Power pop

Power Pop
Stylistic origins	Pop, Rock and roll, Indie Rock, Soft Rock, Beat music, Rhythm and Blues, Garage rock, Pub rock (UK)
Cultural origins	1960s British and American pop and rock
Typical instruments	Standard Drum Set - Electric Guitar - Keyboard - Bass Guitar - Synthesizer
Other topics
List of power pop musicians

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, it's among rock's most enduring subgenres.

Formative years: mid 1960s

Pete Townshend of The Who coined the term power pop in a 1967 interview in which he said "Power pop is what we play." As early as 1965, the Everly Brothers were playing music that can be called power pop. The duo's "I'll See Your Light" and "It Only Costs A Dime" displayed jangling guitars and an oblique harmonic approach that built upon the innovations of The Beatles and The Byrds. Those groups, along with The Who, The Small Faces and the Beach Boys, are often cited as the progenitors of power pop.

The Who, inspired by the melodicism of The Beatles and the driving rhythms of American R&B, put out several songs in their early mod phase (1965-1966) that can be considered the first true power pop songs: "I Can't Explain", "The Kids Are Alright", "Substitute", "I'm a Boy", "Happy Jack", "So Sad About Us", and in 1967, "Pictures of Lily". These songs are propelled by Keith Moon's aggressive drumming and Pete Townshend's distinctive power chords, and have strong melodies and euphonic harmonies.

The Beatles took inspiration from The Who's contemporary singles and released hard-edged, yet melodic, singles such as "Paperback Writer" and "Day Tripper" in the mid 1960s, as well as album tracks such as "And Your Bird Can Sing". However, four years before the term "power pop" was coined, The Beatles were already recording a series of influential hits that some have retroactively classified as power pop, including "From Me to You", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Can't Buy Me Love".

Several groups that arose in the wake of The Beatles' success were important in the evolution of the power pop style, such as The Beau Brummels, The Hollies, and The Zombies. Other acts such as the Knickerbockers, the Easybeats and the Outsiders contributed iconic singles.

Early to mid 1970s

Modern power pop gained momentum in 1970 with recordings by the British group Badfinger (although at this time, the musical style was not yet classified as power pop). Badfinger singles such as "No Matter What", "Baby Blue", and "Day After Day" (all recorded in 1970 and 1971), were the template for the power pop sound that followed in the late 1970s.

In the early 1970s, the form was further codified by the work of The Raspberries (who may have been the first band to earn the power pop appellation, in a mid-1970s article in Rolling Stone).

At this stage, British pop had taken a stylistic turn (notably, with the rise of glam). The bands performing music that was later to be labeled power pop were nearly all American. The first albums by Big Star and the Raspberries are considered among the genre's essential recordings. Some of Todd Rundgren's early and mid 1970s solo work also touched upon the emerging genre, as did the recordings of Blue Ash, Artful Dodger, and The Dwight Twilley Band.

Rundgren, The Raspberries, and The Dwight Twilley Band achieved sporadic chart success during the period. However, the most influential of all the early-to-mid 1970s "pre" power pop-era groups was arguably Big Star, who released two unsuccessful albums and spent years relegated to cult status. Big Star's reputation rose in the early 1980s, after bands like R.E.M. and The Replacements spoke enthusiastically of their work. The Replacements even recorded a song entitled "Alex Chilton" in honor of Big Star's front-man.

This early generation of power pop bands found they could not sustain their careers, as their British Invasion-influenced sound was strongly out-of-step in a 1970s rock music world increasingly dominated by soft rock artists like The Carpenters, singer-songwriters such as Carole King, and hard rock and heavy metal groups like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Todd Rundgren moved on to different styles and production work, Badfinger splintered in a management dispute, Big Star disbanded early, and the Raspberries' lead singer left the group for a solo career in softer pop.

Commercial peak: late 1970s to early 1980s

United States

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, spurred on by the success of new wave and punk rock (music which was similarly driving and stripped-down), power pop enjoyed its most prolific period, with American groups like The dB's, Cheap Trick, The Knack, The Romantics, 20/20, Paul Collins' Beat, and Shoes all releasing significant albums. Eventually, all would sign deals with major record labels. For the first time, acts of this type were commonly referred to and promoted as "power pop bands".

These new power pop groups favored a leaner, punchier, more punkish attack; many were influenced by early-1970s acts like Badfinger and The Raspberries, rather than the British Invasion bands that kickstarted the genre. Perhaps the most successful power pop single of all time, The Knack's My Sharona, spent six weeks in the number one position of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. Cheap Trick's Surrender, The Romantics' What I Like About You, and Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl were other notably successful power pop singles of the era.

United Kingdom

The term power pop, as used in the UK, referred to a somewhat different style of music than that of the USA. The Evening Standard used the descriptive in January 1978 while writing about the band Tonight, and it was commonly applied to British "mod" groups such as the wildly popular Jam.

Other British bands labelled as power pop included Squeeze, Buzzcocks, The Vapors, and The Chords. Many of these groups have also been described as mod revival, punk rock, or new wave. Lacking the influence of American pioneers such as Big Star and The Raspberries, these bands were more directly inspired by 1960s beat music/British Invasion groups (particularly The Who, The Kinks, and The Beatles). They also took a cue from the energy and aesthetics of the contemporary punk movement, speeding up the tempo of their music.

Other UK artists of the late 1970s commonly identified as power pop were the new wave groups XTC and Elvis Costello & The Attractions. They played driving, melodic music, but neither group sported the mod image or overt 1960s influence of The Jam and their followers.

A handful of successful bands in the UK did boast the traditional power pop sound as inspired by The Raspberries and Big Star. Singles from such groups, such as The Records' Starry Eyes, Nick Lowe's Cruel To Be Kind, and Bram Tchaikovsky's Girl Of My Dreams, rivaled or even surpassed their American counterparts in capturing the essential elements of power pop. Perhaps as a consequence, these bands were more commercially successful in the United States than in their homeland.

Additionally, the American new wave group Blondie was often labelled as "power pop" by the UK press. The band's second single, a cover of The Nerves' "Hanging on the Telephone," demonstrated Blondie's power pop roots.

Contemporary power pop: 1980s to 2000s

In the 1980s and 1990s, power pop continued as a creatively viable — if commercially limited — genre. Artists such as Marshall Crenshaw (whose first album is considered a classic of the genre), The Smithereens, Matthew Sweet, The Bongos, Teenage Fanclub, Tommy Keene, Redd Kross, Material Issue, The Posies and Jellyfish drew inspiration from Big Star, the Beatles, and glam rock groups of the early 1970s like T. Rex and Sweet. "Throughout the early and mid-'90s... independent, grass-roots power pop bands gained a small but dedicated cult following in the United States." [1]

In the mid-1990s through the 2000s, power pop flourished in the underground, with acts such as The Shazam, and Sloan. Independent record labels such as Not Lame Recordings, Kool Kat Musik and Jam Recordings specialized in the genre. The sound made a mainstream appearance with the success of Weezer and their highly successful Blue Album in the mid 90's. Driven by the success of their catchy smash single "Buddy Holly", Weezer became a geeky power pop sensation all around the world. In the late 1990s, several Scandinavian groups such as the Cardigans, Merrymakers, and Wannadies enjoyed a modicum of critical favor with their take on the genre.

Power pop traits are currently displayed by prominent North American groups such as the New Pornographers, Fountains of Wayne, Jimmy Eat World, and The All-American Rejects, as well as in pop punk bands such as Green Day, Blink-182, Simple Plan, Bowling for Soup, and Good Charlotte. The influence of power pop is also readily apparent in contemporary British groups such as the A Sides the Futureheads, Maxïmo Park, Farrah, The Feeling, Razorlight, and Babyshambles.

Notable power pop singles

• Badfinger's "No Matter What" (1970)
• The Raspberries' "Go All The Way" (1972)
• The Cars' "Just What I Needed" (1977)
• The Knack's "My Sharona" (1979)
• Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me" (1979)
• Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" (1981)
• Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny" (1982)
• Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" (1991)
• Weezer's "Buddy Holly" (1994)
• Gin Blossoms' "Follow You Down" (1996)
• Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" (2001)
• The All-American Rejects' "Swing, Swing" (2003)
• Fountains of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom" (2003)

See also

• List of power pop musicians
• Popular music

External links

• Article about power pop from Rolling Stone 1979, RS306
• Mod Pop Punk Archives - includes information about power pop bands
• Information about power pop from All Music Guide
• Power Popaholic - reviews of power pop music