Editing Power pop (section)

==Definition and etymology==

===Characteristics===
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| footer = From top: [[the Who]] (1972), [[the Beatles]] (1964), and [[the Beach Boys]] (1964)
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Power pop is a more aggressive form of [[pop rock]] that is based on catchy, melodic hooks and energetic moods.{{sfn|Borack|2007|pp=7–8}} [[AllMusic]] describes the style as "a cross between the crunching [[hard rock]] of [[the Who]] and the sweet melodicism of [[the Beatles]] and [[the Beach Boys]], with the [[jangle|ringing guitars]] of [[the Byrds]] thrown in for good measure".<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/power-pop-ma0000002793 |title=Power Pop |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=November 26, 2012 |archive-date=September 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919062543/http://www.allmusic.com/style/power-pop-ma0000002793 |url-status=live }}</ref> Virtually every artist of the genre has been a rock band consisting of white male musicians who engaged with the song forms, vocal arrangements, [[chord progression]]s, rhythm patterns, instrumentation, or overall sound associated with groups of the mid-1960s [[British Invasion]] era.{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|pp=136, 138}}

An essential feature of power pop is that its cheerful sounding arrangements are supported by a sense of "yearning", "longing", or "despair" similar to formative works such as "[[Wouldn't It Be Nice]]" (the Beach Boys, 1966) and "[[Pictures of Lily]]" (the Who, 1967). This might be achieved with an unexpected harmonic change or lyrics that refer to "tonight", "tomorrow night", "Saturday night", and so on.<ref name="Chabon">{{cite web|last=Chabon|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Chabon|title=Tragic Magic: Reflections on Power Pop|url=http://michaelchabon.com/uncollected/musical/tragic-magic/|access-date=March 30, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411092844/http://michaelchabon.com/uncollected/musical/tragic-magic/|archive-date=April 11, 2013}}</ref> Power pop was also noted for its lack of irony and its reverence to classic pop craft.{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|pp=145, 149}} Its reconfiguration of 1960s tropes, music journalist [[Paul Lester]] argued, could make it one of the first [[postmodern]] music genres.<ref name="Lester">{{cite web |last1=Lester |first1=Paul |author-link=Paul Lester |title=Powerpop: 10 of the best |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/feb/11/power-pop-10-of-the-best |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=February 11, 2015 |access-date=September 29, 2018 |archive-date=October 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010111532/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/feb/11/power-pop-10-of-the-best |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Scope and recognition===

The Who's [[Pete Townshend]] coined the term in a May 1967 interview promoting their latest single "Pictures of Lily".<ref name="Earles"/>{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|p=129}} He said: "Power pop is what we play—what the [[Small Faces]] used to play, and the kind of pop the Beach Boys played in the days of '[[Fun, Fun, Fun]]' which I preferred."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Altham |first=Keith |title=Lily Isn't Pornographic, Say Who |journal=[[NME]] |issue=20 May 1967}}</ref> Despite other bands following in the power pop continuum since then, the term was not popularized until the rise of [[new wave music]] in the late 1970s.{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|p=129}} [[Greg Shaw]], editor of ''[[Bomp!]]'' magazine, was the most prominent in the slew of music critics that wrote about power pop (then written as "powerpop"). This mirrored similar developments with the term "[[punk rock]]" from earlier in the decade. In light of this, Theo Cateforis, author of ''Are We Not New Wave?'' (2011), wrote that "the recognition and formulation" of power pop as a genre "was by no means organic."{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|pp=130, 132}}

There is significant debate among fans over what should be classed as power pop.<ref name="Earles" /> Shaw took credit for codifying the genre in 1978, describing it as a hybrid style of pop and punk. He later wrote that "much to my chagrin, the term was snapped up by legions of limp, second-rate bands hoping the majors would see them as a safe alternative to punk."<ref>{{cite web|author-link=Greg Shaw|last=Shaw|first=Greg|date=1994|url=http://bomp.com/History.html |title=It was 20 years ago today{{nbsp}}...|publisher=Bomp.com |access-date=December 4, 2009|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212135740/http://www.bomp.com/history.html |archive-date=December 12, 2009}}</ref> Music journalist [[John M. Borack]] also stated in his 2007 book ''Shake Some Action – The Ultimate Guide to Power Pop'' that the label is often applied to varied groups and artists with "blissful indifference", noting its use in connection with [[Britney Spears]], [[Green Day]], [[the Bay City Rollers]] and [[Def Leppard]].{{sfn|Borack|2007|p=7}}

Power pop has struggled with its critical reception and is sometimes viewed as a shallow style of music associated with teenage audiences. The perception was exacerbated by record labels in the early 1980s who used the term for marketing [[post-punk]] styles.<ref name="Shuker2017">{{cite book|last=Shuker|first=Roy|title=Popular Music: The Key Concepts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iIlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268|year=2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-18954-1|pages=267–268|access-date=2019-07-25|archive-date=2020-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818185329/https://books.google.com/books?id=7iIlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268|url-status=live}}</ref> Music critic Ken Sharp summarized that power pop is "the [[Rodney Dangerfield]] of rock 'n' roll.{{nbsp}}[...] the direct updating of the most revered artists—the Who, the Beach Boys, the Beatles—yet it gets no respect."<ref name="Earles" /> In 1996, singer-songwriter [[Tommy Keene]] commented that any association to the term since the 1980s is to be "compared to a lot of bands that didn't sell records, it's like a disease. If you're labeled that, you're history."<ref name="cost"/> Musician [[Steve Albini]] said: "I cannot bring myself to use the term 'power pop.' Catchy, mock-descriptive terms are for dilettantes and journalists. I guess you could say I think this music is for pussies and should be stopped."<ref>{{cite web |title=Power Pop: What I Like About You: Artists Surrender Their Favorite American Power Pop Songs |url=http://magnetmagazine.com/2002/09/09/power-pop-what-i-like-about-you-artists-surrender-their-favorite-american-power-pop-songs/ |website=[[Magnet (magazine)|Magnet]] |access-date=October 6, 2018 |date=September 9, 2002 |archive-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235418/http://magnetmagazine.com/2002/09/09/power-pop-what-i-like-about-you-artists-surrender-their-favorite-american-power-pop-songs/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ken Stringfellow]] of [[the Posies]] concurred that "There’s a kind of aesthetic to power pop to be light on purpose. I wanted something with more gravitas."<ref name="louder17">{{cite web |last1=Lambeth |first1=Sam |title=Cheap Tricks and Big Stars: In Praise of Power Pop |url=https://louderthanwar.com/cheap-tricks-and-big-stars-in-praise-of-power-pop/ |website=[[Louder Than War]] |date=24 April 2017 |access-date=5 September 2019 |archive-date=5 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905144937/https://louderthanwar.com/cheap-tricks-and-big-stars-in-praise-of-power-pop/ |url-status=live }}</ref>