The Greatest Power Pop Songs Ever

[B5Erik]

The subject of Power Pop came up on another thread, and someone named the song they believed to be the best of the genre.

While it was a really good pick I wouldn't say it's the best Power Pop song ever recorded. Here are a few that stand out to me....







Anyone remember these guys?




But I'd have to pick this one as the greatest Power Pop song of all time:



So what songs would you add?

[macnorton]

I guess it depends on the definition of "pop" music.

I have always been partial to Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel) and Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield).

But you did make some excellent choices there.

[The Cow]

Just a note, it would be helpful to name the song and band when posting the YouTube vids (more in your other thread with some out of scope bands, but this may hit there too.)

And you pretty much nailed it with Surrender.

Edit: the Kiss song you posted was never pop. This one was labeled as total cheese (and this video is), but it still rocks, especially at their live shows.

[B5Erik]

Originally Posted by The Cow

Just a note, it would be helpful to name the song and band when posting the YouTube vids (more in your other thread with some out of scope bands, but this may hit there too.)

Yeah, but a lot of the time if you list it some people won't bother to even listen to it.

And you pretty much nailed it with Surrender.

That's a great song. The funny thing is that I hardly ever heard it until 10 years ago. (Bruce Kulick and John Corabi's band Union covered it, and then all of a sudden it showed up everywhere - even though Union was not exactly a hugely successful band...coincidental timing? Maybe.)

Edit: the Kiss song you posted was never pop.

I don't know about that - it's as much a Power Pop song as Surrender is, IMO.

[The Cow]

Originally Posted by B5Erik

Yeah, but a lot of the time if you list it some people won't bother to even listen to it.

Agreed for what you were/are going after (to get people to listen).

But I had a hard time in the other thread finding out who a few of the bands I never heard of were. The PM route worked out, but maybe a note at the bottom just saying the bands name would have helped. I see your point.

[atlantamoi]

The definitions I guess are going to be loose, but my favorite three power pop songs of all time are:

The Records "Starry Eyes"
Big Star "September Gurls"
Romantics "What I Like About You"

[DaveWadding]

Gene is so terrible at faking playing.

[B5Erik]

Originally Posted by DaveWadding

Gene is so terrible at faking playing.

That's because whenever they lip sync he always pretends to be a finger player when in reality he plays with a pick. It's intentional.

[The Cow]

Originally Posted by B5Erik

That's because whenever they lip sync he always pretends to be a finger player when in reality he plays with a pick. It's intentional.

DaveWadding is right, the "because" doesn't matter.

It is pretty bad.

[DaveWadding]

Originally Posted by B5Erik

That's because whenever they lip sync he always pretends to be a finger player when in reality he plays with a pick. It's intentional.

I realize, but he still looks like a total spaz. Ace and Paul pull off the faking it way better than he does.

[wendersfan]

Originally Posted by atlantamoi

Big Star "September Gurls"

This is of course the correct answer.

[B5Erik]

Originally Posted by wendersfan

This is of course the correct answer.

Really?

It's definitely a well crafted song, but the best?

This one is also well crafted. (A similar song musically...)


The song was all wrong for them, but it is amazingly catchy. A VERY well crafted Pop/Rock song. (It hit #10 on the Australian charts.)

[The Cow]

Originally Posted by wendersfan

This is of course the correct answer.

I had to look that one up, never heard of the band or song before. Reminds me of Rick Springfield tunes. Yes on the pop sound.

I don't see any "power" to the "pop" in that one at all.

[B5Erik]

Originally Posted by The Cow

I had to look that one up, never heard of the band or song before. Reminds me of Rick Springfield tunes. Yes on the pop sound.

I don't see any "power" to the "pop" in that one at all.

That's exactly what I was thinking. (Which is why I didn't post that KISS song on my first post.)

[Rocketdog2000]

Originally Posted by atlantamoi

The definitions I guess are going to be loose, but my favorite three power pop songs of all time are:

The Records "Starry Eyes"
Big Star "September Gurls"
Romantics "What I Like About You"

Well you certainly got that right. I think we ran into that same problem last time we did this thread. You have fine choices, as well, and since you already picked them, I'll only add...

Cheap Trick -"I Want You To Want Me [Live version]" (NO power pop list is complete without something by this band)
Nick Lowe - "Cruel To Be Kind"
The Raspberries - "Go All The Way"
The Quick - "Pretty Please Me"
The Knack - "Good Girls Don't" (I like "My Sharona" better, mainly because of the guitar solo, but this song is a better example of the genre)
The La's - "There She Goes"

[The Cow]

Originally Posted by Rocketdog2000

(NO power pop list is complete without something by this band)

The first song in this thread has "something by this band". (and much better )

[Rocketdog2000]

Originally Posted by The Cow

I had to look that one up, never heard of the band or song before. Reminds me of Rick Springfield tunes. Yes on the pop sound.

I don't see any "power" to the "pop" in that one at all.

As atlantamoi pointed out, that's always been a bit of the issue with this genre. Some band's have more "power", and some bands have more "pop" - but it's a pretty wide spectrum. Here's the basic definition from wiki...

Power pop (or powerpop) 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.

...but if you want more detail just click this link.

[Rocketdog2000]

Originally Posted by The Cow

The first song in this thread has "something by this band". (and much better )

Being a huge Trick fan - actually, they ARE my favorite band - I've always considered "Surrender" to be just a tad overrated. Don't get me wrong, it's an iconic classic for sure, but never my first choice out of their catalog.

[The Cow]

Originally Posted by Rocketdog2000

As atlantamoi pointed out, that's always been a bit of the issue with this genre. Some band's have "power" some bands have more "pop" - but it's a pretty wide spectrum. Here's the basic definition from wiki...

Power pop (or powerpop) 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.

...but if you want more detail just click this link.

I get all of that.

But there is no prominent guitar/keyboard riff, no forceful drum beat. I'll give you the vocal, but there is still no "pop".

This is probably the most definitive powerpop, it has everything in your definition:

[Rocketdog2000]

Originally Posted by The Cow

I get all of that.

But there is no prominent guitar/keyboard riff, no forceful drum beat. I'll give you the vocal, but there is still no "pop".

This is probably the most definitive powerpop, it has everything in your definition:

Ok, not MY definition - and your example, very, very, very much stretching it.

Click on the link I provided for some band examples.

Also, it says "sometimes electric keyboards or synthesizers", not as part of a prominent riff.

That's why I pick "I Want You To Want Me" over "Surrender", as it very much fits the provided definition...
- draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music - CHECK
- strong melody - CHECK
- crisp vocal harmonies - CHECK
- economical arrangement - CHECK
- a forceful drum beat - CHECK
- prominent guitar riff - and CHECK

[slymer]

Surrender was the very first song that came to mind when I read this thread title. Cheap Trick are one of the best of the genre.

Alex Chilton - by the Replacements is another fave of mine. Especially since the song title refers to a power pop king.

[rw2516]

Sweet-Little Willy and Fox On The Run

[atlantamoi]

Originally Posted by The Cow

I had to look that one up, never heard of the band or song before. Reminds me of Rick Springfield tunes. Yes on the pop sound.

I don't see any "power" to the "pop" in that one at all.

Jesus Christ. Big Star is the very definition of what has become known as Power Pop. I'm not saying these other songs listed don't contain either power or pop, but that's not really what has become known as that.

Hear's a review from AMG just for this one song:

"The quintessential power pop classic, Big Star's seminal 1974 effort "September Gurls" wears its inspirations on its sleeve: the ramshackle crunch of the melody evokes mid-period Beatles, Alex Chilton's chiming guitar break recalls the Byrds, and the snarling abandon of the performance conjures the Who. All of which is the point, really; power pop is, almost by definition, the sum of its parts, but it's how those influences are reconfigured which separates the wheat from the chaff. What's exciting about "September Gurls" (and much of the Big Star catalog, for that matter) is its brilliant transformation of its composite elements into a rough-edged but sweetly gorgeous sound that's both familiar and novel; poignantly ragged and breathlessly reckless, the song seems held together by sheer force of will, lumbering forward even as it verges on complete collapse. And although lyrics like "I loved you, well never mind" bitterly encapsulate the inextricable combination of affection and apathy which virtually defines Chilton's career, the song also reveals a surprising tenderness, tempering its venom with achingly lovely vocals and sun-kissed harmonies. While most who have heard "September Gurls" rightly consider it a pop classic, the problem is that relatively few people are actually familiar with the song; thanks largely to distribution problems, Big Star's records went virtually unnoticed during their own lifetime, and even later the band's music was almost exclusively the province of a fiercely devoted cult following. (For what it's worth, "September Gurls" does appear on the soundtrack to the Fox television sitcom That '70s Show; the same series also uses Big Star's "In the Street" as its theme, albeit in the form of a vastly inferior Cheap Trick cover version.)"

[The Cow]

I gave these two videos a listen, maybe there is something else. I don't hear the "crunch" that is mentioned in the review. I don't hear any "power"...

I'm not saying it's bad, in fact you have enlightened me to something I had not heard before and I'm picking up some of there stuff now. I like it.

I also don't quite get "tempering its venom with achingly lovely vocals and sun-kissed harmonies"

This particular song, however, does not say "power" to me, I hear it as almost an MTV Unplugged song or something that Bryan Adams would cover. Just my lone opinion, no big deal.

[atlantamoi]

My take is that the song does have some power compared to the hits on the radio in that time period. But I think most people associate power pop with the late 70's (starting with Cheap Trick) and how Beatles-inspired rock melded with a new wave-type sound. This song might have more pop than power, but I think part of that is due to hindsight since "pop" on the radio at times over the past 15 years certainly has been heavier at times.

If you like some of the Big Star songs you hear, a great deal is the two-fer of their first two albums on one CD. You'll hear two recordings filled with fantastic music that sadly went unnoticed back in the day. Alex Chilton's only hit was with a previous band called the Boxtops... song was "The Letter". I'm sure you've heard it. I think that song has paid some of his bills over the years.