Boys Like Girls' Martin Johnson picks his 5 favorite power-pop songs
Alternative Press teamed up with Boys Like Girls for an exclusive ruby variant of Sunday At Foxwoods, limited to 500 copies. Head to the AP Shop to snag yours.
Since their first album debuted in 2006, Boston’s Boys Like Girls proved to be been a force to be reckoned with in the alt-pop space. After five years of hit-making, however, the band decidedly took a hiatus. But 11 years later, in October of 2023, BLG reemerged with sparks flying, releasing their first album back on the scene, Sunday at Foxwoods. With a tracklist stacked with swooning love songs (and a few breakup bangers) alongside sticky, pop-punk-inspired anthems, the album offers a fresh take on the punchy, high-energy pop sound the group have always been so proficient in producing.
Read more: Fan poll: 5 best Boys Like Girls songs of all time
"I remember the first time I heard the term 'power pop,'" Martin Johnson says. "It was 2003, and a VJ on MTV was talking about 'Stacy’s Mom' by Fountains Of Wayne. I wasn't entirely sure what it meant other than softer guitar pop with a sheen on it that sounded like it was inspired by the Cars. While we were busy writing the first Boys Like Girls album in 2005, the Click Five came along wearing matching suits and promising to restore the power-pop sound to greatness, and it felt like a good time to avoid those sounds for a little while, at least on a creative level, no matter how much of an absolute banger 'Just the Girl' or 'Catch Your Wave'' were. While it's never been my essential 'go-to,' as I've gotten older, I've realized some of my favorite songs of all time are technically considered part of this subgenre that dates back to the Beatles and the Who."
We sat down with the Boys Like Girls vocalist and lead guitarist to discuss the top five songs that have impacted him.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
This song makes me want to make hooks more simple. I’m sure “The Outside” might be a dead giveaway of the influence this song has had over me. I think my favorite part is that absolutely nothing in the chorus has anything at all to do with being American lyrically, yet the payoff is just as potent without the double down.
Cheap Trick – “I Want You to Want Me”
The first time I heard this song was the Letters to Cleo cover in 10 Things I Hate About You and assumed they wrote it for years. I later saw Cheap Trick opening for Aerosmith, in maybe 2003, and they closed with it, fully equipped with a guitar that had five necks. One of the godfathers of the subgenre in a lot of ways.
Rick Springfield – “Love Somebody”
Somewhere a few seasons into binge-watching DVDs of Californication on the tour bus in 2009, a guest appearance led me to the conclusion that Rick Springfield was the man and I deep dove into his catalog for the first time. In this era of music in general, most of my favorites are soundtrack songs because the artists pushed themselves out of the box they kept the album cuts in.
Weezer – “Buddy Holly”
I didn't entirely understand what type of music I was listening to when I bought their “Blue Album” on tape in ‘95. I was listening to a lot of mainstream rock and grunge at that age, 10 or so, and it just felt “dorkier” to me. Interesting how certain albums grow on you with time and others fade away with time. I don’t know when I last put on STP or Soundgarden, but I can tell you the last time I spun the “Blue Album,” for sure. It was recent.
Gin Blossoms – “Til I Hear it From You”
The sound of the radio in my youth, this one hits the nostalgia button, for sure. Something about that walk-down across the title melody plays me a montage in my mind every time.
