A.P. Ticker is many things to many people, a real man for all seasons, both an eternal optimist and a man of constant sorrow. But for most he’s the man who put the bop in the bop-shoo-bop-shoo-wop. A man with his finger on the pulse of popular culture, a veritable bellwether of what’s hip with the kids. This week A.P. runs down the top five albums in the nation (though admittedly it’s not entirely clear which nation): hot new releases from The Spinach Diplomats, Thundercake, the Sudge-Wumps, The Safe Words and the Long Black Veils. Plus he’s sneaks in a plug from his new solo album, The Distinctive Tinkles of A.P. Ticker (pictured above, some assembly required).