Twee pop, as a genre, is more or less applied retroactively to bands part of the indie pop movement of the 1980s and early 1990s. Used at first in an almost derogatory fashion, the word "twee", meaning overly quaint or cute, was applied by commentators who saw a "revolt into childhood" demonstrated by its practitioners. Musically, it can be characterized by jangling guitars with a distinct post-punk background and 1960s pop influence, similarly with other indie pop acts, but also with a more noticeable theme of innocent and amorous subject matter.