BRITPOP

1. BRITPOP

2. What is Britpop? • Britpop literally means British Popular music. • More specifically it is applied to British popular music written between the late 1980s and 90s. • The four most important Britpop bands of this era were Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede. • However, these band were heavily influenced by British bands of the 1970s and 80s including The Jam, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Smiths, The Clash, The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays and of course The Beatles. • Characteristics of this earlier music can be traced in the Britpop songs of the 90s (especially Oasis).

3. Why was 90s Britpop so important? • The 90s Britpop movement was a retaliation against the American rock and grunge music which was dominating the British Charts in the 1990s. • Grunge bands like Nirvana (Smells Like Teen Spirit) were writing music which was not that difficult to play and young guitar players and bands were able to copy the music relatively easy and therefore it increased in popularity. British bands wanted to create a slightly more sophisticated style of music which was still accessible by most musicians.

4. Common musical characteristics associated with Britpop… • Guitar based instrumentation with vocals and drums (sometimes keyboard) • 24 or 32 Bar Song Form - usually Verse, Chorus & Middle eight (avoidance of the 12-bar blues chord progression) • Styles that are reminiscent of the bands of the 1960s & 1970s – simple pattern of primary chords (I, IV and V), lyrics/words about everyday life, importance of melodic line (tune) • Strong lyrical focus - telling stories about everyday life • Simple chord progressions but spiced up with unexpected chords • Limited role for instrumental solos (there were some but not like American rock music) • The music was a celebration ofall things British - proud to sing in regional accents

5. The Beatles

6. The Smiths

7. The Stone Roses

8. Happy Mondays

9. Blur

10. Oasis

11. Suede

12. Pulp