Jangle pop
Encyclopedia
Jangle pop is a genre of alternative rock
from the mid-1980s that "marked a return to the chiming or jangly guitars and pop melodies of the '60s" bands such as The Byrds
, with their electric
twelve-string guitars and power pop
song structures. Mid-1980s jangle pop was a non-mainstream "pop-based format" with "some folk-rock overtones". Between 1983 and 1987, Southern-pop bands like R.E.M.
, Let's Active
or Tom Petty
and a subgenre called "Paisley Underground
" incorporated psychedelic influences.
' use of the jangle sound in the songs "A Hard Day's Night
", "What You're Doing
" and their cover of Buddy Holly
's "Words of Love
" encouraged many artists to use the jangle sound or purchase a Rickenbacker
twelve-string guitar. The Byrds
began using similar guitars after seeing them played in the film A Hard Day's Night
. Other groups such as The Who
(in their early "Mod" years), The Beach Boys
, The Hollies
and Paul Revere & the Raiders
continued the use of twelve-string Rickenbackers. The Byrds, whose style was also referred to as folk rock
, prominently featured Roger McGuinn
's Rickenbacker electric twelve-string guitar in many of their recordings.
The etymological derivation of the term "jangle" is uncertain. The term may be derived from the lyric "In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you" from The Byrds' cover of Bob Dylan's song "Mr. Tambourine Man
", or it may be an onomatopoeia that refers to the chiming sound of a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar's upper-register strings. Jangle pop is related to the power pop
genre that developed in the 1960s, including bands like Raspberries
and Big Star, who blurred the line between the two styles.
movement of the mid-'80s that marked a return to the chiming guitars and pop melodies of the '60s." In 1979 the Athens, Georgia
group Pylon
debuted with an "angular, propulsive jangle pop sound" that would influence fellow members of the Athens, Georgia music scene, including R.E.M. In New York City during this period, "jangle pop" could reasonably be used to describe the more conventionally folk-rock Willie Nile
, The Smithereens
, and popular but unsigned four-piece band The Floor Models, all of whom had origins in Greenwich Village clubs such as Folk City, Kenny's Castaways, and The Bitter End
, as did many significant East Coast 1960s folk-rock acts. The Smithereens and Floor Models in particular made extensive use of various models of the Rickenbacker
12-string electric guitar as well as the much rarer Hagstrom 12-string electric guitar. The sound of jangle pop was "essentially a pop-based format" with "some folk-rock overtones." All Music
claims that it was non-mainstream music with "deliberately cryptic" lyrics and "raw and amateurish" DIY production. Between 1983 and 1987, "Southern-pop bands like R.E.M.
and Let's Active
" and a subgenre called "Paisley Underground
" incorporated psychedelic influences. An article in Blogcritics magazine claims that besides R.E.M., the "... only other jangle-pop band to enjoy large sales in America were the Bangles
, from Los Angeles. While better known for their glossy hits like 'Manic Monday', their first album and EP were organic, real jangle-pop efforts in a Byrds/Big Star vein, spiced with a dash of psychedelia on their debut."
Jangle pop influenced college rock
during the early 1980s, as exemplified by early albums of R.E.M., The Feelies
, Game Theory
, The dB's
, Let's Active
, The Connells
, Guadalcanal Diary
, Marshall Crenshaw
, 10,000 Maniacs
, and The Beat Farmers
. In Austin, Texas
the term "New Sincerity
" was loosely used for a similar group of bands, led by The Reivers
, Wild Seeds and True Believers. Though jangle pop was a mostly American phenomenon, bands such as Australia
's The Church
and UK
's The Smiths
and Aztec Camera
can be considered as part of jangle pop.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
from the mid-1980s that "marked a return to the chiming or jangly guitars and pop melodies of the '60s" bands such as The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, with their electric
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
twelve-string guitars and power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
song structures. Mid-1980s jangle pop was a non-mainstream "pop-based format" with "some folk-rock overtones". Between 1983 and 1987, Southern-pop bands like R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, Let's Active
Let's Active
Let's Active was an American rock musical group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1981.-History:The principal songwriter and sole continuous member of Let's Active was Mitch Easter, who kept the band active through most of the 1980s. The band's musical style is sometimes referred to as...
or Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
and a subgenre called "Paisley Underground
Paisley Underground
Paisley Underground is an early genre of alternative rock, based primarily in Los Angeles, California, which was at its most popular in the mid-1980s.- History :...
" incorporated psychedelic influences.
Origins
In 1964 The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' use of the jangle sound in the songs "A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (song)
"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
", "What You're Doing
What You're Doing
"What You're Doing" is a song written by Paul McCartney , one of eight originals of fourteen songs on the 1964 album Beatles for Sale by the group; it also appeared on the 1965 American release Beatles VI.-Music:...
" and their cover of Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
's "Words of Love
Words of Love
"Words of Love" is a song written by Buddy Holly and recorded by him on April 8, 1957. Holly harmonized for himself, by tape-recording each part and combining them. The song was not a notable hit for Holly, although it is regarded as one of his important recordings, and is available in most...
" encouraged many artists to use the jangle sound or purchase a Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
twelve-string guitar. The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
began using similar guitars after seeing them played in the film A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
. Other groups such as The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
(in their early "Mod" years), The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
and Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s with hits such as "Kicks" , "Hungry" , "Him Or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" and the 1971 No...
continued the use of twelve-string Rickenbackers. The Byrds, whose style was also referred to as folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, prominently featured Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
's Rickenbacker electric twelve-string guitar in many of their recordings.
The etymological derivation of the term "jangle" is uncertain. The term may be derived from the lyric "In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you" from The Byrds' cover of Bob Dylan's song "Mr. Tambourine Man
Mr. Tambourine Man
"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan, which was released on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The Byrds also recorded a version of the song that was released as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and...
", or it may be an onomatopoeia that refers to the chiming sound of a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar's upper-register strings. Jangle pop is related to the power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
genre that developed in the 1960s, including bands like Raspberries
Raspberries (band)
Raspberries is an American power pop/pop rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their crisp pop sound, which Allmusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies." The members were known for their...
and Big Star, who blurred the line between the two styles.
1980s
"Jangle pop" was "an American post-punkPost-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
movement of the mid-'80s that marked a return to the chiming guitars and pop melodies of the '60s." In 1979 the Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
group Pylon
Pylon (band)
Pylon is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The band's danceable jangle pop sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".-History:All four members of...
debuted with an "angular, propulsive jangle pop sound" that would influence fellow members of the Athens, Georgia music scene, including R.E.M. In New York City during this period, "jangle pop" could reasonably be used to describe the more conventionally folk-rock Willie Nile
Willie Nile
Willie Nile is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”...
, The Smithereens
The Smithereens
The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...
, and popular but unsigned four-piece band The Floor Models, all of whom had origins in Greenwich Village clubs such as Folk City, Kenny's Castaways, and The Bitter End
The Bitter End
The Bitter End is a nightclub in New York City's Greenwich Village. It opened its doors in 1961 at 147 Bleecker Street under the auspices of owner Fred Weintraub. The club changed its name to The Other End during the 1970s...
, as did many significant East Coast 1960s folk-rock acts. The Smithereens and Floor Models in particular made extensive use of various models of the Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
12-string electric guitar as well as the much rarer Hagstrom 12-string electric guitar. The sound of jangle pop was "essentially a pop-based format" with "some folk-rock overtones." All Music
All Music
All Music was an Italian free-to-air television station which mainly broadcast music videos and music programs. Originally called Rete A, the name was changed to Rete A - All Music , and for a brief period was affiliated before with MTV Italy and after with VIVA.-History:In late 2004 the former...
claims that it was non-mainstream music with "deliberately cryptic" lyrics and "raw and amateurish" DIY production. Between 1983 and 1987, "Southern-pop bands like R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
and Let's Active
Let's Active
Let's Active was an American rock musical group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1981.-History:The principal songwriter and sole continuous member of Let's Active was Mitch Easter, who kept the band active through most of the 1980s. The band's musical style is sometimes referred to as...
" and a subgenre called "Paisley Underground
Paisley Underground
Paisley Underground is an early genre of alternative rock, based primarily in Los Angeles, California, which was at its most popular in the mid-1980s.- History :...
" incorporated psychedelic influences. An article in Blogcritics magazine claims that besides R.E.M., the "... only other jangle-pop band to enjoy large sales in America were the Bangles
The Bangles
The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
, from Los Angeles. While better known for their glossy hits like 'Manic Monday', their first album and EP were organic, real jangle-pop efforts in a Byrds/Big Star vein, spiced with a dash of psychedelia on their debut."
Jangle pop influenced college rock
College rock
College rock is a term that was used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. The term's use of the word "college" refers to campus radio stations located at institutions of higher education in Canada and the United States, where...
during the early 1980s, as exemplified by early albums of R.E.M., The Feelies
The Feelies
The Feelies are a rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008 and most recently released an album in 2011....
, Game Theory
Game Theory (band)
Game Theory was an American rock band from 1981 to 1989. The group's lead singer, Scott Miller, went on to front the band The Loud Family. Game Theory is best known for its double LP Lolita Nation. The band favored hyper-literary references, a la Jean-Luc Godard, including the evident...
, The dB's
The dB's
The dB's are a jangle pop/power pop group who came into prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s. The bandmembers were Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Will Rigby and Gene Holder, all of whom were from Winston-Salem, North Carolina...
, Let's Active
Let's Active
Let's Active was an American rock musical group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1981.-History:The principal songwriter and sole continuous member of Let's Active was Mitch Easter, who kept the band active through most of the 1980s. The band's musical style is sometimes referred to as...
, The Connells
The Connells
The Connells are an American band from Raleigh, North Carolina. They play a guitar-oriented, melodic, power pop style of rock music with introspective lyrics that reflect the American South. Though mostly dormant, the band continues to play to this day...
, Guadalcanal Diary
Guadalcanal Diary (band)
Guadalcanal Diary is an alternative jangle pop group. They originated in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, but they were often billed as being "from Athens, Georgia" in the early 1980s. The band formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1989. They reformed in 1997, but never recorded any new material...
, Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...
, 10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
, and The Beat Farmers
Beat Farmers
The Beat Farmers were a cowpunk band who formed in San Diego, California, in August 1983, and enjoyed a cult following throughout the 1980s and early 1990s before the premature death of lead singer and drummer Country Dick Montana...
. In Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
the term "New Sincerity
New Sincerity
New sincerity is a term that has been used in music, aesthetics, film criticism, poetry, literary criticism and philosophy, generally to describe art or concepts that run against prevailing modes of postmodernist irony or cynicism.-New sincerity in music:...
" was loosely used for a similar group of bands, led by The Reivers
The Reivers (band)
The Reivers were a pop band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1984 as Zeitgeist, they were forced to change their name before releasing their second album in 1987, due to another group claiming prior rights to the name...
, Wild Seeds and True Believers. Though jangle pop was a mostly American phenomenon, bands such as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
and UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
and Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
can be considered as part of jangle pop.