the Power Pop thread

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beantownbubba
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by beantownbubba »

Kudzu Guillotine wrote:Very cool to see P. Hux (aka Parthenon Huxley and Rick Rock) mentioned here. I'm not sure how well known he is outside of North Carolina (aside from his stint with the Orchestra and the Electric Light Orchestra II). "Buddha Buddha" was all over WQDR in Raleigh back in the day (1982). It made enough waves that Tina Turner expressed an interest in recording it but to the best of my knowledge that never happened.




Well, I'm not from NC and I have 3 of his albums :)
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Kudzu Guillotine
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

beantownbubba wrote:
Kudzu Guillotine wrote:Very cool to see P. Hux (aka Parthenon Huxley and Rick Rock) mentioned here. I'm not sure how well known he is outside of North Carolina (aside from his stint with the Orchestra and the Electric Light Orchestra II). "Buddha Buddha" was all over WQDR in Raleigh back in the day (1982). It made enough waves that Tina Turner expressed an interest in recording it but to the best of my knowledge that never happened.



Well, I'm not from NC and I have 3 of his albums :)


Thanks, it's hard to judge sometimes. I have Sunny Nights (vinyl only) but would like to have more, including his new one.

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oilpiers
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by oilpiers »

I am pretty surprised that on a DBT thread for powerpop this guy is not mentioned. And if one wants to get into splitting hairs about what exactly power pop is, I heard it directly from the man that he considers this to be power pop and it is his genre of obsession.
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by beantownbubba »

oilpiers wrote:I am pretty surprised that on a DBT thread for powerpop this guy is not mentioned. And if one wants to get into splitting hairs about what exactly power pop is, I heard it directly from the man that he considers this to be power pop and it is his genre of obsession.
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1. This thread was started well before Jay's album came out.
2. There is a separate thread on Jay's album that mentions the words power pop approximately 927 times, exceeded, perhaps, only by mentions of the words "the beatles."
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oilpiers
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by oilpiers »

beantownbubba wrote:
oilpiers wrote:I am pretty surprised that on a DBT thread for powerpop this guy is not mentioned. And if one wants to get into splitting hairs about what exactly power pop is, I heard it directly from the man that he considers this to be power pop and it is his genre of obsession.
Image


1. This thread was started well before Jay's album came out.
2. There is a separate thread on Jay's album that mentions the words power pop approximately 927 times, exceeded, perhaps, only by mentions of the words "the beatles."

I think the Beatles were the first power pop band.(I'm sure they had their influences in this regard) I think Crowded House is definitely power pop, just like their dopplegangers, Squeeze. (Am I the only one that has to think sometimes which band it is when I hear their songs?) I think Big Star is ill defined as power pop, their influence is much broader. Is Jangle Pop a subdivision of power pop? I think it is. A power pop/alt country/psychedelic mix would be the perfect rock band for me. 927? Pretty specific estimate, but I guess online sarcasm is not entirely impossible to detect.

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Kudzu Guillotine
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Does Paisley Pop figure into the Power Pop equation anywhere? If so, there's this installment in the Nuggets series that features all manner of Paisley Pop bands.

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cortez the killer
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Re: the Power Pop thread

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I just hope oilpiers is a true fan of power pop.
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'Scratch
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by 'Scratch »

Interesting thread. I never really knew what power pop was, not I have some examples. I like The Shins and The Whigs. Are they in the ballpark?

Research to do...
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Kudzu Guillotine
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

'Scratch wrote:Interesting thread. I never really knew what power pop was, not I have some examples. I like The Shins and The Whigs. Are they in the ballpark?

Research to do...


The biggest stumbling block I've run into is people not understanding the distinction between "pop" and "power pop". For many, pop is a dirty word and seem to be unable to look beyond that when it comes to understanding what power pop is.

I thought I'd posted this here previously but it must have been in another thread.

A beginners’ guide to the heyday of power-pop, 1972-1986

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By Noel Murray October 11, 2012

Primer is The A.V. Club’s ongoing series of beginners’ guides to pop culture’s most notable subjects: filmmakers, music styles, literary genres, and whatever else interests us—and hopefully you. This installment: the high-energy rock music known as power-pop.

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oilpiers
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by oilpiers »

cortez the killer wrote:I just hope oilpiers is a true fan of power pop.

And that means what? Do you really care what I am a fan of?

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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by GTO »

power pop fans should check out both volumes of matthew sweet and susannah hoffs' under the covers records. vol. 1 is 60s covers and vol. 2 is the 70s. 1 is better but 2 does have hoffs singing maggie may.

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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by beantownbubba »

GTO wrote:power pop fans should check out both volumes of matthew sweet and susannah hoffs' under the covers records. vol. 1 is 60s covers and vol. 2 is the 70s. 1 is better but 2 does have hoffs singing maggie may.


I like both albums, and agree the 1st one is better but I have mixed feelings about recommending it. I find the most appealing thing to be the excellent song selections, w/ the performances being always professional (of course) but not often rising above that.
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cortez the killer
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by cortez the killer »

Kudzu Guillotine wrote:I thought I'd posted this here previously but it must have been in another thread.
A beginners’ guide to the heyday of power-pop, 1972-1986

I remember when you posted that before, KG. Great read.
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Kudzu Guillotine
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

GTO wrote:power pop fans should check out both volumes of matthew sweet and susannah hoffs' under the covers records. vol. 1 is 60s covers and vol. 2 is the 70s. 1 is better but 2 does have hoffs singing maggie may.


I caught Matthew in concert for the first time this summer when he rolled through town with The Wailers, Soul Asylum and Big Head Todd on The LP Tour where they each did an album. I couldn't really justify the cost of admission so I took in Matthew's set from the sidewalk outside of Red Hat Ampitheatre in Raleigh. Sounded damn good to my ears but for some reason he ran out of time to play Girlfriend in it's entirety. I was reminded prior to the show that he and Susanna had just been through here a few years back in support of Under the Covers, Vol. 2. I'll be sure not to miss them if and when they come through in support of Under the Covers, Vol. 3. Speaking of which, it's due to drop on November 11th. I posted this not long ago in the New Releases thread but for those that may have missed it, here's a link to an article about the new record from Billboard. You can listen to their version of "Our Lips Are Sealed" there. The thing that struck me first about their version is the clarity of the singing. For years, I thought the Go-Go's were singing, "honest, I see you".

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1. Sitting Still (R.E.M.)
2. Girls Talk (Dave Edmunds)
3. Big Brown Eyes (The dB's)
4. Kid (Pretenders)
5. Free Fallin’ (Tom Petty)
6. Save It For Later (The English Beat)
7. They Don’t Know (Kirsty MacColl)
8. The Bulrushes (The Bongos)
9. Our Lips Are Sealed (The Go-Go’s)
10. How Soon Is Now (The Smiths)
11. More Than This (Roxy Music)
12. Towers of London (XTC)
13. Killing Moon (Echo and the Bunnymen)
14. Trouble (Lindsey Buckingham)

Bonus tracks on iTunes Deluxe version:
* Train in Vain (the Clash)
* You’re My Favorite Waste of Time (Marshall Crenshaw)
* I Would Die 4 U (Prince)

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oilpiers
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Re: the Power Pop thread

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I did a wikipedia search on Power Pop. Very interesting. Pete Townshend invented the term, to describe the early Who, "I CanSee For Miles" to be specific. I have been a Who Fanatic since the 70's. The genre is credited as being started by the Beatles, The Kinks, and The Who, which makes perfect sense. It also claims Jangle Pop is a derivative of Power Pop, so my earlier question was answered. I think the genre is very elastic, and some of the greatest Power Pop contributors had many songs that were not really Power Pop. I see Cheap Tricks first album mentioned on this thread. I have to say that as much as I love that album, In Color, is pretty much the blueprint for power pop. Especially the live versions of those songs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_pop

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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Slipkid42 »

i miss shuffle (the guy who started this thread).

The Who probably did invent the genre. Songs like Pictures of Lily, The Kids Are Alright, Magic Bus, My Wife & a host of others had a little more edge to them than the Beatles stuff (although Run For Your Life is a good example of early power pop). The Kinks were pioneers as well, but there was a bunch of British Invasion bands that contributed to the genre. The Yardbirds were known as a blues/rock outfit, but they had a few tunes that could be power pop. For Your Love, Heart Full of Soul & Over, Under, Sideways, Down were more pop than blues to me. The Dave Clark 5 was another good Invasion band. Catch Us If You Can & You Got What It Takes are power pop to me. The Zombies, She's Not There & Tell Her No are too. The Troggs Wild Thing is another example. Then there's the Hollies. I think their early stuff w/Graham Nash qualifies as power pop. Carrie Ann, Bus Stop, Carousel etc. all had elements of power pop; and 1972's Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress is as power pop as it gets (although He Ain't Heavy is not).
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Smitty »

oilpiers wrote:[I think Big Star is ill defined as power pop, their influence is much broader. .


Their influence may be, but #1 Record & Radio City are the epitome of power pop to me.
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by beantownbubba »

Defining power pop is like defining alt-country is like defining americana is like defining metal is like defining classic country is like...

In my memory we have never agreed on a satisfactory definition of any single genre of music despite our best efforts.

To me the Who is, among other things, very clearly a power pop band and the Beatles are just as clearly not, although they influenced power pop as they influenced pretty much everything. Similarly, I agree w/ Smitty on Big Star. I'm not sure I can explain any of those statements, it's mostly an I know it when i hear it kind of thing.
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

beantownbubba wrote:Defining power pop is like defining alt-country is like defining americana is like defining metal is like defining classic country is like...

In my memory we have never agreed on a satisfactory definition of any single genre of music despite our best efforts.

To me the Who is, among other things, very clearly a power pop band and the Beatles are just as clearly not, although they influenced power pop as they influenced pretty much everything. Similarly, I agree w/ Smitty on Big Star. I'm not sure I can explain any of those statements, it's mostly an I know it when i hear it kind of thing.


See and I would say that while early Who defined the genre, later Who broke away from it. The Who and the Kinks are the grandaddies though, not The Beatles, despite the fact that, as you say, they clearly influenced it. The thing is I think power pop is even less definable than other genres because a lot of bands in it made albums that were clearly not power pop. I think that happens in other genres as well but not as much. XTC made a couple of power pop records, but others were something else entirely. Cheap Trick too. I'm with you though, you know it when you hear it.
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oilpiers
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Re: the Power Pop thread

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Smitty wrote:
oilpiers wrote:[I think Big Star is ill defined as power pop, their influence is much broader. .


Their influence may be, but #1 Record & Radio City are the epitome of power pop to me.

I listend to both of those yesterday just to get some perspective. I see the aspects of power pop, clearly, but as the music progressed it was not the defining characteristic to me. I followed that up with the Raspberries. No doubt about them. For Badfinger, basically their hits were Beatles tunes by another band,. Being labeled P.P., while some consider the Beatles not, makes no sense to me. Play No Matter What for a relative music novice and then tell them it is not the Beatles.

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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

The Model Rockets from Seattle fronted by John Ramberg (The Minus Five, Tripwires). At this point they have four full length records to their credit. Looks like they played a date or two over the summer and have a new album in the works.


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Re: the Power Pop thread

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oilpiers - Badfinger is unquestionably power pop. Without a doubt the Beatles are Badfinger's main influence as well. The Beatles, were the main influence for many bands I would describe as power pop. They were (as bubba says) the main influence for hundreds (if not thousands) of bands of every genre (not strictly confined to rock & roll either). The Beatles did dabble in power pop. I Want To Hold Your Hand is as power pop as it gets. Run For Your Life & She Said, She Said are in the mix too. But to me they were mainly the best pop band of all time, until they morphed in something else altogether (which was spectacular in its own right). Nothing about Love Me Do, I Saw Her Standing There, Please Please Mr. Postman, Norwegian Wood, Eleanor Rigby, Rocky Racoon, Get Back, Hey Jude, Two Of Us, or Let It Be remotely resembles power pop to me. They still had a few sprinkled in there throughout (Polythene Pam,Taxman, I'm Looking Through You, Got To Get You Into My Life for instance); and one song they did, was a song I feel inspired a much later generation of power pop bands. Across The Universe had an ethereal quality to it. It didn't have clean guitar lines like the Who or the Kinks were cuttin' loose. At the time it seemed like just another variation of the genius that was the Beatles, but in hindsight, it could've been what inspired latter day power pop bands like the Posies, Semisonic, the Psychedelic Furs (yes, I think they're PP), Keane & even Big Star. So, while I can't label the Beatles themselves as a power pop band (anymore than I would call the Who or the Kinks a power pop band); they did play some power pop & certainly inspired many power pop bands.

What about T. Rex? They seem like a PP band to me.
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Re: the Power Pop thread

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oilpiers
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by oilpiers »

Slipkid42 wrote:oilpiers - Badfinger is unquestionably power pop. Without a doubt the Beatles are Badfinger's main influence as well. The Beatles, were the main influence for many bands I would describe as power pop. They were (as bubba says) the main influence for hundreds (if not thousands) of bands of every genre (not strictly confined to rock & roll either). The Beatles did dabble in power pop. I Want To Hold Your Hand is as power pop as it gets. Run For Your Life & She Said, She Said are in the mix too. But to me they were mainly the best pop band of all time, until they morphed in something else altogether (which was spectacular in its own right). Nothing about Love Me Do, I Saw Her Standing There, Please Please Mr. Postman, Norwegian Wood, Eleanor Rigby, Rocky Racoon, Get Back, Hey Jude, Two Of Us, or Let It Be remotely resembles power pop to me. They still had a few sprinkled in there throughout (Polythene Pam,Taxman, I'm Looking Through You, Got To Get You Into My Life for instance); and one song they did, was a song I feel inspired a much later generation of power pop bands. Across The Universe had an ethereal quality to it. It didn't have clean guitar lines like the Who or the Kinks were cuttin' loose. At the time it seemed like just another variation of the genius that was the Beatles, but in hindsight, it could've been what inspired latter day power pop bands like the Posies, Semisonic, the Psychedelic Furs (yes, I think they're PP), Keane & even Big Star. So, while I can't label the Beatles themselves as a power pop band (anymore than I would call the Who or the Kinks a power pop band); they did play some power pop & certainly inspired many power pop bands.

What about T. Rex? They seem like a PP band to me.

I agree with everything you said. I am just not sure if you feel I see it differently. Power Pop is a style of music, not necessarily the definition of a band. Matthew Sweet, cursed with a silly power pop name, also dabbles in lite alt. country. The Who morphed into free form heavy mettle (live) and a blueprint to "classic rock", whatever that means, but that does not mean Little Billy, I'm A Boy etc. are not pure power pop.

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3milelake
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Re: the Power Pop thread

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Tom Petty on bass is just a bonus



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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by beantownbubba »



Very cool. Thank you.

Also very pleased w/ the % I own (if you allow points for any of group, album or song). :)
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oilpiers
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by oilpiers »

Here is an undeniable power pop classic done by a buddy of mine. He is the local walking Bible of power pop.

Markalanbishop
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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by Markalanbishop »

Kick out the jams motherfuckers.

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Re: the Power Pop thread

Post by beantownbubba »

Markalanbishop wrote:I never knew about this. Wow.

http://www.milwaukeemag.com/article/242 ... fRocknRoll


Seriously :shock:
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