Saturday, April 6, 2013

Playlist #1 - 70s Power Pop (The Art of the Playlist)

Wow. Okay first List-Dexia blog posty thingy. Alright. So Hi. I'm Your narrator. I think i need a name. I need a name, don't i? Yeah, i need a name. Well my name is Rylee, but you can call me Rylee. This is List-Dexia, hopefully a place where I introduce you to a bunch of bitchin' new tunes you might never have otherwise heard, and also a place for dump all that clutter in my head.

So what am I doing here, and why do you care? I'm here cos i love making playlists. I pride myself in what i call "The Art of the Playlist". That is, making playlists have some sort of underlying theme (can be either vague ["women in rock"], or specific "early 2000s post-punk revival"), and sounds good when played in a certain way.

Some of you might be familiar with John Cusack's break-up film "High Fidelity", and how his character soliloquizes with short lists. ("top 5 side 1s, track 1s", "top 5 songs about death") My approach is similar in that i like to group like-minded music together, and see in what ways i can fit odd bands into that playlist. Sometimes it's fun to try to figure out how to fit Judas Priest into a playlist you already have Morrissey and Juliana Hatfield on. But i don't put a number on it. I go until the playlist seems done. And since i'll be linking to Youtube, if i find a live version that is better than the album version, i'll post that instead, cos i can.

I'll make one exception for you guys. Since i can make playlists that last half a day, i'll try to keep it 10-20 songs, depending on my time and mood. 

But No Ad Breaks

No Needless Banter (Okay so maybe i'll introduce the playlist, and maybe write a couple sentences about each song.  so...)

Some Needless Banter

Just Music of all sorts living together in one fucked up haystack. Let's go find us some needles!

(WARNING: Any numbers below are purely for reference purposes. They do not carry any weight regarding importance of song on playlist, the author's enjoyment of the song, or anything else, unless otherwise specified)

 --PLAYLIST 1: 70s Power Pop--

 First, the question might be asked. What is Power Pop? Simply put, it's a term coined by The Who guitarist Pete Townshend. If you're familiar with The Who, then you might get what Power Pop is supposed to soundlike.

If not:

Great Harmonies, check Big Riffs, check
Loud Drums, check
Catchy Chorus/Hook/Refrain, check

This is pulling both from the aggression and in-your-face attitude of bands like The Who, with the melodic tendencies of bands like The Beatles

Got it? Good. Here we go. 

Here's the playlist.  Just hit go and it'll play like...a playlist.  duh


 1.) The Move - Hello Susie (1970)
One of the first "true" power pop bands, these guys hail from Manchester.  Can ya hear the little bit of Ozzy in his voice during the chorus?

2.) The Records - Teenarama (1979)
Happy little bubble-gum pop ditty, about hooking up with a much younger girl.  Classy!


3.) The Knack - Let Me Out (1979)
Speaking of enjoying much younger girls, here's the opening to The Knack's debut album.  Y'know, the one with "My Sharona" on it. My Sharona is definitely about a love of young girls. What is it with these power pop guys?

4.) Big Star - Feel (1972)
Best known for writing the original version of what became the theme to That 70s Show, these guys never got very famous.  Bummer.  They write great ballads, too

5.) Pezband - Baby, It's Cold Outside (1977)
Essentially one-hit wonders.  No wonder.  Hard to beat a song as catchy as this.  Does the guitar riff starting 15 seconds in remind anyone else of Fleetwood Mac?

6.) Cheap Trick - Auf Weidersehen (1978)
Video from Live At Budokan: 1979.  Arguably the best live album of all time.  There's so much more to them than "I Want You To Want Me" and "Surrender."

7.) 20/20 - Cheri (1979)
Video from TV appearance 1980 -- Another band that came and went without much of a stir.  Their first record has some killer cuts, though.

8.) Badfinger - Day After Day (1971)
The epitome of the power pop ballad.  These guys perfected it.  Also, these guys have the most tragic rock'n'roll story ever.  Seriously.  It should be a movie. 

9.) Television - See No Evil (1977)
Too Sloppy for Pop, Too Arsty for Punk, these guys are the perfect candidates for power pop, with their great riffs, catchy choruses, and stellar performances


10.) The Cars - Bye Bye Love (1978)
What a better way to end the playlist than with arguably the most famous power pop band.  They evolved to more of a new wave sound in the 80s, but their first couple of records are still power pop classics.



Well there ya go.  An introduction to 70s Power Pop and my first playlist.  Hope you enjoyed!
I'll try to get another one up tomorrow.



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