Johnathan Pushkar/MiniSuperHeroesToday

Let's Get Small (Ant-Man LEGO Stop Motion Music Video)

Jem Records

This video is so much fun, both to watch and to listen to. LEGOs have come a long way since I built things with them as a kid, when LEGOs were new, and to see them today, there was no way I could’ve dreamed of this when I was young. The song is really good power pop theme music that goes with the action perfectly.

Superheroes get the bad guys, which is what happens in this stop motion animated video by JoMotion Studios. Recommended for people young and old who like LEGOs, superheroes, good music, and just having fun, which never gets old.

Andrea Weiss

 I was introduced to The Plus 4 with their single “You Look Right Through Me,” which is a wonderful, mid 60s pop sound. Now comes “It’s A Mystery,” a cover of the Toyah Willcox song. The cover is very different from the original, and very good.

The band was kind enough to answer a few questions. So who are these guys? It's a mystery!

Andrea Weiss: How did the band form?

Plus 4: The Plus 4 came about as a reaction to the way that music seems to have become secondary to image and celebrity. We’ve made a conscious decision to try to remain anonymous and just let the music speak for itself.

AW: Who are your influences?

P4: Any good songs with strong melodies, harmonies and interesting arrangements! Our ears seem to be drawn to the music of bands beginning with ‘B’: The Beatles, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Big Star, Bacharach…

AW: Will your two singles “It’s A Mystery” and “You Look Right Through Me” be on an upcoming album?

P4: We think so. We’re working up the album as we go. “It’s A Mystery” is actually our third single. We kicked off the year with “Resolution (Happy New Year)” because we didn’t feel there were enough New Year songs. So we already have those three songs short-listed as album contenders

AW: What is “It’s A Mystery” about?

P4: It’s a mystery! Good question: we didn’t write the lyrics for this  - it’s a cover version - so we’re not sure what the original songwriter had in mind when he wrote it but the title appealed to us as it seemed to fit with what we’re about and we immediately heard a new and very different way to arrange it. Who knows? We might introduce a few Toyah fans to our music off the back of it!

AW: Do you plan to release more singles?

P4: Yes. We’ll continue to release regular singles while we’re writing the album, keeping about half the tracks up our sleeves for the album release.

 The Plus 4

It’s A Mystery (Single)

Self-Released

This is a cover of a Toyah Willcox song, which is very different. I like this cover much more than the original. Toyah’s version is very early 80s new wave. This sounds more like 60s guitar rock. I like the idea of making this cover Hollies-like, jangly, and tougher, not as cute as the original. So if you want to hear a good cover, or just like the 60s better than new wave, check this song out.

Andrea Weiss

 I first caught onto the Spongetones in the mid 1980s, through Jamie Hoover’s work with Don Dixon and Marti Jones, of whom I was a fan. I never looked back. Spongetones guitarist Steve Stoeckel’s solo album The Power Of And is a nice surprise, and a very good album indeed.

Steve was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: The Power Of And sounds so different from the Spongetones. How much of the new sound did you have in mind at the outset?

Steve Stoeckel: The Spongetones sound (a mixture of influences from The Beatles, Kinks, Who, Hollies, and other British Invasion groups plus a few 70’s and later bands) is, like those bands, a part of my DNA after this many years. That’s where I got my songwriting experience. With this solo album I deliberately went for new sounds (for me): some Celtic things (“The Emerald Sea”); a male/female duet “Why” with Irene Pena, something really new for me, kind of an Ian & Sylvia/Searchers thing; “Whistling Past Graveyards,” heavy rocker with weird chord changes. The Spongetones-like tune I put in (“Mod Girl” could have been a Spongetones song, which is why the rest of the Spongetones are on that with me) is a nod to those days.That said, in the end, I just write a lot and choose which songs I’d want on the record, without thinking about styles so much.

AW: A lot of these songs seem to be folk or folk/rock based, which I like. Is that another way you wanted to make this album different? 

SS: Ah, you spotted that. I started as a folkie before the Beatles: Peter, Paul and Mary, Kingston Trio,The Weavers, Dylan. I love folk music, and when folk rock hit I was ecstatic. This is another direction the Spongetones didn’t explore, and yes I really wanted to do this.

AW: A lot of the endings are abrupt, as in sudden fade-outs. Did the songs just seem to end that way naturally, or did you want surprise endings?

SS: Ah yes, intros and endings. First, you may have noticed most of these songs are short, many less than 3 minutes. I usually don’t like long intros and outros. I tried to paint a story or mood quickly, let the song say what it needs to, and move on. The process, start to end, is hard to describe. I like short forms in general. Haiku, for example.

AW: I like the cover. Who did the artwork?

SS: That’s a combination of Michael Slawter (the layout) and Issa Ibrahim, an artist friend whose paintings are on the front, back and inside. I’ve used both on Spongetones covers and on other projects I’ve had. They’re very talented, and both are musicians, which helps. I send them the songs and let the tunes guide them. They never fail me. Thanks for noticing!

AW:“The Monsters Under My Bed” is a great and sweet song about childhood and adulthood. Where did the idea come from?

SS: One of my favorites, thanks. I have never lost touch with my childhood. It’s provided me with so many songs and stories. When I first read Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are to my kids, I was stunned. The writing, the artwork touched me deeply. I still have that book. I also have all of Shel Silverstein’s poems--another man who completely understands.

AW: “Whistling Past Graveyards” seems to be political. Is it?

SS: Now there is an interesting question. First, the answer is “yes,” very much so. Though I’m a very political person and have written things in the past (I was a newspaper columnist for a bit), I’m a bit wary of putting too much politics/protest into my songs, which are mostly about other things. There’s a risk of turning away listeners, but after this many years, I’m turning loose of that a bit. The presidency of 45 nearly brought my country down, and the song is about him, no apologies. I’m no longer concerned about whom I might piss off in my posts or my songwriting. It’s my music.

AW: Are you planning to tour?

SS: Another good question. I’m retired from my day gig (music electronics repair) and spend most of my time recording music here in my studio. The guest musicians who are on my CD would make a great band, but the thought of hitting the road doesn’t appeal so much. I may do gigs around Charlotte. And ironically (I said I wasn’t touring) I’m putting a band together to go to Liverpool this summer to play at the IPO Festivals at The Cavern Club. I could not turn that down.

AW: And what are the Spongetones up to?

SS: Coincidentally, we are playing live again, locally. Two gigs in Charlotte nightclubs, March and May. No recording plans, but I’ll definitely be using them on my next solo CD.

 Steve Stoeckel 

The Power Of And

Big Stir Records

The guitarist from the Spongetones' first solo album is much more folk/rock than the band and as good as anything he’s ever done with them. Thoughtful lyrics, and good playing from him and those who guest on the album, make a nice album for quiet times.

Every song has something to recommend it, but a few deserve extra mention. “Laura Lynn” is a fast-paced look at unrequited love. “Mod Girl” is a rocker about an odd couple encounter that really did happen to Steve. “Whistling Past Graveyards” is a political song. “The Monsters Under My Bed” is a bittersweet tribute to Maurice Sendak, childhood, and growing up. “Skippy’s Parade” is an instrumental, and “Hummingbird” is about an encounter with one that really did happen.

This album is good to think to, and it’s nice to see him step out from the long- running North Carolina band and make something this fun, sweet, and contemplative.

Andrea Weiss

 Popsicko

Ashtray Mouth/Same Old Me (Single)

Big Stir Records

This Santa  Barbara, CA band made only one album, in 1994. These are the singles from the upcoming album re-release.

Both songs are reminiscent of Nirvana, but “Ashtray Mouth” also sounds like Weezer, and “Same Old Me” sounds like Green Day. They’re really good, and hint at what might have been if their frontman Keith Brown hadn’t died in a car crash in late 1995.

If, like me, you like the thought of Nirvana and the other bands in a power pop context, then these singles should appeal to you. The full length album will be out in the spring.

Andrea Weiss

 Super 8 Featuring Lisa Mychols

On The Radio (Single)

Self Released

Imagine if the Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll” was very soulful, like something that could’ve been released on Stax. That’s what’s so fun and good about this song, imagining that. If you can imagine it too, pick up this single and have a lot of fun with it.

Andrea Weiss