Every year I say it, and every year it’s true. This has been one of the greatest years in pop music since time began, but you would never know it reading Rolling Spin, the Blahboard charts, or watching the rebarbative “awards” programs. Pop music, the kind forged by the Beatles, The Who, The Byrds, The Beach Boys no longer rules the airwaves. It has been shunted aside for corporate “music,” which chases after the latest trend like a dog after a chuck wagon, featuring artists who rely on autotune, or “artists” whose “music” consists entirely of a beat box and a man chanting in a monotone.
No one bothers to replicate the style, much less the success of Motown. In fact, there are several generations of Americans who have no idea what Motown is. That’s soul and I love it. But back to pop. There are hundreds, if not thousands of great bands laboring in obscurity because they love that four minute sugar rush. Brilliant bands whose music can’t support them. The Hang Ups, Hindu Rodeo, High Dials, The Hawks and The Hangabouts, to name a few. Listen to Hindu Rodeo’s “American People:”
Gee. That took up more space than I intended. Well never mind. I could do that with every letter of the alphabet. Jellyfish only put out two official albums in their short life, but they are masterful statements of soaring melody and harmony. What is power pop? Pete Townsend coined the term to describe The Who. “Power pop is a harder type of pop-rock that combines classic rock band instrumentation—guitar, bass, drums, and occasional keyboards—with catchy pop hooks highlighting the lead vocalist. Power pop music is often recognized for its powerful lead vocals and recognizable guitar riffs.” And harmonies. Soaring harmonies. Joyful music, “American People” notwithstanding. The only national radio show that broadcasts this music is Little Stevie’s Underground Garage. Little Stevie has his own label: Wicked Cool, with artists like The Dollyrots, Kurt Baker, and The Chesterfield Kings. Then there’s West Coast based Big Stir which is producing phenomenal music in an XTC, ELO, Jellyfish vein, including Nick Frater, Amoeba Teen, and Spygenius. New England-based Rum/Bar produces Brad Marino and Nato Coles. If you loved early Springsteen and wished he had kept doing rock, listen to Nato Coles. Kool Kat’s releases include Julee and Dave Scarborough, the latter a South Dakota native whose debut compares favorably with that of Marshall Crenshaw. New Jersey based Kool Kat Musik has been turning out melodic pop music since 1981 with over 160 releases. In addition to handling other labels, their own artists include Dave Cope and the Sass, Amoeba Teen (same band that Big Stir releases,) ANC4, Armchair Oracles (part of the vast Scandinavian power pop world—I’ll do a column on Scandinavian power pop one of these days,) Hills of the Universe, Blank Pages, Idle Chatter, and Caddy, another Scandinavian band.
Fort Collins-based Not Lame Records produced over a hundred albums of outstanding power pop, most of which are unobtainable and costly. Their bands included The Shazam, Myracle Brah, the Rooks, and Doug Powell. Power Pop’s history is rich and long. In human terms. We’re only going back sixty years or so, but how many are familiar with Barry & the Remains, Knickerbockers, the Cyrkle, or the Vogues? Oh hell. Let’s do one more. If you google this song outside of substack, be sure you keep watching after the first version has ended.
Tonight is Bruce Brodeen’s sixtieth birthday. Bruce created Not Lame, and has brought Hans Rotenberry to town to play for him. I’ve been writing about music all my life. These days I review records for Bruce’s site, popgeekheaven.com. powerpopaholic.com is another reliable source for power pop news. Finally, there is the most brilliant record of which no one has heard, Marco Joachim’s Hidden Symphonies. Imagine someone setting out to create a Sgt. Pepper type album, but uniquely his own?
Damn. Won't let me edit. Google "Five O'Clock World" on youtube, and keep watching after the first version has ended.