Talk About Power-Pop

[Guest Teal-y Dan]

I've been revisiting Fountains of Wayne, the Cars, and Cheap Trick lately. I have a Fountains of Wayne CD that my AP psych teacher gave me. A few album tracks, but also live stuff and B-sides. I plan to pass this along to you, my board buds.

 

Let's talk about all things power-pop. Recommendations, heartwarming anecdotes, whatever. Bring it on.

 

I think I said this in another thread, I can't remember where, but "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield is right up there with the second tier of the Cars' greatest hits.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

The only album I own that I think could be classified power-pop is Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers, which I like quite a bit. Oh, and the first Weezer album, which I've never really been able to get into.

 

One of my friends really likes Fountains of Wayne. I fail to see their appeal.

 

Edit: "Jessie's Girl" is the shit.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

Also, what's the difference (is there one?) between New Wave and power-pop? Do Elvis Costello and Blondie count as the former or the latter? Inquiring minds want to know.

[King Kamala 0]

Huge, huge fan of power pop. This is my thread.

 

I own all of Fountains of Wayne's studio catalogue including their B-side album they released a couple years back. Great stuff, though I have to say the first two (the self titled and Utopia Parkway) are definitely my favorites. I saw them live last summer and they were pretty damn good. Their reputation as a mediocre live act sort of surprises me.

 

I recently acquired Graham Parker's Squeezing Out Sparks+Sparks Live and Nick Lowe's Jesus of Cool and those both qualify as power pop classics in my book. Though the latter may be too ecclectic to simply be pigeonholed as a power pop album. I think you'd rather like the former, Czech. It's almost like Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band decided to jam with The Cars.

 

And Jesse's Girl is almost up there with the first tier of The Cars greatest hits IMO.

[Guest Teal-y Dan]

Well, yeah, almost, but honestly now, it's not "Moving in Stereo" or "Drive." That's why I said second-tier. I know the things I say. As for New Wave/power pop, I think "New Wave" seems to designate a particular time period more than "power pop" does. Weezer, though? Oh, I don't like them.

 

Hey, up some Big Star, someone.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

This thread, from the man once so disdainful of the word "hooks" and all it implied? Impressive. This is a perfectly timed thread, as right around the middle-end of spring is when I start busting out these albums to get ready for the summer.

 

Ricky Springfield's "I've Done Everything For You" is an underloved gem, too. It's no "Jessie's Girl," but it might be even better for karaoke. Also, I'll throw out my requisite Exploding Hearts plug for something on the contemporary side, even though they're dead.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Let's talk Cars tiers. Complete Greatest Hits is one of the best compilations I know and probably the best $9.98 sale rack purchase I ever made. From there:

 

Tier 1: Just What I Needed, My Best Friend's Girl, You're All I've Got Tonight, Since You're Gone, You Might Think, Magic, Moving In Stereo, Drive

 

Tier 2: Good Times Roll, Let's Go, Bye Bye Love, Dangerous Type, Shake It Up, Tonight She Comes

 

Tier 3: It's All I Can Do, Touch and Go, I'm Not the One, Hello Again, Why Can't I Have You, You Are the Girl

 

I really love all those songs, though. I really fucking love the Cars. And I'd definitely put "Jessie's Girl" on par with the top stuff.

[Guest Teal-y Dan]

And hey, that song is just as good as the second-tier hit singles by The Cars, if you ask me. Did Ric Ocasek produce it? It's not quite at the level of gems like "Moving in Stereo," "Drive," "Touch and Go," or "Just What I Needed," but it's on par with, say, "Magic," "Shake It Up," or "Good Times Roll."

 

Tier 1: Moving in Stereo, Drive, Magic, Touch and Go, Just What I Needed

Tier 2: Shake It Up, My Best Friend's Girl, Good Times Roll, You're All I've Got Tonight, Hello Again*

Tier 3: Since You're Gone, Why Can't I Have You, Dangerous Type, Bye Bye Love

Tier 4: everything else I guess?

 

This thread, from the man once so disdainful of the word "hooks" and all it implied? Impressive.

TSM accounts for an unacceptable portion of my personal growth.

 

*I don't care if those orchestra hits are more dated than a library book, I LOVE THEM IN ALL APPLICATIONS, like "Owner of a Lonely Heart," or Ted DiBiase's theme music. I could and may start an entire thread on the orchestra hit.

EDIT: I initially omitted "or." Luckily, I put it in. That would've been my "Nick Cave of the Pet Shop Boys."

[King Kamala 0]

I understand how Edwin can have "Touch and Go" in his third tier but for some reason, it's become my favorite Cars song over the last 2-3 years. I think it comes from an acquaintance's frequent, gushing appraisal of Panorama (The Cars unsuccessful "dark and moody" album that "Touch and Go" came from). The bastard brainwashed me.

 

Another underrated 80s top 40 power pop song I think deserves mention here is The Outfield's "Your Love".

 

I'll do my tiers of The Cars later tonight.

[Red Baron 0]

There are only three or four songs that I like from the Cars, the rest can pass.

[Henry Spencer 0]

Teenage Fanclub, you guys. I'll upload some songs later tonight when I get home, but about half of Bandwagonesque is brilliant.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

Teenage Fanclub, you guys. I'll upload some songs later tonight when I get home, but about half of Bandwagonesque is brilliant.

 

Yeah, here's some other stuff I put in this bracket that rules.

 

Centro-Matic - 'Huge In Every City'

Superchunk - 'Why Do You Have to Put a Date on Everything'

Afghan Whigs - 'Crazy'

GBV - 'Teenage FBI'

The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet

 

[C Dubya 04 0]

Bandwagonesque was great.

 

 

This might date me a bit, but in high school I always found "It's a Shame About Ray" by the Lemonheads to be wonderful, but I don't know if that counts as power-pop.

[King Kamala 0]

My tiers of Cars

 

First Tier: Just What I Needed, Shake It Up, You Might Think, Magic, Moving In Stereo, You're All I've Got Tonight, Let's Go, Good Times Roll

 

Second Tier: Touch and Go, My Best Friend's Girl, Bye Bye Love, Drive, I'm Not The One, Since You're Gone, It's All I Can Do

 

Third Tier: Dangerous Type, Hello Again, Tonight She Comes, Why Can't I Have You, You Are The Girl

[Guest Teal-y Dan]

Mmmm Bandwagonesque. LOVE the first track. It's all good, but the first track is especially brilliant, totally.

 

I just checked out Velvet Crush's Teenage Symphonies to God yesterday and really enjoyed it.

 

http://www.seeqpod.net/search/?plid=886f028182

A trio of Third Eye Blind singles. "Never Let You Go" really has some Cars tendencies, doesn't it? It's the square-wave, I reckon.

 

Man, I used to be able to post HTML, like, on Friday. What happened since then?

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

You can send playlists with seeqpod?! I clearly did not read the FAQ. That's awesome.

 

"Never Let You Go" is a little gem. Third Eye Blind is probably the late 90s alt-rock afterthought whose singles I feel least guilty about enjoying. I think it only extends to the singles, though--they have this one song called "Motorcycle Drive-By," which I remember only because one of the guys I lived with first year of college used to sing it really loudly and enthusiastically while we were playing Soul Calibur in his room. Later, we found webcam movies of his terrifyingly pale girlfriend stripping for him, incredibly slowly and dispassionately. Not putting them on a CD and blackmailing him with them was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. "Motorcycle Drive-By" still isn't a very good song, despite all that.

[Guest Teal-y Dan]

I was hoping you were going to say that you took the webcam strip movies and set them to "Motorcycle Drive-By."

[King Kamala 0]

Third Eye Blind's self titled debut is a pretty solid album, the other two? Not so much. But "Never Let You Go" is probably their best song and that's off their second album so it's not a total loss.

 

Another power-popish, late 90s alt rock afterthought band that I really enjoyed was Fastball. I think I prefer their minor hit "You're An Ocean" (featuring Billy Preston on piano) over their big hits "The Way" and "Out of My Head". Though I love all three.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I was hoping you were going to say that you took the webcam strip movies and set them to "Motorcycle Drive-By."

See, this is why not making copies of them was one of the worst decisions of my life.

 

I never really warmed up to Fastball, though I remember seeing the video for "The Way" endlessly. 1997-1998 was a strange period during which I watched an inordinate amount of VH1 and MTV.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

Cannot recommend Tullycraft enough to anyone who isn't familiar. I don't know what defines "power pop" exactly, but Tullycraft are by all means pop.

 

[Kinetic 0]

Oddly enough, I've never really cared for Big Star. It seems like something I would like and I know there are a lot of otherwise reasonable people who really like those first two albums, but they just don't do much for me. In fact, I think I like the song "Alex Chilton" better than anything its namesake ever wrote.

 

The first Weezer album is nice enough, but it puzzles me how it's endured as a staple on the playlist with people around my age. I find the second Weezer album pretty nauseating now, but I really enjoyed it in high school. Also strange how that record seems to have been the catalyst for the wave of awful emo bands that emerged this decade. Everything of their's I've heard since Pinkerton has been really terrible.

 

I liked the first Fountains of Wayne album a lot in high school, but it doesn't hold up well for me. Utopia Parkway was a crushing disappointment to me when it came out and it hasn't improved with age. There's "Denise" and "It Must Be Summer" and "The Senator's Daughter." I don't think I like anything else on there, although it's admittedly been years since I've listened to it.

[At Home 0]

I saw Fountains of Wayne live. They're all in their late 30s or 40s or so, but still kick ass. There was only a dozen people there, as it was a Tuesday, but it was one of the best shows I've ever been to.

 

The Little Ones are also a great band.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

I'm seeing them (Little ones) tonight! They're opening for Ra Ra Riot, who just had dinner at my house!

[Guest Teal-y Dan]

I liked the first Fountains of Wayne album a lot in high school, but it doesn't hold up well for me. Utopia Parkway was a crushing disappointment to me when it came out and it hasn't improved with age. There's "Denise" and "It Must Be Summer" and "The Senator's Daughter." I don't think I like anything else on there, although it's admittedly been years since I've listened to it.

You don't like "A Fine Day for a Parade" or "Amity Gardens"? I think those are great. "Laser Show" is a good funny Fountains of Wayne song. I think it's really good. I never liked "Stacy's Mom," by the way.

 

How'd you get a band to eat at your house?

[Smartly Pretty 0]

The violinist used to date my older brother, and I was always the tag-along type, so I sent her an e-mail. They're really cool people, I had a blast. The bassist from Editors was here too. We had lamb chops, mac and cheese, and then some cookies. They're all really funny people. I didn't know the other members of the band until today, so it was cool to meet them. I can't wait for the show tonight.

 

I'm really fond of Welcome Interstate Managers, by the way.

[King Kamala 0]

Oh I forgot to mention that after seeing Fountains of Wayne last August, I got a T-shirt signed by them. Pretty stupid in retrospect cause now I can't wear that shirt and as much as I like them, it's not like it's ever going to sell for huge bucks if I ever get deep into debt and decide to sell it. $20 down the drain.

 

And I don't have any cool meeting band stories like SmartlyPretty. The student body president in my sophomore and junior year's band opened up for Hawthorne Heights. That's not really worth bragging about though.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

That was a really great show. It was the first time I heard the Little Ones, but after the show I bought both of their EPs, they're really good. And Ra Ra Riot are just unbelievable live. If Littles Ones and Ra Ra Riot stop by your area, you have to check it out.

[Kinetic 0]

I think Cheap Trick might be my favorite of the bands mentioned in this thread. Heaven Tonight is a really solid album.

[King Kamala 0]

I'm not going to let this thread go by without a mention of The Raspberries. Great classic power-pop band. Even if their ballads kind of suck.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Third Eye Blind's self titled debut is a pretty solid album, the other two? Not so much. But "Never Let You Go" is probably their best song and that's off their second album so it's not a total loss.

 

Another power-popish, late 90s alt rock afterthought band that I really enjoyed was Fastball. I think I prefer their minor hit "You're An Ocean" (featuring Billy Preston on piano) over their big hits "The Way" and "Out of My Head". Though I love all three.

"The Way" is awesome.

 

I actually really like Third Eye Blind. They make good singles ('Semi Charmed Life' is a good drug ballad dressed up as a cheerful radio song) and have had a few decent album tracks (I actually like 'Motorcycle Drive-By' and, despite how insanely preachy and sappy it is, 'Slow Motion').

 

Does the 'The Middle' by Jimmy Eat World qualify? If so, put that for me. So cheerfully catchy and fun to listen to despite the grade 7 self-esteem class lyrics.