The Pointed Sticks: Xmas Time Again/Power-Pop Santa single

This was offered as a free download on the Pointed Sticks site a while back. What we've got here is two new-ish (2008?) P.S. tracks, which really wave the power-pop flag without getting all wussy about it! The lyrics to "Power-Pop Santa" are both clever and pretty in-jokey ("And the Methadones get whatever Santa brings them") while the tune is sure to dance in your head like visions of sugar plums. "Xmas Time Again" is similarly sweet and has more of a Spector-ish feel.








Merry Christmas (or whatever!), see you guys on Boxing day!

If you've only joined us this year, or are suffering from premature memory loss, please re-vist MRML's Holiday Hang-Over songs HERE.

Let us know what you think of this Pointed Sticks Christmas gift in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Xmas Time Again/Power-Pop Santa single link)

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The Pointed Sticks: Stiff Sessions (1979)

England's Stiff Records (more HERE) was likely the defining indie label of the original punk era and the first Canadian band they signed was Vancouver's The Pointed Sticks . The band who began as Ernie Dick and the Pointed Sticks, after a Monty Python sketch, represented the power-pop side of Vancouver fertile (and febrile!) punk scene. (Note how this part of the 'White Noise Tour' combined the heavier, the artier and the poppier sides of the scene.)

While The Pointed Sticks went from Vancouver indie, Quintessence to London's Stiff Records and then back to Quintessence before breaking up, there's is still a triumphant story. After all, unlike a thousand great-but-unfulfilled bands of their time, their three-minute melodies survived and spread around the globe. For instance my first encounter with the band was actually the Fastbacks (more HERE) cover of "Apologies". As well, the band's legacy was burnished by their Japanese cult following which led to a tour, a single and an album and more to come...

This unreleased Stiff album, briefly released overseas in 2008 but now seemingly unavailable, done with Police producer Nigel Gray is a great addition to your PS collection but really is only meant to supplement the old and new stuff available in the links below.

(To read an interview with Nick Jone that covers these sessions visit Dave over at Revolution Rock.)

Let us know what you think of the world of the Pointed Sticks in the COMMENTS section (which is where you'll find the Stiff Sessions link)

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