Jon Brion was asked to describe a catchy name for the music he loves, performs and produces (Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, Rhett Miller, Jellyfish, Elliott Smith, Eels) so he came up with

“Unpopular Pop”

 

It’s a fitting name in my opinion.

 

When I tell people my favorite style of music is POWER POP they often equate it to current Top 40 pop music (Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber or basically American Idol Pop).

 

However, it’s NOT that kind of pop music.

 

Power Pop music refers to bands like: 

Big Star, The Raspberries,  Shoes, Badfinger,

World Party, The Posies, The Bangles  and Cheap Trick.

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But, it also refers to more obscure bands, bands most people have never heard of before, like: Pez Band, Ouch!, Cliff Hillis, The Tories, The Beat, Owsley, Wisely, Lisa Mychols, Kai Danzberg, The Pop Cycle, Matthew Sweet, The Grays, Fountains of Wayne, Wilkerson, Game Theory, Spongetones and Klaatu.

 

Bands that don’t make it, but should, onto the Top 40 radio charts or Grammy Awards. Their music, the best music in my opinion, is surprisingly unpopular.

 

This is a site for those bands, from the bands who started the movement (The Beatles, The Kinks, Badfinger) to the ones who picked up their lead to the ones currently continuing to carry the torch today.

 

Hopefully, HOP ON POWER POP  will introduce you to songs from bands you’ve either never heard of or rarely heard of before, then have you rush out and buy their music!

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Support local and independent artists!

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HOP ON POWER POP will showcase songs that fit the Power Pop genre.

 

Since I, Nadja Dee, am the one running this page, the song selections are my choice. It’s very difficult to pin down one definitive music that fits power pop. There’s some powerful power pop songs, but I also feel that not every song has to be full of power. They don't all have to go up to 11. There’s softer power pop gems, there’s songs that are slight combination songs, but still mostly Power Pop. There’s not one simple category for power pop, so there’s going to be argument as to what is and what isn’t power pop.

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On the whole, I feel power pop should:

1. Evoke a British invasion, 60s vibe. Something that you could hear sung by The Beatles

2. Have an element of jangly guitar or style to it

3. Have fun lyrics that you can easily sing along to

4. Songs that have catchy melodies 

5. Songs with good harmonies

6. Songs  in a simpler verse-chorus-verse format

7.  Songs usually make you feel good, happy and you can’t stop humming them

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So I will select specific songs from bands (old and new) that I feel best fit my definition of Power Pop and hopefully find like minds along the way.

 

Please share if you want to post a video, song, or suggest a band that fits this site.

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Thank You,

Nadja Dee

Purveyor of Power Pop