Top 40 PowerPop Bands Of All Time

This by no means an absolute list but the best 40 bands I can think of off the top of my head. Note that all these bands are post British Invasion. This is on purpose as this list could easily be comprised on solely 60's bands like The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, etc. That would be pointless. Anyway, here they are:

1. Badfinger
2. The Raspberries
3. XTC
4. The Records
5. The Knack
6. Material Issue
7. Big Star
8. Nick Lowe
9. Cheap Trick
10. The Plimsouls
11. Sugar
12. Super Deluxe
13. The Ramones
14. The Heats (aka Heaters)
15. The Sweet
16. Paul Collins Beat
17. The Nerves
18. Squeeze
19. The Blow Pops
20. Greenberry Woods
21. Fountains of Wayne
22. Jellyfish
23. The Posies
24. The Romantics
25. Hoodoo Gurus
26. DM3 / Someloves
27. 20/20
28. 92 Degrees
29. Emmitt Rhodes
30. Buzzcocks
31. The Spongetones
32. Split Endz
33. The dB's
34. Bram Tchaikovsky
35. Eddie and the Hot Rods
36. The Chevelles
37. The Red button
38. Velvet Crush
39. The Beatifics
40. Weezer

Honorable mention: The Flashcubes, Dwight Twilley, The Jumpers, Owsley, IKE, Knit Delicate, Lackloves, Myracle Brah, Copperpot, Wondermints, Windbreakers, Jumping Windows, Shoes, Evelyn Forever, Chewy Marble.

Will Owsley Passes Away

Singer and guitarist Will Owsley, a power-pop solo artist and guitarist for Amy Grant and Shania Twain, died Friday, April 30. Owsley was pronounced dead at Williamson County Hospital in Franklin, Tenn. around midday. According to the Tennessean, the 44-year-old's death was "an apparent suicide."

New Release From Major Labels

Talk about a "blast from the past". Many years ago in Syracuse NY I spent numerous hours, significant money, and many brain cells going from one bar to another to hear the best powerpop bands the town had to offer. This guy, "Ducky" Carlisle seemed to show up a lot. Bands like The Flashcubes, Screen Test, and The Most occupied my Saturday nights and turntable and "Ducky" seemed to somehow be involved with all of them as a producer or other.

So I was quite surprised when I stumbled upon the name Ducky Carlise recently. This is not the first time I "stumbled" upon Ducky by the way, as I believe I once threw up on his shoes after a Most show in 1979...I doubt he'll ever read this, so I'm safe. Anyway, I digress...It appears he has teamed up with a couple of his powerpop cohorts to produce a new record...umm, CD (there's the age giveaway). "Aquavia" is the most fun I've had listening to a CD in quite a while. What a blast! I've only had the opportunity to listen to it once, but on first impression it was highly enjoyable. These guys have obviously been listening to a lot of Beatles and ELO records, but they don't sound overly derivative. I'll write more on this disc as I listen to it again...and again. I encourage you to buy it and help Ducky get a new pair of shoes. Later.

The Records and The Beat Meet

Why does that sound x-rated? LOL! Regardless, I thought this a good time to post a clip from the highlight of last summer's concerts. John Wicks of The Records (remember the hits "Starry Eyes" and "Teenama") and Paul Collins of The Beat (remember "Rock N Roll Girl" and "All Over The World") teamed up to do some acoustic shows that were fantastic. Here's a clip from the show they did at McCabes in California last summer. They plan on doing some more this year. I've learned they've started booking shows and will once again be in CA this fall in October. Check 'em out if you can. It was a fantastic show full of back to back to back hits from my college days. Even if you're not over 45 yrs of age you'll love these songs.