160gigblog is moving house. For a variety of reasons it feels better to have a new home at a domain not controlled by Google. So new posts will be at  https://160gigblog.com  There's a new logo, in fact two of them, which you can see below. Content will change and feature more reviews... please follow me to the new place. The existing site will stay up for a while but all the old posts are now at the new address as well ..read more

 I was of the generation who watched all the girls in school drape themselves in tartan and swoon to the sounds of The Bay City Rollers, I of course, sneered along with the rest of the guys at the total tat that they represented. With Les McKeown's passing at 65 time to own up. They were OK... At least they were no worse than many of their contemporaries. A bit of glam, a bit of leftover 60s pop, and the first twinkle of the sort of new wave and power pop that hit the charts about 1978.  Rollers rehab started for me with the first edition of John Borack's "Shake Some Action". While ..read more

 Following my look at the Power Pop scene last week, here are a few more gems that have come to my attention. Inky Nite - The Canyon Parts of this sounds for all the world like the start of The Smiths ‘Hand in Glove’. Not that that is a bad thing, and the whole jangly guitar 80s feel works for me. There is a universe where this song is number one. Bits of Lloyd Cole, and lots of Bananarama. This can go on the get set for Summer playlist. Follow Inky Nite here.  Not on Bandcamp, but you can find them on Spotify here. Macca Taylor - How It Goes A far more 60s vibe. A nice up-tempo gr ..read more

 No matter how hard they try some musical sub genres remain firmly under the radar. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a fan base ready to hoover up every morsel offered to them. Back in 1997 John M Borack published ‘Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide’. Described as “the definitive overview of all things jangly, harmony-drenched and rock” it sold out at least 2 print runs, and last year an updated version appeared. I bought the original back in the days when postage form the USA wasn’t wallet freezingly expensive, and really wish I’d had the cash to buy the new one, but… 60s a ..read more

Over at Americana UK we have just completed the official, as voted for by the "experts" best Americana albums ever. So now we are asking the audience, better known as the real experts.  Vote for your 3 favourite albums HERE, and if you don't know what is classed as Americana then have a read round the site while you are there.   ..read more

 So last month it was mostly about 80s influenced synth pop. This time we have drifted away both in musical styles and geography. There's Hillary Anne from Côte d'Ivoire, with a distinctively African take on current pop, and Turhan James from Karachi Pakistan. Adeline's Whsiper My Name opens with a sublime guitar lick, and is as good apiece of retro soul as you will find. Another great playlist, if I do say so myself, enjoy... Find all the artists featured at their Socials and follow them on Spotify...  Hillary Anne   Low Girl   Rosehip   Lucy Dreams&nbs ..read more

  A cracking new video from a Bristol girl. Olivia Rose filmed her video in a couple of local locations, and it's as good a piece of modern R&B influenced pop as you will hear. My 22 year old daughter has been playing this on repeat since I showed it to her. Better than most of the charts...  Find her other music on Soundcloud ..read more

 Over at Americana UK the search for the top 10 best Americana albums ever is reaching its climax. All the writers have submitted their opinions, and now the final list is being counted down. Some interesting albums have emerged from the lists, and the top 10 as published so far has at least two that I wouldn't have seen coming.  Find all the top 10s here, as I write this we are at number 7 so check back over the next few days to see who makes the top slots... In case you care my list, which may turn out to be a bit of a minority report, is here.  And here's a soundtrack for you ..read more

Having spent the week listening the artists who have submitted songs to Musosoup, I've learnt something I knew already, that there is so much fab new music about that we can safely live without the harsher end of the music biz. I also discovered something I didn't know; that 80s style synth pop, synthwave or whatever you want to call it is back with a bang.  I'm not sure what I expected to find by way of genres but this is music you can make in your bedroom so it makes sense that as bands struggle to get together that this would be the music of lockdown.  Find all the artists featur ..read more

  So, time has come to put my metaphorical money where my keyboard is, so to speak. Having spent a lot of time complaining about the iniquities of the music biz and its treatment of artists I've found something practical to do to fight back. I've been talking to Chris Sharpe, founder of Musosoup this week. His plan is to level the playing field for artists, and in a new twist in the plot for those who for the most part write and promote them for free. The truth is that most music writing is done without payment, including magazines you can buy on the shelves at W.H. Smiths.  I've ta ..read more