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| From | moteeko@telerama.com |
| Subject | FOW Defines Power Pop in Pittsburgh |
| Date | Fri, 23 Jul 2004 14:45:22 -0400 (EDT) |
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Here's a clip from the Mag section of the
Pittsburgh Post Gazette. There's more online at
www.post-gazette.com. FOW plays Hartwood Acres
on Sunday with IPO faves the Frampton
Society...uhh...The Breakup Brothers...uhh...that
Masley guy's band. And it's free!
Q&A with Fountains of Wayne
Friday, July 23, 2004
By Scott Mervis, Post-Gazette Weekend editor,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
What is power pop?
Well, pop with power. In essence, it's the bright
sound of two guitars, bass and drums as defined by
the Beatles at the Cavern in the early '60s. The
emphasis is on big hooks, catchy melodies and up-
tempo beats. It also helps to have a nice suit.
Bands can feel free to add a dash of keyboards, but
they better not sound like Keith Emerson. And if
you go beyond three minutes, you're probably
headed into a different genre.
Who coined the term?
It's credited to Pete Townshend, who used it in the
mid-'60s to describe the sound of The Who.
What's the poetry of power pop?
Well, it's not about fairies and gnomes or bustles
in your hedgerows, that's for sure. In the liner
notes to the Rhino series "Poptopia! Power Pop
Classics ..." Keith Gorman writes, "Power pop is
puberty with all the annoying parts pruned away.
Power pop is life stripped down to its most
essential elements: you, her, what you wish you'd
said, how you wish you'd acted. It's no accident
that nearly all power pop songs are love songs, in
one way or another."
Who were the early power pop bands?
The Beatles, of course, the Beach Boys, The Who,
the Kinks, the Byrds, all of which started to get
more arty by the late '60s. Badfinger, who signed
with Apple in 1968, picked up the ball and
created power pop hits such as "No Matter What"
and the McCartney-penned "Come and Get It."
As rock music got more expansive in the early
'70s, with complicated structures, far-out lyrics
and more indulgent soloing, acts like the
Raspberries ("Go All the Way"), Todd Rundgren
("Couldn't I Just Tell You") and the lesser-
known Big Star ("September Girls")
and The Flamin' Groovies ("Shake Some
Action") were keeping alive the bright melodic
style of the early bands.
How did it survive the '70s?
Power pop had a rough time competing with the
prog rock and pop metal of the mid- to late '70s. A
shining example, though, of its vitality was Cheap
Trick, whose hard-rocking "Surrender" is
considered one of the genre's classics. ELO also had
its power-pop leanings.
This was also a period when power-pop acts --
taking on a more sonic sheen -- found themselves
packaged as part of the New Wave, among them
Nick Lowe ("Cruel to be Kind"), Elvis Costello
("The Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes"),
Squeeze ("Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)"),
the Romantics ("What I Like About You") and
Shoes ("Too Late").
The Knack is renowned as the source of the power
pop's great backlash in the wake of its propulsive
1979 hit "My Sharona."
How did power pop
change in the mid-'80s?
Power pop doesn't change a whole lot -- that's
part of the beauty. But once the New Wave
explosion died down, it did start to sound less
synthesized and more rootsy. Keeping the
tradition were bands such as The Plimsouls ("A
Million Miles Away"), Marshall Crenshaw
("Someday Someway"), The Smithereens
("Behind the Wall of Sleep") and, on
the eccentric psychedelic side, the dB's.
Checking in from overseas were favorites like the
Hoodoo Gurus (Australia) and Teenage Fanclub
(Scotland).
How did it get along with grunge?
Power pop is a far cry from Pearl Jam and Alice
in Chains, but Kurt Cobain seemed to have one foot
in the power-pop world. Oasis definitely had
Beatles sense with songs like "Wonderwall." The
Posies had a touch of the Hollies. Matthew Sweet
had the more American touch of "Girlfriend."
Weezer an occasional power-pop band, also came
along to brighten the decade with "Buddy Holly."
Will Fountains of Wayne object to their
association to this whole power-pop thread?
Perhaps. While songs
like "Stacy's Mom" have already been added to the
power-pop canon, the band doesn't like the
tag much, contending that it's limiting and doesn't
help sales much. Fountains of Wayne singer
Collingwood told the Orange County Register,
"That expression is like the kiss of death. Bands
who are called power pop are continually talked
about, and people say, 'Oh, what a great band!'
But then they never get on the radio and suffer a
slow death.''
Will power pop ever go away?
No. It's already made it 40-some years, and
there's always someone around to revive it when
it seems to be losing its pulse. Power pop can
still be heard in Fountains of Wayne, Weezer,
They Might Be Giants, The Minus 5, Jet, Shazam
and Pittsburgh's own Breakup Society. Some of
those bands even get on the radio.
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