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Description of Experimental Pop

 
The roots of experimental pop can be traced to Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles, the progressive rock of ELO and Brian Eno's '70s near-pop period. Experimental pop combines traditional ideas of tuneful melody and phrasing and turns them on their ear with artful tinkering and cerebral prodding. By the mid-'90s, the Flaming Lips, Radiohead and Bjork were among the most successful commercial acts to revamp the style by adding elements of psychedelia, surrealism or electronic ambience to pop. This skewed take on mainstream music was further practiced by indie bands such as Magnetic Fields, Mercury Rev, Yo La Tengo and Blonde Redhead.
 

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Experimental Pop Key Artists

 
Animal Collective

Animal Collective is an avant
pop band fusing indie rock,
noise, electronica and
"Friends"-era Beach Boys.
Animal Collective got its st...

Arcade Fire

Canadian indie rock
up-and-comers who
combine horn and string
orchestrations with a
shouting choir of post-pu...

Band Of Horses

This Seattle band was
formed from the ashes of
Carissa's Weird -- who split
after a ten-year run. Band
of Horses strips down CW'...

Bjork

Reykjavik, Iceland's Bjork
continues her exploration
of electronica and the
points at which it intersects
pop music. Before her sol...

Blonde Redhead

Blonde Redhead were
originally inspired to create
their twisted Noise Pop by
the New York No Wave
scene of the early '80s. In...

Deerhoof

Deerhoof mess around with
no wave, indie pop and
various forms of '60s music
to make a cheerfully noisy
racket. The band formed...

Magnetic Fields

The lyrics combine cutting
irony with genuine
emotion, while the music
mixes cheesy synthesizers
with heavenly melodies....

Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev have been
creating cerebral,
sometimes darkly
atmospheric Indie Rock
since 1991.

Radiohead

Radiohead are one of the
most revered bands of the
1990s and beyond. Quite a
change from their initial
one-hit wonder tag. Radio...

Sigur Ros

Icelandic group whose
excellence at creating
blissed-out
otherworldliness has
earned them praise and q...

Sparklehorse

Sparklehorse's songs are
steeped in dusty, cinematic
textures that absorb
pastoral roots music to emit
a haunting flavor. Sparkle...

Super Furry Animals

A group from the British
Isles that actually deserves
the hype with their
flummoxing mix of
psychedelic pop and elec...

The Fiery Furnaces

The Fiery Furnaces are a
brother and sister duo who
make indie rock synth prog
epics about pirates and
blueberries. Matthew and...

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips play
nasal-inflected indie rock
touched with psychedelia
and consistently
experimental sonic textur...

Yo La Tengo

This Hoboken, N.J. trio
pratically defined noisy,
feedback-laden rock
topped with sweet pop.
The band once played th...

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