The real king of pop

Gush. He made me and my girl-women friends gush and scream. And my boy-men friends wanted to, but the dudes had to be tough and just keep their hands in their pockets and nod to that jangly guitar, the massive hooks and the big beat. No one else in the early 1980s hoisted up the Iwo Jima flag of exquisite American pop songs like the heartbreaker songwriter/singer/guitarist Marshall Crenshaw. His rich body of work ranks right up there with Buddy Holly (who he portrayed in the 1987 movie La Bamba), Lennon/McCartney and Brian Wilson. This Friday’s performance (at the Palms, 726 Drummond Ave., Davis, April 12, 8:30 p.m., $20) is solo acoustic, just like his 2001 live album on Razor & Tie, I’ve Suffered For My Art… Now It’s You Turn.” Marshall, please play “Cynical Girl” and “Little Wild One.” Gush.