'Stache of Perfection: SD's Hall & Oates Top 5

 

For a great chunk of the ’70s and ’80s, blue-eyed-soulsters Daryl Hall and John Oates worked in pop perfection. Peerless in the art of pristine hooks, the Philly boys were downright Beatlesesque in conjuring a consistent effervescent magic. Everything this musical Mutt & Jeff touched was destined to get stuck in your brain pan. Their short, sweet songs may not have been deep, and Oates’ mustache might have been distracting, but it made for blissful radio. And wow, does it endure.

To promote their new 4-CD box set, the must-have Do What You Want, Be What You Are, the super duo appears in the latest ish of Entertainment Weekly. Hall provides a list of his “greatest songs”: She’s Gone, Sara Smile, Every Time You Go Away, You Make My Dreams and One on One. That’s a fine list...but I beg to differ. Here are Hall & Oates’ best songs — according to your man at Pop Life.

Wait for Me (1979) The brilliance of H&O can be found in small, crucial touches. Here’s it’s the bittersweetly escalating “La la”s that add candy-coated heartache.

Private Eyes (1981) Best use of synthetic handclaps ever!

Did It in a Minute (1981) Pure silly sing-along bliss.

I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) (1981) Most of the song is just average, but that harmonized bridge is their greatest moment as a duo. “I’ll do anything that you want me toooooo...”

Out of Touch (1984) There’s a small, twisted cult of us who understand the genius of the Big Bam Boom album. Join the club, won’t you?

Crave more Oates action? Listen to our great Stuck in the '80s interview with the man, the myth, the mustache RIGHT HERE.

Wolfmother, Weezer and a Whole Lotta Lambert: 10 cool fall album releases

As well as being Jerry Lee Lewis’ 74th birthday — go get ’em, Killer! — next Tuesday kickstarts what could be a very cha-chingy season of music sales. Mariah Carey, Madonna and Barbra Streisand all have new platters out on the same day, and much hullabaloo will be made about that. (Look for Mimi’s Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel to top Madge’s Celebration and Babs’ Love Is the Answer at the cash registers.)

I’m much more excited about other goodies on the fall schedule. So here you go, SD's Ten Most Intriguing Autumn Albums:

Miranda Lambert, Revolution (Sept. 29) First single Dead Flowers is way too tame for this crossbow-totin’ country gal. But here’s hoping Ran terrorizes a couple of exes before she’s done.

Karen O and the Kids, Where the Wild Things Are (Sept. 29) I have squishy feelings about Spike Jonze’s big-screen take on Sendak’s classic. But having the Yeah Yeah Yeahs bizarress — and Jonze’s gal pal — do the soundtrack is daring. “Let the wild rumpus start!”

Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart (Oct. 13) Zimmy’s late-career Bing Crosby fetish reaches its peak. Positively 34th Street?

Daryl Hall & John Oates, Do What You Want, Be What You Are (Oct. 13)  A 4CD set of Philly soul, FM bliss and final proof that Oates never should have shaved the ’stache.

Weezer, Raditude (Oct. 27) With the help of unlikely hip-hop pals Jermaine Dupri and Dr. Luke, awesomely unstable Rivers Cuomo continues his search for the perfect power-pop formula.

Wolfmother, Cosmic Egg (Oct. 27) After shedding his old mates, Aussie hairball Andrew Stockdale forges on with three dudes well-versed in heavy metal, Led Zep and puffy unicorn stickers.

Various Artists, Glee: The Music (Nov. 3) From Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ to Kanye West’s Gold Digger, Fox’s hit show about losers in tune takes pop hits and reinvents them with robust choral cheek. In a related note: Isn’t it time the great Jane Lynch won an Emmy?

Carrie Underwood, Play On (Nov. 3) True confession: I gave Underwood’s 2007 album Carnival Ride a D grade. Two years later, I have four songs from that disc on my iPod. I will never underestimate the Nashville nymph’s seductive powers again.

Norah Jones, The Fall (Nov. 17) With her opium-haze voice and toasty piano style, Miss Jones walks that tricky tightrope between lulling and numbing. The good news — well, for us at least — is that this one is a break-up special with angry guitar.

Adam Lambert, TBD (Nov. 24) In the new ish of Rolling Stone, there’s a wicked shot of  last year’s AI runner-up howling in the recording studio. Sweet! We want our Lamby to raise a hellhound ruckus on his debut disc. Bring the noise, baby!

Let's Get Guilty! What pop songs bring you great joy...in private, with the windows up?

For Sunday's Pop Life print column, I'm owning up to all the dirty lil' soft hits lurking in my iPod. Why, hello Seals & Crofts! I see you hiding, England Dan & John Ford Coley! You can't have Captain without Tennille! You say Neil! I say Sedaka! And yes, Engelbert is in da house, too. After the Lovin', baby!

I'll post my own Guilty Pleasure Playlist later in the week. But for now, I wanna hear about your sordid affair with Peabo Bryson or Air Supply or Barry Manilow or James Ingram. You got a few pieces of Bread? Man, I have loaves of the stuff! You know all the words to The Little Mermaid soundtrack? Hell, I got the dance moves to go with 'em!

'(500) Days of Summer' has the best soundtrack I've heard in a long time

I love soundtracks, always have. Purple Rain, The Graduate, Electric Horseman. In fact just last night, I played both Vision Quest and Butch Cassidy on vinyl for my daughters (and no, they did not run sobbing). Unfortunately, my desk these days is littered with crap 'tracks from, say, Transformers 2, crass marketing ploys featuring loud Nickelbacky sludge that has little to do with the flick. 

That's why the soundtrack for romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer -- which hits theaters July 17 -- is so good, so refreshing. I have no idea if the movie works (although you gotta admit, that trailer is brilliant). But I can say for certain that the accompanying album is a smartly, bittersweetly nuanced mixtape featuring old weepers (Simon & Garfunkel, the Smiths, Hall & Oates) and new jobs (Regina Spektor, Doves, Wolfmother). All the cuts you hear in the trailer are also on the album, available July 14. 

By the way, for fans of our Stuck in the '80s podcast, (500) Days of Summer might as well be called The Steve Spears Story. Proceed with caution, my sobby brethren.