The Septenary Monkey Mix!

Green Monkey is back! Splotchy has decided to bring back the vaunted series and he opened the submission door with one of my favorite genres: Power Pop.
It’s really hard to describe the form. Melodic. Guitar Driven. Kind of emo, too. Better musicianship than glam, which is a forebear, but not as aggressive as pop/rock.
Get it? No? Well, maybe my own choices will help edify:

1. Everybody’s Girl – Rick Springfield
Working Class Dog is a prime example of the form. It’s a near perfect album in every way. In fact, I would say, that it is one song short of being one of the top 5 of all time. Yes, it’s that good. It took me 25 years to discover it. On vinyl no less. But, I am a convert. This song has one of the tightest, build-to-a-climax bridges ever written. I know you think of Rick as “Jessie’s Girl”, “I get Excited” and “I’ve Done Everything for You”. This is my favorite tune of his.

2. I Wanna Be With You – The Raspberries.
Eric Carmen would go on to write the sappiest uber-ballad, “All By Myself”. Yeah, I know. But, his group, The Raspberries, were the real early progenitors of the Power Pop style. Someone else included the dirtiest song of the 70s, “Go All The Way” so I thought I would add to the fun with this catchy piece of pop confection.

3. My Life Still Sucks (in a Bad Way) – The Andersons
You don’t know the Andersons? Wha??? Well, I understand. The Andersons were a quartet in Los Angeles in the early part of this century. Featuring some of the best players around, they were sort of the Asia of the local LA Power Pop underground. (he he he). Robbie Rist was one of the songwriters/guitarists and they put on the best shows. All the time. Never fail. It was hard to pick just one song to rep them. This was the first track of theirs I heard, which was also the first track I stole on audiogalaxy lo those many years ago. Not to worry, I bought all their cds. Even after Robbie produced my album. (He can be heard playing drums on 85% of the tracks. Fucking genius)

4. I Knew The Bride – Dave Edmunds
This is, quiet simply, the best song ever written. I think it’s Nick Lowe’s pen that crafted it, I don’t recall. But, it’s just perfect. I love Nick’s version, probably more than Dave’s but in a power pop list, you KNOW that Lowe is going to get his due. And Dave might be left out in the cold.

5. Starry Eyes – The Records
I want you to listen to this song and tell me: Did R.E.M. steal and base their career on this one track? Many point to The Feelies. I think it’s the Records. Murmur and Reckoning are all over this. Starry Eyes is the bridge between The Zombies and REM. And that bridge is called Power Pop.

6. I Wanna be Your Boyfriend – The Rubinoos
God I love this song. I love it so much. I already had the Roob’s ep. My room mate, John, and I found it in the cutout bin at Sounds. I discovered this track later. You might know them from that goofy theme song to Revenge of the Nerds, but this is their best work. This and “If I had You Back”.
Also, if you ever heard Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” and/or you know about the Rubinoos’ lawsuit, this is a must hear!

7. Where Have You Been All My Life? – Fotomaker
Oh, that slightly country-twang guitar. The dreamy longing in the lead singer’s voice. This treacly piece of sentiment is everything that’s great and cloying about the form.

8. Your Daddy Don’t Know – Toronto
What? Pat Benatar? Quarterflash? No, it’s Toronto! You don’t hear a lot of women in the PP genre. Had to find one. This is one of those songs that make you say, “Hey! I KNOW that song! Who the hell is that???? I thought it was Pat!?!” And then you can’t get the fucker out of your head.

(Bonus Track[s])
Your Daddy Don’t Know – The New Pornographers.