Although I tend to be pretty flexible when it comes to the musical styles I listen to, there are some specialized genres that can get me up and moving no matter what kind of a funk I'm in (funk not being one of my chosen genres), and which I really think are a part of my hardwired personality.
In other words, I guess I was just born with a predisposition toward melodic hooks, bouncy drum beats, jangly guitars and sing-along choruses - as long as it all clocks in somewhere between two and four minutes. I don't "boogie", and "wheedly-wheedly" guitar solos bore me to tears. And as much as I respect folk music, protest music, and the clever turn of phrase, I don't really feel the need for music to tell me a story. Lyrics are simply a way for me to participate in a song. "Hey ho, let's go!" isn't at all profound, but it lets me pretend I'm a Ramone for a little while. So, in answer to Ann Nichols' question: music, definitely music.
Here's how Wikipedia explains it:
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are usually kept to a minimum, and blues elements are largely downplayed. Recordings tend to display production values that lean toward compression and a forceful drum beat. Instruments usually include one or more electric guitars, an electric bass guitar, a drum kit, and sometimes electric keyboards or synthesizers. While its cultural impact has waxed and waned over the decades, power pop is among rock's most enduring subgenres.
Were The Beatles power pop? Well, certainly in their early period (1964-1966), they originated and incorporated most of the elements one associates with the genre, and influenced just about everyone else to come, but I tend to think that they were sui generis, a band that was completely its own entity. The Beatles are probably too big to be subsumed into another category.
And despite quoting The Ramones above, I'm not including them here either, although they walked that fine line very well.
But rather than try to describe in any more in mere words, I'll let the music speak for itself. Here are a dozen of, in my opinion, the finest examples of power pop ever recorded (even though these examples barely scratch the surface). These videos are in chronological order, beginning in the mid 1960's and continuing through the late 1990's. So grab your Rickenbacker and play along!
The Who - I Can't Explain
This is quite probably the earliest genesis. This one was on the jukebox at the local bar where I spent many nights before I left home for college. Listening to this kind of stuff got me primed and ready for the sounds of punk and new wave, but I've never lost my appreciation for straight-ahead power pop.
Badfinger - No Matter What
This band is probably regarded as the architect of the true power pop sound. Listen to this song and you can hear all of the elements used by just about everyone else who came later. (Sadly, the two founding members of Badfinger committed suicide, Pete Ham in 1975 and Tom Evans in 1983.)
The Raspberries - I Wanna' Be With You
In a word, sublime. The Raspberries were from Cleveland, and I'm not sure just how popular they got in the rest of the country, but if you've not heard them, get ready for a treat. You might recognize that lead singer, though. Eric Carmen went on to fame and fortune as a solo artist, with "All By Myself" and, of course, "Hungry Eyes" from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.
Big Star - September Gurls
I came to an appreciation of Alex Chilton and Big Star entirely too late. Chilton died last year at the age of 60. What a loss.
Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action
There was a band in Kent, Ohio in the early 80's, called The Action, and they did a cover version of this. This record came out in 1976, and it must have been a real anomaly at that time. (I wish I had known about it back then. I would have felt like less of a freak.) This is probably one of my favorites of the entire power pop genre.
The Records - Starry Eyes
I guess this one is just as much new wave as power pop. Sometimes the boundaries got a little blurry, though, especially in the 1980's. But it was all good. This song was written as a kiss-off to the band's manager.
Nick Lowe - Cruel To Be Kind
One of the kings of power pop. And he just keeps getting better with age! The bride in the video is Carlene Carter (daughter of June Carter), Lowe's real-life wife of eleven years, who was a pretty talented recording artist in her own right. All of the band members here went on to participate in Rockpile.
Rockpile - Teacher Teacher
This album came out in 1980. Another real crossover between power pop and new wave. Just look at the cover - it doesn't get any more new wave than that. But the collaboration of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds was power pop heaven.
Marshall Crenshaw - Whenever You're On My Mind
Crenshaw got his first break playing John Lennon in a touring company of Beatlemania. Not a bad start.
Matthew Sweet - Sick of Myself
I don't know much about Matthew Sweet. But I love this song! (You'll have to turn this one up - it's quieter than the others.)
Fountains of Wayne - Radiation Vibe
I have all of Fountains of Wayne's records, and I've seen them live twice. Sometimes I think they're a little too arch, but their songwriting is pure genius. Their biggest hit was "Stacy's Mom", although that's far from their best song.
The Shazam - Sunshine Tonight
The Shazam's lead singer, Hans Rotenberry, lives somewhere in east Tennessee, and the band has recorded recently in Nashville. It's good to know that power pop lives on!
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Comments
Steve used to review power pop and had a power pop radio show on KALX.
I get power popped out sometimes.:)
HUGGGGGGGGG
R
Willie, all of those bands definitely do power pop. (I wonder who wrote "Walking on Sunshine" for Katrina and the Waves. He/she must be a billionaire - that song has been used everywhere.)
And thanks for mentioning The Cars. I was just starting high school when their first record came out, and I thought it was brilliant. So different from anything else at that time. I remember seeing them at one of those big stadium concerts in Cleveland. They were on the same bill as bands like Kansas and Styx. (I wonder who put that show together!) Everyone else around me was completely unimpressed with them, but I knew that I was on to something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL_dI3GtB4o
Trudge, that's an interesting question. Surf music is another of my favorite genres. But I think it's distinctive enough (in both inspiration and sound) that it stands on its own as a genre, although it certainly incorporates most of the elements of power pop. Maybe it's just power pop without vocals. At any rate, I could probably do a whole blog on that too.
I kinda go along with Willie Dixon when he said "The blues is the roots and everything else is the fruits."
Hey, we used to do Nick Lowe's I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock n' Roll. And The Who and the Ramones? They still sound good anyway category they're given. Gabba, Gabba HEY! Thanks for the tunes.
Scarlett, I'm anxious to hear about your musical odyssey! I wish I had had the guts to have "I Knew the Bride..." played while I walked down the aisle when I got married, but I've never been quite that bold. ;-) Rock on!