Pop Queen--Ben Lee - Pop Queen--Ben Lee

What this video is

Released in 1995 when Ben Lee was 16 years old, 'Pop Queen' appeared on his debut solo album Grandpaw Would via the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal Records label — a hub for irreverent, youth-driven indie culture in the mid-1990s. The song and its video emerged at the intersection of Australian indie rock and the American lo-fi/college-radio underground, in a moment when teenage artists recording on four-tracks could…

Why it matters

As the lead single and opening track of Lee's debut solo album, 'Pop Queen' is a foundational document of mid-90s Australian indie pop and the Grand Royal Records aesthetic. Its placement within the CMJ college-radio circuit positioned it as a transatlantic bridge between Sydney DIY culture and…