The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

Posted: 09 Jun 2013 06:58 AM PDT

From The Beatles to Cheap Trick, irresistible melodies have defined a genre of music.

WHEN it comes to desserts, Malaysians tend to like their sweet treats tempered by other flavours. But when it comes to pop music, it appears that this country can't get enough ear candy. The songs that are most popular on Malaysian radio are the sweetest confections – the audio equivalent of a triple-decker ice cream sundae with marshmallows and extra strawberry syrup doused in whipped cream.

Not that I can find fault. I'm as much of a sucker for a sugary sweet single as any music fan, but more often, I like my saccharine melodies balanced with screaming guitars, driving rhythms and a big beat. It's called power pop – the salted caramel of music genres.

Power pop traces its roots through to The Beatles (as can almost any facet of rock and roll, but that's another column). During the Fab Four's early and middle periods, the band delivered a multitude of musical styles that contained the hallmarks of what later would be considered power pop: gorgeous melodies, shimmering harmonies, propulsive tempos and potent electric guitar riffs … all in a bite-sized pop tune. Classics such as I Feel Fine (featuring one of the first uses of guitar feedback in pop music), And You Bird Can Sing and Day Tripper are brilliant examples.

Yet it was one of The Beatles' contemporaries, The Who's Pete Townshend, who coined the term "power pop" when describing his band's sound in a 1967 interview. Although The Who would soon achieve greater fame as progenitors of the rock opera, at the time of the interview, Townshend's description was perfect. Early Who songs such as Substitute, I Can See for Miles and I Can't Explain featured killer melodies covered in crunchy guitars (from Townshend) and thunderous drumming (courtesy of the late, great Keith Moon).

In the early 1970s, power pop ping-ponged back to American shores and as fate would have it, 1972 was a breakout year for the genre (even if it wasn't yet recognised as such). Todd Rundgren released the wonderfully varied double LP masterpiece Something/Anything? and The Raspberries put out its self-titled debut, which contained Go All the Way – arguably power pop's brightest shining single. The Top 5 hit starts with a blazing guitar riff that could rip the roof off an arena before it transitions to this poppy tune in which singer Eric Carmen sweetly coos about teenage lust.

And then there was a record that had the least impact at the time but, perhaps, the most since: Big Star's first album, the sarcastically titled #1 Record. The band was fronted by Alex Chilton, formerly the big voice behind blue-eyed soul group The Box Tops. Big Star incorporated power pop elements from 1960s greats (Beatles melodies, Who power, Byrds jangle) and created songs that were at once familiar and new. Big Star never became big stars during the band's three-album run in the 1970s, but would be practically deified by some great groups that followed, including R.E.M., The Replacements and Cheap Trick.

Which brings us to those prominent purveyors of power pop: Cheap Trick. The band out of Rockford, Illinois, represents the genre's pinnacle, a special blend of quirky songwriting, furious guitar work, glossy pop hooks, unrelenting rhythms and vocal artillery from "the man of 1,000 voices."

Indeed, Robin Zander is one of the most versatile frontmen in rock, who can scream Auf Wiedersehen, croon Mandocello or hit that sweet spot somewhere in between on Southern Girls. His ideal foil is Cheap Trick's mastermind/guitarist/spokesman Rick Nielsen, a darkly comic songwriter responsible for gems like Elo Kiddies and Surrender (the only tune that could challenge Go All The Way for the best few minutes in power pop history).

We can thank Japan for bringing the rest of the world to the Cheap Trick party. In the late 1970s, that's the only place where the American band had huge hits. They rewarded their overseas fans with a couple of sold-out shows in Tokyo, which were recorded for 1979's At Budokan. The live album ended up going triple-platinum and spawned the Top 10 hit (and enduring power pop classic) I Want You To Want Me.

Where the 1970s power pop bands could all draw a line back to The Beatles, every power pop group that followed would credit Cheap Trick as the champions of the genre. That's no disrespect to the band's contemporaries. The late 1970s and early 1980s were rife with power pop hitmakers, from The Knack (the stomping My Sharona) to The Romantics (the stadium sing-along What I Like About You) to The Cars, who were master crafters of the sweet/tart, pop/rock single.

The tradition has continued, both in unapologetic true believers (Fountains of Wayne, The New Pornographers, Matthew Sweet) to hard rock bands that carry an enormous power pop influence (Green Day, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins). And there are plenty more power pop greats – The Smithereens, The Shoes, The Sweet, and other bands that don't begin with "S"! So, the next time you're craving something sweet, let loose on YouTube and find a little punch to go with your pop.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 9 Jun 2013

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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