POP TRASH is the 2nd album in "The Demos Have Magic" series:
JOURNEY BACK WITH US TO THE "NEW SOUND" OF THE 80s.... to the dawn of the MXR drum machine with the BIG sounding pads; to the age of the Tascam Portastudio where homemade song demos and gloriously cheezy production ruled the songwriter's world. But not the Cheez Wizz or Velveeta kind of cheezy, more like a nice smoked gruyere. Welcome to Pop Trash...
Way back when, beginning in 1984, Rex Fowler of folk/rock duo Aztec Two-Step fame and renowned producer/composer Jayne Olderman, collaborated on a bevy of catchy pop tunes. Feeding off of each other's musical strengths, they broke the boundaries of their established genres and created songs they would never have written on their own. This unlikely duo celebrates the release of their 10-song collection called Pop Trash – a phrase Rex affectionately gave their music just after finishing their very first collaboration, Be The One.
In their signature song and first video Digidelay (The Enviro Mental Song), a sly homage to our endangered environment, Pop Trash mixes the zaniness of the B-52s on a breakneck roller coaster ride out to Pluto and back with that quirky "how did I get here" vibe of the Talking Heads. Love unrequited reigns in Anna, I Wish You Were Mine and Please Accept My Love while their edgier songs Stranger In Your Eyes and Don't Let This Be The End are softened by a smidge of sweetness reminiscent of The Bangles.
A sprinkling of Norman Rockwell nostalgia is added with Jane (as well as "Petticoat" the single sung by Mary Rene Quarles); followed by Sail Away (To America), a poignant depiction of immigrants arriving with high hopes and big dreams, reminiscent of a steamship pulling into Ellis Island in the early 1900s.
The grand finale, What Would The Indians Say, speaks to the cruel and unnecessary chemical testing on "earth's little creatures," slavery to greed-gotten money, and cleaning up this mess, for Goodness sake, by leaving Mother Earth as she was when the First People, the Native Americans, lived on and revered the land.
Rex and Jayne invite the listener to drive with it, vibe with it and even dance to a few. Some may stir your soul. So kick back, relax & enjoy the ride.
Pop Trash, bringing "cheezy" back in a "groovy" kind of way!
Fascinating factoid: recognize the voice of Pop Trash? Not only is Rex the lead singer of Aztec Two-Step, but, his song and vocals are sampled and featured on Bob Sinclar's "Cinderella (She Said Her Name)”.
Click on either picture to watch the video and hear the song!!
14 year old Mary Rene Quarles inhabits the character in the song "Petticoat" with her authentic vocal delivery and video presence. "Petticoat" is a quirky throw back to a post World War II, Norman Rockwell era. The story takes place in small town America back in the day of Woolworths, Petticoats and going to "the Social".
The album cover is inspired by Norman Rockwell's iconic painting "Girl At The Mirror" which so meaningfully captured that age of innocence embodied in the song "Petticoat".
"Petticoat" is part of the Pop Trash catalog, but, since it is meant to be sung by a little girl, Rex and Jayne knew that this was a song tailor-made for one very special girl: Mary Rene Quarles.
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September 14, 2016 Artie Martello's Mostly Folk interview with Rex and Jayne
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"RESTLESS HEART" Our 2024 release from the 1980s!
Like the songs on our POP TRASH album of 2016; this song is painstakingly extracted from an old cassette then lovingly triple washed for your protection, revived and resuscitated (after all, it IS a heart!) and is now as frisky as a spry 75 year old dancing to salsa music on a Saturday night (say, 7ish) and available for your enjoyment!
Click on pic to listen