Home› Other Music

Your favorite pre-alt, US INDEPENDENT power pop rock bands.

brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,033
in Other Music
This is basically a kind of a spin off from the "Who are your favorite lesser known alternative bands" thread.

This is pretty much about a niche/period kind of sub genre that I hope some others here are into.  Chris Stamey, who was one of the central people in this early to mid 80's style of music, termed it US INDEPENDENTS in his book, A Spy in the House of Loud.  Stamey, along with Peter Holsapple formed a the band, The dBs, and as well had a strong association with R.E.M.

R.E.M. was obviously one of the biggest bands to come out of this interesting batch of groups, a band that left  the biggest impacts in the 80's, especially with their first EP and first couple of LP records, specifically the classic Murmur.  But the bigger precursor to all this music had to be Alex Chilton and Big Star.  Without Big Star, much of this might not have happened.

The Replacements also occasionally edged around the perimeter of this kind of power pop with songs like "Within Your Reach", "Hold My Life", among others.  The less punky side of The Pixies and the Violent Femmes could be included here.

Other band in this genre include:
Lets Active
Sneakers
The Bongos
The Feelies
The Individuals

I'm sure I've left some out here.  Who else would you categorize along with these bands and which are your favorites?

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













Comments

  • lexicondevillexicondevil Posts: 2,062
    The Plimsouls.
    1991- Hollywood Palladium, California with Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains -RIP Magazine Show Oct. 6th
    1992- Lollapalooza, Irvine, California
    Nothing since then. I suck.
    2016- Fenway Park, Boston - Both glorious nights
    2022- Oakland Night 2
    2024 Sacramento, CA
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,033
    lexicondevil said:
    The Plimsouls.

    Yes, good one!
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,513
    Guadalcanal Diary
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,033
    JOEJOEJOE said:
    Guadalcanal Diary

    Another good one!  I'd totally forgotten about them.  Time to go back and revisit this band.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • lexicondevillexicondevil Posts: 2,062
    The Knack. It's funny that I never got into them back then. I mean, I heard "My Sharona" on the radio all of the time, but that's where my knowledge ended. About five years ago I finally listened to that whole album and it's really great power pop.
    1991- Hollywood Palladium, California with Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains -RIP Magazine Show Oct. 6th
    1992- Lollapalooza, Irvine, California
    Nothing since then. I suck.
    2016- Fenway Park, Boston - Both glorious nights
    2022- Oakland Night 2
    2024 Sacramento, CA
  • 1ThoughtKnown1ThoughtKnown Posts: 6,155
    edited December 2019
    In Canada we had The Pursuit if Happiness. They formed in ‘85 and had a big hit north of the border “Im an Adult Now”.  Classic stuff. 
    And I remember liking the Smithereens
    Post edited by 1ThoughtKnown on
  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,513
    A great current power pop band is Dear Boy
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,033
    Three other bands should be mentioned here:  Talking Heads, Television and Patti Smith's early band.  All were more "art rock" flavored but all of them were influential to the pre-alternative sound.  Talking Heads added  edge and outside-the-box subject matter to the music. Patti Smith bridged beat era poetry and sensibilities to the new emerging sounds.  And Television brought added edge to the sound, intriguing thematic story to the lyrics, and were one of the few early punk era/ pre-alternative bands to not only get away with extended soloing, but did so in exciting ways, drawing from classical influences such as Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Debussy.   Exciting times!
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • dankinddankind Posts: 20,839
    Still not clear on the requisite type of sound, but Mission of Burma seems to fit the era. 
    I SAW PEARL JAM
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,033
    dankind said:
    Still not clear on the requisite type of sound, but Mission of Burma seems to fit the era. 

    What a great band!  Definitely the right era and definitely a US Independent.  Burma I think was/is more aggressive and punk/art rock influenced than the others mentioned here.   The bands listed so far are more power pop oriented.  If Burma were considered power pop, they blew all the circuits out.  I've always thought they were- not so much underrated as those who know them rate them highly- but under appreciated.  In any case, well worth mentioning- thanks Dan!

    They even threw is a little psychedelia.  My favorite:

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













Sign In or Register to comment.