Still Big in Japan

They're regarded as one of those bands that pumped out the seemingly insubstantial and shallow, album after album. You know, hackneyed love songs, catchy hooks, arena rock, a back catalog of songs that other bands covered constantly. But even Kurt Cobain once admitted that Nirvana sounded like Cheap Trick, "only the guitars are louder." That's right, kids, "simplistic" power pop bands such as the Knack and Cheap Trick have influenced probably every power-pop band you love, from Rooney to Superdrag, as well as such not-so power-pop groups as Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. Not everything has to sound revolutionary to be revolutionary.
Sat., Dec. 29, 8 p.m., 2007