May 2008 

         We asked the organizers of the upcoming Pop Mayhem festival to key us in to some of the best and most influential indie pop records out there and this is what they came up with. Pay attention, these guys know what’s up.

 

Various Artists

C86 Cassette Compilation, NME

    In 1986 NME released the touchstone of indie pop music.  C86 is much broader than what is considered indie pop today as it had yet to be tightly confined/defined.  I don’t think many indie pop bands would sing “Swing big bottom, swing big bottom” like Stump does on their song “Buffalo.”  For my money though I think that it has the best indie pop song ever;  “Velocity Girl” by Primal Scream.  One minute and twenty-one seconds of pure pop bliss with dark lyrics about a girl dealing with addiction.  If you don’t like this song I can’t be your friend, sorry.  There are other great bands like Mighty Lemon Drops, The Wolfhounds, The Pastels, Shop Assistants and Close Lobsters not to mention the Wedding Present.  Now that you can easily find the whole tape on the internet a whole new generation are discovering C86.  Find out why local band Averkiou named a song “C86 Me.” 

- Joshua Ney

 

The Flatmates

Love and Death, Subway/Clairecords

    Born out of the C86 generation, The Flatmates had a whirlwind year in 1987, cranking out five singles/EPs in just 13 months. They compiled the bulk of this material on Love and Death as a full length album, originally slated for release on the semi-major London Records amidst a flurry of buzz about the band, but sadly, that never happened. The Flatmates were together barely 2 1/2 years, but their mark on indie pop history is indelible. Along with The Shop Assistants and various others, their brand of buzzsaw pop has been echoed by indie bands for decades now. A constant resurgence of interest in the band and this album seems to happen regularly (it has been reissued three times; also note the current Payless Shoes ad, featuring one of the songs from this album). - Dan Sostrom

 

Jesus & Mary Chain

Psychocandy, Blanco y Negro

    Just how noisy can pop music get?  Can you make melodies out of feedback and distortion?  Can you really have songs about your leather boots?  Or drum beats minimal to the point of narcolepsy?  Well, the Velvet Underground did a generation before, and in 1985 the Jesus & Mary Chain unleashed Psychocandy, an album so reverbed and full of jet-black disaffection that there would be no turning back. - Travis Fristoe

Sarah Records Catalog

    Ok, so I might be cheating here by selecting an entire record label’s catalog as an essential pick, but it really is almost impossible to consider indie pop without discussing this

Bristol label. The brain child of two friends, Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes, the record label grew out of the pair’s involvement in local music fanzines.  Conceived from the start to be a terminal project–the label ended after the 100th release–Sarah released some of the most influential indie pop/rock ever recorded, while sticking closely to an independent philosophy. More than 10 years after the label’s end their aesthetic is often imitated, but rarely duplicated. - Joe Baca

The Clean

Boodle Boodle Boodle, Flying Nun Records 

    In 1997 I bought a record from a band that I had only heard one song from on a mix-tape a friend had made for me. The song was “Thumbs Off” by The Clean. Five songs later I started my venture into looking for more bands like this; catchy pop rock songs that sounded like you recorded them on a boombox. What I didn’t know at the time was that this band, the Flying Nun label and their catalog had launched a chapter in indie pop history.  Too many bands to count acknowledge this band and their New Zealand peers as an influence on their music. - Pablo Rios