Our Favorite Power Pop Albums (w/Mike Portnoy, Jim Bacchi, & Martin Popoff)
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- Опубліковано 11 кві 2021
- Join Pete Pardo, Mike Portnoy, Jim Bacchi, and Martin Popoff as they lists their 5 favorite power pop albums. #mikeportnoy #jimbocchi #martinpopoff
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“ Pure Pop For Now People”-Nick Lowe
“#1 Record/Radio City”-Big Star
“ Armed Forces”-Elvis Costello
pump it up Elvis Costello
ghosts of princes in towers by the Rich Kids ( Glen Matlock )
Rich kids by Rich kids
hanging on the telephone by the Nerves ( original version )
Todd Rundgren-Something/Anything
The Replacements-Pleased to Meet You
Cheap Trick-In Color
Matthew Sweet-Girlfriend
Raspberries-Starting Over
Weezer-Blue Album
Big Star-#1 Record
Don’t know much power Pop but I love these records.
I'm totally with you on those first two, second two not quite, but the first two totally yes...
Todd's A Wizard A True Star was a huge part of my young life.
Something/Anything great album too.
For me every Replacements album is good. Big Star had a great three album run. And those first two Weezer albums are great.
Your comment made the one was about to do completely useless. I agree with absolutely everything. Well, it's that thing, Cheap Trick favourite change from time to time (but it's always one of their first four) and sometimes I like Replacements' Let It Be better, although Please To Meet Me sounds more power pop than LiB.
I love Matthew Sweet as well. Girlfriend was great but my favorite offering from him was 100% fun. What an outstanding album. Cheers!
One of my favorite genres. Teenage Fanclub- Bandwagonesque. Nuff said.
Fantastic album
Big Star - #1 Record
Matthew Sweet -Girlfriend
Shoes - Present Tense
Cheap Trick - In Color
Flamin Groovies -Shake Some Action
In Color is my favorite Cheap Trick album as well.
Shoes-Present Tense
Records-Crashes
20/20-20/20
Paul Collins and the Beat- The Beat
The Plimsouls-Plus
Off Broadway- On
20/20 debut Lp makes my top5! 😎👍
I could list power pop albums all day - it’s a genre I dearly and deeply love. But just a few that come immediately to mind:
Cheap Trick - In Color
The Bangles - All Over the Place
Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
The Rubinoos - The Rubinoos
The Records - The Records
Earth Quake - 8.5
Greg Kihn Band - Rockihnroll
Material Issue - International Pop Overthrow
Yep, the first Bangles album is a gem! Very underrated. Most of their big hits are on their later albums, but All Over The Place is still their masterpiece.
Greg Kihn good call
you are a real one for mentioning Material Issue
great fucking band
Some great Power Pop albums that come to my mind: (or have Power Pop elements)
Big Star - Radio City
Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight
The Cars - The Cars & Candy O
Weezer - Blue Album & Pinkerton
Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen & Singles Going Steady
The Replacements - Tim
Husker Du - Flip Your Wig
The Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action
The greatest Power Pop song, for me: Another Girl, Another Planet by The Only Ones.
Here's some that pop into my mind....
Shoes - Present Tense
Cheap Trick - In Color
Fountains of Wayne - S/T
Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix
The Knack - Get the Knack
Bleu - Redhead
Raspberries - Fresh
20/20 - S/T
Jellyfish - Bellybutton
Material Issue - International Pop Overthrow
Big Star - Radio City
Redd Kross - Third Eye
The Beckies - S/T
Great list. I love 20/20 album.
Material Issue. “Diane” and “Valerie” - great.
Fountains of Wayne "Welcome Interstate Managers" RIP Adam Schlesinger (1967-2020) COVID-19
Thanks for mentioning the Beckies and my old buddy Jimmy McAllister. He also played guitar on Hilly Michaels "Calling All Girls" LP!
Glad to see some Teenage Fanclub love. Bandwagonesque, Thirteen, Grand Prix and Songs from Northern Britain are all amazing alternative/power pop albums
Interesting and unexpected change of genres. The five power pop albums I've listened to the most lately.
1 - The Ramones - Rocket to Russia
2 - The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
3 - Joe Jackson - I'm The Man
4 - Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
5 - The Undertones - The Undertones
Undertones! Nice! Very underrated band.
Crowded House - first four albums
Utopia - Oblivion
Kim Wilde - Kim Wilde
Wax - Magnetic Heaven
Wax - American English
The Pursuit of Happiness - Love Junk
Nina Gordon - Tonight And The Rest Of My Life
The Pursuit of Happiness Love Junk fits this bill, really well. It rocks!
Utopia - POV (1985)
Utopia - Utopia (1982)
Thanks for mentioning the mighty Crowded House!
Oblivion may be one of my favorite 80s album, along with Love Bomb ( The Tubes ) and Merci ( Magma ).
Kim Wilde is more new wave to me but a lot of early new wave blends with the 80s power pop.
The definition of power pop is The Dwight Twilley Band!, No power pop show should ever go without a shout out about this band. Sincerely and Twilley Don’t Mind are the ultimate two slabs of power pop vinyl ever made!
as a member of the Dwight Twilley fan club, I agree 100%. Sincerely is a must on any power pop list.
Totally agree. Over the years my preferences have given a slight edge to Twilley Don't Mind. Bill Pitcock IV is one of my all-time favorite guitarists. Phil and Dwight were really great producers too!
@@blairhelsing630 "I'm on Fire" still wins...it just wins.
@@georgebarry8640 whenever I go to any pub and use the jukebox, "I'm On Fire"is in the rotation.
A New World Record by ELO, it's an awesome album,way ahead of its time.Four hit singles from it. My favorite album of all time..Every song is killer,so original sounding even today.
Yeah your right. Wouldn't have occurred to me.
My favorite record by them!
"Tightrope" and "Shangri-la" and "Rockaria" have become some of my favorites, but I still love the long version of "Roll Over Beethoven" since day one!
@@hnklbn that's how I got into ELO ..The original electric violin solo on ROB still thrills me to this day.Seen ELO in Vancouver B.C with my daughter in 2019.The best concert I've ever seen.Utter perfection,even had the opera singer part in Rockaria.Jeff Lynne is a genius !
Does ELO really fit in this category? 🤔
Hearing Mike Portnoy gush over Sloan made my day haha.
Having grown up only a couple hours away from where the band is from (Halifax NS) I've seen them god knows how many times by now, and I can't stress how good they are live, so much fun.
My favorite memory of seeing them live is during a blizzard here in Moncton NB, expected nobody to show up but sure enough the place was sold out, they ended up playing random requests and Chris Murphy couldn't remember the lyrics to Chester the Molester so they got the guy who requested it to come up and somg instead, such a good time!!
I need to do some research on Sloan. I've heard the name over the years but sadly never took the plunge. I hope to change that this year.
RIP Adam Schlesinger. His band Fountains of Wayne is an amazing power pop band, especially Utopia Parkway and Welcome Interstate Managers
Agree. Losing him to covid last year was a tragedy
Really talented dude.
Stuff he wrote and produced for The Monkees in 2016 is great!
The Smithereens were a great power pop band. Lots of power to their pop, but the 4th album Blow Up, my personal favorite, dialed down the power a bit and boosted the pop. Great songwriting! An obscure one to mention is the first album by Off Broadway from 1979, called "On". Great vocalist and lead guitarist, and hook filled rockers.
Agree on all your points.
I'm seeing a lot of people mentioning On Broadway. I've only heard a few of their tunes, but I like what I have heard.
Got that Off Broadway album! Gotta get my turntable set up.
Whenever I hear Power Pop I always think of Nick Lowe's Labour of Lust album. Early Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson in that group too. Love Sloan!! They are a staple of FM radio here in Canada.
CUMULATIVE INDEX:
*Mike*
1} 0:03:42 The Grays / Ro Sham Bo (1994)
2} 0:12:15 Ben Folds / Rockin' the Suburbs (2001)
3} 0:21:55 Sloan / A sides win (1992-2005)
4} 0:32:44 Weezer / (Blue Album) (1994)
5} 0:42:40 Jellyfish / Spilt Milk (1993)
HMs} 0:54:26 (1) The Pillbugs / The Pillbugs (1998); (2) Endochine / Day Two (2003); (3) Jughead / Jughead (2002); (4) Fuzzbubble / Fuzzbubble (2000+)
*Martin*
1} 0:06:11 New England / New England (1979)
2} 0:14:44 Bram Tchaikovsky / Pressure = The Russians Are Coming [USA] (1980)
3} 0:26:36 The Bears / Rise and Shine (1988)
4} 0:35:25 Buzzcocks / Another Music in a Different Kitchen (1978) [+ what-doesn’t-belong-here]
5} 0:46:10 City Boy / The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1979)
HMs} 1:01:32 (1) The dB’s / The Sound of Music (1987); (2) The Records / Crashes (1980)
*Jim*
1} 0:09:18 The Posies / Frosting on the Beater (1993)
2} 0:17:27 The Flames / The Flame (1970)
3} 0:29:08 Redd Kross / Show World (1997)
4} 0:37:25 Cheap Trick / Dream Police (1979)
5} 0:48:47 Jellyfish / Bellybutton (1990) + Spilt Milk (1993)
HMs} 1:00:27 Emitt Rhodes / Emitt Rhodes (1970)
*Pete*
1} 0:11:18 XTC / Black Sea (1980)
2} 0:20:13 The Cars / The Cars (1978)
3} 0:30:48 Cheap Trick / Dream Police (1979)
4} 0:40:08 Badfinger / No Dice (1970)
5} 0:52:07 Raspberries / Side 3 (1973)
HMs} 1:02:21 (1) Todd Rungren (various); (2) The Babies (maybe!)
P.s. I'm reasonably new to SoT, and over the past month+ have been going down the rabbit hole. This show seems to have attracted a _lot_ of interest and comments (a rabbit hole in a rabbit hole!). Hopefully this "index" will allow quality revisiting. :) I'm almost surprised someone hasn't beaten me to it.
P.p.s. I've made a "gist" of this with links to info on each album - if you're interested, you can find that here:
gist.io/@dajare/5f1abbf3eb3e8b9f5bf1588ae4db89e9
Overdosing on the Jellyfish love. Jim is spot on, the amount of metal guys I know ( including myself ) who LOVE Jellyfish is beyond ! Blown away that Pete hadn't heard their material. I'd actually pay to watch a Pete Jellyfish reaction video. Best channel on youtube by a mile ! Cheers fellas
Jellyfish are a great band.
Spilt Milk is a masterpiece.
For those who love Jellyfish, check out these 6 little know great Jellyfish-like bands and albums:
1) Paul Steel (albums: Carousel Kites and Moon Rock, April and I.)
2) Jackdaw4 (albums: Gramaphone Logic, Bipolar Divisions, Eternal Struggle for Justice, Dissecticide)
3) Jason Falkner (from Jellyfish and The Greys- albums: Presents Author Known and Can You still feel?)
4) The Dowling Poole (albums: One Hyde Park, Deep Breath, Bleak Stratagies, See You, See Me, Miles Checks out, Kiss on the ocean, Made in Heaven)
5) Roger Joseph Manning Jr (from Jellyfish- albums: Land of Pure Imagination and Catnip Dynamite)
6) The Lickerish Quartet (Roger Manning from Jellyfish- albums: Lighthouse Spaceship, Threesome volumes 1 and 2)
Also, I forgot the first album, "Your Favorite Record" by Linus of Hollywood.
And the band, The Wondermints (albums: Wondermints (1995)
Wonderful World of the Wondermints (1996)
Bali (1998)
Mind If We Make Love to You (2002)[
"Beatles almost baked into the sound." What a great way to put it.
I would also mention The Kinks as perhaps baked into the idea of short, sharp rock pop. Love 'em.
Kinks 👍👍👍👍
The Kinks aren't optimistic enough. Power pop is all about optimism, IMO. The song has to be uplifting, even syrupy.
10CC !!
Especially deceptive bends,sheet music and original soundtrack.
Brilliant,artsy,inventive power pop band.
Great call for a great band ! 👍
Do the Wall Street Shuffle and you'll Feel the Benefit
I agree but I love "how dare you" "bloody tourists" too except for "dreadlock holiday" cause i don't think of 10cc as a reggae band but beware of their 80s stuff it's not very good and I don't know what happened with the band maybe they lost confidence in their work although "Windows in the jungle" has 2 or 3 great tracks on it before the band split in 1983
@@martinkristensen8398 “How dare you” is a wonderful album which features the excellent and timeless song “ Lazy ways “
I so love that song .
Top 3 power pop albums:
1. Joe Jackson "Look Sharp"
2. Crash Test Dummies "A Worm's Life"
3. Pursuit Of Happiness "Love Junk"
Honorable mention: Joe Jackson "Rain"
Got my nieces into pursuit of happiness in thier tweens they're in late 20s really feeling 'I'm an adult now '😹
@@wendywright5486 Nice!! :)
Good call on the Joe Jackson
@@wendywright5486 I see what you did there ;-)
Look Sharp is a great album!
1.Big Star - Radio City (1974)
2.Blondie - Parallel Lines (1978)
3.Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw (1982)
4.The Cars - The Cars (1978)
5.The Ramones - Rocket To Russia (1978)
6.Buzzcocks - Love Bites (1978)
7.The Jam - The Jam (1977)
8.Elton John - Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player (1973)
9.The Boomtown Rats - Tonic For The Troops (1978)
10.Wreckless Eric - Big Smash (1980)
I forgot - Clovis Roblaine - The Clovis Roblaine Story (1979) - my bad
The jam would be right up there, feel it falls into new wave mod vibe. Paul weller great songwriter.
@@ukrocksounds3419 I would like this 100x. LOVE ❤ Paul Weller and The Jam. In the 90s in London he was called "The Modfather"
Crenshaw is absolutely a power pop god. Great pick! His MIRACLE OF SCIENCE is also a wonder.
@@ukrocksounds3419 This is the problem with this genre - it's so open to interpretation.Even with the records that I've listed some of the acts I've named aren't strictly "Power Pop" but they have at some stage ,usually early on , hung around on the same block with acts that 100% are considered Power Pop.Elton John from possibly "Tumbleweed Connection( 1970) - Caribou" (1974) is.The Jam from their debut (1977) to "Setting Sons" (1979) - including the non-lp single "Going Underground"(1980) and the b-side "The Butterfly Collector" (1979) for some of the tracks can be- nothing Paul Weller subsequently did post 1980 can be called Power Pop. .Tom Petty's 1st 2 Lps can ,I feel be termed power pop -"American Girl", "I Need To Know", "Listen To Her Heart", "When The Time Comes" etc ,though the rest of his catalogue definitely can't be classed the same.Though possibly "The Waiting" (1981) could fit in with other Power Pop acts.This is probably the most contentious rock sub-genre there is.
I would also class the first 2 Elvis Costello Lps "My Aim Is True(1977) & "This Year's Model" (1978) + the non album singles "Watching The Detectives" + "Radio Radio" .
& his cover of Nick Lowe's "What's So Funny About Peace,Love And Understanding".
Other tracks/artists who possibly can at times be described as Power Pop.
Even if only for a short period.
And early Nick Lowe "So It Goes" , "Heart Of The City" , "Cruel To Be Kind" "etc.
The Rubinoos - "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend"
The Jags - "Back Of My Hand"
The Only Ones - "Another Girl, Another Planet"
Eddie & The Hot Rods - Do Anything You Wanna Do"
Joe Jackson - "Is She Really Going Out With Him" & "It's Different For Girls".
Creedence Clearwater Revival - the more poppier hits like "Green River", "Bad Moon Rising" etc.
Jonathan Richman - "Roadrunner 2" - not the John Cale version - the more commonly known version - but the rerecorded version for the Beserkley Chartbusters sampler Vol 1 LP.I would possibly from the same LP put "New Teller" in also - nothing else.
The Bangles - the early material - prior to the dreck that was "Eternal Flame".
I enjoyed the Lemonheads Album in the early '90s "It's a Shame About Ray."
That album is in my Top 10 Power Pop albums list and is also one of my favorite albums by any artist of any genre. It's perfect from start to finish!
Yes, great album.
I remember first hearing them from their cover of "Mrs. Robinson."
Hell yeah, GREAT topic and episode! I love every band that was discussed. Some of my faves:
Post 90’s (In no particular order)
The Posies - Frosting on the Beater
The Posies - Success
Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix
Teenage Fanclub - Songs From Northern Britain
Jason Falkner - All Quiet on the Noise Floor
Jason Falkner - I’m Ok You’re Ok
Sloan - Twice Removed
Sloan - One Chord to Another
Jellyfish - Spilt Milk
Jellyfish - Inside the Bellybutton
Velvet Crush - Teenage Symphonies to God
Velvet Crush - Free Expression
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
The New Pornographers - Electric Version
Sugar - Cooper Blue
Sugar - File Under Easy Listening
Nada Surf - The Proximity Effect
Nada Surf - Let Go
Nada Surf - The Weight is a Gift
Mathew Sweet - 100% Fun
Mathew Sweet - Girlfriend
Pre 90’s (In no particular order)
Big Star (EVERY lp they did)
Flaming Groovies - Shake Some Action
Bad Finger - Straight Up
Bad Finger - Wish You Were Here
Shoes - Present Tense
Shoes - Black Vinyl Shoes
Cheap Trick (Any 70’s album and few later era lps)
Blue Ash - No More, No Less
Emitt Rhodes - s/t
Emitt Rhodes - Mirror
Smithereens - Green Thoughts
Smithereens - 11
The Replacements - Let it Be
The Replacements - Tim
The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
DB’s - Stands for Decibels
DB’s - Repercussion
I don't understand some bands thought of as power pop. Jellyfish, Badfinger, the Replacements, and Faulkner are the only bands I like on your list as power pop bands.
@@joeking433 bummer
@@JohnMacRae23 I think power pop has to be uptempo, have a lot of harmony, have a lot of hooks, have no heavy meaning, and stick in your mind giving you a good emotional feeling.
@@joeking433 Okay fair enough but that describes all of the bands i listed (with exceptions of being meaningful and yet still plenty of hooks). Look up most power pop favorites lists and you find most if not all of the bands/artists I listed.
@@JohnMacRae23 I love power pop, it's my favorite genre and I'm picky. It has to meet all those requirements I listed. It has to leave you humming it with a good emotional feeling, a happy vibe. I've checked out pretty much all the big power pop bands and I am just surprised at what some people would label power pop.
And it's weird to me that no one ever mentions Sugarbomb (which you have to admit is a great name for a power pop band!). They are the epitome of what I think a power pop band is and should be the template to use to judge other bands in the genre.
-Candy - Whatever Happened To Fun ( Fun power Pop band with Gilby Clarke on Guitars)
- Squeeze - Cool For Cats
100% on Candy but I would swap Argy Bargy for Cool. Both HUGE though.
Squeeze great band, great songwriting. So under rated it hurts.
How could we forget Squeeze?!
Big Star - #1 Record/Radio City
Cheap Trick - At Budokan
The Replacements - Tim
dB's - Stands for Decibels
The Only Ones - Immortal Story (comp)
Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action
Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix
New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
The Records - Shades in Bed
Ovens - Ovens
dB's!! Amplifier!
First, MANY thanks to Mike Portnoy for recommending this show and then to Pete for accepting the recommendation and everyone for participating. Power pop is a genre that has always had my attention and what a pleasure to see Mike, Jim, Martin and Pete discuss their choices. Several new bands and CDs for follow-up and thrilled to have some new power pop to now track down. Most of my favorites were listed - or at least named - but I would have to add The Wondermints [either their eponymous debut though it sounds a bit dated in places or Bali] and the Marshall Crenshaw debut eponymous album. Those have been played and tattooed in my memory and there are always a great listen for me. Thanks, gents, for a great show on a topic I never thought I would see on the SoT channel. And Pete, you are in for a treat with the two Jellyfish records. Like Jim, they are equally fantastic.
Love The Wondermints. I met them many years ago when they were touring with Brian Wilson. I didn't know then that they had their own music. R.I.P. Nicky Walusko.
t) The Sweet - Desolation Blvd
2) The Raspberries - Raspberries Best featuring Eric Carmen
3) Off Broadway - On
4) Cheap Trick - At Budokan
5) The Cars - Debut
Jason Falkner was just on Saturday Night Live playing guitar with St Vincent.
Enuff Znuff- Strength
Cheap Trick debut
The Cars debut
Billy Squier- Don’t Say No (although that’s borderline and some might not call that power pop and more hard rock/arena rock. But you can make a case for it)
Yes; yes; yes
Billy squier album is a classic. More rock in my eyes.
Enuff Znuff’s first album is quite good as well
Billy squier is a magnificent artist, i'd give him the power pop banner, same applues to pat benatar
Strength is a masterpiece!
Thought maybe Marshall Crenshaw, Squeeze, Joe Jackson and Rockpile might fit in this category. Nonetheless, another great video, Pete.
I think they all have songs that fit.
Love squeeze. They've created some truly power pop masterpieces. I would definitely include Marshall Crenshaw in the power pop category too. Very underrated guitar player too. I think of Joe Jackson as more of a new wave artist like the Police. I love Rockpile and their one album. I never thought of them as power pop but when you listen to that album it really does have a lot of power pop elements. The band included the great Nick Lowe which is where the power pop would have come from. I'm surprised none of the panel mentioned him and his great album "Pure Pop For Now People". That album is from 1978 when power pop was virtually dead.
I thought the Pretenders would've come high in this list. Perfect example of pop with attitude and a rock edge. The early Who defined this genre before they became a serious rock band.
First 3 albums are great.
"Mystery Achievement" my 1st thought.
@@sonia55408 holy shit you read my mind ,great ,great song
Bangles, too, especially on their guitar-driven songs like "Stealing Rosemary"
@@blairhelsing630 love 💘 the Bangles! I can play "Walking Down Your Street" on a loop just for the harmonies.
I was losing hope but Pete saved the day. The Raspberries were the quintessential power pop band. A perfect blend of Beatles, Who and the Beach Boys all rolled into one. Also have to mention Enuff Z' Nuff, Artful Dodger(U.S. band), Fotomaker, and the Outfield.
finally, someone mentioned Artful Dodger - great power pop!!
Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society, E - A Man Called E (Mark Everett of The Eels), Jason Falkner - Can You Still Feel, Jayhawks - Smile (Bob Ezrin extracted a bunch of pop nuggets), Spacehog - Resident Alien
The Jayhawks ~ Smile album is an amazing album! Great choices!
Jason falkner!
Kinks "Sleepwalker"
Spacehog is more in the line of retro-glitter rock. Better Than Ezra and Stir are more in the mold of power pop.
Would love to see a Cheap Trick album ranking show.
A few great examples:
1. Cheap Trick: Heaven Tonight
2. The Plimsouls: Everywhere at Once
3. 20/20: Look Out!
4. Crash Street Kids: Little Girls
5. Enuff Z'Nuff: Paraphernalia
6. Jellyfish: Spilt Milk
7. Phil Seymour: Self-titled
8. Squeeze: Eastside Story
9. The Quick: Mondo Deco
10. Candy: Whatever Happened to Fun
Off Broadway: On
Split Enz: True Colors
Brendan Benson: One Mississippi
The Posies: Amazing Disgrace
Sugar: Copper Blue
Copper Blue is an awesome album!
To these ears, Jellyfish Spilt Milk is one of the greatest albums ever made.
That album is amazing as is Bellybutton.
Love jellyfish. Both albums are great.
It's a feast for the ears
Agreed.
@@pablobendixiii5536 Absolutely. Spilt Milk is a concept album that transcends power pop, into Power Pomp with its triple-layer cake production, lyrical themes, dream concept, and over the top everything.
The 1979 album "Present Tense" by SHOES is a power pop classic.
Redd Kross!! Amazing band, particularly Phaseshifter in 93 was an amazing powerpop album, also from Canada Sloan! They had a bunch of hits n Canada, I'm surprised they never broke in the State's i find Weezer has some amazing catchy tunes also
Not only were metal people into Jellyfish but country, prog and all musicians got turned on to Jellyfish because the quality was so high
Exactly Fn Right!!!!!!!!!!! Jellyfish was/is amazing. STILL untopped..but their descedants (they reunited RECENTLY as Lickerish Quartet..is pretty damn good!!!)
Apparently I need to check out their music.
October 6, 1993 at the Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie, NY...Jellyfish opened for Tears for Fears. It was an awesome concert!
You're a lucky man!!!
Big Star is one the best power pop bands to me, especially their 1st album.
I totally agree with you.
I would add The Pursuit Of Happiness and Soul Asylum to the list.
Love Junk by TPOH is a definite classic
The Knack- Get The Knack
The Records- Shades in Bed
Matthew Sweet- Girlfriend
Weezer- Blue Album
Jellyfish- Split Milk
The New Pornographers: Twin Cinema
The Jesus and Mary Chain- Automatic
The Cars-The Cars
The Outfield- Play Deep
The Producers- You Make the Heat
The Knack- ...But the Little Girls Understand
The Raincoats- The Raincoats
They Might Be Giants- Flood
The Sweet- Desolation Boulevard
The Stone Roses- The Stone Roses
The Shins- Chutes Too Narrow
New Pornographers! All of it!
Get The Knack was a monster...my #1 Power Pop album
The Posies - frosting on the Beater is an excellent choice! Lots of great deep cuts on there and I was happy to see it mentioned here
The Marvelous 3 and Butch Walker's solo stuff is amazing
Absolutely!😻 the motto for the women in our family is don't become a Butch Walker song:)
@@wendywright5486 That is EPICALLY Hilarious..as I am a Big Butchie Fan.
Ready, Sex, Go.... great record!
The Brits really know how to bang it out: early Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Pretenders, etc.
I think Squeeze was a great Power Pop band, also Brits.
"And so it goes" may be the power pop anthem
Pretenders British? The backing players are, but Chrissie Hynde is from Ohio
@@michaelbaucom4019 yeah, we know, but where did she go and what scene did she embrace? And her singing was more brit style than Ohio.
@@harperhellems3648 and yet she wrote " My City Was Gone"....about Ohio
The Records, Off Broadway, The Plimsouls, need mentioning here too. The Knack were more than My Sharona and the Romantics way more than What I Like About You.
Love that you mentioned City Boy, Martin!
I agree with Jim. The new Cheap Trick album, Another World, is very good.
1. The Smithereens - Especially for You
2. Cheap Trick - self-titled debut
3. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model
4. Graham Parker - Squeezing Out Sparks
5. Joe Jackson - Look Sharp!
Seeing Mike Portnoy here quite often here these days makes one hope for a possible appearance of Mikael Åkerfeldt or Steven Wilson to open their vaults of musical knowledge.
Steven is more open to doing that these days.
@@austin5732 Steve would be fine Steven might be as much up on new bands and diverse styles of music as much as you would think. Portnoy, on the other hand, is an encyclopedia of knowledge on all kinds of rock music.
I love that Sloan made somebody's list! They are a favourite of mine!
5. Ty Tabor- Moonflower Lane.
4. The Verve Pipe- Villians.
3. The Cars- debut.
2. Badfinger- Straight Up.
1. Cheap Trick- Dream Police.
Glad to see Pete showing the Cars some love!
Nick Lowe - Jesus Of Cool
The Records - Debut lp
Rockpile - Seconds Of Pleasure
Dave Edmunds - Repeat When Necessary
Cheap Trick - In Color
The Knack - Get The Knack
somebody should give John Wicks an RIP for all the great Records songs that he did!
What a great show guys. Got plenty of new music to discover. Jellyfish already sounds amazing. Mike Portnoy should be a regular on the show !!! Thanks Pete.
Many great picks, but kind of surprised The Smithereens weren't mentioned. "Especially For You" and "Green Thoughts" are two of my all-time favorite power pop albums. Even 11 was great though not quite as high. Odds had some really great songs. "Someone Who's Cool" is one of my favorite singles of the 90s period and a power pop classic.
Also Superdrag, Material Issue, Fountains of Wayne and Letters to Cleo are others to check out.
Pete, this was my favorite SOT. I started watching you with the Covid shut down. It's been my favorite music connection since last year. It reminds me of going to a record store and chatting with random folks about music they like and then in turn music I may like. Adding Mike Portnoy to the mix has been amazing. I was looking forward to the HVS, as it has been a great musical relief to me; however, the "Power Pop " edition with MP, JB, and MP (who BTW, thank you for the Rush Vol. 1&2; I'm loving reading and thank you for signing!) was absolutely my favorite episode! I'll always look forward to new editions my friend. Keep doing great work!
My Top 4: 1) Pleased To Meet Me - The Replacements 2) Hey! Album - Marvelous 3 3) Bully - Sugarbomb 4) Letters - Butch Walker
FINALLY a mention of Sugarbomb! So disappointed that we only got the one album from that band.
Great choices . I would also add bands like Squeeze ( especially the LPs Argy Bargy & East Side Story ) and Crowded House ( their self titled album , Woodface , & Together Alone ) .
I gotta mention The Feeling and The Lemon Twigs which are two of my favorite power-pop bands!
So happy about the Sloan mention, one of my favorite bands ever!
My adds...
Guided By Voices - Isolation Drills
Guided By Voices - Propeller
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
Guided By Voices - Under the Bushes, Under the Stars
Enuff Z'Nuff - S/T
The Toms - S/T
Dwight Twiley - Sincerely
Did I mention Guided By Voices?
This one blew me away, guys. Totally see Mike Portnoy in a whole new light. Huge respect. The one album or artist I would mention that Mike touched on briefly in the beginning was Kevin Gilbert and Toy Matinee. That entire album and so much of what Kevin did before and after was Power Pop at its finest.
1. Matthew Sweet - In Reverse
2. Jellyfish - Spilt Milk
3. George Harrison - Cloud Nine
4. Eels - Beautiful Freak
5. Ben Folds Five - The Sound of the Life of the Mind
Off Broadway - On. My personal favorite.
Enuff Z'nuff - Enuff Z'nuff . Cant forget the late Derek Frigo! RIP The entire first album is awesome from beginning to end.
Enuff Z’nuff doesn’t get enough love. Really great Beatle/Cheap Trick vibe.
@@DCToonTime No doubt. They're a great band. It sounds like Cliff Johnson from Off Broadway is also on Donnie Vie's list of influences. Both bands are from the Chicagoland area.
Derek Frigo: The best guitarist you never heard of. The Paul Gilbert of Power Pop. Also, speaking of Paul Gilbert, he guests on "Beautiful Things," the title track of Donnie Vie's latest solo album, which is a must for any Enuff Z'Nuff fan.
@@ronforeman2556 Derek was great. He was good friends with my guitarist from the band I was in in the early 80s. They used to party together a lot. That doesnt look like Paul in the video, but it does sound like him playing. I looked it up and Paul does play on the album like you said.
@@adamwarlock3530 You're right: That is NOT Paul Gilbert in the video. He sent an audio file to Donnie, but not footage of him playing the part. It looks to me like Donnie had Enuff Z'Nuff guitar stalwart Johnny Monaco mime the part.
Stoked to hear/see Sloan get some love, WTG Mike... Have seen Sloan live twice and they are so fantastic... That Hits collection 'A Sides Win' is stacked with great songs!
Sloan one of the best live bands I've ever seen
I haven't watched the whole episode - I'm about 12 minutes in - but I'll be disappointed if Martin doesn't pop one from his fellow Canadian's Sloan on the list. One of the most criminally underrated bands, and certainly power pop. Navy Blues, One Chord to Another, Between the Bridges, Action Pact, the list goes on. All four members write and sing their own songs, which makes their albums wear well.
Update: Portnoy nailed it! Way to go, Mike!
Sloan is awesome!
I've been watching SoT for about a year now and hadn't come across this video. I routinely mention Sloan in the comments section and didn't think they would ever get a mention on this channel. I saw the topic of Power Pop and thought, "If Sloan isn't mentioned, these guys seriously messed up." Glad to see they didn't disappoint. I've been a fan since the start and their latest, which came out late last year, is as fresh as ever. They haven't missed a beat in 30 years. One Chord to Another is one of my favorite albums of all-time. Never Hear the End of It is also a classic double album that ranks right up there with the best of them.
Also glad to see Matthew Sweet get a shout out on SoT. I've practically worn out my Sloan and Matthew Sweet CDs...also the two bands/performers I've seen live more than anyone else.
Thanks for mentioning Sloan. Loved them for years. BUT! No mention of Utopia's "Utopia". You know, "Feet Don't Fail Me Now". A Power Pop masterpiece.
Rockpile...with the sub solo acts of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds. Short catchy songs in styles that echo both rockabilly and 50s juke box style.
I love Rockpile!
Love Seconds of Pleasure!
“Teacher Teacher” ‘
@@powrnap if that isn't the definition of powerpop, I don't know what is.
@@martykott450 Rockpile IS Power Pop. TBH, about 1/4 of the albums mentioned here aren't power pop.
Regardless of the context, happy to see SHOES mentioned! They will appearing in our documentary film, Cowgirls and Synthesizers.
Present Tense is a power pop classic. Interested in your film.
@@AlabasterSmudge the Shoes segment of the film begins with me as a teenager dumpster diving the Warner Brothers Electra record plant in Irving in 1979 and finding a copy of Present Tense inside! Later in the film, I travel to meet Shoes in 2018, and hand that very album to them that I found. An interview follows, and then Hyperbubble performs the shoes song Will You Spin for Me with Shoes. The movie hopefully will come out in late 2021 in film festivals and competitions, health conditions permitted. Keep an eye on Hyperbubble social media for info as the project progresses. Hyperbubble are also on Wikipedia. Thank you for your interest!
@@jukeboxcowboy I look forward to seeing it! I didn't hear Shoes mentioned by the four guys up above?
@@hnklbn At 48:00 It blazes by! Still, I would have been disappointed if Shoes weren't mentioned at all. They are certainly one of the most important bands of the genre.
How about a wonderful late Eighties Canadian band called The Pursuit Of Happiness? Their first couple of albums were produced by Todd Rundgren. First album called 'Love Junk', especially, fits the bill perfectly here! You cannot move for the catchy melodies, hooks aplenty, harmonies and killer riffs/chords. They should've been HUGE!!
Love Junk is definitely a good one. Their "I'm An Adult Now" song is both catchy and funny. Lots of other good ones on that album.
Got to say...I was stunned that no one picked either Big Star’s “No. 1 Record” or “Radio City” for one of their top choices. (It was nice for Mike Portnoy to mention the band toward the end of the show.). “September Gurls” is easily on the short list, and for me tops the list, of greatest power pop songs of all time.
And of Chris Bell’s “solo” album.
Agreed. Almost too obvious maybe?
I loved Big Star ever since the needle dropped on "Feel"
Bram Tchaikovsky, really nice to see a mention here. One of the few artists to appear on a popular chart music TV show dressed in a World War 2 Luftwaffe uniform.
"Girl Of My Dreams" is a classic!
Great episode! Thanks so much! Here's my top 5:
1. Jellyfish - Spilt Milk
2. Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix (was torn between that and Songs From Northern Britain)
3. Redd Kross - Show World
4. Brendan Benson - Alternative to Love
5. Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun
This was such a great episode! A total blast!! Here's a Top 10 list of my favorite Power Pop albums:
1. Spilt Milk - JELLYFISH
2. Bellybutton - JELLYFISH
3. It's A Shame About Ray - LEMONHEADS
4. Fuzzbubble - FUZZBUBBLE
5. Blue Album - WEEZER
6. In Color - CHEAP TRICK
7. Misadventures In Stereo - JIM BOGGIA
8. Show World - REDD KROSS
9. Welcome Interstate Managers - FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE
10. Get The Knack - THE KNACK
I would have loved to see Teenage Fanclub mentioned here. "Sparky's Dream" from their Grand Prix album is one of the greatest power pop songs ever. Also, Material Issue, Marvelous 3, and Superdrag all made superb power pop records!
Yes, one of my favourite bands from the 90s. Here I think they went to more US stuff and neglected a lot of the British bands apart from Badfinger, Buzzcocks & XTC.
BANDWAGONESQUE!
Chris von Sneidern
Sloan
Linus of Hollywood
Cats of Sherman
The Wondermints
S.W.A.G. a power pop supergroup
The Spongetones
Aimee Mann
Teenage Fanclub
Rick Altizer
The Tories
Artful Dodger
Starlight Mints
Landon Pigg
The Sweet
Supergrass
Imperial Drag
Lickerish Quartet
Blur
Fountains of Wayne
The Shazam
The Honeydogs
Ken Sharp
Myracle Brah
Marshall Crenshaw
Superdrag
The Move
The Hard Way
I could keep going here. Bruce Bodeen, David Bash, and Stephen Schnee are some of the best writers/historians of the genre. David Bash is the creator of the International Pop Overthrow festivals that were still going pre-pandemic.
The two Paul Gilbert albums Linus of Hollywood produced and played on, "Burning Organ" and "Space Ship One," are outstanding! Plus, you get the inestimable Marco Minnemann on drums!
@@ronforeman2556 I'll have to check those out. I knew Linus played bass for him, but didn't know he produced him.
Apples in Stereo- world inside the moone
Dump-truck- positivity dumptruck
Lemonheads- it’s a shame about Ray
Fountains of Wayne - welcome Interstate managers
Sneetches- sometimes that’s all we have
That Petrol Emotion- Manic Pop Thrill
The Stills - Logic will break your heart
Marshal Crenshaw- jaggedland (Or what’s in the bag)
The Glands- The Glands
Frosting on the Beater was my favorite album of the 90s
Still one of my favorites. I keep it in regular rotation to this day.
Hey guys-I was hoping someone would mention The Nazz and am glad they made it to honorable mention. I also recommend Left Banke and Crowded House. Thanks to you all for a great show!
The Beat - The Beat
The Quick - Mondo Deco
MC5 - Back in the USA
20/20 - 20/20
Earth Quake - Leveled
The Beat & 20/20 are in my top5! 😎👍
Saw The Bears at a small club in Columbia, MO in '88. Killer band- I shouted out City of Tiny Lights before the encore and Adrian smiled!
I saw them at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS about the same time
The Grays album is fantastic.
Yes!
Also Stone Temple Pilots BIG BANG BABY is a masterful power pop song. It’s like Bowie meets Cheap Trick meets the Stones!
I agree. STP doesn’t get enough love. Probably because they are often lumped into the grunge category. But at their core, they were truly artistic, groovy, explosive power pop.
And Lady Picture Show from the same album
or....directly "inspired by" Redd Kross...whom they toured with previous to recording that song. Robert DeLeo actually started out as producer for "Show World" but they fired him halfway through. To those who know Redd Kross, everyone knew that Weiland and Co were definitely attempting a Redd Kross thing with "Big Bang Baby".
"Big Bang Baby" put it all together for STP and power pop. You can bet that Scott W knew he was power poppin' on that one!
@@supersport22 yes you could easily take select songs off the STP albums and compile them into a great power pop album (not everything they did was power pop, but it was all good)
Anybody hear of The Producers? Check out their first two Tom Werman produced albums. Amazing musicians and songwriters!
Also, check out Canadian power pop band The Pursuit of Happiness! Their first two Todd Rundgren produced albums are great.
Love the producers !
The Producers make my top5! 😎👍
Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band - Bubblegum
Brendan Benson - The Alternative to Love
Sloan - Never Hear the End of It
Semisonic - Feeling Strangely Fine
Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix(Neil Jung is the best power pop song ever written)
Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
Never Hear The End Of It blew me away. Agreed! Also, Teenage Fanclub is power pop gold. M. Sweet has to be mentioned (as was, in passing)
A great album that was not mentioned is the debut album by School Of Fish - amazing production, lush layered guitars/vocals, very Beatles-like in spots. Driving powerful melodies. I'd consider it Power Pop. If you don't know this album, do yourself a favor and check it out - every track on this is great! Fantastic Show Guys!!
The Bangles debut & Enuff Z Nuff's Strength are must listens
Good call!!!
Other '90's --- The Greenberry Woods, The Pooh Sticks, Teenage Fanclub, Supergrass, Adam Schmitt, Superdrag, Super Deluxe, Gumball, Gigolo Aunts.......my band played with Fuzzbubble once (Autumn Teen Sound) in the '90's at the Roxy.
I remember that show !
@@fuzzbubble I’m going to check out that song by the Flame!
The Pursuit of Happiness-Love Junk!! Now that's power pop!
Buzzcocks Love Bites - amazing - so many great melodic guitar hooks from Pete Shelley and a great singer / lyricist too. For me easily the best of the albums mentioned.
I just want to say that this was a truly great episode. It was entertaining and informative. Never heard of Jellyfish but now will check them out. Jim seemed a little nervous at first, but I loved what he said at the end with being a little more inclusive about power pop. I think if Mike is ever bored, he could start a UA-cam talk channel and I would subscribe in a New York minute. I also thought it was cool that Pete took the risk with this. I know this isn't his world, so it was cool that he would go there for this show. Hats off to everyone though. Cool stuff.
I wish i could hear Jellyfish for the first time again. I was astonished, heard Spilt Milk over the speakers in the big record store in Sydney, first track kinda went 'oh ok, someone with a Beach boys fetish' then 'ok wow'. I knew my power pop and stood enraptured at the counter,and told the fella can I buy this after track 3 ( anyone adding a nod to the consistent guitar of Getting Better by the Beatles was alright by me) he said only copy bud, so I sat and listened to the whole album. Read the notes on the sleeve, amazed lyrically, and the fact that i didnt know any of the names of the writers or arrangers but marvelled at someone audio checking Supertramp, Beatles, Mary Hopkins (!) , Wings, Henry Mancini, Nick Drake, Smile era Beach Boys, Queen, Klaatu, Hugo Montenegro , morning cartoon music ala HR Puffinstuff. I was heart broken when the guy said, oh they broke up already last year, musical differences.
Jellyfish, especially "Spilt Milk" is mind blowing.
What a jerk of a record store clerk, playing something in the store that was not for sale! But why is that not surprising?
But, yeah, right. Though I wouldn't argue against somebody using the term to describe them, I personally don't think of Spilt Milk as a power pop album, although it does outstandingly use power pop among the many building blocks you mentioned. Powerpop is rarely this grandiose and conceptual, and rarely does it contain Sturmers' lyrical depth. The album begins with the listener going to sleep and dreaming all of the songs and then waking up at the end. Each song is a different take on the concept of "Spilt Milk", some humorous and fun, much religion related and heavy. I reckon it's more of a Pomp Rock concept album by and for music lovers.
Jukebox Cowboy ha ha, he sold me the cd, it was the only copy left in the store, i was happy to listen and wait. I thought i knew the music scene but was bamboozled by how i missed them, i knew Jon Brions name from the credits, that was it, and was into the usual Beatlesque groups, Crowded House, World Party, but just shows how bad the marketing was. As for the record itself, on of the great recordings, a non digital effort in 1992/93, recorded to 2 inch tape, real instruments, no click track, but using the best technology possible regarding mics and equipment. Someone said it was Abby Rd for Gen X, i liked the description the 'jackson Pollock' of pop music myself.
@@docgonzales Oh, my bad! Haha! I was a manager at a gift shop in 93 when a representative from Jellyfish's label walked in and gave me a free copy of Spilt Milk, as long as I promised to play it in the store. No problem, dude!
I reckon it's the Sistine Chapel of Pop.
Redd Kross "Show World"
Jellyfish "Spilt Milk"
Cheap Trick "Dream Police"
Enuff Znuff "Strength"
Strength is such a great album
Wow Jellyfish. Hadn't thought of them for many years. Really great music.
Let's not forget the Who. In an interview in 1967, Pete Townsend described their new single, Pictures of Lily, as "Power Pop." Although it wasn't codified as a genre until the mid seventies.
There are two Chicago-area power pop bands from the late 70s/early 80s that are worth checking out: Pezband and Off Broadway. Both bands are really good. "Close Your Eyes", the closing song on the first Pezband album, is excellent! "Stay in Time" by Off Broadway received a lot of airplay on WLS in Chicago in 1980.
I was kind off disappointed there was no mention of Off Broadway. My wife introduced me to them. On is great.
@@BP-wd2wq Check out Pezband too. They're really good. They're from the same area around Chicago as Off Broadway.
Unfortunately inner drama &the scene at the time brought many great Chicago bands to a halt The Boyzz &Holland ,the Hounds ,come to mind as well...
@@wendywright5486 I remember The Boyzz
The mid 90's was a great era for power pop. I was in a band that was active in the scene at that time and played International Pop Overthrow festival in L.A. back then.
1. Rockpile- seconds of pleasure
2. The Monks- Bad Habits
3. Rick Springfield-Working Class dog
4. The Trews- Den of Thieves
5. Shinedown- Sound of Madness
I LOVE Shinedown.
That Marshall Crenshaw debut album. Surprised it wasn’t mentioned.
Great album!