Mo Troper and the gorgeous 60's surf pop / 80's power pop bite and social commentary of "Let's Get Back To Music"

 

"Things have been so hard for folks like you and me / But we’ll survive if we take a stand and band together / Let’s get back to music / Lord knows where we went wrong / Let’s get back to that sweet old-fashioned music / Strummin’ along..."

Like a collision of 60's surf pop / 80's power pop and social commentary, "Let's Get Back To Music" by Portland's alt pop maven Mo Troper, from his 2026 7th studio album- "Today I Played My Guitar And Sang", hits you in a multitude of ways depending on your thirst for pure joy or the thickness of you cynical skin. Speaking of the condition of my skin (personally), upon first listen this wonderfully produced and rendered pop song felt sort of cornball (not that there is anything wrong with that). I mean it could have been written by fellow Beach Boy Bruce Johnston who wrote the beautifully maudlin "I Write the Songs", and it does have some orchestral and vocal elements that sound gorgeously like a Brian Wilson produced / penned song. On this track, Mo Troper spins a pop perfect pretty masterpiece while possibly digging a grave for it too. Not sure if that makes sense but I feel that he (like me actually) loves songs like this while at the same time hates songs like this and I am likely exaggerating slightly for effect (what kind of effect I don't know). All I can say is the production is fucking beautiful, sophisticated in the pureness of pop music and makes me sad that our world has made me so so so cynical. 

"The lyrics were partially inspired by that but it’s also a sendup of kumbaya classic rock shit and I suppose a critique of this notion that rock music is a meaningful vehicle for social change or a substitute for real political engagement." - Mo Troper

LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):

[This song was partially the response to a prompt Kitty of Teen Suicide et al. gave me when I was at my absolute lowest–to try and write a yacht rock song. It was tracked with Dan and Jon from the Father John Misty band at New Monkey in Los Angeles, and Jon’s arrangement ended up sounding like Abba meets Doobie Brothers meets Randy Newman, per my request.

The owner of my former record label arbitrarily insisted my producer credit be removed from an album they released. When the person in this band protested, the head of the label said something like, “We really need to stop talking about this and just get back to the music. The lyrics were partially inspired by that but it’s also a sendup of kumbaya classic rock shit and I suppose a critique of this notion that rock music is a meaningful vehicle for social change or a substitute for real political engagement.]

LYRICS

Things have been so hard for folks like you and me
But we’ll survive if we take a stand and band together
Let’s get back to music
Lord knows where we went wrong
Let’s get back to that sweet old-fashioned music
Strummin’ along
And healin’ this wicked world
With a song
To make the hits we take some hits along the way
No matter how bad it gets we can find our strength in numbers
Let’s get back to music
Lord knows it’s been too long
Let’s get back to that sweet old-fashioned music
Let’s get back to music
Lord knows where we went wrong
Let’s get back to that sweet old-fashioned music
Strummin’ along
And healin’ this wicked world
With a song
With a song
With a song
With a song

-Robb Donker Curtius

The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/52txBRG3MARNC9QMCUcT5o

https://motroper.bandcamp.com/album/the-best-seat-in-the-house

https://www.instagram.com/motroper

https://www.facebook.com/motroper

https://x.com/mo_troper



"...A converging, titanic exhibition of rock "n' roll ... somewhere between the worlds of Chopin and pre-school lullabies." - Paste Magazine


"...Like Pinkerton-era Weezer as interpreted by the Chipmunks." - Pitchfork


"...One of the best power-pop artists in the underground." - Stereogum


"...A shrewd balance between noisy discord and hook-driven power-pop." - Uproxx

Mo Troper, Portland Oregon, singer songwriter, power pop musician, indie rock, 70's music, 60's music, chamber pop, retro pop iterations, "Let's Get Back To Music", New Monkey Studios, "Today I Played My Guitar And Sang",