Beat Happening

Led by monotoned vocalist and K Records founder Calvin Johnson, Olympia's Beat Happening had an entirely unique take on what it meant to be punk rock. Stridently adhering to DIY ethics, the band played a primitive, jangly style of pop. The songs often sounded like they might fall apart at any moment, yet they were so undeniably catchy the band endeared itself to a tremendous swath of the indie underground of the 1980s and '90s. Following Beat Happening's break-up, Calvin Johnson went on to form Dub Narcotic Sound System and released a solo album in 2005.

• Blake Babies
• Fastbacks
• Heavenly (Pop)
• Screaming Trees
• Tall Dwarfs
• The Lemonheads
• The Pastels (Rock)
• The Vaselines
• The Wedding Present
• The Wipers
• Unrest
• Yo La Tengo

• Daniel Johnston
• Half Japanese
• Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers
• Minor Threat
• Swell Maps
• Syd Barrett
• Television Personalities
• The Clean
• The Dixie Cups/The Shangri-Las
• The Shangri-Las
• The Violent Femmes

• Beck
• Bright Eyes
• Cub
• Kimya Dawson
• Mary Lou Lord
• Nirvana (USA)
• Sebadoh
• Shonen Knife
• Teenage Fanclub
• The Magnetic Fields
• Tsunami
• Tullycraft
• Vehicle Flips

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