This is a guest post series about power pop featuring some of my favorite music writers. We’ll be sharing a new installment every few weeks or so (while supplies last). Full series here.
Is It Power Pop?
By Steve Bradley
For me, power pop is a musical light switch—turn it on and everything changes.
It doesn’t respect genre boundaries, and it certainly doesn’t respect emotional sensitivities. You’ll know power pop not by its sound, but by its feel.
In that sense, I’ve been a power pop fan all my life, probably without realizing it. And that’s the magic—when it hits you, it hits you from nowhere, which probably explains why radio is the natural home of power pop. You just don’t know what’s coming next.
In a world where technology maps out much of what we do, that unpredictability is a real gift.
As the years roll by, another characteristic of power pop is nostalgia, often the wrapper for the sweetest of treats.
Like many others of a certain age (I was born in ‘66), I find myself increasingly gravitating towards my teenage record collection when new releases are thin on the ground. It is perhaps no surprise then that all but one of my five songs are from my formative years.
In my mind, although these songs convey hugely contrasting emotions, they sit alongside each other very naturally.
“The Day Before You Came” by ABBA
I don’t know what the Swedish word for devastation is, but I certainly know what it sounds like. Nine times out of ten I have to walk away when I hear “The Day Before You Came” by ABBA. It is the best song they ever wrote—this is everyday despair at its most harrowing and beautiful.
“I Surrender” by Rainbow
At the other end of the emotional spectrum is “I Surrender” by Rainbow. Try listening to it without pointing your arm skywards in joyful abandon. You can’t!
“Rush Hour” by Jane Wiedlin
I get a very similar feel from the wonderful “Rush Hour” by ex-Go-Go Jane Wiedlin. This is the sound of the open road where the destination is a place called Endless Possibilities. Altogether now: “Ooh, you send me, You take me to the Rush Hour.”
“Fade Away and Radiate” by Blondie
There is so much going on in “Fade Away and Radiate” by Blondie. The magic ingredient here is Robert Fripp’s otherworldly guitar solo—he takes the band and the song somewhere they’d never been before. Every time you play it is like the first time. I could write a whole article about this song…in fact, I’m going to!
“Ode To The Mets” by The Strokes
That song’s spiritual daughter is the majestic “Ode to the Mets” by The Strokes. The Strokes and Blondie share so much more than NYC cool and battered Converse—this gorgeous blend of electronic chill and hushed heartbreak is just perfect. I guess I never stopped searching.
Previously On “Is It Power Pop?!”
Is It Power Pop?!
This is a guest post series about power pop featuring some of my favorite music writers. We’ll be sharing a new installment every few weeks or so (while supplies last). Full series here.
Biff Bang POW, Steve!
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