Twee Punk Saved My Life

[Icarus]

Forget hardcore, it's all about Heavenly, Beat Happening, Tiger Trap, the Pastels, Talulah Gosh, the Bats, Cub, jangly guitars, boy/girl vocals (the Fletcher/Johnson duet on "C is the Heavenly Option"), broken hearts, big crushes, garage levels, and 1" pins. There must be other pop kids; show me your fan zine.

[Guest jmatsu]

kicking giant. the need. mocket.

do these count?

i sell you my beikoku ongaku magazines with cds....

[keagan]

Yes!

Right now, really into The Ethnobabes, The Garlands, Soda Fountain Raggggg, The Househunters.

Yeah.

[Guest jmatsu]

Yes!

Right now, really into The Ethnobabes, The Garlands, Soda Fountain Raggggg, The Househunters.

Yeah.

to be honest, i really don't even know what is what for pop and punk anymore.

i had a brief fling with k and kill rock stars, but who am i kidding?

i'm not a bald butch biker lesbian anymore. the only thing i still listen to from k is that one make up record, and behead the prophet (or are they on kill rock stars??).

[Icarus]

to be honest, i really don't even know what is what for pop and punk anymore.

I think the line has been shattered. K had been blurring the line with the International Pop Underground and International Hip Swing series and billing Olympia punk and Riot Grrrl bands with Heavenly when they came over, actively creating cross pollination in both scenes. Hell, from a modern standpoint, and maybe from a more general standpoint, the Undertones and the Buzzcocks could be considered both. I know I'll call Boyracer a pop band one day and a punk band the next. Could everything just be billed as powerpop? Could nothing? Twee-punk is so wonderful because it's so wide, spilling out into queercore, pop, indie-pop, indie-rock, etc.

[onemancult]

since when did people call it twee-punk?

i call bullshit, you just invented a genre name.

EDIT: besides sucky bands like the pastels.

[Guest jmatsu]

EDIT: besides sucky bands like the pastels.

did you get that pastels remix album a long time ago??

[onemancult]

should i have? will it change my mind about the pastels?

i just can't get down with anything even remotely twee.

i'm not a little girl, nor a fey indie boy.

[Guest jmatsu]

should i have? will it change my mind about the pastels?

i just can't get down with anything even remotely twee.

i'm not a little girl, nor a fey indie boy.

i'll send you some of the better tracks if i can ever find the cd....

a couple good ones. i am not a little girl, nor a fey indie boy as well.

[Icarus]

since when did people call it twee-punk?

i call bullshit, you just invented a genre name.

Twee and Twee-punk are both accepted genre names. Twee-punk is an especially useful moniker nowadays to delineate stylistic differences between bands like Heavenly and Camera Obscura. There's a clear divide between jangle riffs and doo-wop basslines. If you'd prefer me to call it a subgenre I'd consider it, but it's accepted terminology.

[Icarus]

I'm a fey indie boy. Should that be a superconfession? I'm probably one of those morons who're mucking up your noise scene, too.

[Guest jmatsu]

I'm a fey indie boy. Should that be a superconfession? I'm probably one of those morons who're mucking up your noise scene, too.

what is a indie boy? what is their accepted style of dress? seriously...what's it looking like now days? you have some nice waywtu posts, but besides the small pins, i don't know what you and people in you subculture would consider appropriate dress.

what do you guys do at the live shows? how do you dance? do people get mad when outsiders mosh?

[onemancult]

i, too, am interested in learning about this... how recent is the usage 'twee-punk'?

i'd never heard of it really, except for every once in awhile, and whenever i'd check out a band, they sounded like camera obscura with louder drums.

what is the point of twee-punk, as opposed to the point that twee is trying to get across, generally? is it "you stepped on my loafers, fuck you!" as opposed to "you stepped on my loafers, oh dear" ?

[Icarus]

I dance like hell, man. I admittedly go to far more noiserock shows than twee shows (there're simply more of them convenient to me) and come home drenched. When it comes to twee-punk shows, if the music isn't awful I'll dance all night. I'd say that's an exception to the rule, however, there's usually a whole lot of standing around.

For the fey indie boy look I see tons of sweaters, it's all about the sweater, collared shirt and dark tie, some kids wear slacks, some jeans. I'd bill it as a slightly more dressed-up style that leans more towards slim silhouettes with a few well-loved or DIY acessories thrown in.

Andrew from Pants Yell! rocks it really well:

http://asaurus.org/pantsyell/py-promo01.jpg

http://asaurus.org/pantsyell/py-live08.jpg

Talulah Gosh:

http://www.twee.net/pix/talulah.jpg

It's definitely derivative of Casual (not normal casual, but the original English Football Casual), and mod. That's the fey look I identify with and see on a lot of indie-pop and twee kids.

[Guest jmatsu]

I dance like hell, man. I admittedly go to far more noiserock shows than twee shows (there're simply more of them convenient to me) and come home drenched. When it comes to twee-punk shows, if the music isn't awful I'll dance all night. I'd say that's an exception to the rule, however, there's usually a whole lot of standing around.

For the fey indie boy look I see tons of sweaters, it's all about the sweater, collared shirt and dark tie, some kids wear slacks, some jeans. I'd bill it as a slightly more dressed-up style that leans more towards slim silhouettes with a few well-loved or DIY acessories thrown in.

Andrew from Pants Yell! rocks it really well:

http://asaurus.org/pantsyell/py-promo01.jpg

http://asaurus.org/pantsyell/py-live08.jpg

Talulah Gosh:

http://www.twee.net/pix/talulah.jpg

It's definitely derivative of Casual (not normal casual, but the original English Football Casual), and mod. That's the fey look I identify with and see on a lot of indie-pop and twee kids.

how would most of you non-superfuture twee/indie brethren feel about higher priced designer labels? i'm sure that it is a legitimate claim that twee and indie are post derivatives of basic punk/diy ideologies.

this may sound pretty naive, but i really can't formulate any real image-descrepancies between early 90's emo fashions vs. the pics you linked us to.

[Icarus]

i, too, am interested in learning about this... how recent is the usage 'twee-punk'?

The terminology really came of age with Tullycraft. "Fuck Me I'm Twee" is their most iconic song, and a modern twee/twee-punk anthem and the band has since hit a pretty good high. I'd say it's almost reactionary in a sense. Since Tullycraft are a modern twee band it was important to make a distinction between their sound, which is decidedly more power pop, and Belle and Sebastian's, which is more sedate and fey and all together more palatable. So, past 4 years? Though it's a modern term I think it's nonetheless useful in defining more classic twee music, especially with the parallels "twee" draws to Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, the Lucksmiths, et al.

what is the point of twee-punk, as opposed to the point that twee is trying to get across, generally? is it "you stepped on my loafers, fuck you!" as opposed to "you stepped on my loafers, oh dear" ?

There's no "fuck you" aspect, unless other bands affiliated with twee, DIY Punk, and the Pacific Northwest were thrown in like Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear, and other Riot and Queercore. It's a different aesthetic in views on rhythm, chord changes, tempo, and visceral grip. The lyrics tend to be similar and the fanbases mix, but there's a decided difference in sound.

[jwied82]

The terminology really came of age with Tullycraft. "Fuck Me I'm Twee" is their most iconic song, and a modern twee/twee-punk anthem and the band has since hit a pretty good high. I'd say it's almost reactionary in a sense. Since Tullycraft are a modern twee band it was important to make a distinction between their sound, which is decidedly more power pop, and Belle and Sebastian's, which is more sedate and fey and all together more palatable. So, past 4 years? Though it's a modern term I think it's nonetheless useful in defining more classic twee music, especially with the parallels "twee" draws to Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, the Lucksmiths, et al.

There's no "fuck you" aspect, unless other bands affiliated with twee, DIY Punk, and the Pacific Northwest were thrown in like Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear, and other Riot and Queercore. It's a different aesthetic in views on rhythm, chord changes, tempo, and visceral grip. The lyrics tend to be similar and the fanbases mix, but there's a decided difference in sound.

this is a good thread, icarus.

i must confess ive thought of myself as a "fey indie-boy", though i dunno if i look the part as you describe it.

[Icarus]

how would most of you non-superfuture twee/indie brethren feel about higher priced designer labels? i'm sure that it is a legitimate claim that twee and indie are post derivatives of basic punk/diy ideologies.

That's pretty fair. Most of the style is built on thrifting, vintage, and DIY, of course. It wouldn't be uncommon to see a pair of vintage Burberry pants, for example. That there automatically stops a degree of the designer label hate. The thing is, a lot of deisgner stuff, besides some of the stealthy designer pieces like my cardigans, sweaters, dress shirts, are less obviously designer than something like Dior Homme (which doesn't work for the style because it's not beat enough, there's a sort of a preponderance towards the worn- in look which has to do with the thrift/DIY aspect). If it isn't outwardly high fashion I wouldn't say it's a big deal. This is coming from my position in my little geographic scene. It could be different in, say, Chicago. I do fine with wearing worn jeans with old dress shirts, old ties, beat chucks, and a new Cardigan. Then you have the guys who just do the jeans, chucks, t-shirt look who are totally slamming (faded, worn, slightly grimy, a little ill-fitting), they're the other half, they're cool with whatever.

this may sound pretty naive, but i really can't formulate any real image-descrepancies between early 90's emo fashions vs. the pics you linked us to.

There's not a whole lot of difference, I'd agree. You take the look Rites was always photographed in, it's about the same. We're talking general indie culture here, that DIY background you were talking about, as well as a tie-in with 90s alternative, brit pop, and shoe gaze. Twee isn't so drastically different, identifiers come with the little things (I'll limit my subject to boys): patches, hand crafted things, pins, awesome glasses, a notebook, that sort of accessorizing.

What must also be taken into account is the simple fact that these rules aren't static. There're plenty of people in the scene who don't dress up, who just are really into the music (local indie-pop seems to be the most inclusive, best family). Gap jeans, Flaming Lips T-shirt, New Balance trainers, that sort of thing. But if you're going to pick out the "fey indie boys" I'd say these'd be some okay guidelines.

[ahk1979]

I'm a huge indiepop/twee fan! I'm a member of the indiepoplist and used to have a weekly indiepop/twee dj night in Toronto.

The bands you listed in your first post are a few of the classic bands in the genre, but there are loads of great current indiepop/twee bands. Sweden has the best indiepop scene right now, with Labrador records putting out a couple great albums every month or so. Legends, Acid House Kings, Loveninjas, Mary Onettes, Club 8, South Ambulance, Irene, etc. are all great indiepop bands putting out albums on Labrador.

One of my fav bands right now are a Finish band called Cats on Fire. They released a great ep last year and are about to release their debut album next week.

A great American indiepop band is My Teenage Stride and they just released an album last week that will be on my best of for 2007.

To purchase indiepop/twee albums you really have to use mail order services and imo the best one right now is poppolar out of Toronto. He gets in all the new good stuff and sells it great prices.

I know of one other superfuture member that is also a member of the indiepoplist and he knows a great deal about the genre.

Keep listening to the classics, but you really should go out and discover some of the great new indiepop bands!

[jwied82]

ahk1979...

whenever i see your username the first thing i think of is Acid House Kings..

maybe it has nothing to do with them, but i thought this is a good place to mention that.

[jwied82]

I'm a huge indiepop/twee fan! I'm a member of the indiepoplist and used to have a weekly indiepop/twee dj night in Toronto.

The bands you listed in your first post are a few of the classic bands in the genre, but there are loads of great current indiepop/twee bands. Sweden has the best indiepop scene right now, with Labrador records putting out a couple great albums every month or so. Legends, Acid House Kings, Loveninjas, Mary Onettes, Club 8, South Ambulance, Irene, etc. are all great indiepop bands putting out albums on Labrador.

One of my fav bands right now are a Finish band called Cats on Fire. They released a great ep last year and are about to release their debut album next week.

A great American indiepop band is My Teenage Stride and they just released an album last week that will be on my best of for 2007.

To purchase indiepop/twee albums you really have to use mail order services and imo the best one right now is poppolar out of Toronto. He gets in all the new good stuff and sells it great prices.

I know of one other superfuture member that is also a member of the indiepoplist and he knows a great deal about the genre.

Keep listening to the classics, but you really should go out and discover some of the great new indiepop bands!

My current fave American indie pop is Voxtrot... you listen to them at all?

Another good mail-order is Parasol which is based in champaign/urbana IL.

They dont focus only on indie/twee pop like poppolar does, but they get alot of stuff in and i think are/were the only US distribution for alot of the Swedish bands.

[ahk1979]

yep, ahk is for acid house kings! are you a fan?

[ahk1979]

My current fave American indie pop is Voxtrot... you listen to them at all?

Another good mail-order is Parasol which is based in champaign/urbana IL.

They dont focus only on indie/twee pop like poppolar does, but they get alot of stuff in and i think are/were the only US distribution for alot of the Swedish bands.

yeah, voxtrot are great! their album should be great after three great eps and they are just as good live.

i use Parasol from time to time, but i live down the street from the guy that runs poppolar so i usually just stop by his place to pick stuff up. Darla is pretty good as well.

great to know there are some other indiepop fans on superfuture!

[jwied82]

Man, i really wish i could have the chance to see Voxtrot sometime, but i dunno if theyd come to St. Louis or not... whenever i check their show dates it always just seems like they are playin all around texas.

Yeah, i love AHK. they were one of the first Swedish pop bands i got into.

[ahk1979]

they have some North American dates for the summer. No St Louis date though...

JUNE

Fri 1- Portland, OR @ Doug Fir #$ 21+

Sat 2 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile #$ 21+

Tue 5 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock #$ AA [5pm early show]

Wed 6 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Intersection #£ AA

Thu 7 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick #£ AA

Fri 8 - Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dees #£ 19+

Sat 9 - Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa #£

Sun 10 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place #£ AA

Mon 11 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom #£ AA

Tue 12 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar #£ AA

Wed 13 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat #£ AA

Thu 14 - Boston, MA @ Middle East #£ 18+

Fri 15 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall #£ 18+

Sat 16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Pure (Making Time) 21+

[Icarus]

Oh man, classics are just a starting point! When I get home it's time to start gushing about Labrador, Asaurus, Matinee, and Yellow Mica!

Oh, and K, and HHMTM of course.

[Icarus]

Alright, so, sticking in the parameters of Twee punk. Modern groups I'm really digging on.

The Haircuts (Yellow Mica)- I listened to "Sorrow is the Way to Love" 6 times through today!

Pants Yell! (Asaurus)- Could swing to either side, twee or twee-punk. If you've caught them recently their new drummer Casey is making the swing to the latter. I love these guys to pieces, must, must buy up the discog if you haven't already.

Cars Can Be Blue (HHBTM)- Man I love two pieces, Haircuts, sometimes Boyracer, Cars Can Be Blue, Matt and Kim, Ponies in the Surf, two pieces rule. These guys are the brashest of them all, too. Up front guitars, blatant innuendo, TMNT, hilarity!

Boyracer (every label ever)- From Sarah to Labrador, hall of fame twee-punk. Blisteringly fast, unique vocal melodies, spiky keyboards, ultra prolific, heavy distortion and treble attack.

All Girl Summer Fun Band (K)- Girl bands rule. Fun in the sun girl bands are even better.

Wow, this could go forever. I'll list a bunch.

Tokyo Eye (looking for more than the Yellow Mica comp.)

the Smittens (new album soon!)

Chicka Chicka

Aisler Set (disbanded)

Hanky and Panky (HURRAY!)

Javelins

Tullycraft (duh! I like "Disenchanted Hearts Unite" better, though

Please check out all of these bands if you haven't already. I'll post some more reccomendations on request. I want some back, too! Let's limit this to twee-punk for the time being, twee is too huge to be practical at the moment.

[Konfucius]

what the..? isn't twee punk like an oxymoron?

[jwied82]

Alright, so, sticking in the parameters of Twee punk. Modern groups I'm really digging on.

The Haircuts (Yellow Mica)- I listened to "Sorrow is the Way to Love" 6 times through today!

Pants Yell! (Asaurus)- Could swing to either side, twee or twee-punk. If you've caught them recently their new drummer Casey is making the swing to the latter. I love these guys to pieces, must, must buy up the discog if you haven't already.

Cars Can Be Blue (HHBTM)- Man I love two pieces, Haircuts, sometimes Boyracer, Cars Can Be Blue, Matt and Kim, Ponies in the Surf, two pieces rule. These guys are the brashest of them all, too. Up front guitars, blatant innuendo, TMNT, hilarity!

Boyracer (every label ever)- From Sarah to Labrador, hall of fame twee-punk. Blisteringly fast, unique vocal melodies, spiky keyboards, ultra prolific, heavy distortion and treble attack.

All Girl Summer Fun Band (K)- Girl bands rule. Fun in the sun girl bands are even better.

Wow, this could go forever. I'll list a bunch.

Tokyo Eye (looking for more than the Yellow Mica comp.)

the Smittens (new album soon!)

Chicka Chicka

Aisler Set (disbanded)

Hanky and Panky (HURRAY!)

Javelins

Tullycraft (duh! I like "Disenchanted Hearts Unite" better, though

Please check out all of these bands if you haven't already. I'll post some more reccomendations on request. I want some back, too! Let's limit this to twee-punk for the time being, twee is too huge to be practical at the moment.

Do you listen to Plastic Mastery at all. To me they are exactly what comes to mind when i think of the term twee-punk.

I love AGSFB.. saw them with I am the world trade center and Mates of State.. best single-show line-up ive ever been to.

I didnt know aislers set broke up. I saw them a few years back.. i thought of them more as twee-pop than twee punk though.

Also i recommend Free Loan Investments. Swedish twee punk with Female vocals. Try the song "Bomb the Bourgeoisie" for starters.

[Icarus]

Just some HHBTM comp tracks. Never enough to grab me, I'll have another listen, though. Oh, right. Also looking for more Happy Couple.