Spring Forward Soundtrack: Power Pop

Train_of_Thought said:

Winner inclusion here for me is "Obscurity Knocks" by Trash Can Sinatras, a real fave of mine.

That got me sighing at the memory of sighing at the first quarter of life. 

bub said:

The Linda Lindas: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Thanks, looking forward to giving it a listen.

This flew under my radar and is now in Heavy rotation! If you want to hear a perfect blend of Jellyfish, Cheap Trick, XTC and Queen...If you firmly believe that Spilt Milk is one of the top two power pop albums of all time, check this out:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/soon/1512598451

https://open.spotify.com/album/0soaIv5bMH3la9fjeLsh43?si=77490df9ecb94f10

What's the OTHER of the top two of all time?

That's another thread! Essentially, I was going for Spilt Milk being, at least, the worthy runner-up to whatever someone's favorite PP album might be...Put another way, I don't think you can be a fan of the genre without having listened to it (but my bias is showing)...

And belated thanks for the Mach 5 recco! 

cuethesun said:

This flew under my radar and is now in Heavy rotation! If you want to hear a perfect blend of Jellyfish, Cheap Trick, XTC and Queen...If you firmly believe that Spilt Milk is one of the top two power pop albums of all time, check this out:

Shortly after college a friend dropped by and somehow we spent the night reading reviews from the Rolling Stone Record Guide out loud to each other and guffawing over the most pointed, over-the-top pans. This succinct broadside, from Allmusic, would have been a contender.

On the bombastic Soon, Lollipop Factory quickly establish themselves as slavish disciples of Seventies-era music; their influences run the gamut from AM radio to punk, all topped off by frontman Dave Tweed's Freddie Mercury-esque operatics.

That’s it. Full stop.

No offense intended, cue. Sometimes bombast really hits the spot, and Soon does the trick.

DaveSchmidt said:

cuethesun said:

This flew under my radar and is now in Heavy rotation! If you want to hear a perfect blend of Jellyfish, Cheap Trick, XTC and Queen...If you firmly believe that Spilt Milk is one of the top two power pop albums of all time, check this out:

Shortly after college a friend dropped by and somehow we spent the night reading reviews from the Rolling Stone Record Guide out loud to each other and guffawing over the most pointed, over-the-top pans. This succinct broadside, from Allmusic, would have been a contender.

On the bombastic Soon, Lollipop Factory quickly establish themselves as slavish disciples of Seventies-era music; their influences run the gamut from AM radio to punk, all topped off by frontman Dave Tweed's Freddie Mercury-esque operatics.

That’s it. Full stop.

No offense intended, cue. Sometimes bombast really hits the spot, and Soon does the trick.

Listening now. Did this band break up, move to England and reform as Muse? Inquiring minds need to know.

Both good observations! Bombast is an accurate description but I'm drawn to big loud guitars (the "power" in PP) and a kitchen sink production that runs the dynamic and sonic spectrum. Not a fan of jangle!

And, Muse is a clever comparison. I can hear the theatre in both acts. 

cuethesun said:

Both good observations! Bombast is an accurate description but I'm drawn to big loud guitars (the "power" in PP) and a kitchen sink production that runs the dynamic and sonic spectrum. Not a fan of jangle!

And, Muse is a clever comparison. I can hear the theatre in both acts. 

The harmonies reminded me of Muse.

Newly out yesterday, some Jellyfishers.

What’s a simple definition power pop?

— Asked my younger, hipper sister as the two of us drove down to Philly yesterday and caught part of David Dye’s annual power pop celebration on WXPN (a university station that is indistinguishable to my ears from WFUV). Dye had just played Until I Fall Away by the Gin Blossoms, which I wouldn’t characterize as power pop at all, placing it well outside the intersection where jangle pop and power pop overlap. Next up was the Jam’s In the City, and as my head suddenly switched from gentle swaying to the Gin Blossoms to emphatic nodding, I boiled the definition down to that difference. Whatever else power pop is, it’s pop that gets your head nodding with its own sense of purpose.

(Right after I posted this, WFUV cued up Call Me, and the nodding started. It’s missing a guitar solo, but sounds like power pop to me.)

I do believe there’s a lot of overlap. And with that more pure pop gets lumped into the power pop genre. Jangle is somewhere in the middle but not quite there. The real power, in my opinion, needs to come from big loud guitars that “drive” the power pop tune. If you need one band: Cheap Trick (trust me I own the entire four decade catalogue). If you need a singular song: Go All the Way:  Well crafted verses, the soaring chorus, counter melodies, lush harmonizes, drop dead middle eight, crescendo coda delivered on a bed of a Gibson plugged into a Marshall half stack. Not to be argumentative. Just my personal take. Subjective and interpretive! 

Yeah, I find it easier to come up with exemplary songs and groups than to enunciate a guiding definition, but for now I’m sticking with pop that gets my head nodding as if it were rock.

(Two songs after Call Me, WFUV played I Will Follow. U2 has my head nodding again, but it ain’t pop, so not power pop.)

Lotion:  A little known band, but I dig them.  Power pop?  You tell me.  Only 3 albums: Telephone Album, Nobody's Cool (liner notes allegedly by Thomas Pynchon), and The Full Isaac.  Also an E.P. titled The Agnew Funeral. 

(R&B x funk x jazz x disco) + punk = pop to the nth power.

This song somehow got past me when it came out, but when I heard it, I was mesmerized. I know Django Django has been mentioned on this board before, but this sounds more like a modern version of The Byrds, and I believe it belongs here in this thread.

This double-CD tribute to Pete Ham is hit-and-miss, but still recommended for Badfinger fans. It suffers, I think, from a sincere but too-respectful treatment of Ham as an underappreciated genius, which tends to tip the covers toward singer-songwriter genuflections and away from power-pop launchpads. Some favorite artists of mine take part: Mary Lee Kortes (Mary Lee’s Corvette), Shelby Lynne, Amy Rigby, Ken Sharp. Electric Piquete’s Daptone-like Matted Spam is another highlight.

And then there’s 76-year-old Melanie, whose verses make you worry that she won’t make it to the end of Without You, until the chorus kicks in and lifts her.

https://mutcomm.com/shine-on-a-tribute-to-pete-ham-to-be-released-june-23-on-yt-music/

Thanks for the tip! As for a worthy, and somewhat hard to find, killer rendition of “Without You” check out Heart’s version on Magazine. Ann slays it. 

DaveSchmidt said:

This double-CD tribute to Pete Ham is hit-and-miss, but still recommended for Badfinger fans. It suffers, I think, from a sincere but too-respectful treatment of Ham as an underappreciated genius, which tends to tip the covers toward singer-songwriter genuflections and away from power-pop launchpads. Some favorite artists of mine take part: Mary Lee Kortes (Mary Lee’s Corvette), Shelby Lynne, Amy Rigby, Ken Sharp. Electric Piquete’s Daptone-like Matted Spam is another highlight.

And then there’s 76-year-old Melanie, whose verses make you worry that she won’t make it to the end of Without You, until the chorus kicks in and lifts her.

https://mutcomm.com/shine-on-a-tribute-to-pete-ham-to-be-released-june-23-on-yt-music/

Been listening lately to Shelby Lynne's cover of Dylan's Not Dark Yet.  Fantastic.  Gonna give it another spin now.

cuethesun said:

Thanks for the tip! As for a worthy, and somewhat hard to find, killer rendition of “Without You” check out Heart’s version on Magazine. Ann slays it.

I hadn’t heard Heart’s version (Magazine never made it onto my Columbia House order list), and I enjoyed it. But I’m afraid nobody touches Nilsson.

Have The Bangles been mentioned here? Their early stuff definitely qualifies.