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Beat Happening

Beat Happening Format: Audio CD
4.4 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
$24.00
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MP3 Music, January 1, 1985
$9.49
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Audio CD, September 7, 2004
$24.00
$27.99 $24.00
Vinyl, Import, November 11, 2022
$32.99
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Track Listings

1 Our Secret
2 What's Important
3 Down at the Sea
4 I Love You
5 Fourteen
6 Run Down the Stairs
7 Bad Seeds (Live)
8 In My Memory
9 Honey Pot
10 The Fall
11 Youth
12 Don't Mix the Colors
13 Foggy Eyes
14 Bad Seeds
15 I Let Him Get to Me
16 I Spy
17 Run Down the Stairs
18 Christmas
19 Fourteen
20 Let's Kiss
21 1, 2, 3
22 In Love with You Thing
23 Look Around
24 (Bonus Track)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A Hundred summer days bottled up inside one guitar. The first Beat Happening album has been reissued with lots of extra material recorded in 1983-'85, the time during which the first album was originally recorded & released. Bret, Heather & Calvin made music hot & bothered, the world listened with trepidation. As the first album released on K, it set a mood of irresistibility that has endured for twenty years. The refurbished Beat Happening includes the original Greg Sage (the Wipers) produced sessions that comprised most of the original album & the first single ("Our Secret"/"What's Important"). Five of the songs were recorded while Beat Happening was living in Japan & then released as the Three Tea Breakfast cassette. There are also several songs that were originally included on various cassette compilations long out of print.

Amazon.com

A truly seminal record, 1985's Beat is largely responsible for the wave of primitive, low-fi creations that appeared over the next decade. Calvin Johnson, who went on to build a small indie label empire with K Records in Olympia, Washington, heads up this postmodern three-piece, which features flat vocals, loads of snare drum, wacky lyrics, and an abundance of charm." Foggy Eyes," sung by Calvin and bandmate Heather, is one of the sweetest songs you'll ever hear. "I Spy" sounds like the Cramps trying to be minimalist and awkward, and "I Love You" is one of the most hip-thrusting, heavy-breathing, love songs ever recorded. --Lorry Fleming

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 5.75 x 0.35 inches; 3.88 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ K. Records
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ December 13, 2006
  • Label ‏ : ‎ K. Records
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000003RLY
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
19 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Hippie Smell
    5.0 out of 5 stars The beat is happening
    Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    I own the box set, and would encourage everyone that is interested to make the investment. The reason why I'm writing this review is to stick up for an album that I believe to be worthy of five stars. This album will show you how diverse and ahead of their time Beat Happening really was. With out a doubt my favorite album by Beat Happening and you'll see that even though it has a rough sound there really is a lot going on here.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Kristine Curtis
    5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This album is one of my favorite of theirs....they include some extra songs and also the lyrics throughout!
    Great, underappreciated band!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Justin
    4.0 out of 5 stars When I was young
    Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2002
    Beat Happening is one of the most musically inept rock bands of all time. The only band who supercedes them in talentlessness is Half Japanese who had little to no ability to write a melody. Beat Happening at least has melody-writing prowess. This is obviously one of those bands whose feeling is more impotant than their virtuosity and man do they have feeling. "Youth" is one of the most hauntingly real portrayls of the human conditon ever recorded in any art form. They sharpened their chops a bit on their later efforts but this one is extremely rudimentary. Its a great album based on its art alone; the musicality [is bad]. Calvin Johnson is one of the only human beings who legitamately scares me and for that I respect him.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Char
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Great music.
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  • Aaron P. Beck
    1.0 out of 5 stars ewww
    Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2008
    He's the way I see Beat Happening: either they are intentionally making crap, or they don't know how bad this actually is. Either way, it's crap, and this is one of--maybe THE--most over-rated albums ever. The singing is not singing, it's merely off-key, monotonous groaning. The lyrics are no better constructed than a simple dialogue or random thoughts in one's head. The strumming is utterly boring and un-inventive. The banging on pots in the background is just that. The recording technique is contrived. If they were really serious about their music, the would spend an extra $[...] on a better tape recorder.

    I'm pretty sure I understand what they're trying to do here, but then almost anyone could make this same noise. It's simple sing-song jingles in nursery rhyme meter. And if you don't fully believe that, and you like the hooks that much, then you should demand better production and musical accomplishment. I mean, if they're that great, think how much greater they could be if they acted like a real band. Not trying to be judgemental, I just believe that intentionally "sounding bad" should not really be a viable gimmick in the music industry. Especially when I'm paying $[...] for the CD.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Michael L. Phillips
    5.0 out of 5 stars May Be An Aquired Taste, But WELL WORTH IT--THIS IS THE BEST!!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2006
    For a couple years, I had a few Beat Happening tracks on my hard-drive that I'd randomly downloaded simply because I'd heard the name and how influential they were. Too cheap to invest, I left it at that for a while. I received the Beat Happening box set as a birthday present, and was excited to find out what the band was really all about. I popped Disc One into my CD Player while I had a couple of friends over, and minutes into it grew truly embarassed at how amateur and just plain "AWFUL" it sounded, and removed the disc. As days passed, I began to get really into some of their more developed discs, like "You Turn Me On" and "Dreamy"; this was a really amazing band...

    To make a long story short, I will say that Beat Happening quickly became the most frequently played band in my stereo. As I got more into them, I decided to give Disc One ("Beat Happening") another chance, and let me tell you... THIS IS NOW BY FAR MY FAVORITE BEAT HAPPENING RECORD.

    Is it their most finely crafted album? No. Is it their most mature? Definitely not.

    I must say, though, that there is something about the songs on this disc (yes, ALL of them!) that blows me away, no matter how many times I listen to them. Calvin's lyrics are so simple--almost as though they were written/sung by a kindergarden student--yet they are profound in their simplicity, perfectly expressing the very essence of the most basic human emotions--love, loneliness, fear, excitement, etc.

    I never thought I'd claim that a song consisting of fuzzed-out droning vocals and some random guy beating on a tin can was an absolute classic--but this is what makes Beat Happening such a phenomenal group. This is where lo-fi began, and I doubt if any super-hip band in the 2000's will ever match the simplicity and utter beauty of these early recordings.

    If you have the patience to really give this album a chance, I am sure that you will agree that it is a hands-down classic--five stars, no doubt. I do not lie when I say that this record changed my life and will always be remembered as THE soundtrack to the random, confused, but exciting years of my early 20's. Thank you Calvin Johnson.

    THIS RECORD IS AMAZING.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • J. R. Williamson
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is REAL punk rock. Can you handle it?
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2014
    Punk rock's really subversive, right? Right, but these guys came along and subverted punk rock, and that's cool. Before you give this record a one star review, maybe read the last chapter of Our Band Could Be Your Life. You should buy that too.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Giuseppe Greco
    5.0 out of 5 stars Pietra miliare
    Reviewed in Italy on July 24, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Bellissima riedizione del primo album con un secondo disco di brani non precedentemente inclusi. Consigliato.
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