Editing Beat Happening

{{short description|American indie pop band}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Beat Happening
| image             = Beat Happening (1988 Rough Trade publicity photo).jpg
| caption           = Beat Happening in 1988.<br/>Clockwise from top: [[Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson]], [[Bret Lunsford]], [[Heather Lewis (musician)|Heather Lewis]].
| image_size        = 
| alias             = 
| origin            = [[Olympia, Washington]], U.S.
| instrument        = 
| genre             = {{flatlist|
*[[Indie pop]]
*[[twee pop]]
*[[Lo-fi music|lo-fi]]
*[[noise pop]]
}}
| occupation        = 
| years_active      = 1982&ndash;1992
| label             = {{flatlist|
*[[K Records|K Recs]]
*[[Sub Pop Records|Sub Pop]]
*[[Domino Recording Company|Domino]]
}}
| spinoffs          = [[The Halo Benders]]
| associated_acts   = [[The Go Team]], [[D+ (indie rock band)|D+]], [[The Halo Benders]], [[Dub Narcotic Sound System]], [[Screaming Trees]]
| website           = 
| past_members      = *[[Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson]]
*[[Heather Lewis (musician)|Heather Lewis]]
*[[Bret Lunsford]]
}}

'''Beat Happening''' was an American [[indie pop]] band formed in [[Olympia, Washington]], in 1982. [[Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson]], [[Heather Lewis (musician)|Heather Lewis]], and [[Bret Lunsford]] have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American [[indie pop]] and [[lo-fi music|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 carefree or coy nature.

==History==
===Formation===
Beat Happening met while attending the [[Evergreen State College]] and began recording in 1983. The band took its name from a student art film, ''Beatnik Happening'', made by Bret's girlfriend.<ref name=LoveRock>{{cite book|last1=Baumgarten|first1=Mark|title=Love Rock Revolution|date=2012|publisher=Sasquatch Books|location=Seattle|isbn=978-1-57061-822-2|page=72}}</ref> 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 (brand)|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 whose drums they had borrowed. 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.<ref name=LoveRock />

Early recordings made use of an [[Echoplex]] machine to add heavy reverb to Bret's guitar, in an attempt to mask his poor performance.<ref name=LoveRock />

The band traveled to Tokyo in 1984 with intentions of touring. Their first show in Japan was at the high school of a former exchange student Calvin knew.<ref name=LoveRock /> The band members recorded ''Three Tea Breakfast'', a five-song EP that marked the band's first release.<ref name=LoveRock2>{{cite book|last1=Baumgarten|first1=Mark|title=Love Rock Revolution|date=2012|publisher=Sasquatch Books|location=Seattle|isbn=978-1-57061-822-2|page=89}}</ref>

===Studio albums===
''[[Beat Happening (album)|Beat Happening]]'' (1985), their full-length debut, was critically acclaimed, as was ''[[Jamboree (Beat Happening album)|Jamboree]]'' (1988). By the release of ''[[Dreamy (Beat Happening album)|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 Convention]], which brought [[anti-corporatism|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 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 release in eight years.

''[[Crashing Through (album)|Crashing Through]]'', which collects all of the band's officially released music except for two 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 Calvin, Heather, and Bret.

In September 2015, the band announced the release of a new compilation spanning their entire career entitled ''[[Look Around (Beat Happening album)|Look Around]]'', which was released by [[Domino Recording Company|Domino Records]] on 20 November 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Coughlan|first1=Jamie|title=Beat Happening Announce Career Spanning Compilation|url=http://overblown.co.uk/beat-happening-announce-career-spanning-compilation/|website=Overblown Webzine|date=22 September 2015 |access-date=23 September 2015}}</ref>

With the full cooperation of the band and Calvin's [[K Records]] label, Domino released a vinyl box set of the entire Beat Happening discography, ''We Are Beat Happening'', in November of 2019.

===Influence===
The English indie-pop band This Many Boyfriends are named after a Beat Happening song - namely The This Many Boyfriends Club. The Swedish band Friendly Boyfriend, likened to a "corrupted Beat Happening,"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tornlightrecords.com/shop/friendly-boyfriend-pick-up/|title=Friendly Boyfriend - Pick Up!|date=September 2021 |publisher=Torn Light Records|accessdate=December 12, 2021}}</ref> has a name that recalls the lyric "You got a friendly boyfriend" from Beat Happening's song "T.V. Girl." The United States band The Snogs have also been compared to Beat Happening,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.recordturnover.com/2020/04/15/the-snogs/|title=The Snogs|date=15 April 2020 |publisher=Record Turnover|accessdate=December 12, 2021}}</ref> and have released tracks such as "Tastes Like Candy," "Couple of Sleepyheads," and Teenage Sleepyhead" recalling Beat Happening song titles "Black Candy" and "Sleepy Head." 

Beat Happening's live performances stood out for Calvin's dancing moves (pogo, hula, and shimmy), which he'd seen on news reports about UK punks. His onstage behavior did not ingratiate the band to hardcore audiences when they toured with Fugazi in the late 1980s, and audiences were openly hostile, even throwing an ashtray at the band.<ref name=LoveRock3>{{cite book|last1=Baumgarten|first1=Mark|title=Love Rock Revolution|date=2012|publisher=Sasquatch Books|location=Seattle|isbn=978-1-57061-822-2|page=100}}</ref> Nonetheless, rock critic Michael Azzerrad suggests that Beat Happening "was a major force in widening the idea of a punk rocker from a mohawked guy in a motorcycle jacket to a nerdy girl in a cardigan."<ref name=Azzerrad>{{cite book|last=Azerrad|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Azerrad|title=[[Our Band Could Be Your Life]]|year=2002|publisher=[[Back Bay Books]]|pages=455–456|isbn=978-0-316-78753-6}}</ref> The presence of Heather Lewis on drums and Calvin's non-threatening stage presence presented a wider variety of behaviors and identities than other acts in the hardcore scene of the time, which was predominantly male and focused on aggression or hyper-masculinity.<ref name=Azzerrad/> Beat Happening has been cited as an influence on early [[riot grrl]] acts such as [[Bratmobile]]<ref name=Azzerrad/> and [[Kathi Wilcox]] of [[Bikini Kill]].<ref name=Rookie>{{cite web|last1=Wilcox|first1=Kathi|title=Bikini Kill: Girl Soldier (Interview)|date=8 April 2014 |url=https://www.rookiemag.com/2014/04/bikini-kill-premiere-2/|access-date=15 March 2015|ref=Rookie Magazine}}</ref> [[Kurt Cobain]] had the K Records logo tattooed on his forearm, saying it was to "try and remind me to stay a child."<ref>{{Cite book|last=True, Everett.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/830122168|title=Nirvana : the biography|date=2007|publisher=Da Capo Press|others=OverDrive, Inc.|isbn=978-0-7867-3390-3|location=Cambridge, MA|oclc=830122168}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Sandford, Christopher, 1956-|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54691610|title=Kurt Cobain|date=2004|publisher=Carroll & Graf|isbn=0-7867-1369-0|edition=2nd Carroll & Graf ed., rev. & updated|location=New York|oclc=54691610}}</ref> The song "Lounge Act" on ''[[Nevermind]]'' references his logo tattoo in the line, “I'll arrest myself and wear a shield.” Cobain also played guitar on a K Records release, "Bikini Twilight," with Johnson, released as The Go Team.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Baumgarten, Mark, 1978-|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/755697720|title=Love rock revolution : K Records and the rise of independent music|date=2012|publisher=Sasquatch Books|isbn=978-1-57061-822-2|location=Seattle|oclc=755697720}}</ref>

[[Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson]] was one of the founders of indie-rock label [[K Records]], and comprised one-half of the indie pop band [[The Go Team]], along with [[Tobi Vail]]; they had an approach and aesthetic similar to that of Beat Happening.

===Current status===
Though not officially broken up, the band has not performed together in public since the early 1990s.

==Members==
*[[Calvin Johnson (musician)|Calvin Johnson]] – guitar and vocals
*[[Heather Lewis (musician)|Heather Lewis]] – drums, guitar, and vocals
*[[Bret Lunsford]] – guitar and drums

==Discography==
'''Albums'''
*1985 – ''[[Beat Happening (album)|Beat Happening]]'' ([[K Records]])
*1988 – ''[[Jamboree (Beat Happening album)|Jamboree]]'' (K Records/[[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]])
*1989 – ''[[Black Candy]]'' (K Records/Rough Trade)
*1991 – ''[[Dreamy (Beat Happening album)|Dreamy]]'' (K Records/[[Sub Pop]])
*1992 – ''[[You Turn Me On]]'' (K Records/Sub Pop)

'''EPs'''
*1984 – ''Beat Happening'' (K Records)
*1984 – ''Three Tea Breakfast'' (K Records)
*1988 – ''Crashing Through'' (53rd & 3rd)
*1988 – ''[[Beat Happening/Screaming Trees]]'' (K Records/Homestead)

'''Compilations'''
*2002 – ''[[Crashing Through (album)|Crashing Through]]'' (K Records) box set
*2003 – ''[[Music to Climb the Apple Tree By]]'' (K Records)
*2015 – ''[[Look Around (Beat Happening album)|Look Around]]'' (K/Domino)
*2018 – ''We Are Beat Happening'' (Domino)

'''Singles'''
*1984 – "Our Secret" / "What's Important" (K Records)
*1987 – "Look Around" / "That Girl" (K Records)
*1988 – "Honey Pot" / "Don't Mix The Colors" (53rd & 3rd) [flexi-disc]
*1990 – "Red Head Walking" / "Secret Picnic Spot" (Sub Pop)
*1990 – "Nancy Sin" / "Dreamy" (K Records)
*1991 – "Sea Hunt" / "Knock On Any Door" (Bi-Joopiter)
*2000 – "Angel Gone" / "Zombie Limbo Time" (K Records)
*2001 – "Crashing Through" / "The This Many Boyfriends Club" (K Records)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.krecs.com/ K Records Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626012445/https://krecs.com/ |date=2022-06-26 }}

{{Beat Happening}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Beat Happening| ]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Indie rock musical groups from Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Indie pop groups from Washington (state)]]
[[Category:K Records artists]]
[[Category:Lo-fi music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1982]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Olympia, Washington]]
[[Category:Proto-riot grrrl bands]]
[[Category:Sub Pop artists]]
[[Category:Thurston County, Washington]]