History Main / PowerPop

* Music/Graduate (mainly known for being [[RetroactiveRecognition an early band]] of [[Music/TearsForFears Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith's]]. Despite being marketed as a TwoTone band on the basis of their [[OneHitWonder sole hit]] "[[Music/ElvisCostello Elvis]] Should Play Ska", their actual sound is much closer to this.)

* Music/{{Jellyfish}}

That's literally all there is to it. Power pop emerged as a genre in the middle of TheSixties, and its basic characteristics have remained unchanged since then. Power pop basically denotes bands that try to sound like a cross between Music/TheBeatles and Music/TheWho. There's an emphasis on strong melodies and heavy use of Beatles-styled vocal harmonies, but this is married to loud guitars and somewhat "aggressive" drumming borrowed from the Who (with the jangly 12-string guitar sound of Music/TheByrds often thrown in for good measure). The result? Well, pop rock music with balls, so its popularity probably isn't that surprising. Power pop is also notable for its LyricalDissonance, given its cheerful sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, despair, or self-empowerment.

TheSeventies represented the decade where Power pop came into its own as a genre, represented by artists like Badfinger (who enjoyed the patronage of Music/TheBeatles), The Raspberries, famous [[CultClassic cult band]] Music/BigStar, NRBQ, [[Music/ToddRundgren Nazz and Todd Rundgren]]. The genre also reached the peak of its mainstream popularity in the late seventies, represented chiefly by Music/CheapTrick and others like 20/20, Music/TheCars, and Music/TheKnack. Thanks to dumb British journalists who tended to use "power pop" as a catchall term, lots of bands that weren't primarily power pop got lumped into the genre, such as Music/TheJam, Music/{{Squeeze|Band}}, the Music/{{Buzzcocks}}, Music/ElvisCostello, Music/{{Blondie}}, Music/{{XTC}}, and Music/NickLowe (most of these bands were [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]], PunkRock or early AlternativeRock, with Squeeze and Nick Lowe being the closest to bona-fide Power Pop).

* Music/{{Bread}} (Usually considered Soft Rock balladeers, but a lot of their album tracks and BSide material qualify. "Down on My Knees" could easily pass for a Badfinger song)

* Music/{{Squeeze}}

TheSeventies represented the decade where Power pop came into its own as a genre, represented by artists like Badfinger (who enjoyed the patronage of Music/TheBeatles), The Raspberries, famous [[CultClassic cult band]] Music/BigStar, NRBQ, [[Music/ToddRundgren Nazz and Todd Rundgren]]. The genre also reached the peak of its mainstream popularity in the late seventies, represented chiefly by Music/CheapTrick and others like 20/20, Music/TheCars, and Music/TheKnack. Thanks to dumb British journalists who tended to use "power pop" as a catchall term, lots of bands that weren't primarily power pop got lumped into the genre, such as Music/TheJam, Music/{{Squeeze}}, the Music/{{Buzzcocks}}, Music/ElvisCostello, Music/{{Blondie}}, Music/{{XTC}}, and Music/NickLowe (most of these bands were [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]], PunkRock or early AlternativeRock, with Squeeze and Nick Lowe being the closest to bona-fide Power Pop).

* Music/{{Supergrass}}

* Music/DwightTwilley

Fittingly, the term "power pop" was coined by Pete Townshend in a 1967 interview (quoted above) to describe his band's style. Their early singles like "I Can't Explain", "The Kids Are Alright" and "Substitute", helped [[TropeCodifier codify]] the genre, merging typical strong Beatle-ish GarageRock and PopRock melodies with driving R&B-inspired rhythms and massive Marshall-stacked guitars. The Beatles themselves released harder-edged singles that helped inspire the genre, such as "Day Tripper" and "Paperback Writer", and Music/TheKinks pretty much invented the style with the {{epic riff}}y "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night", which were the template for "I Can't Explain".

That's literally all there is to it. Power pop emerged as a genre in the middle of TheSixties, and its basic characteristics have remained unchanged since then. Power pop basically denotes bands that try to sound like a cross between Music/TheBeatles and Music/TheWho. There's an emphasis on strong melodies and heavy use of Beatles-styled vocal harmonies, but this is married to loud guitars and somewhat "aggressive" drumming borrowed from the Who (with the jangly 12-string guitar sound of Music/TheByrds often thrown in for good measure). The result? Well, pop rock music with balls, so its popularity probably isn't that surprising.

Fittingly, the term "power pop" was coined by Pete Townshend in a 1967 interview (quoted above) to describe his band's style. Their early singles like "I Can't Explain", "The Kids Are Alright" and "Substitute", helped [[TropeCodifier codify]] the genre, merging strong Beatle-ish melodies wivth driving R&B-inspired rhythms and massive Marshall-stacked guitars. The Beatles themselves released harder-edged singles that helped inspire the genre, such as "Day Tripper" and "Paperback Writer", and Music/TheKinks pretty much invented the style with the {{epic riff}}y "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night", which were the template for "I Can't Explain".

TheSeventies represented the decade where Power pop came into its own as a genre, represented by artists like Badfinger (who enjoyed the patronage of Music/TheBeatles), The Raspberries, famous [[CultClassic cult band]] Music/BigStar, NRBQ, [[Music/ToddRundgren Nazz and Todd Rundgren]]. The genre also reached the peak of its mainstream popularity in the late seventies, represented chiefly by Music/CheapTrick and others like 20/20, Music/TheCars, and Music/TheKnack. Thanks to dumb British journalists who tended to use "power pop" as a catchall term, lots of bands that weren't really power pop got lumped into the genre, such as Music/TheJam, Music/{{Squeeze}}, the Music/{{Buzzcocks}}, Music/ElvisCostello, Music/{{Blondie}}, Music/{{XTC}}, and Music/NickLowe (most of these bands were [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]], PunkRock or early AlternativeRock, with Squeeze and Nick Lowe being the closest to bona-fide Power Pop).

* Music/DwightTwiley

** 2006: "Music/HereItGoesAgain"

* Music/TheWho (TropeNamer)
** Music/MyGeneration
** Music/AQuickOne
** Music/TheWhoSellout