Book Reviews: Go All the Way - A literary appreciation of Power Pop

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50884278-go-all-the-way" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop (The Mixtape Series)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570681005l/50884278._SX98_SY160_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50884278-go-all-the-way">Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/173095.Paul_Myers">Paul Myers</a><br/>

My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4413192124">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />

Power Pop. No one knows what it is but we all know it when we hear it. <br />This collection of essays vacillates from describing/defending the genre, spotlighting specific artists (Weezer, Big Star, ELO, Liz Phair, Cheap Trick, Sloan and Jellyfish are among the subjects of specific essays) and memoir. <br />While I enjoyed all of it, those memoir pieces are the highlights. <br />Specifically filmmaker Alison Anders and novelist Joe Clifford, whose meditation on brotherhood and The Hold Steady had me weeping (on a plane, no less!) and Carrie Courogen's defense of Liz Phair's eponymous 2003 record (one which I adored and am anxious to revisit now that I've finished the book). Those three resonated with me and while I am always appreciative of the mentions the granddaddies of the genre (You know that The Knack and Alex Chilton will feature in a book of this subject) always seem to attain I'm left wanting to read more about the subterranean Power Poppers (some get cursory mentions), like, The Jags, The Pop Group, Sorrows, The Shivvers, Teen Machine, Graduate, The Keys, The Heats, The Cry, etc.<br />I look forward to the sequel.

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