The Power Popaholic is a premier music blog that focuses on the genre of power pop and melodic rock. We also report on live shows, tour dates, gossip, MP3’s, videos, and just about anything a power-pop fan could want. The site’s reviews continue to grow with over 2,000 reviews and a total audience of 879,727 page views (as of 10/13, as per sitemeter.com)The site is also featured prominently in John Borack’s new book “Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide” and my reviews have been featured in Big Stir Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Virgin Top Music Blogs, BlogCritics.org, 50thirdand3rd.com, and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
So what exactly is power pop?
Me: Wikipedia has a good definition of this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_pop But you can say generally, any artist with a spiritual connection or stylistic influence from The Beatles, Big Star, The Beach Boys, and The Byrds. Power pop is known for musical “hooks” of melody that linger in your head, strong jangle guitars, and breathtaking vocal harmonies. But on some occasions, I’ll review non-power pop material, related to the genre like, Alternative Pop/Rock, Brit pop, Indie Pop, Jangle Pop and many others that just sound cool.
Isn’t this stuff all old? It doesn’t get radio play anymore, how is it relevant today?
Me: Whether its Raspberries’ “Go All the Way,” most recently prominently featured in “Guardians of the Galaxy” or Badfinger’s “Baby Blue,” which scored the climactic final scene of the hit TV show “Breaking Bad,” power pop is feel-good music whose sonic reverberations continue to make an indelible impact on the culture. And its not all old or “classic” sounding, as new power pop artists emerge every year.
Can I submit my MP3 or CD to you for review?
Me: If you would like to submit material to Powerpopaholic for review or posting*, please contact me with your information through our contact page. We like to review albums and EPs, not singles (although a few do get reviewed on rare occasions with a video).
What is with the “big number” under each review?
Me: That’s my ratings scale for the music I hear. I borrowed the concept from SPIN magazine – and I will not likely review an album under a “5” rating. After all who wants to publicize shitty music? The exception being formerly famous and talented musicians who I feel deserve ridicule for releasing crap to their fans.
Can I advertise on your site?
Me: If you would like to place an ad on the home page of the site, or on the right side of any of the interview pages for a reasonable rate please contact me.
Where are all these power pop fans? Is there someplace on the web to converse and discuss music with them?
Me: There are quite a few places for this, but one of my favorites is www.popgeekheaven (started by former Not Lame Records honcho Bruce Brodeen) You can join in and find out what other fans might be listening to.
Do you have albums I can download?
Me: Once in a while we’ll have MP3 files that are FREE downloads for the public. All music distributed from here is approved by the artist and meant to encourage fans to buy the album. These files are only available for a limited time, so when you see them – get them!
I don’t like your review! You have bad grammar and can’t even write a coherent sentence and you’re telling ME my songwriting/singing/ playing/sound engineering isn’t up to your standards? How dare you!
Me: My ratings and critiques are my personal opinion. Like many music snobs out there, we go through piles and piles of artists, looking for the wheat among the chaff. If you’ve read the blog for any length of time you know I do not like to give bad reviews. I would rather not review your album, if it sucks in my opinion. If you sound like Black Sabbath or Snoop Dogg, and you make a brilliant album, it isn’t going to be rated highly here. Why? My critiques are based on “power pop” musical objectives. The more your sound emulates the standard for power pop genre (Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, Badfinger) – the better your review. There are a million music sites on the web, so if you have a Phish meets Fallout Boy styled sound, I’m sure you will find other sites willing to promote your genre of music. I will also not simply sing praise to a band if it needs a critical kick in the pants. I find tons of music blogs are simply ass kissing the artist and linking to an affiliate for $$$. The toughest reviews are bands that fall in the middle. The musicianship is great, but the lead can’t sing. Or the songwriting is brilliant, but the mixing sounds like shit. I will call it like I hear it. Again, if you want superficial praise for your album with SEO link bait — there are other sites you can go to.
Finally, yes – my grammar stinks and I will make all kinds of mistakes – I’m not an English major here and since there is no editor on staff, feel free it take me to task on this. I will regularly correct posts where I see my sentence structure is lacking, or if I misspelled something. Okay, time to get off my soap box.
* Full Disclosure on reviews: With some reviews, I may have a material connection because I received a review copy (book, CD, software, etc.), or an item of nominal value that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write the review content.
Note we also participate in affiliate marketing programs, including (but not limited to) Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn commissions by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.