The folks of Californian label Big Stir Records try to come up with a definition for the music their are releasing in the new issue of Big Stir Magazine. "Is This Power Pop?" was curated by guest editors John M. Borack and S.W. Lauden. If anything they have set out to broaden the scope. Kate Sullivan makes a case for including ELO:
I get the argument that ELO belongs on the power pop spectrum. In the early eighties, they got kinda power poppy— like “Hold On Tight” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Is King.” Lynne started losing the strings, going more rockabilly, developing the sound that became his signature as a producer for George Harrison, Tom Petty, et al. It’s the sound you hear in the Traveling Wilburys. It roams a smaller musical landscape than classic- era ELO, and yeah, okay, you could call it power pop.
