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Monsters of Chirp Rock
You know what it is. Now there's a name for it.
As a follow-up to the DIY "Spend Rock" blog, I thought it was high time to unleash the latest in modern music genre labeling: The phenomenon known as "chirp rock."
The definition of chirp rock? — any sing-songy, non-threatening pop music that involves a female singer delivering a melodic vocal in a child-like, breathy, stylized or pleading manner. Think Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles (are they the same person?) or Leslie Feist. Accompaniment usually involves piano with drums or a simple guitar riff (or chord progression) with drums.
Likely places to encounter chirp rock? Shopping at Anthropologie (fer sher), on hold with the information desk at Borders, or in the background of ubiquitous television advertisements promoting lifestyle-enhancing electronic gadgets.
There are male chirp rockers too, but they are generally relegated to the realm of "shoe gazer." Chirp rock is currently in popular use specifically in regard to the ladies.
Okay, it's not in "popular use" at all. I came up with it a couple months ago. But, c'mon, it's perfect. And there's so much of it now that it needs its own handle.
While I wouldn't call myself a "fan," necessarily, I have stumbled across a few acts recently that, in my estimation, are elevating chirp to new heights – namely, Los Angeles/Portland-based boy/girl duo She & Him (singer/actress Zooey Deschanel and Portland mainstay M. Ward) and Los Angeles-based The Bird and the Bee (singer/bassist Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin).
The definition of chirp rock? — any sing-songy, non-threatening pop music that involves a female singer delivering a melodic vocal in a child-like, breathy, stylized or pleading manner. Think Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles (are they the same person?) or Leslie Feist. Accompaniment usually involves piano with drums or a simple guitar riff (or chord progression) with drums.
Likely places to encounter chirp rock? Shopping at Anthropologie (fer sher), on hold with the information desk at Borders, or in the background of ubiquitous television advertisements promoting lifestyle-enhancing electronic gadgets.
There are male chirp rockers too, but they are generally relegated to the realm of "shoe gazer." Chirp rock is currently in popular use specifically in regard to the ladies.
Okay, it's not in "popular use" at all. I came up with it a couple months ago. But, c'mon, it's perfect. And there's so much of it now that it needs its own handle.
While I wouldn't call myself a "fan," necessarily, I have stumbled across a few acts recently that, in my estimation, are elevating chirp to new heights – namely, Los Angeles/Portland-based boy/girl duo She & Him (singer/actress Zooey Deschanel and Portland mainstay M. Ward) and Los Angeles-based The Bird and the Bee (singer/bassist Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin).
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