VINYL RELICS | 1978's Are You Serious?: The Hidden 70s Power Pop Treasure

EPYSODE 74: Are You Serious? by Van Duren.

Guest: Van Duren.

Additional commentary by Uncle Herff.

In 1978, while punk was exploding and disco ruled the charts, a razor-sharp pop record quietly slipped through the cracks. Are You Serious? should have been a defining album of the late ’70s. Instead, it became a cult favourite whispered about by collectors and power pop devotees.

This week, we dig into the story behind this Memphis-born gem: the jangling guitars, the smart lyrics, and the Big Star–adjacent brilliance that makes this album one of the great lost power pop records of the era.

How did it miss commercial success?

From studio lore to standout tracks, we revisit a record that proves sometimes the best albums aren’t the ones that topped the charts...they’re the ones waiting to be rediscovered.

If you love 70s power pop or overlooked vinyl-era classics, this one’s essential listening.

I hope you dig Are You Serious? as much as I do.

- Farmer John

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===LINKS===

Grab all of Van’s albums here:

⁠https://omnivorerecordings.com/van-duren/⁠

 Here’s a link to the award winning documentary titled “Waiting: The Van Duren Story”:

⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwxjkFjFPv4⁠

Check out the Loveland Duren website here:

⁠https://www.lovelandduren.com⁠

 

===THE MUSIC===

Songs used in this Epysode, in order of appearance. Here's a link to a Spotify playlist for all the tracks featured.

*denotes track is not available on Spotify.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H17drhsCAEubGQW3c59vb?si=fe6d380cb2de4079

*SHANTI "We Want To Be Free"

VAN HALEN “Eruption”

THE ROLLING STONES “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction”

THE DAVE CLARK FIVE “Glad All Over”

FREE "All Right Now"

ICEWATER "All I See Is You"

BIG STAR "In The Street"

CHRIS BELL “I Am The Cosmos”

BIG STAR “Kizza Me”

THE BEATLES “A Hard Day’s Night”

PAUL McCARTNEY “Oh Woman Oh Why”

VAN DUREN "Chemical Fire"

NICK LOWE "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass"

VAN DUREN "This Love Inside"

VAN DUREN "Oh Babe"

SUPERTRAMP "Bloody Well Right"

VAN DUREN "Waiting"

VAN DUREN "Grow Yourself Up"

VAN DUREN "Guaranteed"

VAN DUREN "Positive"

VAN DUREN "New Year's Eve"

VAN DUREN "So Good To Be Me (For The Time Being)"

VAN DUREN "Yellow Light"

VAN DUREN "For A While"

VAN DUREN "Stupid Enough"

VAN DUREN "The Love That I Love"

VAN DUREN “Bear With Me All The Way”

VAN DUREN “Make A Scene”

VAN DUREN “Tenessee, I’m Trying”

VAN DUREN “That”

VAN DUREN “Love At The Heart Of It/Mad At The Moon”

*GOOD QUESTION “Girls In Uniforms”

GOOD QUESTION “Jane”

*VAN DUREN AND TOMMY HOEHN “Your Beautiful Self”

*VAN DUREN “Europa”

LOVELAND DUREN “Within Crying Distance”

??MYSTERY ARTIST?? Tune in next week to find out...

*NEWPORT ELECTRIC "Now It's All This"

^^ That's my band. This is shameless self-promotion!!

Here's a link to my band's music:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5y6kGmYnS4SWvqAfijhDdp?si=YsBCG3jtQiukZvkvQ5iFXQ

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