Power pop delivers quick verses, radio-friendly hooks and sing-along choruses and harmonies. Unlike most rock music, blue notes and power chords are generally minimised. AC/DC, The Stooges and Alice in Chains don't fit -- plenty of great material but way too heavy for the most part. Progenitors were mid-period Beatles, early Who, British vocal groups like The Hollies, American garage bands such as the Shadows of Knight, and of course the Byrds and even Simon and Garfunkel.
Yes, I'm perfectly aware that three Kinks records are on my list. Listen to them and you'll understand why.
Unfortunately, YouTube videos have a bad habit of disappearing in the middle of the night so some links may be dead. Also, to avoid the horror show of social media commentary I've conveniently disabled comments.
1. September Gurls -- Big Star Rock and roll dreams do come true.
1. Marquee Moon -- Television Oops, there are two number ones. You know I'm right about this.2. I Saw the Light -- Todd Rundgren His thank-you card to Carole King.
3. Gloria (Van Morrison) -- The Shadows of Knight What jam bands grew up jamming to.
4. Ticket to Ride -- Beatles The song that launched a thousand ships.
5. The Kids Are Alright -- The Who Wistful, heartfelt and optimistic spin on that period when we break from the concerns of youth to face the realities of life unknown.
6. Surrender -- Cheap Trick, Voices -- Cheap Trick (tie) From parental advice on lust to a magnificent Beatles-influenced ballad, Cheap Trick rules.
7. I Wanna Be With You -- Raspberries And they did go all the way.
8. Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan) -- The Byrds Combine the Beatles with Dylan. Bada bing
9. Go to the Mirror! -- The Who Several melodic and vocal themes from "Tommy" distilled into a 3-1/2 minute masterpiece.
10. California Girls -- Beach Boys This little symphony succeeds on so many levels but co-composer and producer Wilson lives forever in the pantheon of power pop.
11. 867-5309/Jenny -- Tommy Tutone A happy tune about desperately calling some random woman (we assume) whose number is scrawled on a lavatory wall. Touching!
12. Live Forever -- Oasis It's not bragging if you can pull it off.
13. Baby Blue -- Badfinger The best Beatles song they never wrote.
14. Dreaming -- Blondie A tribute to British working class life and love
15. Room Without A View -- Smithereens A picture of this record is in the dictionary under "Beatlesque."
16. Tired of Waiting -- The Kinks Surprise: you can (and should) sing along to ennui.
17. Under the Milky Way -- The Church Ethereal vibe powered their most memorable song.
18. Driver's Seat -- Sniff 'N The Tears This is what you really felt driving on Saturday night.
19. Ballroom Blitz -- The Sweet Yes it is a power pop record because I said so!
20. So it Goes -- Nick Lowe Just under three minutes of pure pop philosophy.
21. Whenever You're On My Mind -- Marshall Crenshaw Love like you'll never get hurt.
22. She's Not There -- Zombies Now no band would sound complete without an electric piano.
23. Sick of Myself -- Matthew Sweet Guitarists Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine didn't skip their morning coffee. Blistering guitars meld with Sweet's pure pop vocal.
24. Blitzkrieg Bop -- Ramones Hey! Ho! Even mom and dad liked this one.
25. It's All I Can Do -- The Cars Always magic...Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker applied the studio gloss yet another slice of ear candy from The Cars.
26. Holiday Road -- Lindsay Buckingham Short and sweet solo hit from the quiet guitar master, Featured in National Lampoon's Vacation.
27 Blue Line -- Let's Active Another pop project from Mitch Easter's garage.
28. Too Late -- The Shoes Like the Velvet Underground they inspired more bands than buyers
29. Talk About the Passion -- R.E.M. Fine effort from the unpretentious early REM.
30. Rebel Rebel -- David Bowie When you get that perfect guitar riff, play it loud and play it over.
31. About a Girl -- Nirvana Clever chord choices turn longing into joy. Link is to the "Bleach" version.
32. Time Won't Let Me -- Outsiders California, cars, cruising and AM radio. Any questions?
33. There She Goes -- The La's Some would say this belongs at #1, but can't be left off any list.
34. Girl of My Dreams -- Bram Tchaikovsky Sounds like the Byrds flew forward in time to 1979.
35. Life Begins at the Hop -- XTC Somehow none of this should have worked, but it did.
36. I Can't Let Go (Hollies) -- Linda Ronstadt One of the most overlooked power pop records, from her new wave turn in the late 70s.
37. American Girl -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Rock and roll returns to its roots.
38. I'm On Fire -- Dwight Twilley Band Sleeper debut hit for Twilley and partner Phil Seymour cranked up the reverb with shrewd British-American finesse
39. What I Like About You -- Romantics Let's hear it for goofy red suits.
40. Places That Are Gone -- Tommy Keene David Geffen smartly signed Tommy Keene and this largely overlooked 1988 single will tell you why.
41. Hold On -- Ian Gomm The most radio-friendly release from the early new wave movement
42. I'll Be You -- Replacements One of the only bands that understood that youth is temporary
43. Intro/Sweet Jane -- Lou Reed Unforgettable guitar leads into Lou's rock and roll anthem.
44. She Sheila -- The Producers Atlanta outfit featured one of the best rock names ever: guitarist Wayne Famous.
45. Black and White -- The Db's Similar riff to "Shake Some Action" but a better tune.
46. Needles and Pins -- The Searchers Set the tone for the genre
47. Found Out About You -- Gin Blossoms Their first hit record
48. Going Down to Liverpool -- Katrina and the Waves The original and the best!
49. Show Me -- Pretenders Almost forgotten track from the best rock album of the 1980s.
50. Starry Eyes -- The Records One-hit wonders but such was the case with many power pop bands.
51. Teenage Riot -- Sonic Youth "No Wave" gets a theme song and it sounds like the Beach Boys at volume level 11. Video is a nice example of punk film-making.
52. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (Neil Diamond) -- Monkees Gotta love the Prefab Four!
53. Pump it Up -- Elvis Costello & the Attractions Sneering is indeed an art form.
54. See No Evil -- Television One of those records you can play like five times in a row and it gets better each time.
55. Stacy's Mom -- Fountains of Wayne
56. At the Stars -- Better Than Ezra
57. I Want You Back -- Hoodoo Gurus One of several overlooked tunes from Down Under craftsmen of addictive pop hooks. Surfers loved this 3-minute shot of musical adrenaline.
58. Your Favourite Thing -- Sugar
59. Lonely Holiday -- Old 97s
60. Perfect
Skin -- Lloyd Cole & the Commotions Great riff in an unabashedly
literary setting
61. Warm California Sun -- The Rivieras A favourite of the Ramones, by the way.62. Juke Box Music -- The Kinks The search for happiness in a lonely life becomes a rousing celebration of music.
63. All the Young Dudes (Bowie) -- Mott the Hoople Mournful but uplifting anthem, calling 1970s youth to declare their birthright to a dying world.
64. Children of the Revolution -- T. Rex A musical Second Coming from the god of 1970s rock and roll.
65. Since You've Been Gone -- Outfield Solid radio-friendly pop-rock. Reminiscent of Journey in spots but with a power pop edge.
66. In Between Days -- The Cure Breakthrough new wave hit proved that Robert Smith brought much more than a clever haircut.
67. Love is Like a Rock -- Donnie Iris One of the keys to great power pop is: Keep it simple!
68. Shake Some Action -- Flamin' Groovies
69. Fall Down -- Toad the Wet Sprocket Sounds like it was unearthed rather than merely written. Killer guitar tone and brooding vocal harmony grabbed indie and mainstream US rock listeners.
70. On Your Radio -- Joe Jackson
71. Steady, As She Goes -- The Raconteurs Jack White energized bandmate Brendan Benson's 1960s-throwback psychedelic pop melody.
72. Tomorrow -- Morrissey Smartly remixed single shot to #1 in the USA Modern Rock chart (1992)
73. Satellite -- Guster Proof again that less is more.
74. Coming of Age -- Foster the People Great production surrounds this one -- channels Brian Wilson loud and clear.
75. Psychotic Reaction -- Count Five Seminal garage rocker from the 1960s
76. California All the Way -- Luna California dreams melt into a jaded Velvetesque soundscape.
77. Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) -- Buzzocks I'll answer that: Yes.
78. Shapes of Things -- Yardbirds Seminal excursion to psychedelia courtesy of Jeff Beck
79. Sour Girl -- Stone Temple Pilots Unexpectedly melodic, Beatlesque turn from versatile frontman Scott Weiland.
80. Turning Japanese -- Vapors Yes it's a novelty record but gotta love the new wave energy.
81. Feel the Pain -- Dinosaur Jr. Channels Brian Wilson prior to breaking the sound barrier.
82. It's a Shame About Ray -- The Lemonheads One is left wondering...What exactly happened to Ray anyway?
83. Run to You -- Brian Adams Production was a bit stifling but the sentiment and passion were spot on.
84. It's Only Life -- Feelies Peter Buck (R.E.M.) produced. Less is more.
85. Here Comes Your Man -- The Pixies Nice slice of twangy layered pop proving that any phrase will do as long as its catchy and repeated enough!
86. Sleepwalker -- The Kinks In 1977 the Kinks finally got back to basics.
87. Mighty Quinn (Bob Dylan) -- Manfred Mann Nobody had any clue what this meant!
88. Lucky Number -- Lene Lovich Offbeat? Yes, but dig that jangly guitar riff coming out of the chorus and the surf-style bridge.
89. Every Word Means No -- Let's Active Another dish of Monkees-style pop from Mitch Easter. Bonus: Ridiculously cute puppies in the video.
90. Friday on My Mind -- The Easybeats One of those essential 1960s AM radio blasters.
Additional brilliant commentary
Why is there only one Beatles record? Well, why is every song on the list not a Beatles record? Because one could make an argument that a proper power pop song list should have nothing but Beatles tunes, and I didn't feel like just making a list of everything the Beatles ever did because that would be inane and pointless.
What fits in which bin is to me less important than intent, philosophy and ultimately great songcraft and production. One can tick all the right boxes but the fans know what they need to hear. Some music is celebrated and I'm left wondering what's all the fuss? I don't care about what some pointy-headed twit says I'm supposed to like. I mean, Marc Bolan was a visionary, his songs are timeless and yes I will say that "Children of the Revolution" and a whole batch of other great T. Rex songs are indeed power pop because glam rock (which he helped invent) was a manifestation of power pop at that time.
Anyway, thanks for visiting. Your assignment is to absorb all of this and if you're in a band please create more. If you're not then please start a band and bring some balls to the affair while you're at it.
Anyway, thanks for visiting. Your assignment is to absorb all of this and if you're in a band please create more. If you're not then please start a band and bring some balls to the affair while you're at it.
