The Teardrop Explodes

Led by the charismatic Julian Cope, the Teardrop Explodes sidestepped the gray gloom of their post-punk peers with proud Technicolor alternative pop. Their songs were drawn from psychedelic rock (the Doors), '60s garage hits and old English orchestral pop (Scott Walker and Petula Clark). "Reward" and "Treason" were both U.K. hit singles and illustrate how the band could attract both dancing girls and their wallflower record-collecting boyfriends. Other standouts include "Sleeping Gas," "Ha Ha, I'm Drowning" and "Bouncing Babies." Cope's charm comes from his combination of blatant thievery and eccentric originality.

If Bunnyman Ian McCulloch favors the schlock mysterioso Jim Morrison, Droplet Julian Cope prefers the schlock heartthrob, complete with romantic authoritarianism ("Well I don't think this is real/To criticize our love" is prime hippie bullsh*t, no?), "Touch Me" horns, and AM potential. No, really, "Sleeping Gas" was once a very poppy indie single, and some of this stuff would probably sound pretty neat on the, er, radio is what we used to call it I guess. But why anyone who didn't acquire an addiction that way would prefer this to Blondie or the Box Tops is beyond me. I mean, Cope is a little smarter than Jay Black or Gary Lewis, but that just makes him harder to take. (Grade: B)