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C-86

In 1986, the British music weekly NME issued a cassette dubbed C-86, which included a number of bands -- McCarthy, the Wedding Present, Primal Scream, the Pastels, and the Bodines among them -- influenced in equal measure by the jangly guitar pop of the Smiths, the three-chord naivete of the Ramones, and the nostalgic sweetness of the girl group era. Also dubbed "anorak pop" and "shambling" by the British press, the C-86 movement was itself short-lived, but it influenced hordes of upcoming bands on both sides of the Atlantic who absorbed the scene's key lessons of simplicity and honesty to stunning effect, resulting in music -- given the universal label of "twee pop" -- whose hallmarks included boy-girl harmonies, lovelorn lyrics, infectious melodies, and simple, unaffected performances.

C-86 Album Highlights

C86
Various Artists C86
Rough Trade Shops: Indiepop
Various Artists Rough Trade Shops: Indiepop
Patron Saints of Teenage
Various Artists Patron Saints of Teenage
C86
Various Artists C86
C88
Various Artists C88
C87
Various Artists C87
C85
Various Artists C85
C89
Various Artists C89
Doing It for the Kids
Various Artists Doing It for the Kids
CD86
Various Artists CD86

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