Mixtape: Teenage Dreams, So Hard To Beat

... the only words I want on my tombstone, apart from my name, are: "Teenage Dreams, So Hard To Beat." What more do you need? — John Peel

One of my all-time favorite styles of music is power pop: a 1960s-inspired rock genre typically comprised of driving drum beats, sharp vocal melodies, and straightforward minimalist arrangements. It's pop music that goes straight for the kill shot—the immediate hook and connection. What I find particularly engaging is the small shaded region where punk rock and power pop overlap into a sharp and deadly force. Not every song on this mix fits neatly under the umbrella of punk or power pop, but for this listener, they all make that immediate and holy pit-in-your-stomach musical communion with a ferocious and intoxicating force—those youthful exploratory moments when you realize you've discovered something truly great.

10 Most Underappreciated Songs of the Decade

1.) Josh Ritter - "Thin Blue Flame" (from The Animal Years)

Nearly 10 minutes in length, Ritter's masterpiece is a "Stairway to Heaven"-caliber achievement with Jimmy Page's guitar licks exchanged for 700-plus words of poetry. Traversing a war-torn world and a host of Shakespearean, Biblical, and science-oriented images, Ritter finds solace in a ray of hope: "So I stopped looking for royal cities in the air / Only a full house gonna have a prayer."

2.) The Walkmen - "Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me is Gone" (from Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone)

With Hamiltoin Leithauser's Thom Yorke-like howls and the thick reverberations of pounding drums, organ and guitars, the Walkmen lay their claim on the world of popular music with their first post-Jonathan Fire*Eater album: mature, esoteric, and unpredictable.

3.) M. Ward - "Vincent O'Brien" (from Transfiguration Of Vincent)

It's hard to choose from M. Ward's catalogue: there's not one false step. However, this slow rollicking build-up of muted guitars, drums, and a riffing piano is one of the artist's most immediately convincing, due largely to its poetic simplicity: "He only sings when he's sad / And he's sad all the time / So he sings the whole night through / Yeah, he sings in the daytime too."

4.) Marah - "Round Eye Blues" (from Kids in Philly)

A pre-9/11 war song that escapes for moments into the imagery of a hard working James Brown and Little Richard and the rhythm of "Proud Mary" and "Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay." The Bielanko brothers have never sounded so soulful and harnessed their love of Springsteen so sincerely.

5.) Peter & The Wolf - "Safe Travels" (from Lightness)
Set by a chorus of sighing voices and the light-hearted up-stroke of an acoustic guitar, the song's tone is an otherworldly one—simultaneously eery and soothing. With the addition of Red Hunter's calm near-spoken word voice, it's also impossible to forget.

6.) Exploding Hearts - "Sleeping Aides and Razorblades" (from Guitar Romantic)
Power-pop makes its triumphant and convincing return with the debut from this tragically short-lived Portland quartet. Here, the band delivers one of the all-time great break-up songs: "Well, I felt so bad when I heard that song / You know it's been such a long long time / It's a little offbeat and it ain't in tune / You know, it's just like this heart of mine."

7.) Tangiers - "I Wanna Go Out" (from Never Bring You Pleasure)

From the furiously fast thumping of drums to the tightly delivered power chords and slurred vocals, everything about this Tangiers song screams "release!" Whether you're carving down a wave or a concrete mountain, speeding down the coast or hurriedly throwing back a few, this is the song you'll want playing.

8.) El Ten Eleven - "My Only Swerving" (from El Ten Eleven)

For an entirely instrumental duo, Los Angeles's El Ten Eleven is remarkably expressive. Never more so than this cinematic blend of tremolo-infused riffs, popping double-bass notes, synthesized arpeggios, and orchestrated crash of cymbals.

9.) The Fruit Bats - "When You Love Somebody" (from Mouthfuls)

With the constant thud of a bass drum and smile-inducing hand claps (think The Beatles' "Two of Us"), this organ-built 60s-tinged pop song is treachorously addictive and often prone to repeated listening. If there's one reason to start listening to the Fruits Bats, it's this.

10.) Martha Wainwright - "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" (from Martha Wainwright)
This song may be directed towards Wainwright's neglectful father—folk singer Loudon Wainwright III— but this passionate stranglehold has the strength to kick more than one ass. And ass-kicking has never sounded so righteous and brutally poetic: "I will not pretend / I will not put on a smile / I will not say I'm all right for you / When all I wanted was to be good / To do everything in truth."

The Nice Boys - "Johnny Guitar"

Terry Six is the sole surviving member of Portland, Oregon power-pop group the Exploding Hearts—whose brief career came to an end when three of the band's members died in a car wreck. Six, the Hearts' guitarist, never gave up making music. And he hasn't let go of that sweet power-pop sound either. In 2006, The Nice Boys—with Six fronting the group—released their self-titled debut. The album's best track, "Johnny Guitar," is as influenced by the Hearts' catalogue as it by Cheap Trick's.

The Nice Boys - "Johnny Guitar" (from The Nice Boys)

More Exploding Hearts coverage.

Introducing: Gentleman Jesse

Jesse Smith plays a short, sweet, and hook-filled brand of rock and roll. His self-titled debut— Gentleman Jesse & His Men—is an assortment of foot-stomping rhythms, jangling guitars, and catchy vocal harmonies akin to Buddy Holly & The Crickets.

Formerly a bassist and guitarist for Atlanta punk outfit The Carbonas, Smith brings a straightforward and aggressive approach to his music. There’s no soloing or needless wandering; it’s fast and direct pop music that immediately catches your ear.

Smith is a flag bearer of sorts for a style of rock perfected by Elvis Costello, Wreckless Eric, and most recently, the Exploding Hearts. The Exploding Hearts released one of the greatest pop-punk records of all time in 2003 with Guitar Romantic. Tragically, just four months after the record’s release, three of the four band members were killed in a car accident.

Gentleman Jesse & His Men keep the Hearts’ classic sound alive with songs like “Highland Crawler,” “Black Hole” and “All I Need Tonight (Is You)." It's a simple formula—power chords, snare drum, sing-a-long choruses—and it's nothing new, but who really cares? It's damn good.

Take a taste:

Gentleman Jesse - "All I Need Tonight (Is You)" (mp3)

The Exploding Hearts - "Sleeping Aides and Razor Blades" (mp3)

Buy Gentleman Jesse: Amazon, EMusic, iTunes

Buy Exploding Hearts: Amazon, iTunes