my power pop addiction, no. 104 (176)

Part of me thinks Material Issue is a mere eyelash away from being the Goo Goo Dolls, and that's not really a good thing to be in my world. But if I leave my preconceived notions aside and take in their music on its own terms, then I have to admit, perhaps somewhat grudgingly, that they have their moments. I give them credit for having been an unwavering power pop band in the era of the grunge monolith. I also can't easily dismiss a band produced by Shoes' Jeff Murphy, whose calling card will always command my attention. It's funny how the 90s seem so distant all of a sudden, and yet it was all only yesterday, wasn't it? The first time I ever heard Material Issue was in the Virgin Megastore at the corner of Sunset and Crescent Heights. I bought International Pop Overthrow that day...and then brought it into Rockaway Records on Glendale Blvd a few days later for trade, pennies on the dollar. They just didn't do it for me at the time. Part of it might have been that I'm resistant to trios. I know this doesn't really matter in a studio context because you can just mix in the second guitar, but conceptually I like thinking about two guitarists working in concert, and it's hard to do that when you know the band is a trio. And not to speak ill of the dead, but it's also been hard for me at times to warm to Jeff Ellison's voice, particularly when he slips into his affected, kinda-sorta faux English accent. I can take this sorta thing with some guys (Emitt Rhodes, Michael Quercio) more than others (Billie Joe Armstrong). Whatever. These are just some of my weird music hang ups. I've mellowed as I've gotten older and I've grown to appreciate a handful of Material Issue songs over the years, including tonight's song, which makes me think of American Psycho, Paula Jones, Paul Tsongas, The Player, Kirby Puckett, Shannen Doherty, Dan and Anne's wedding, Freddie Mercury, Anita Hill, Serbs and Croats, Reginald Denny, Arsenio Hall, Arthur Lee live at Raji's, my dingbat apartment on Barry Ave, Matthew Sweet, gas for $1.25 a gallon, Mao II, Gen X, Quentin Tarantino, American Gladiator...