One of the last Carpenters singles from their final studio album. I find this sweet 'n perky song strangely compelling, since it shows Richard and Karen Carpenter awkwardly trying to adjust their wholesome image to an early '80s synth pop template. Karen's voice is so processed and overdubbed that she blends in seamlessly with the synth-heavy backup -- still, the effect isn't cheezy but full and lucious. Knowing that Karen was slowly dying during this time makes this tune odder still.

Truly fine. Sounds like the music that comes out of teenagers' radios in mid-'60s comedy films. Brilliantly brassy with an over-perky beat and twangy/tinny guitars.

A lovely little pop song, Jellypop perky Jean uses a standard Julian Cope trick - having a nice little repetitive musical phrase running in the background throughout the whole song. He then builds things up with a simple organ sound. The effect is very gentle and ambient and wonderful. At one point late in the song, Julian stunningly stops singing and starts talking. Here the real genius cuts through, and I start wondering why more people don't rant on about this guy as much as I do.

Belle Epoque (or La Belle Epoque as they were billed in the UK, presumably to further Francophy them) get shoved in that black hole of Eurodisco, based on the evidence of their perky 1977 cover of Black Is Black. Were I not a Eurodisco weirdo who is more than happy to delve into the careers of various sequin-chested nobodies I would never have learned the truth.

This song is as glam-rock as they come. The sound of Miss Broadway is that of a female Noddy Holder, complete with that talking-over-a-hairdryer voice. The orchestration is crunching and stomps all over the disco beat holding it all together.

In short: Silver Convention's older sisters who secretly like Wanda Jackson.

Perky British beat-era novelty hit with great Vic Flick-style twanging guitars and weezy organ. Somehow there's something very distinctive and appealing about the way the guitars sound on UK records before the Beatles. Sort of plonky-plonk deadpan with a slight electric fizz. Or does that just sound silly?

Great cover of a 60's pop classic originally done by the Grass Roots. Juliana Hatfield's voice barely registers at first, but once you adjust a bit to it..she completely pulls you in. "There's more baby..ok!"

Perky, pint-sized bossa chanteuse Claudette Soares scored big in the late 60s by following Wilson Simonal's stylistic lead into an irresistible mix of pop, samba, French ye-ye, boogaloo, soul and bossa. This is a perfect example of the strangely Isaac Hayes-influenced arrangements to be found on her 1969-70 "pop" LP trilogy, and another winner from the then-unstoppable Adolfo-Gaspar writing team.

The former Leslie Phillips once recorded songs sold in Christian supply stores, disguising (presumably) the moist, carnal, and otherwise unholy drives behind The Indescribable Wow, her first release on the in-retrospect-mildly-ironic Virgin label. At a time when those of us with unslaked appetites for well-crafted Beatlesque pop were having to suck it up and try to get into rap or grunge, The Indescribable Wow appeared like a shimmering beacon of joy. This track's music is as perky and sunny as the beginning of a summertime fling, while Phillips's yearning voice and cutting lyrics have the sad truthfulness of the ending of a summertime fling.