Power Pop!

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So I don't know where to start, but I think am a fan of the genre.  And this makes me sad, this video only has 352 views

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

heres the song that sold me on these dudes, the album version sounds better then a youtube clip:

The Shazam - Gettin' Higher

the shazam is a band I heard about in an article and whatever, I think they are wonderful...  and power pop, right? maybe they stink, but I like them.  so yeah  I basically know these dudes and Big Star, I mean this post as a PP jumping off point, school me!

p.s. are gbv pp?

[Greggulator]

I am a total Power Pop Pop-Pop. THANK YOU FOR THIS! I grew up listening to The Ramones and Lookout-style pop-punk and power pop is more-or-less the grown up version of that.

 I may hijack this thread. (Apologies in advance)

I friggin' LOVE The Shazam. That song Megaphone is an awesome single.

Yes, GBV is power pop. They're less Big Star and more Who but either way. GBV's more accessible singles are a great entry point for the genre.

One of my favorite Power Pop bands is VALLEY LODGE. Their front man is Dave Hill, who is also a noted comedian and hosts the awesome Dave Hill Explosion at UCB. He's my favorite live comedy performer in the world I'm not related to.

Also of note: Dave tours with Walter Schreifels' (Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, Rival Schools) band.

Valley Lodge, "All of My Loving"- naked furniture

[fonpr]

Mr. Hill has a pretty good podcast as well.

[mostlymeat]

I just picked up the first album by The Beat (Paul Collins), it's so so good. You probably know "Rock and Roll Girl" but every song on this LP is killer, killer power-p.

Another undersung gem of the genre is "Can't Wait" - the 2nd LP by Piper (Billy Squier's first band), I love love love this record!!!

Piper - Can't Wait / Bad Boy

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Great recommendations, i am diggin  the tunes!

Yes, GBV is power pop. They're less Big Star and more Who but either way.

This may be a whole different can of worms, but I am a Who dummy. I know my generation, and that teenage wasteland song, but I never really got into them. I am down with the Beatles, the stones, bowie, t-rex and down the line with classic British rock acts, but I never clicked with the who.

So I guess what I am asking, where should I start with them? From a power pop fans perspective!

[Mr. Colin]

"A Quick One" and "Sell Out".  The rest will present itself.

[hardweek]

Power Pop is a term, much like Northern Soul, that unfortunately frames music in a "does it fit?/ it doesn't fit" game of flora and fauna that often gets in the way of enjoying good music in the first place.

For example, there's alot of (mostly 90s) groups I love that take some cues from power pop that just aren't power pop, bands like Redd Kross, The Pooh Sticks, Sloan, Teenage Fanclub, Tsar, The Wannadies and Silver Sun. But I would take any of them over the average revivalist group who look the part.

But I digress.

Grab the Poptopia comps that Rhino put out. Grab that Nerves reissue. You can find those Marshall Crenshaw records in any dollar bin and they're great. For newer stuff, get the Tranzmitors record.

As for a Who inroads, I firmly believe the gateway rests in the visual: start with The Kids Are Alright and worry about the records later.

[AdamM]

I've recently been turned on to Milk 'n' Cookies, a mid 70s power pop band. They have one album that was reissued by, ahem, Radio Heartbeat Records. I would do my best to try to find it from a store and NOT order directly from the label! Really great stuff, though.

[daveB from Oakland]

"A Quick One" and "Sell Out".  The rest will present itself.

The "Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy" singles comp is a good intro ... then go back and find all the albums those singles were drawn from.

[dave from knoxville]

Jellyfish is not strictly power-pop, but had awesome PP moments, in among the lush nods to other 70's styles.

[nec13]

By no means is this is an exhaustive power-pop compilation, but it's still pretty strong.

[Greggulator]

Great recommendations, i am diggin  the tunes!

Yes, GBV is power pop. They're less Big Star and more Who but either way.

This may be a whole different can of worms, but I am a Who dummy. I know my generation, and that teenage wasteland song, but I never really got into them. I am down with the Beatles, the stones, bowie, t-rex and down the line with classic British rock acts, but I never clicked with the who.

So I guess what I am asking, where should I start with them? From a power pop fans perspective!

Just get a good Who singles collection and work your way into the specific albums from there. The stuff before Who's Next (with Baba O'Reilly with is the Teenage Wasteland song) is the stuff you want (although I love all periods of The Who). The Kids Are Allright is one of the songs that's a template for power pop. A Quick One While He's Gone is four power pop gems in one song. And their live version on The Rolling Stones Rock'n'Roll Circus is possibly the greatest single live rock performance ever recorded -- the only thing I can think of which competes is Queen at Live Aid.

[Greggulator]

And, yes, the "is it/isn't it" power pop debate gets aggravating. My whole take on it is just to pretty much say yes to anything remotely sounding power pop as power pop.

As far as another song -- This is Another Girl, Another Planet from The Only Ones. I first heard this song in high school on Bill Kelly's show on WFMU. I think this is on the short list of greatest song ever written.

ONLY ONES - ANOTHER GIRL ANOTHER PLANET

[Greggulator]

Two more things:

This is a "Top 100 Greatest Power Pop Songs" list which is actually a very solid list.

http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_songs-Power-Pop.html

This is #40 on the list and is an all-time favorite of mine. It's probably not good to put on a mix tape/CD you plan on giving to a girl you've gone on one or two dates with, though.

Bram Tchaikovsky - Girl Of My Dreams

[Racan]

Power pop is great! So many amazing acts, but I'm going to quarterback what was probably Vancouver's inaugural contribution to power pop,  the Pointed Sticks, as featured in Dennis Hopper's Out of the Blue. The Pointed Sticks were also the first Canadian act signed to Stiff Records.

Out of the Blue (1980) Pointed Sticks