my power pop addiction, no. 103 (175)

There’s a much punchier rendition of tonight’s song available on the Yellow Pills compilation, but this one will have to suffice. Whenever it’s popped up on my iPod in the past, I’ve gotten a hankering to explore the Rubinoos in more depth. But I’ve always forgotten to do so until last night, when my army of research interns informed me that the song, as well as the album on which it appears, Party of Two (1983), features all the guys from Utopia as players and is produced by Todd Rundgren. You learn something new every day! I can’t speak for the rest of the record yet, but I love the song even in its inferior incarnation. It has a very distinct late 70s/early 80s sit com vibe. Think Three’s Company meets Eight is Enough meets One Day at a Time. And then maybe throw in a little John Hughes teen-o-rama for good measure. The feel is similar to other New Wavey power pop of the same period, like the stuff you get with the Records, 20/20, Rick Springfield, and Phil Seymour. Rundgren keeps the song’s footprint nice and light, which I love, but still manages to insert an ever-so-slight edge into the music. It’s really very catchy and actually sounds like an attempt to make a single for the charts. Play it once and you’ll be singing it to yourself all day long. I especially dig the way the band captures teenage romantic fixation so perfectly. The girl / That’s all my mind is on / The girl / That’s all I ever want / The girl / So glad I got / The girl, the girl, the girl, the girl, the girl… Yup, you guys nailed it.