solid show presenting almost every possible Posies classic, including some excellent rarities, and most of the songs on the new album. As always, lots of incomplete cover versions were also played. This time the band seemed to get kicks out of The Who's material.. Gosh, they could play excellent the Who tribute gigs anytime!


I tend to enjoy Jon Auer's voice a bit more than Ken Stringfellow's but that composition always gets reversed in live situations. Ken's voice is better suited for hard-rocking live performances and his presence is also more energetic. Jon Auer surely is charming as well and his angelic voice and intriguing stage personality could never go unnoticed. Together Jon and Ken are invincible.

Thank you so much guys and welcome back anytime!

Acoustic live in 8raita (filmed by me):

She's Coming Down Again!

So Caroline

The Posies at MySpace

The Posies website

Hypnotized by Ken

Today is the one week anniversary of my first The Disciplines gig. It’s definitely not very rewarding being a Finnish fan of numerous American power pop/pop/indie rock bands when you look at how often they play gigs in Finland. However, sometimes we Finns get pampered big time. Nowadays, Jon Auer or Ken Stringfellow or both, visit Finland almost every year. They seem to have quite many fans in this country – the biggest live audiences in the entire world, I’ve heard!

The latest turn in The Posies story was Ken Stringfellow starting a band called The Disciplines with Norwegian musicians who had played in a band called Briskeby. Well.. Norway, that’s geographically very near to Finland! Norwegian-American The Disciplines already played in Helsinki a couple of years ago, and now, in January 2009, it was time for a three-gig Finnish tour that also included shows in Turku and Tampere.

I really can’t complain. Seeing a power pop god like Ken Stringfellow perform in my hometown, 5 kilometres from my home is absolutely cool. Also, Stringfellow is the most enthusiastic and devoted live performer you could ever imagine. At Klubi his performance was filled with wild energy, quite sensual dance moves, and inventive activities that he used to make the audience participate. Ken ran singing around the venue while the audience got tangled in his very long microphone wire.. He encouraged everyone to jump up and down with him, and some people got a chance to sing a bit of lead vocals. Ken also hypnotized the entire audience. That was the most unusual gig moment ever but it surely was great fun! The encore was AC/DC’s Highway to Hell with Ken’s own made-up lyrics (“I’m going down to Tampere!”). It was an unforgettable gig. Feedback from other people who had witnessed the gig included stuff like “the best gig I’d ever seen”..

After the gig I got a chance to purchase Smoking Kills (2008), The Disciplines’ first album, from Stringfellow himself. It’s a good modern rock album – melodic like you could expect from Ken. And of course there are some power pop songs, too.

Extra points go to Finnish warm-up act Agent Kooper who come from Turku. Their 70s retro-rock sounded great. This was the 2,33th time I saw them, and it was definitely the best gig so far. They performed some new songs too. Those songs were quite epic!

The Disciplines at MySpace
Agent Kooper at MySpace

Candy in the Sun

Swirl 360 is one interesting band. Originally there were only two people in it, the founder brothers Kenny and Denny Scott. Later, the group expanded into a four-piece band, and in 2007 the band was renamed. They are now called Echo Jet.

I’ve recently found myself listening to Swirl 360’s debut album Ask Anybody (1998) quite often. The main reason is the fact that these 13 songs are damn catchy! Everything here is very solid. Singing is great, playing is great, songs are very good.

What is special about this Ask Anybody album is that many of the songs feature programmed drums, which is (as long as I’m aware) not often heard on powerpop albums. In fact, the whole of this album sounds very programmed, which could easily lead people to find this music largely over-produced. Actually, this is the first album in a long time that I’ve listened to that reminds me so much of Backstreet Boys–kind-of recordings… You know, I used to loooove Backstreet Boys when I was 12-13 years old. Actually, I still like them a bit, ‘cause it’s melodic music and their sweet love ballads are just fabulous.

The opening track of Ask Anybody, Candy in the Sun, is a very nice and energetic song. It gives summery vibes. I can’t name many specific favourites because I like all of these songs. The title track Ask Anybody, though, must be the catchiest song of all. It’s simply magnificent. Ken Stringfellow even co-wrote it.

Despite Swirl 360, I feel I’m drifting towards country music this evening… Right now I’m giving spins to The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons and The Byrds. We’ll see what this leads to…

Swirl 360 at MySpace
Echo Jet at MySpace