Jason Anderson, Wolf Colonel
“September Gurls,” Big Star; “Your Name Is Wild,” Guided By Voices
Alongside Todd Rundgren and the Raspberries, Big Star helped originate American power pop: a raw, inspired take on what the Byrds started. Everything that followed—Cheap Trick to Hüsker Dü, the Replacements to Matthew Sweet, the Posies to GBV—can be heard here. Awesome. As for “Your Name Is Wild”: With all due respect to historical context and the groundlaying genius of songs like “Go All The Way,” “He’s A Whore,” “Green Eyes” and “Clean Sheets,” this undeniable Bob Pollard gem is power pop epitomized. Sixty flawless seconds for the verse and chorus, another 60 to repeat the exact same thing with triumphant vocal harmony. A truly perfect song.

Mark Arm, Mudhoney
“Set Me Free, ” Sweet
I know this isn’t an American band, but it’s the first song that popped in my head. I used to lose myself listening to Desolation Boulevard in junior high, and “Set Me Free” is the highlight of the album. It’s a giant hook with candy-coated harmonies clinging to a tune with unbelievable velocity and torque. It is the power-pop ideal. Unlike most music of the genre, this song actually has power.

John M. Borack, Receiver
“Big White Lies,” Chris von Sneidern
Maybe it’s the way he manages to somehow channel the spirit of Badfinger without sounding clichéd. Or perhaps it’s the percolating percussion. The amazing chorus, with background vocals to die for? Could be. Hell, I’ll say it’s all of the above.

Allen Clapp, Orange Peels
“Summer’s Gone,” Autumn Leaves
Because it kicks ass. Think Phil Spector producing Ronnie with members of the Who and the Byrds as the wrecking crew. Singer/songwriter David Beckey croons over the top like some pop prophet comforting the masses as the world crashes down around him.

Dave Clifford, Pleasure Forever
“I Wanna Fuck Your Brains Out,” G.G. Allin.
Is there any other power-pop song out there?

Jeff Cloud, Starflyer 59
“Valerie Loves Me,” Material Issue
It exemplifies the era of power pop that I come from. KROQ in L.A. used to never stop playing that blasted thing.

John Davis, Superdrag
“Feel” and “The Ballad Of El Goodo,” Big Star
You’ve got to have two Big Star songs: one that’s quintessentially Alex Chilton and one that’s quintessentially Chris Bell. “Feel” satisfies the latter requirement; Bell’s voice soars, the band rocks like hell behind it, the lead guitars blister and bend and the middle-eight breakdown absolutely drips White Album, white-boy soul. Chilton’s “The Ballad Of El Goodo” presents the flip side of the Big Star coin, framing Chilton’s world-weary vocal—all the more striking in light of the fact he couldn’t have been older than 20 when this record was made—with lush, Beach Boys harmonies, swirling Stratocasters and a sense of foreboding that’s almost tangible. It’s hip to namecheck Big Star these days, but I don’t give a damn. Every other band that’s ever claimed the demomination of “ultimate American power-pop band” is in Big Star’s debt.

Dave Doughman, Swearing At Motorists
“Just What I Needed,” Cars
It has been one of my all-time favorites since I heard it while riding the Himalaya at Salisbury Beach, Mass., the summer of 1978. It had been released as a single that May, and I remember hearing it all summer long. Being a kid, it was just an infectious tune; I didn’t really understand the subject matter, but couldn’t get the song out of my head just the same. The way it begins with muted guitar then those guitar/drum stabs, and of course “that keyboard part”—man, I never wanted that song to end. When I got old enough to understand the lyrical content, I thought Ric Ocasek was a genius, though I never understood why he didn’t sing that song himself.

Phil Elvrum, Microphones
“I Am The Cosmos,” Chris Bell
I have not heard any of those bands you mentioned. I think I remember a friend in high school playing a song called “I Am The Cosmos” that I think was by Big Star’s Chris Bell. I remember thinking it was an awesome song. “I Am The Cosmos” is a powerful thing to say. I plead ingnorance about how to answer the question. Is Wolf Colonel “power pop”?

Kaisle Feeled, Little Wings
“Girlfriend,” Matthew Sweet
When I was visiting my grandparents in Missouri, my younger brother bought that tape. We were kids, and I liked the cover of the album. I was about 11, maybe younger, and wanted a girlfriend, too. I remember the fur coat she was wearing on the cover, and I figured that it was Sweet’s girlfriend. I liked “Summer Of 69” by Bryan Adams as well as the “Boys Of Summer” by Don Henley around the same time. I would look at my elementary-school yearbook and zone out, making private music videos using my hands as framing devices, doing pans through the pages of the yearbook. It was warm and quiet that way.

Matt Long, Mayflies USA
“September Gurls,” Big Star
I know that seems pretty obvious, but I just love that song. It is well written, simple, emotional and to the point, and it has one of my favorite melodies ever. It’s just a beautiful song. What can I say?

Dom Mariani, DM3
“Go All The Way,” Raspberries
The perfect distillation of power, melody and rock ‘n’ roll production in a three-minute pop song—it was like the Beatles playing Gibson guitars through big Marshall stacks. I’ve used that song as a benchmark for a lot of the songs I’ve written. I remember hearing it on Australian top-40 radio when I was about 13 and rushing out to buy the single. I must’ve played that 45 a thousand times over the years. The Beatles influence was the most obvious to me at the time but as I started discovering groups like the Small Faces, the Who, the Beach Boys and even Free, I could hear all these influences in “Go All the Way.” I could go on about Wally’s cool rock guitar playing or Eric Carmen’s McCartney-meets-Marriott vocals or Jim Bonfanti’s Moon-meets-Kenny-Jones drumming, but at the risk of embarrassing myself any further: This song is it.

Jesse Michaels, Operation Ivy
“What I Like About You,” Romantics
Never mind the fact that “What I Like About You” has been played (and worse, licensed) to death since it was written. In fact, the reason I really love it isn’t even the song’s obvious great qualities: its simple, less-is-more style hooks, its toughness or the fact it builds an incredibly fresh-sounding pop anthem on a well-worn chord progression. The reason I like this one over all the rest can be summed up in one word: The explosive “hey” shouted at the beginning and end of the song by drummer/singer Jimmy Marinos. All I can say is that no matter how many times I hear this number, time simply comes to a stop at the sound of that exclamation. A song that lifts one above all petty concerns and somehow speaks of a more honest world is a song that is truly doing its job.

Boyd Rice, NON
“Goodbye To Love,” Carpenters
It’s the ultimate confluence of pop and heavy metal.

Nick Royale, Hellacopters
“A Girl,” Artful Dodger
It’s songwriting supreme and should’ve become an international hit. It also kicks Rod Stewart’s ass! That album (Rave On) ought to be reissued immediately.

Stew, Negro Problem
“I Don't Mind,” Buzzcocks
I don’t know what “power pop” means these days, so I’m kind of at a loss. But if it means what I think it once might have meant—melodic “poppy” tunes played with rock ‘n’ roll energy—I’d have to give it to something by the Buzzcocks. However, it would be impossible for me to think of my favorite Buzzcocks tune, as it changes every month. This month it is “ I Don’t Mind.”

Dean Wareham, Luna
“Girlfriend,” Matthew Sweet
I’m never quite sure what power pop is, but here’s my answer: “Girlfriend,” just for the fantastic guitar playing of Robert Quine.

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