roots of twee: i recently assembled a mixdisc that traced the history of twee (or histwee) for a friend. i ended up making it two discs because my desire to sequence is chronologically -- first track notwithstanding -- meant that i would have to leap from roxy music's "just like you" to orange juice's "consolation prize," and that was something i didn't want to do. i would theorize that the gap between 1974 and 1980 was due to the rise and fall of punk, with the return of twee as a reaction to that genre's nihilism. the following is the tracklisting for the discs. i'm working on notes for them right now and will post them when i've finished.

disc 1.
1. nick drake, "sunday" (from bryter layter lp)
2. donovan, "catch the wind" (from catch the wind lp)
3. the lovin' spoonful, "you didn't have to be so nice" (from daydream lp)
4. the beach boys, "you still believe in me" (from pet sounds lp)
5. the beatles, "here, there and everywhere" (from revolver lp)
6. the left banke, "walk away renee" (from walk away renee/pretty ballerina lp)
7. the monkees, "take a giant step" (from the monkees lp)
8. tim buckley, "song for jainie" (from tim buckley lp)
9. the rolling stones, "back street girl" (from between the buttons [uk] lp)
10. the velvet underground, "sunday morning" (from the velvet underground & nico lp)
11. the incredible string band, "first girl i loved" (from 5000 spirits or the layers of the onion lp)
12. the mamas & the papas, "creeque alley" (from deliver lp)
13. spanky and our gang, "sunday will never be the same" (from spanky and our gang lp)
14. sagittarius, "my world fell down" (from present tense lp)
15. the free design, "kites are fun" (from kites are fun lp)
16. cowsills, "the rain, the park and other things" (from cowsills lp)
17. love, "andmoreagain" (from forever changes lp)
18. the bee gees, "melody fair" (from odessa lp)
19. tyrannosaurus rex, "cat black (the wizard's hat)" (from unicorn lp)
20. suzi jane hokom, "for a day like today" (from cowboy in sweden lp)
21. simon & garfunkel, "the only living boy in new york" (from bridge over troubled water lp)
22. bread, "it don't matter to me" (from "it don't matter to me (second version)" 45)
23. the stories, "love is in motion" (from about us lp)
24. roxy music, "just like you" (from stranded lp)

disc 2
1. orange juice, "consolation prize" (from you can't hide your love forever lp)
2. shop assistants, "somewhere in china" (from safety net ep)
3. the pastels, "breaking lines" (from "truck, train, tractor" 7")
4. the smiths, "ask" (from "ask" 7")
5. the vaselines, "son of a gun" (from "son of a gun" 7")
6. primal scream, "imperial" (from sonic flower groove lp)
7. talulah gosh, "i can't get no satisfaction (thank god)" (from bringing up baby ep)
8. the go-betweens, "dive for your memory" (from 16 lovers lane lp)
9. the la's, "there she goes" (from the la's lp)
10. pixies, "winterlong" (from "dig for fire" 7")
11. the sundays, "here's where the story ends" (from reading, writing and arithmetic lp)
12. the field mice, "september's not so far away" (from "september's not so far away" 7")
13. electronic, "get the message" (from electronic lp)
14. magnetic fields, "100,000 fireflies" (from "100,000 fireflies" 7")
15. bmx bandits, "serious drugs" (from serious drugs ep)
16. heavenly & calvin johnson, "c is the heavenly option" (from le jardin de heavenly lp)
17. blueboy, "sea horses" (from if wishes were horses... lp)
18. saint etienne, "hobart paving" (from "hobart paving/who do you think you are?" 7")
19. the wedding present, "gazebo" (from watusi lp)
20. trembling blue stars, "abba on the jukebox" (from her handwriting lp)
21. belle & sebastian, "slow graffiti" (from this is just a modern rock song ep)