Just a thread to appreciate the sometimes-maligned & stigmatized genre of power pop. A tribute to the obvious greats...Big Star , Badfinger , and other purveyors of jangling guitars & tight harmonies (such as Smithereens, Cars, Bangles, Matthew Sweet, Cheap Trick, Knack, Raspberries, dBs, Peter Frampton, & others).

The tunes don't have to be from a primarily power pop band or solo artist...for instance, wouldn't Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" qualify? George Harrison's "What is Life?"

Just a few to begin:

Plimsouls: A Million Miles Away https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTVuShP7YVY
Flamin' Groovies: Shake Some Action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaN1L2KSvGg
La's: There She Goes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVd2x0EpnYA
Matthew Sweet: I've Been Waiting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieKFOOGP1r8
Marshall Crenshaw: Somebody Crying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63n2RgDmGQs
Bram Tchaikovsky: Girl of My Dreams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAC9A0_7o-E

(Interesting trivia: 3rd song is allegedly about heroin addiction; last one is about romance with a blow-up doll)

Best Power Pop tune ever...


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Teenage Fanclub - Star Sign (but you could pick a hundred others from TF)

Todd Rundgren-Couldn't I Just Tell You

For whatever reason I can't get the video to imbed but this is a damn-near perfect example of Power Pop.

Toms - "Better than Anyone Else"

https://youtu.be/ICCHc0JObAU

We've done this subject at least a couple of times before. My faves, in no particular order:

Marshall Crenshaw
~Cynical Girl - It doesn't get much more exuberantly jangly than this.

Shoes
~Now and Then - Harder than most P.P., but what a juggernaut!

~In My Arms Again - Love the build-up and layering-in of instruments in this one.

Richard X. Heyman
~World of Indifference - His best song, but not on Yt.
~Caught in a Lie - Not on Yt.
~Falling Away

Greg Kihn
~Love and Rock & Roll

The Plimsouls
~How Long Will it Take? (The best Plimsouls song, imo)

~Now

~Magic Touch (Unrelated video)

The Records
~Starry Eyes

The Rubinoos
~Drivin' Music

~Amnesia

The Searchers
~Murder in My Heart

~Hearts in Her Eyes

Dwight Twilley
~Perfect World (Not on Yt)
~Shooting Stars (Not on Yt)
~Why You Wanna Break My Heart?

Bram Tchaikovsky
~Girl of My Dreams

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Shoes - Cruel You


The Kings - This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide


The Spongetones - Here I Go Again


The Knack - Good Girls Don't


Voice Of The Beehive - I Walk The Earth


Voice Of The Beehive - There's a Barbarian in the Back of My Car


Elliot Easton - (Wearing Down) Like a Wheel


Crack The Sky - Too Nice For That


Crack The Sky - Good Child Gone Wild


Dwight Twilley - Girls


April Wine - If You See Kay

So many great songs to choose from. I will throw out a few that popped into my head but there are many more I will think of later.

A few Shoes songs have been mentioned and there are so many great ones with that band.

Same with Cheap Trick.

While we're on IL bands how about Material Issue? Their first album produced at the Shoes recording studio. They also have plenty of Cheap Trick flourishes evident.


From their great first album International Pop Overthrow (a killer track as well)

MI: Valerie Loves Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcRtlj8KXT4


MI: Diane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjnNERIy0HI

MI: Very First Lie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjvETVRwl2M

plus

MI: What Girls Want

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhIBh_L9RXk

MI: Kim the Waitress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS5oa5IPSX0

This collaboration with the three songwriters of Shoes has always been a fave:

Three Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtatOTz8ak8

The Late Show from Indy:

Hey Sue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjbMLabczQ8

Just A Matter of Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-MbzR8K4bk


Take A Chance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvUprOCGUz8



The Vertebrats from C-U, IL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fuYHhihOxQ


From Carbondale, IL

The Hip Chemists only single.

Pop Songs" b/w "I Wanna Be a Brit:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJFEMoYrKv4

Hey, a Pusser sighting! Howdy, fellow foot-lover.

Not among my absolute favourites in the genre, but a couple of good tunes are Artful Dodger's "Wayside" and "Remember".

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I always thought that Semisonic's "Brand New Baby" sounded like an great Badfinger rip-off.

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And from the Boston area, the Neighborhood's "Prettiest Girl" is a local classic.

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Love this band, their albums Artful Dodger, Honor Among Thieves and Rave On are really good. It's a shame how obscure they are.

This was pretty cool to see

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E_1...7AX6tYQ10aomSg

Dave Edmunds " Crawling Through The Wreckage"


The Vapors "Turning Japanese"


The Headboys "The Shape Of Things To Come"


The Sinceroes - Worlds Apart

The Jags: Back Of My Hand

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The Producers: She Sheila

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If anyone's on Spotify, I assembled a Power Pop Playlist based on the Poptopia albums of the 90s and other favorites.

https://open.spotify.com/user/hokeyb...VdmiARVrTceq9z

How the HELL has this thread gone on this long without someone mentioning:



And as far as what song? Every song on that album is among the best power-pop songs ever written. EVERY song. One of those all-time great albums that just hits from beginning to end.

Edited to add: Apparently this is post #999 for me. They ain't too bad either.

Good to see there's another MI fan out there. I absolutely LOVE International Pop Overthrow. I got to see them them open for Social Distortion here in Indy right after that came out. I was saddened by what happened with Jim Ellison.

Some great stuff posted I've never heard of. Thanks!

A while back I discovered a company who specialized in power-pop releases. Can't remember if it was on the 'net or a mail-order catalog or newsletter business. I do remember that I got a killer two-CD sampler of some tremendous music (which is buried somewhere on CD shelves now).

This ring a bell to any fans?

This has always been one of my favorites of this type. Interesting video, one continuous shot, no cuts or edits.

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That first Beat album is great then it's kind of blah to me. The Nerves not being mentioned is kind of surprising too.

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Were they the Poptopia albums? Came out around 96-97, had a CD devoted to the 70s, 80s, and 90s each.

My favorite Marshall Crenshaw:

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