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Beat Happening

City of Origin: Olympia, WA, USA

Period of Activity: Mid-80s to early-90s

Members: Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, Bret Lunsford

Related Artists: D+, Dub Narcotic Sound System, The Halo Benders

Discography:

• Beat Happening (1985)
• Jamboree (1988)
• Black Candy (1989)
• Dreamy (1991)
• You Turn Me On (1992)
• Music to Climb the Apple Tree By (2003, compilation)

Social Media: Bandcamp

Arguably the band that created the North American indiepop scene, and still one of the best to ever do it. Their influence is so much more than just that Calvin Johnson founded K Records, the Olympia-based label responsible for launching several major names in the genre, their minimalist (and frankly childish) songwriting is often imitated, though rarely with nearly as much success. What many people seem to fail to get about Beat Happening, in my opinion, is that the songs weren't childish for the sake of childishness. It's about the feeling that something, somewhere, has gone very wrong, and trying in vain to recapture a time when everything was right. Of course, Beat Happening realizes that things often weren't truly better, there was just a lack of understanding there. The perfect band for reminding yourself you can't hide in your memories of elementary school forever.