Name A Great Power Pop Tune

Airport.

 

Heartbreak Avenue.

 

Do Anything You Wanna Do - Eddie and the Hot Rods.

 

There are so many great power-pop songs out there, here's one that comes to mind first:



A few others (most of these artists' songs qualify as power-pop):

"Going Underground" - The Jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHad_cTqR6A

"Talk of the Town" - The Pretenders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuRKjHQDv90

"Everything But a Heartbeat" - The Searchers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ51P9M2kiw

"Merry Christmas Will Do" - Material Issue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuMb8-5906k

"Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oekf-RdUS2E

 

the music that the who and kinks were doing in 66 was far from hard rock, though (it was a coupla years before the who mutated into/invented hard rock, and i've always considered it a sad day when it did happen...) . they were still playing stuff like this-

which is still prolly one of the best examples of pure power pop ever recorded. greg shaw, the founder of 'bomp' magazine way back in 1970 and the man most responsible for promoting and defining the genre and popularizing the power pop scene until the 80's put's big star firmly in the power pop cannon . and considering that if it weren't for him few (or at least a lot fewer) people would have heard of big star, the raspberrys, and todd rundgren, (not to mention the groovies, the records, etc. ) i'll take his word on what is and isn't power pop. seriously, i'm not trying to be argumentative, but when a word has had an established definition for decades and a scene or genre has had an established canon it is kinda lame to say that it doesn't include the original pioneers. that's kinda like saying that the clash, ramones, or pistols aren't punk because they don't sound like black flag. you can say it, but it really just ain't so. power pop as a genre started as a breath of fresh air- short catchy, ultra melodic boy/girl songs very strongly influenced by mid-60's pop (who, kinks, beatles, byrds, etc.) amid all the hairy, heavy blues chest-beating that was all the rage at the time and power pop is still keeping those values alive, tune by tune. yeah, it got refined and changed a bit over the years- the punkier side of the music for example- but it's a big enough umbrella for just about anyone who fits the basic format. you don't have to like it all, but it still is what it is.

on the lighter side- my parrot is bopping along to 'shake some action' right now and it's the cutest damn thing!

cheers,
rob

 

believe me, i'm not denying that the records and flamin groovies are power pop- they're some of my favorite stuff in the genre.

cheers,
rob

there is nothing in this post that i disagree with.

 

Rob, the Who's live shows ("Maximum R&B") were hard rock from the beginning. The band's live show never really changed except for doing longer sets and extending more as soloists (Pete anyway). The sound you are referring to changed more on record, but even Pictures of Lily was hard rock by the standards of the day, Can't Explain too, I Can See For Miles. It's all relative...

 

Off Broadway - Hang on for Love (Really, anything off of their criminally underrated debut album "On!"
The Katies - Powerkiss
The Semantics - Johnny Come Lately
Jellyfish - Joining a Fanclub
The Knack - Good Girls Don't
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
Sweet - Fox on the Run

 

ummmmm......... that is NOT the video i was trying to post.
it was supposed to be 'so sad about us' from the m'a quick one' ep.

 

Great tune. It probably would have been a hit had it been released five years later.

 

"Sweetness & Light" by Steve Wynn. It's a shame I can't find it posted anywhere.

 

is that 'dream syndicate' steve wynn?

cheers,
rob

 

yes

 

found a couple of live versions on youtube. good tune!

cheers,
rob

 

It's sad that he died in a random traffic accident after getting out of the music business. It would have been great to see him in the Big Star reunion after they were rediscovered in the early 90s.

Here are a couple of my favorite newer power pop artists.

 

If anyone makes a playlist from this thread. please share it! Such great music.

 

The Records first entered the studio and recorded 'Hearts In Her Eyes' in 1978, with Wicks on lead vocals. That version can be found on the LP/CD "Paying For The Summer Of Love," which contains their pre-Virgin recordings and the early version of 'Starry Eyes.' Jude Cole sang the "Crashes" version in a different key.

 

That recent live version I posted is stunning, all the more poignant for being played in front a scattering of people, mostly oblivious to the talent on the stage. It's 34 years later but as if the years don't matter...

 

I didn't know "Hearts in Her Eyes" was written and recorded that early in the Records' career. Thanks for the correction.

 

This one from Jules and the Polar Bears.