The Pursuit of Happiness - Love Junk is 25!

So The Pursuit of Happiness's Love Junk recently passed its 25th birthday. Wow.

Those large glasses. That impossibly-straight hair. The points in the show where Moe Berg let Kris Abbott drive all of the guitar so he can point at the crowd, gesture wildly, and stomp around the stage. Above all, those songs. A modern take on power pop in a year when Cheap Trick was trumpeting a power ballad, before people widely-used terms like indie or alternative, Love Junk boasted loud guitars without veering into bad metal. Sweet harmonies without getting syrupy (sorry Cheap Trick, you went too far) - who carried around back-up singers in those days? Just TPOH. Berg's lyrics could straddle that teen confusion/burgeoning awareness line, hit the college kids in the wordy brain part, or just sound right even when you're not sure what he's talking about - like many perfect rock 'n' roll lyrics.

Produced by Todd Rundgren, Love Junk managed not to fall into the traps of many '80s records like overusing heavily-processed drum sounds or extra-cheesy vocal effects. It doesn't sound like a Rundgren album, doesn't necessarily sound like a made-in-Canada album - just a near-perfect record.

Hard to Laugh


Ten Fingers
I'm An Adult Now


She's So Young


Consciousness Raising As a Social Tool


Walking in the Woods


Beautiful White


When the Sky Comes Falling Down


Looking for Girls

Man's Best Friend


Tree of Knowledge


Killed by Love


Down on Him