What is Chip Shop Rock?
1.
A derogatory term used to describe the numerous "regional" middle-class rock&roll bands being manufactured by major record labels in the United Kingdom. The rise of chip shop rock bands is usually attributed to the phenomenal success of the Arctic Monkeys.
The genre classification "chip shop rock" came into being because said bands tend to put on fake working-class accents, discuss the merits of the town they didn't grow up in, and generally try as hard as possible to come across as a band of "the people". Their lyrics typically consist of trite, patronizing generalizations concerning "everyday life" and can often be incredibly insulting to their target audience.
Chip shops are and well-known in the United Kingdom for offering cheap takeaway food, and they are usually situated in an urban environment. As a result, they have become synonymous with British working-class culture.
The term was originally used to describe bands associated with the New Yorkshire movement, but it has since spread across the whole country and can be applied to any band characterized by the above.
Little Man Tate are the embodiment of chip shop rock.
See also Milburn, The Holloways, Glasvegas
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