> Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2003 14:17:10 +0100 > From: bob_hutton@standardlife.com > To: audities@smoe.org > Subject: PowerPop > Message-ID: > > > Two quality posts from Greg Sager in one day - obviously having a nice > relaxing day at Sears Tower, Greg? ;-) > As James Cagney said at the end of *White Heat*, "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" > Does anyone know when the term power-pop became used to describe a genre > of > music (I think Pete T just used it as a descriptive term)? Were bands > like > Big Star and The Raspberries called "power-pop bands" when they started > up? > Herb Somers was right; Greg Shaw of Bomp did about as much to popularize the term back in the late seventies as anyone. > Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2003 09:49:22 -0400 > From: hsomers@law.gwu.edu > To: audities@smoe.org > Subject: Re: PowerPop > Message-ID: <3F02AAA2.30511.405F52@localhost> > > Come to think of it, why doesn't Greg Shaw put together a Bomp > anthology? I would buy it. > I have the 1996 Bomp anthology *Roots Of Power Pop* that was mentioned yesterday by Mark Tate, and it's pretty good. In addition to including some solid singles by a raftload of Bomp Records also-rans, it also features early versions of songs by bands that attained a higher profile after leaving the label (Shoes, 20/20, the Plimsouls) and a few cuts by old warhorses with whom every power pop fan ought to be familiar (the Barracudas, the Real Kids, the Flamin' Groovies). The 1994 2-disc compilation that Bob Hutton talked about, *Destination Bomp*, covers a bit more stylistic territory, but it has the virtue of having no overlap with *Roots of Power Pop* in terms of tracks. Together, they make a fine overview of why Greg Shaw, the music journalist who founded the label, is such an important figure in power pop (he's also an important figure in punk and in 60's garage rock, but those are other stories for other days -- let's just say that Greg Shaw and Bomp have always transcended the pigeonholes in which we all seem to conveniently slot music). I'm often surprised that his name doesn't turn up on Audities more often. Bomp Records played a pivotal role in the history of power pop. Gregory Sager