Beat Happening
Beat Happening
1985
I’ll be the first to admit it — Calvin Johnson and Heather Lewis can’t really sing. Or play their instruments. And the production on this debut would be considered shoddy at best. But somehow all of these “flaws” add to its precious charm.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not unlistenable in any sense of the word, but rather maintains a sense of childish, two chord, tin-can pop throughout. No bass line anchors the sound, relying instead on Calvin’s booming baritone and the straightforward, repetitive arrangements that all clock in under three minutes. It sounds (and feels) like the music you might make with your boyfriend and your best friend sitting on your bed on a rainy afternoon. The soundtrack of summer, it takes me back to eight tracks and lo-fi, before you needed a laptop to be a "musician".
Allow yourself to trade virtuosity for vivacity, and we too could be friends, in our special stupid way.
