Though not officially broken up, the band has not performed together in public since the early 1990s. In 2005, they were invited by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse to perform at All Tomorrow's Parties but respectfully declined the invitation.
The band met while attending The Evergreen State College and began recording in 1983. The band's basic lineup was drums, guitar and vocals, though when they formed their only instruments were a pair of maracas and a Sears Silvertone guitar purchased at a thrift shop. Heather once joked in an interview that the history of the band could be told through a list of the various people they'd borrowed drums from. Heather and Calvin had been members of a previous band and approached Bret, who had no musical experience at the time, saying they ought to start a band and go to Japan. Indeed, it was on a trip to Tokyo that the band members recorded Three Tea Breakfast, an EP that established the band's reputation.
Calvin Johnson was one of the founders of seminal indie rock label K Records. The label achieved modest success and continues to hold its independent integrity, claiming to have been "exploding the teenage underground into passionate revolt against the corporate ogre since 1982."
Beat Happening (1985), their full length debut, was critically acclaimed, as was Jamboree (1988). By the release of Dreamy in 1991, Beat Happening was one of the most popular bands in the indie rock community, leading to their pivotal role in the International Pop Underground Festival, which brought anti-corporate rock its earliest mainstream acceptance. Their last full-length album was 1992's You Turn Me On, which represented the band breaking many of their established conventions from earlier albums, most notably on Godsend, which runs 9 minutes in length and features blatant use of multitrack recording. The album was described by allmusic.com as "A masterpiece." Though never announcing a break-up and claiming at one point to still practice once a month, the members of Beat Happening have moved on to various other projects. In 2000 they released the Angel Gone single, their first new release in eight years.
A Beat Happening box set, Crashing Through, which collects all of the band's officially released music except for two of their tracks from a live cassette split with The Vaselines, was released in 2002. The box set included a booklet containing a lengthy essay on the history and impact of the band by Lois Maffeo, as well as rare photos of members Calvin, Heather and Bret.
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What's Important
Beat Happening Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And walk with me
Over the freeway
And down to the sea
That's where we can always go
When we really wanna know
We sit by the window
Each little drop has got a name
They're falling down
They're hiting the ground
They're washing all the people away
Go on the roof and we'll see the sky
Let the world pass us by
We can make it all turn grey
If we really want it that way
Paint me a picture of the way you feel
Close your eyes and make it real
Sing me a song of the place you see
We can go there, just you and me
You don't have to smile if you don't want to
I don't have to smile if I don't want to
We don't have to smile if we don't want to
The first few lines of Beat Happening’s “What’s Important” seem to be a call for a friend or lover to share a journey. The invitation is to put on some boots and walk with the singer over the freeway and down to the sea. There’s a sense of discovery here, as if the destination is not actually important, but the act of going on this journey together is. And if they really want to find something out, the sea is a place they can go.
The scene then switches to two people sitting by the window and watching the rain. Each little drop has a name and they hit the ground and wash people away. There’s a sense of transience and fleetingness here, as if everything - including ourselves - is passing by quickly. But we’re not alone in this, the rain reminds us that we’re all in it together.
The next few lines continue the journey, this time up onto the roof to see the sky. The invitation here seems clear: let the world pass us by, let’s take a moment to find stillness in this ever-moving world. And if they really want to, they can make everything turn grey. This is a line about choice - we don’t have to like what we see, and we don’t always have to be happy or content with the world around us.
Overall, “What’s Important” is a song about the importance of finding someone who we can journey through life with. It’s about taking time to connect with another person, to share moments both joyous and sad. It’s a song about the power of choice - we don’t have to be happy all the time, we can make things turn grey if that’s what we want. And it’s a song about the impermanence of everything, but the fact that there’s beauty in that too.
Line by Line Meaning
Put on your boots
Get ready, prepare yourself
And walk with me
Join me on this journey
Over the freeway
Across the bustling city
And down to the sea
Towards the calm and peaceful beach
That's where we can always go
A place of comfort and familiarity
When we really wanna know
When we need clarity and understanding
We sit by the window
We observe and contemplate
And we watch the rain
The natural world in action
Each little drop has got a name
Every detail holds significance
They're falling down
The unavoidable forces of life
They're hiting the ground
The impact and consequences of our actions
They're washing all the people away
The cleansing and renewal of the world
Go on the roof and we'll see the sky
A change of perspective, new horizons
Let the world pass us by
Taking a moment to pause and reflect
We can make it all turn grey
Our feelings and thoughts can shape our reality
If we really want it that way
The power of our intentions
Paint me a picture of the way you feel
Expressing ourselves creatively
Close your eyes and make it real
Imagining a better future
Sing me a song of the place you see
Sharing our hopes and dreams
We can go there, just you and me
The possibility of a shared journey
You don't have to smile if you don't want to
Authenticity is more important than appearances
I don't have to smile if I don't want to
Rejecting societal pressures to conform
We don't have to smile if we don't want to
Emphasizing the freedom to express ourselves
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Bret Lunsford, Calvin Douglas Johnson, Heather Lewis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind