The exclamation point at the end of Telekinesis’ self-titled debut may be a bit over the top, but if any band has earned itself an exclamation point, Telekinesis certainly has. Seattleite Michael Benjamin Lerner (the power behind Telekinesis’ power pop) makes music that’s straightforward and familiar—if not especially challenging—and with its hooks, perfect chord progressions, harmonies and hand clap-ready rhythms, Telekinesis! is one of the strongest power-pop debuts in years.

Sixto Diaz Rodriguez recorded two albums in the early ’70s that went nowhere and when he was subsequently dropped from his label (Sussex), he returned to Detroit and gave up his career in music. Little did he know, but both albums grew in popularity in South Africa and Australia. This fact was discovered by Rodriguez’s oldest daughter when she stumbled on a pair of websites run by a South African fan searching for the missing singer. Rodriguez’s career was revitalized by the discovery although he still never caught in his home country where Cold Fact and its follow-up Coming From Reality remained virtually unheard.

One month after Woodstock and after more than ten years of not being on the music charts, Little Richard took the stage at Varsity Stadium in Toronto determined to light the crowd on fire. Dressed in a mirrored shirt, a 30-pound gold chain, silver bell bottoms, and sporting a ridiculously tall pompadour wig, he opens his set with “Blueberry Hill” and “Lucille,” relatively tame in comparison of what was to come.

Along with Motown, Stax Records defined an era of soul music in the ‘60s and ‘70s. And from the parents who lived with and loved the sound of Stax came children who would sample and appropriate the breaks into loops that would become the foundation of hip-hop. This compilation collects the original Stax hits that spawned so many hip-hop classics.

Fox seems to be attempting to lick Arrested Development fans’ old wounds with the underwhelming Sit Down, Shut Up. The live-action/animation comedy, reshuffled from a hit live-action Australian sitcom, is untidily sandwiched between The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Mark Millar is quickly becoming a pop culture institution (if he wasn’t already there). The creator behind such controversial projects as Kick-Ass, Wanted, War Heroes, Marvel’s Civil War, Ultimates, and Superman: Red Son raises some more eyebrows with American Jesus. Chosen was originally published in 2004 by Dark Horse, but this is a new trade paperback collection from Image Comics. Compared to something like Preacher, it’s a fairly tame pre-apocalyptic tale, seen through the eyes of the pubescent Jodie Christianson (the initials are a dead giveaway).

Back in 2004, Tom Davis was watching Jeopardy! when the board revealed a curious clue: “He was the comedy partner of Al Franken.”

Ken Stringfellow has already made a name for himself in discerning music circles as half of the songwriting core of Washington power-pop band The Posies.

The latest single from this Australian experimental-pop five-piece may have earned the band its biggest “hit” thus far-top 40 Australian radio play and the band’s highest charting US iTunes download being among the accomplishments-but this is certainly no sell-out move.