The Loud Pretties (As Opposed To Power Pop)

[koganbot]

Was thinking of my definition of power pop — "pop melodies with loud guitars and sometimes power chords" — and realized that one could say the same about the music I call "the loud pretties," music like the New York Dolls' "Jet Boy" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." But I don't consider the latter power pop. Power pop (e.g., Crayon Pop's "Bar Bar Bar," which is putting "power pop" on my mind these days) has a much cleaner sound. The prettiness of "Bar Bar Bar" seems separable from the musical attack. The two accompany each other without being integral to each other. Whereas in the loud pretties, the guitar squall and the vocal squall seem one and the same, the melody emanating from the squall.

Jet Boy

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Smells Like Teen Spirit

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Bar Bar Bar

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(The Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and the Who's "I Can See For Miles" are poised between power pop and the loud pretties — though you need to understand that in their time, in comparison to the surrounding sounds, they seemed really loud, especially "Miles.")

Comments

[askbask.livejournal.com]

"Sony Music Entertainment has sealed a license and partnership deal with rookie girl band Crayon Pop, a sign that global music labels are increasingly watching the Korean music industry in hopes of spotting the next Psy."
http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2013/08/13/sony-music-looks-to-korea-signs-crayon-pop/

Crayon Pop as a worldwide hit is a funny idea, even if it doesn't play out. Reminds me of when we talked hypothetically about what the first western kpop hit would be.. I guess it's time to think about what the 2nd one will be.