Oh Boy! Power Pop

A New 40-Song Power Pop Playlist

Aug 10, 2024

This playlist is dedicated to all the trouble, nuclear, local, big, little, jump, lonely, rally, modern and crow-haired boys.

Songs about girls written and performed by brokenhearted boys is a persistent power pop trope. So, I was happy to discover a vein of tracks by a variety of artists from around the rock and roll globe featuring “boy” in the title. Of course, more than a few of these include the word “boyfriend” (I left off “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” by Ramones and The Rubinoos because both already appear on my Wanna playlist.)

This time around we kick things off with “Oh Boy!” by Buddy Holly, which stretches a little further back in time than the “power pop started with The Beatles” orthodoxy might allow. Whatever your opinions about the genre’s origin story, it’s hard to deny Holly’s influence on the Fab Four (see their covers of “That’ll Be The Day” from Anthology 1, “Crying, Waiting, Hoping” from Live at the BBC, “Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues” from Anthology 3, et al).

Of course, The Beatles weren’t alone in their reverence for Holly’s guitar pop songwriting genius. Among the countless artists who have covered his songs over the decades are The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, Blondie, Marshall Crenshaw, The Flamin’ Groovies and The Black Keyes. I really like this She & Him cover of “Oh Boy!”

This playlist also includes another song of the same name by Chicago legends Off Broadway.

It’s the closing track from their excellent debut album On which also featured the hit single “Stay in Time.” Illinois was, of course, a hotbed of power pop action from the ‘70s through the ‘90s, but Shoes is the only other act from the Land of Lincoln to appear here because creating playlists based on a single word is an intentionally arbitrary exercise intended to provide a different perspective on the music we love.

Elsewhere, we’re treated to songs from across eras and geographies including “Trouble Boys” by Dave Edmunds, “London Boys” by The Go-Go’s, “A Boy of the World” by Holidays of Seventeen, “Boys!” by Sports, “Lonely Boys Brigade” by The Dahlmanns, and “The Boys Are Back In Town” by Thin Lizzy, among many others.

Of the new-to-me tracks discovered while making this playlist are “Some Boys” by Going Red, a playful paean to male hygiene and self-discovery. And I also really love the new wave-tastic track “Shelley’s Boyfriend” by Bonnie Hayes with the Wild Combo, a cautionary anti-relationship tale of youthful empowerment.

There’s a ton of hooky music here, but you won't know what you've been a-missin' until you hit play on Spotify or YouTube.