Beat Happening

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Beat Happening

Background information
Origin Olympia, Washington, U.S.
Genre(s) Alternative Rock
Twee pop
Indie rock
Years active 1982–Present
Label(s) K Records
Sub Pop Records
Associated acts D+
The Halo Benders
Dub Narcotic Sound System
Members
Calvin Johnson
Heather Lewis
Bret Lunsford

Beat Happening is an American indie rock band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie rock and lo-fi movements, noted for their use of primitive recording techniques, disregard for the technical aspects of musicianship, and songs with subject matters of a childish or coy nature.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Formation

The band met while attending Evergreen State College and began recording in 1983. The band's basic line-up was drums, guitar and vocals, though when they formed their only instruments were a pair of maracas and a Sears Silvertone guitar purchased at a thrift shop. Heather once joked in an interview that the history of the band could be told through a list of the various people they'd borrowed drums from. Heather and Calvin had been members of a previous band and approached Bret, who had no musical experience at the time, saying they ought to start a band and go to Japan. Indeed, it was on a trip to Tokyo that the bandmembers recorded Three Tea Breakfast, an EP that established the band's reputation.

Calvin Johnson was one of the founders of seminal indie-rock label K Records. The label has been championed by many, including Kurt Cobain, who tattooed the K Records logo on his arm. The label achieved modest success and continues to hold its independent integrity, claiming to have been "exploding the teenage underground into passionate revolt against the corporate ogre since 1982."

[edit] Studio albums

Beat Happening (1985), their full length debut, was critically acclaimed, as was Jamboree (1988). By the release of Dreamy in 1991, Beat Happening was one of the most popular bands in the indie rock community, leading to their pivotal role in the International Pop Underground Festival, which brought anti-corporate rock its earliest mainstream acceptance. Their last full-length album was 1992's You Turn Me On, which represented the band breaking many of their established conventions from earlier albums, most notably on "Godsend," which runs 9 minutes in length and features blatant use of multitrack recording. The album was described by allmusic.com as "A masterpiece." Though never announcing a break-up and claiming at one point to still practice once a month, the members of Beat Happening have moved on to various other projects. In 2000 they released the "Angel Gone" single, their first new recording in eight years.

A Beat Happening box set, Crashing Through, which collects all of the band's officially released music except for some of their tracks from a live cassette split with The Vaselines, was released in 2002. The box set included a booklet containing a lengthy essay on the history and impact of the band by Lois Maffeo, as well as rare photos of members Calvin, Heather and Bret, and Calvin with musician and director G.B. Jones.

[edit] Members

[edit] Discography

  • Albums
Year Title Label
1985 Beat Happening K Records
1988 Jamboree K Records/Rough Trade
1989 Black Candy K Records/Rough Trade
1991 Dreamy K Records/Sub Pop
1992 You Turn Me On K Records/Sub Pop
  • EPs
Year Title Label
1984 Three Tea Breakfast Cassette EP K Records
1988 Crashing Through EP K Records
1988 Beat Happening/Screaming Trees EP K Records/Homestead
  • Compilations
Year Title Label
2002 Crashing Through K Records
2003 Music to Climb the Apple Tree By K Records
Languages