20/20 - Look Out!
#197
May 1981
20/20
Look Out!
Genre: Power Pop
3.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Nuclear Boy
Out of My Head
Life in the U.S.A.
The number of words that have been spilled about a guitar driven rock sound that gets pounded into submission and disappears for the next, new thing. I mean, remember, Grunge killed hair metal?
But Power Pop just killed itself. Because, after the success of The Knack, every single axe slinger who could put together a V-C-V-C-B-IV-C song slapped on a skinny tie and found a killer bassist and tight drummer and went to town.
By 1981 it appears that was over. But there are some stragglers and for them, I am grateful.
This is one of those records.
Thing is, you jangle this shit up a bit and add some paisley pop or southern twang and you end up with REM and the like. Look, I know that I am biased. I love this kind of music. It’s pure joy to me. When it’s done well I just wanna bask in it. I’m not gonna apologize for that.
In the case of this 20/20 record, I don’t need to. It’s a perfectly fine example of a form that is burning itself out.
Could “Out of My Head” sound more like a Beatles track if it was written by Todd Rundgren? Nope. It could have fallen off Deface the Music.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/look-out-expanded-edition/848170057
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