Maybe it's the years in grad-school acting as a guinea pig for psych
department surveys - or designing my own in biology, or perhaps the email
from Jocelyn on posters changing light bulbs, but I decided to post a review
of the responses that were posted in response to my query:

What is your Top 1 (ONE) Power-Pop album and Top 1 (ONE) Power-Pop song?
I'm looking for those albums and songs that you feel exemplify the genre.
Explain if you'd like - let it be your current favorite/lifetime favorite -
however you choose to define it.

Note - I asked for one of each ALBUM and SONG; I left the definition of
power-pop up to the individual, as I also left the definition of how the
picks exemplified the genre.

Of the ~30 responses, most gave a 1/1 response, with common favorites being
Big Star, The dBs, Cheap Trick and The Raspberries (among others).  Cool -
I'll actually be looking out for some of the stuff that I'd never
investigated before (e.g.. The Toms, The Undertones, Rubber).  This was the
original reason for my query.

(the following is not meant to be insulting - just amusing - if you don't
find it funny, sorry)

The more interesting aspect of the feedback was the reflection of the
list-making/analytical psyches that inhabit some Auditeers.  Not satisfied
to answer the question as asked, many respondents chose to expand the
requested "lists" from a single item to include a bunch of other
songs/albums.  One poster added "Honorable Mentions" - huh?  Several
expanded my original song request to reflect "singles" vs. "non-singles" -
(since when is a single not a song? who cares if a song is not a single? -
OK - marketing types do) y'all have way too much info available to you.  Yet
another chose a "CD album" and a "vinyl album" (albums to me are substrate
irrelevant).  Others declared ties, or proclaimed they couldn't make up
their minds - some of these gave a streaming list of possibilities (cop
out).

Finally, the request spawned a new discussion of the definition of power-pop
(for the record - I don't try to define power-pop, but I know it when I hear
it).

I didn't mean for this to be difficult, nor did I want to spawn the reviled
historical definition debate - I was simply looking for some key
recommendations.

I did find the way the question was addressed fascinating, and now know whom
among you I should never ask for directions.

;-)

Ira