Whatever happened to Marcy Playground?

When I was in California last month I made two trips to the fantastic stacks of Streetlight Records in San Jose, and one of the things I picked up was the Marcy Playground self-titled CD from 1997. I don't remember what made me think of it, but suddenly I had to have it and it was worth the $4 I laid down.

I used to have a copy of that album, and even saw Marcy Playground live once (opening for someone?) but in a moment of cash-neediness I must have sold the album -- in an ironic twist, it was probably to Streetlight.

I was pleased to hear that the album still sounds exceedingly pleasant to me (although I must say that I didn't remember the lyrics being quite so silly). There's a quirky mid-90s alternapop feel to the whole disc, with infectiously good melodies -- and so much more than "Sex and Candy." In fact, I don't even like that song. But I like these:

Cloak of Elvenkind - Marcy Playground
This one has a hypnotic, dreamy, mid-summer feel to it, like a waltz in slow motion. Really fabulous stuff.

Ancient Walls of Flowers - Marcy Playground
And this one will stick in your head. In a good way.

If you see this disc in the bargain bins, I recommend picking it up. In addition to the self-titled album, they've also got some music on eMusic (including their 2004 disc, cleverly titled MP3). And lead singer John "Woz" Wozniak is still making some pretty catchy music as a solo artist now. Visit his MySpace to hear all about it.