Any fans of this guy? He's power pop, kind of Matthew Sweet-ish with a stronger Beatles vibe. He was the guitarist on the first Jellyfish album, then put out some songs with a one-off group called The Grays. But after that, he put out two CDs that absolutely knocked me on my ass with their composition, expasiveness, and generally pop tune catchiness (Presents Author Unknown and Can You Still Feel?).

After that, though, he kind of disappeared. I read he was doing session stuff, and he put out a collection of Beatles covers, but I hope he does another CD soon.

Anybody know more about him and his current/future recording plans?

No news, but I'm a fan, too.

On the Jellyfish front, I just ordered the new Roger Manning album from NotLame.com. You can stream the album from their site, and the first two songs I listened to were great, so I ordered it. And NotLame usually throws in the kitchen sink when it comes to bonus freebies.

Total gibberish. Are any of those titles and artists (other than the Beatles) real?

I'm old and unhip, a tragic combination.

Many critics have hailed Jellyfish as one of the most influential, if not greatest, bands of the early '90s. They put out two of the most remarkable albums I've ever heard: Bellybutton & Spilt Milk.

I still can't listen to "New Mistake" without choking up with joy. What an amazing song.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkfdLIx_kTY[/youtube]

The aforementioned Jason Falkner's playing guitar and singing backup on this one.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWnWK4F15EM[/youtube]

Cool, thanks Hank for those videos and the info about Roger Manning.

Jay, I'm old and unhip, but I fake it really well.

Falkner nearly released an album called Eloquence in 2003, but he either couldn't get it distributed by a major or he just gave up on the idea. He put it out for free as MP3s and it turns up on Usenet once in a while. (I think he rotates the songs at his MySpace page too ... haven't looked at it lately.)

Then he got together with one of the Jellyfish guys to form The TV Eyes, who work in a modernised '80s electropop style:

http://www.tveyes.net/video/ShesAStudy.asf

They started with a vinyl 12"-only release for the above song and two others, which Falkner has made available for free as lo-rez MP3s:

http://www.tveyes.net/audio/ShesaStudy.mp3

http://www.tveyes.net/audio/LovetoNeed.mp3

http://www.tveyes.net/audio/Fascinating.mp3

("She's A Study" appeared in an earlier, somewhat "rockier" form on the Eloquence collection, BTW. Different title which escapes me at the moment, but it was the same song.)

Now, there's no current news at the TV Eyes website, but I saw on this week's Japanese preorder list that there'll be a TV Eyes album released there in November. Is it the same TV Eyes, with Jason Falkner? Who knows ... keep your fingers crossed!

The TV Eyes album has finally been released, in Japan only:



Description:
>> Japanese-only release, this is a side project of Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. and Jason Falkner (both of course of Jellyfish) along with Brian Reitzell (Redd Kross) that was shelved for the last three years and is finally coming out. It`s an total 80`s new-wave fest that mixes the influences of these guys perfectly. We`re talking classic Gary Numan(listen to "Fascinating" and "The Party`s Over" below), The Cars (see "Fade Away"), OMD, Depeche Mode(check out "She`s A Study"), Gang Of Four, Japan and more! "An unmistakably 80s-esque synth-driven sound, one that on first listen feels miles and miles away from anything Falkner has done in the past, is downright astonishing!"-Entertainment Today. <<

Jason sez:
>> The three of us, myself and Brian and Roger, started brainstorming and throwing around these ideas, of making kind of a New Wave-type record, and this is definitely way before every single band sounded like all they'd ever heard was Gang of Four, and it was going to be, kind of, an homage to that era, but over several years it sort of morphed from our original idea, into something else. I think its a lot more original, with production aspects and some sonic things, you know, from the early-80s, late-70s, but its also a very current-sounding record. <<

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HXE2JK/?tag=imwan-20

I MUST have that TV Eyes CD!!! Thanks Linda!

Cool. Thanks for the tip. Another one I'll be ordering. I still have Falkner's last Japanese only CD on my want list but it usually goes for $40+ if you can find it at all. I tried to order it from both cduniverse.com and buy.com during their recent google promotion but neither were able to deliver it to me...

I second that Jimbo!

Thanks Linda!

That CD sounds very interesting!

Jason Falkner also played on Paul McCartney's last record, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.

Got TV Eyes in the mail today.

Like a cross between the best that both Devo and The Human League put out. But better.

I'm 4 tracks in so far, and I like it a lot.

My first play of TV Eyes failed to impress. Certainly not much Jellyfish that I could hear in there...

Well, I don't think they were trying to sound too much like Jellyfish. Like Jellyfish was an exercise in bubblegum (and as brilliant as Jellyfish was, let's face it, it was an exercise, as surely as Beatnik Beatch was an exercise in snooty jazz-pop and Imperial Drag was an exercise in glam), TV Eyes is an exercise in early-'80s synth-pop.

And there's nothing wrong with that. Homage has borne forth some great stuff, like the Rutles, the Dukes Of Stratosphear, or L.E.O. I guess if you were expecting a third Jellyfish album, I can understand some disappointment. But Falkner and Manning have done enough stuff that's far away from Jellyfish to have it evaluated on its own merits.

I liked it, you were underwhelmed, maybe that's its merits.

Good news from Jason's Web site:

"Jason's long-awaited new record, "I'm OK... You're OK" will be released in Japan on April 18, 2007 on Noise McCartney Records and will see a proper U.S. release this summer."

Here's the Japanese release for those who can't wait for a domestic one (like me ). It allegedly contains a bonus track beyond what will appear on European and USA pressings, when/if they're released.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NVTHKK/?tag=imwan-20