Artist	Song
The Mosleys	Sleeping On the Beach
from The Mosleys (AKA "Stu") (1994) The finest,hands-down-no-contest-no-others-even-come-close, power pop band to ever come out of Milwaukee. Mostly the power trio of Mike Fredrickson (bass, vocals), Royce Hall Jr. (guitar, vocals) and Dave Braun (drums), they issued about a half dozen albums, all jam packed with beautifully crafted pop tunes.
The Mosleys	Believe
from The Mosleys (AKA "Stu") (1994)
Bobby Sutliff	Same Way Tomorrow
from Only Ghosts Remain (1984) One half of the seminal power-poppers, The Windbreakers, Sutliff went solo and recorded this album, which sunk without a trace. I found the vinyl several years later in the dollar discount bin. What fantastic discovery! Great 12 string power pop on the Badfinger/ Byrds playing field.
Bobby Sutliff	You Could've Told Me
from Only Ghosts Remain (1987)
The Mockers	Coronation
from Living in the Holland Tunnel (1995) Reporter: Are you a mod or a rocker? Ringo: Um, no. I'm a mocker. An amazing record, produced by Mitch Easter, it has it all. Huge hooks, sparkling melodies, soaring harmonies. Love it love it love it.
The Mockers	Funk #50
from Living in the Holland Tunnel (1995)
Chris Stamey	27 Years In a Single Day
from It's Alright (1987) Current member of the dB's with Peter Holsapple after a long absence from the group. This tune is a wistful, pretty meditation on love and loves lost.
Ocean Colour Scene	Up On the Downside
from Songs For The Front Row - The Best of Ocean Colour Scene (2001) I traveled to Scotland in the summer of 2002, and somewhere along the line found myself in the pub of the Jura Hotel on the Isle of Jura, one of the western isles of Scotland where the deer population outnumber the people. The bartender put on this record and I was blasted out of my quiet reverie. Asked him what that great record was. In my journal of that trip I wrote, on Tuesday July 9, 2002: "The bartender was playing a cool record by Ocean's Colours [sic]...". What a brilliant, joyous pop tune this is.
Sam Phillips	I Can't Stop Crying
from The Indescribable Wow (1988) Sam Phillips, ex-wife of T-Bone Burnett channels 60s pop artists like The Beatles, and The Yardbirds in a lush, sweet stew. This tune has an incredible hook. This album and several others were produced by T-Bone Burnett.
Sam Phillips	Same Changes
from Martinis & Bikinis (1994) Trivia quiz. 1. What Hollywood movie did Sam Phillips star in? 2. Before she was known as Sam Phillips, what name did she record under?
The Smithereens	If the Sun Doesn't Shine
from Green Thoughts (1988) What a great band. This tune shows you what happens when The Beach Boys and The Motors have a head on collision.
The Photos	I'm So Attractive
from The Photos (1980) Wendy Wu! Woo Hoo!
Wednesday Week	All That Again
from What We Had (1988) Great sparkly power pop, a bit more edgy than The Bangles. Produced by Don Dixon, and released on Enigma Records, the album didn't sell very well, and the demise of Enigma didn't help either.
The Three O'Clock	Underwater
from Arrive Without Traveling (1985) Part of the early to mid 80's "paisley underground" on the West Coast. The excellent guitar/farfisa organ interplay in the choruses is exhilarating.
Lush	For Love
from Spooky (1991) In 1991 MTV featured a Sunday broadcast of a show featuring alternative/indie/whatever bands (120 Minutes? Alternative Nation?) The first time I watched the show, they played the video of this song. I fell out of my chair. This without a doubt, as far as I'm concerned, one of the greatest pop tunes ever recorded.
The Waxwings	Keeping the Sparks
from Low To the Ground (2000) The Waxwings were the opening band for Marshall Crenshaw at The Abbey (now closed) in Chicago, and I was very impressed. Grabbed this album and fell totally in love with it. Quoting Greg Kot: "The Waxwings don't so much re-create the past as learn from it; their acid-tweaked tunefulness is broad enough to embrace lullaby wistfulness ("Sleepy Head"), twang-pop ("Firewood") and jaunty orchestrations ("Low Ceiling")"
The Waxwings	Firewood
from Low To the Ground (2000)
Til Tuesday	On Sunday
from Welcome Home (1986) I find this tune, in a word, "glorious". Never let it be said that Aimee Mann doesn't know how to write an awesome pop song.
The Wondermints	Shine On Me
from Mind If We Make Love To You (2002) Checked these guys out after seeing the Brian Wilson Pet Sounds tour. 60s pop influences abound and they are not shy about putting them front and center - from the likes of The Association to The Zombies.
The Wondermints	On the Run
from Mind If We Make Love To You (2002)
The Mosleys	What Is This Thing
from The Mosleys (AKA "Stu") (1994)

Comment:

Power Pop. Wikipedia defines power pop as:

Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, clear vocals and crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements and prominent guitar riffs.

This is Volume 9.

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