History Main / PowerPop

+ RockAndRoll, UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion (both the Merseybeat and the Mod aspects of it), PopMusic, ProtoPunk, HardRock

* Music/TheClick5

* Music/TheClickFive

* Music/Supergrass

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, [[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 The Knack. The Knack provided the genre's biggest hit with "My Sharona", but they suffered a huge backlash and a "Knuke the Knack" campaign over the perceived misogyny of their lyrics. 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).

PowerPop is Music/TheBeatles [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] Music/TheWho.

TheSeventies represented the decade where PowerPop 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, [[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 The Knack. The Knack provided the genre's biggest hit with "My Sharona", but they suffered a huge backlash and a "Knuke the Knack" campaign over the perceived misogyny of their lyrics. 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/TheCars (straddling the line between PowerPop and [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]])

+ RockAndRoll, BritishInvasion (both the Merseybeat and the Mod aspects of it), PopMusic, ProtoPunk, HardRock

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".

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 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 joined in the fun with the {{epic riff}}y "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night".

+ RockAndRoll, BritishInvasion (both the Merseybest and the Mod aspects of it), PopMusic, ProtoPunk, HardRock

* [[Music/EnuffZNuff Enuff Z'Nuff]] (although they had the misfortune of being labeled as a HairMetal band because [[ExecutiveMeddling that's what Music/AtcoRecords said they were]].)

-->''Power pop is what we play — what Music/TheSmallFaces used to play, and the kind of pop Music/TheBeachBoys played in the days of "Fun, Fun, Fun" which I preferred.''
-->'''[[Music/TheWho Pete Townshend]]'''

* [[Music/EnuffZNuff Enuff Z'Nuff]] (although they had the misfortune of being labeled as a HairMetal band because [[ExecutiveMeddling that's what Atco said they were]].)

* Nazz and ToddRundgren solo

* Music/{{Weezer}} (also Alternative Rock, PopPunk, and [at least on ''Music/{{Pinkerton}}''] [[EmoMusic Emo]])

PowerPop is Music/TheBeatles [[XMeetsY meets]] Music/TheWho.

PopPunk bands often [[BlatantLies claim to be]] power pop. Considering TheWho inspired many of the first punk bands, this may not be surprising.

Power pop dropped out of the spotlight after the end of the seventies but continued to thrive underground and proved to be an important influence on AlternativeRock bands - many of the early alt-rock bands, such as {{REM}}, played JanglePop and owed a massive debt to power pop, especially Music/BigStar. The genre has still had its occasional moments of mainstream success, such as MatthewSweet's "Girlfriend", GinBlossoms' "Hey Jealousy", {{Weezer}}'s "Buddy Holly", and Walk the Moon's "Shut Up and Dance".

* Music/{{Weezer}} (also [[EmoMusic Emo]] and PopPunk)

* Music/{{Ramones}}

* Music/WalkTheMoon (especially amplified on ''Talking is Hard'')

* Music/{{Weezer}}

The term "power pop" was, perhaps fittingly enough, 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 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 joined in the fun with the {{Epic Riff}}y "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night".