power pop

alternative powerpop · alternative power-pop

1. uncountableentertainmentA genre of popular music inspired by 1960s British and American pop and rock music, with strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs.

   Then it’s early R.E.M. in excelsis: seething momentum, cascading guitar arpeggios, power-pop punch in the arrangements, […].

   2018 October 25, James Parker, “R.E.M., in Retrospect”, in The Atlantic

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   Power pop was given the “pop” part of its name because the songs were based on well-crafted, memorable melodies with clever lyrics, as were some of the early songs by the Beatles. Power pop songs also often included catchy-sounding group harmonies like those sung by the Beach Boys in the early sixties.

   1998, Katherine Charlton, Rock Music Styles: A History, McGraw-Hill, page 116