Easy Listening » Exotica/Lounge » Lounge

Lounge refers to a strain of easy listening music from the '50s and '60s that was based on the lush styles of latter-day swing and big band music. Lounge scaled these back, borrowing ideas from the worldbeat exploration of exotica, as well as the futuristic aspirations of space age pop. Lounge wasn't as adventurous as either form, yet it wasn't as watered down as Muzak -- instead, it occupied the middle ground, appealing to fans of traditional pop as well as space-age pop.