A Very Good Thing: An Appreciation of Material Issue By John M Borack   Power pop was in sort of an odd place in the early ’90s.  Most of the bands that are now considered pioneers of the genre were long gone, and many of the titans of the second wave (20/20, Plimsouls, stc.) were dormant.  It would be a few years before Jordan Oakes’ Yellow Pills fanzine and L.A.’s Poptopia festival would bring melody-based...

  International Pop Overthrow Vol. 14 Written on October 25, 2011 by powerpopaholic in Power Pop Review If there is one person I could pick at the forefront of power pop opinion, it’s IPO founder David Bash. The IPO festival is dedicated to bringing to the public the latest bands and unsigned talent, and next week he hits New York City (where I’ll make my annual pilgrimage). The festival’s 14th compilation has been out and it’s...

  David Bash’s Favorite Albums of 2011   Hi Everyone,   Here are my lists of favorite albums of 2011. As is my usual custom, I’ve broken this down into several categories, as I’m just not comfortable ranking unlike entities on one list.   Contemporary Categories   The year 2011 marked the emergence of LP-only releases, as well as download-only releases (I’m not in favor of the download-only model, but I...