Good Morning!
Today we’re listening to “Valerie Loves Me” by Material Issue
On the title track to Material Issue’s 1991 International Pop Overthrow album, singer Jim Ellison says, “I was ridin' around with the radio up and the windows down.”
Most of the record is designed to be played that way, and “Valerie Loves Me” is no exception. With its poppy hooks and a chorus that is a blitz of swirling guitars and a simple shout of “Valerie Loves Me!” It’s paired best with a lazy drive to nowhere on a nice day or on the way to the club.
Power pop might be having a moment in 2023, but in 1991 it was grunge casting a long shadow over most other genres. But it takes a long time for trends to reach the Midwest-even Chicago- and a lot of area bands never got the message. Material Issue wasn’t trying to make the next Nevermind; they just wanted to sing about girls (in addition to “Valerie,” there are also “Diane" and "Renee Remains the Same”), so they did.
The result is compact hooky tracks that tempt you into blowing your speakers.
The Power Pop tent is big, with bands like Big star on one side and harder-sounding bands on the other. Having Jeff Murphy, lead singer/frontman of Shoes producing the record helped them split that difference and make a sound all their own.
International Pop Overthrow made it to #86 on the charts and, to date, has sold about 300,000 copies. Not bad for an album their label thought might do about a quarter of that.
Other bands from the same era have sold many more and gone on to have much longer careers, of course, but no one made a record-or song- like this.
And Pearl Jam never had a festival named after one of their records…
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Songs like the opening number “Valerie Loves Me” display a deft balance of crunch, bounce and melody. Ted Ansani’s thick, assured bass lines and Mike Zelenko’s powerful, precise drumming provide the thundering backbeat on songs like “Chance of a Lifetime.” And while Material Issue’s sonic delivery bears some similarities to fellow Midwesterners Cheap Trick (Ansani’s even pictured on the album cover sporting an eight-string bass), Ellison’s playfully affected faux-British vocalizing gives the trio a distinctive sound all its own.
Click here to read the full review of International Pop Overthrow.
Listen:
“Valerie Loves Me” by Material Issue| International Pop Overthrow, 1991
Click the record to listen on the platform of your choice.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this track!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
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I am enjoying Valerie Loves Me, on more ways than one. Yesterday was Valentines Day, a contrived celebration of love to generate sales of cards and flowers. I gave a card with flowers on it to the love of my life, Valerie. On the 22 day of the 2nd month of 1992, at 2:22 I married Valerie. Apart from all that love I quite enjoyed Material Issue and will have to spend some time finding out more about them and their music.
"Power pop might be having a moment in 2023"--From your lips to Todd's ears! Or, Eric Carmen's, for that matter! Great observation, Kevin, and you might be right (I should live so long, I'm used to thinking....about power pop having any really TRUE moment)!! But, even if it does, I'd shudder that it would just be grabbed by the money-makers, and they'd bastardize it like has been done so many times before with "big moments" (see disco, punk, Urban Cowboy craze, even grunge)!
I was actually turned on to MI by one of my dutiful youthers...one of the teens (when I was a professional SoCal youth minister late-'80s/early-'90s) probably played "Valerie" for me.
I had "trained" them to "be on the lookout" for new sounds, and they loved me sharing all my Tull/Genesis/classic rock and power pop with them from my '70s/'80s record biz/collecting days! It was kinda like we do here...."hey, have you heard THIS?", just without the computer connection! Great times (and lads) they were!
Meanwhile, I might slap your brilliant line I quoted at the top onto a t-shirt!!😉👍