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C86 (music)

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The C86 Cassette Sleeve. An LP was released in 1990
The C86 Cassette Sleeve. An LP was released in 1990

Taken literally, C86 was simply a cassette available through mail-order from the (British) New Musical Express in 1986 (hence (C)assette 86) and a belated follow up to C81, a more diverse collection of new bands, released by NME in 1981 in conjunction with the label Rough Trade. However, over time it came to represent a movement within the British indie scene, often derided for its twee or "cuteness", jangly guitars and the bowl haircuts of its singers and male fans. Many of the bands now referred to as being 'C86' were left off the compilation, such as The June Brides and Biff Bang Pow!. Some later became associated with the sound but had yet to emerge such as Talulah Gosh, Razorcuts or the BMX Bandits who in 1989 released an album called C86. Furthermore, the compilation, despite its reputation, had a much harder punkier shambling sound that was completely at odds with the Byrdsy guitars and fey melodies of what came to be known as 'C86' bands.

In his book Time Travel, pop historian Jon Savage traced the origins of C86 and Twee pop to the Velvet Underground's eponymous third album. Simon Reynolds talking about the political/cultural aspect of the scene referred to a "revolt into childhood". Perhaps a more obvious influence was the pop side of post punk rock: bands such as The Television Personalities, the Swell Maps and Dolly Mixture. However, C86 was also rooted in the Scottish post-punk scene of the early 1980s especially guitar bands on the independent Postcard label such as Orange Juice, Aztec Camera and Josef K although those bands soul/funk/disco influences were usually forgotten. Other influences were the DIY punk ethic represented by fanzines such as The Legend!, Are you Scared to get Happy? and Hungry Beat! who often featured flexis of bands who then became associated with C86. The movement continued to hold sway into the 1990s with many of the riot grrl bands citing C86 as an influence and finally reached a commercial peak with the success of Belle and Sebastian. Bob Stanley; a Melody Maker journalist in the late 1980s and band member of Saint Etienne claimed in a 2006 interview that C86 represented the "beginning of indie music". He recalled that "It's hard to remember how underground guitar music and fanzines were in the mid 80s; DIY ethics and any residual punk attitudes were in isolated pockets around the country and the C86 comp and gigs brought them together in an explosion of new groups".

In 2004 the Rough Trade Shops compilation Indiepop Vol 1 effectively documented the history of the sound acknowledging that it pre- and post-dated 1986 and labels such as [Matinee] and websites like [Indiepages] continue to be influenced by C86. The appeal of the sound was confirmed in 2005 when several of the bands associated with the movement including The Wedding Present, The Loft, and The Wolfhounds reformed. In the summer of 2006 London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, who staged [a week of gigs] in 1986 which featured every act on the tape, plan to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the compilation with a series of evenings curated by C86 acts.

Contents

Tracklisting

The full tracklisting for the C86 compilation was:

Side one

  1. Primal Scream - Velocity Girl
  2. The Mighty Lemon Drops - Happy Head
  3. The Soup Dragons - Pleasantly Surprised
  4. The Wolfhounds - Feeling So Strange Again
  5. The Bodines - Therese
  6. Mighty Mighty - Law
  7. Stump - Buffalo
  8. Bogshed - Run To The Temple
  9. A Witness - Sharpened Sticks
  10. The Pastels - Breaking Lines
  11. The Age of Chance - From Now On, This Will Be Your God

Side two

  1. The Shop Assistants - It's Up To You
  2. Close Lobsters - Firestation Towers
  3. Miaow - Sport Most Royal
  4. Half Man Half Biscuit - I Hate Nerys Hughes ( From The Heart )
  5. The Servants - Transparent
  6. The MacKenzies - Big Jim (There's no pubs in Heaven)
  7. bIG fLAME - New Way (Quick Wash And Brush Up With Liberation Theology)
  8. Fuzzbox - Console Me
  9. McCarthy - Celestial City
  10. The Shrubs - Bullfighter's Bones
  11. The Wedding Present - This Boy Can Wait

See also

External links

Alternative rock
Alternative metal - Britpop - C86 - College rock - Dream pop - Gothic rock - Grebo - Grunge - Indie pop/Indie rock - Industrial rock - Lo-fi - Madchester - Math rock - Noise pop - Paisley Underground - Post-punk revival - Post-rock - Riot Grrrl - Sadcore - Shoegazing - Space rock - Twee pop
Other topics
Bands - College radio - History - Indie (music) - Lollapalooza

 

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