Why is indie rock so popular?
musicismylife78
Posts: 6,116
Indie has always been popular with a core group of people, but beginning I want to say in 2003 when Good News and Transatlanticism came out, it seems like indie went mainstream. You had The OC where a huge part of the show is about Seth a geeky kid with a love for indie rock, and most of the show's music was indie music. You had bands like The Shins soundtracking Mcdonald's commercials, and you had Arcade Fire and the whole Montreal scene breaking out.
Also important was Pitchfork.
My question is, I love this type of music, but its odd to like a music genre and scene that is now completely mainstream. Jay-Z and others saying Grizzly Bear are the best band in the world and all that. Its pretty surreal.
How did we get to this point?
As far as I can tell, the indie rock movement is pretty unique. The main posterchildren for the scene, Iron and Wine, Bright Eyes, The Shins, Spoon, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse all are clean and non drug taking bands, yes I know isaac brock has battled drugs and alcoholism for years, but for the most part, this is a scene thats oddly out of touch with the whole "sex drugs and rock and roll" idea that permeates most peoples idea of what rock star lives are like.
How did we get to this point? From Death Cab being on Barsuk, to then being talked about on a major tv show, to now, where indie rock is a household word, and the genre is regularly featured at the top of the billboard charts when a new album is released?
What about the music seems to resonate with folks? Newsweek reported on it, and suggested the indie is overtly melodical and harmonious and I tend to agree. With people like Bon Iver, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and The Shins, the focus is on the melody.
Also important was Pitchfork.
My question is, I love this type of music, but its odd to like a music genre and scene that is now completely mainstream. Jay-Z and others saying Grizzly Bear are the best band in the world and all that. Its pretty surreal.
How did we get to this point?
As far as I can tell, the indie rock movement is pretty unique. The main posterchildren for the scene, Iron and Wine, Bright Eyes, The Shins, Spoon, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse all are clean and non drug taking bands, yes I know isaac brock has battled drugs and alcoholism for years, but for the most part, this is a scene thats oddly out of touch with the whole "sex drugs and rock and roll" idea that permeates most peoples idea of what rock star lives are like.
How did we get to this point? From Death Cab being on Barsuk, to then being talked about on a major tv show, to now, where indie rock is a household word, and the genre is regularly featured at the top of the billboard charts when a new album is released?
What about the music seems to resonate with folks? Newsweek reported on it, and suggested the indie is overtly melodical and harmonious and I tend to agree. With people like Bon Iver, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and The Shins, the focus is on the melody.
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now, to answer your question, it's the internet. the internet and message boards such as these has helped spread the word about some of these lesser known bands, making them more accessible to people who may have never seeked them out on their own.
....by the way, i know you didn't say it, but grizzly bear, the best band in the world? hahahaha. hey i enjoyed veckatimest and yellow house and i think they are an interesting band, but they aren't even close, that's a fact, not opinion. haha.
while in essence you are correct, the term is used by people, including myself as a genre. Indie rock is a genre. and its flagship bands are the bands I listed in my original post.
The term indie though obviously needs to be looked at again, and revised in this day and age. Because the bands who are often labeled as indie are sometimes on a major label. Bands like Modest Mouse, The Shins, and Death Cab are the obvious examples. However I still consider, and most people consider them indie. And is a band really independent if they appear on some of the most popular shows on tv like greys anatomy and the like?
okay, since you seem so content in going along with this "indie rock" bullshit, and lumping all of these very different bands into one genre, how would you describe indie rock? what does it sound like? and since you've stated, you don't need to be on an independent label to be considered "indie rock", what qualifies a band to be thrown into the genre? are you specifically speaking of nerd bands that dress like hipsters and get played on the OC or what? is sonic youth indie? pavement is definitely indie, but i certainly wouldn't throw them into a genre along with iron & wine. oasis is or was an indie rock band, they self released there past 3 or 4 albums, but you wouldn't put them alongside your shins or modest mouse would you? i guess i just think it's confusing, and the way you and a lot of other people generalize these bands just makes it worse.
...to be clear, i'm not personally picking on you, i just get frustrated how this kind of generalization is accepted by everyone. the term indie rock needs to be used when speaking of bands who release their music independently, other than that, the term should be dropped completely, because it really makes no sense and doesn't speak of any certain style of music.
I completely get what your saying. And as someone who has spent the last 3 years listening to anything deemed by people to be indie, I agree. Bright Eyes is obviously completely different from Explosions in the Sky, and both I have seen described as indie. Iron and Wine is obviously completely different from Broken Social Scene. and on and on. So yes I agree.
But I think the use of the term, and who is described as such, and the use of the term to describe a genre, seems to be perpetrated by the Pitchforks and Stereogums of the world. Any band they promote is deemed indie.
But its like that with every genre. Was The Clash and Dead Kennedys really all that similar. Both were punk rock and both explicitly political, but do they sound similar at all? Does Rock the Casbah sound anything like California Uber Alles? Was Alice in Chains in anyway similar to Nirvana? Does Come as You are sound anything like
For me, the actual terminology is pointless. I agree with you, and see your point. But its all a big distraction to be frank. What matters is the music. I personally, seem to like most of the bands that are deemed as indie. I think that sort of is the connection for me. Its a genre for me, because I like the bands across the board. Just about all the bands Pitchfork and Stereogum rave about I usually like. So thats another connection to the whole genre for me.
I personally dont think it matters either way. Whether its indie rock or not, major label soft rock or grunge or punk, good music is good music. You could call Modest Mouse pop music for all I care, that wouldnt make me like the band less or anything. I like the band.
I think for me, the reason I use the term indie in a genre context is as I said for 3 years now, I have been checking out Pitchfork and whatnot, and all the bands I like that the site promotes, tend to be labeled indie.
You also have the performers themselves, and non scene people using that term as well.
You ask "Why is indie rock so popular?"
later on in another post you say... "good music is good music"...
is that not your answer?
Indie rock is popular, because it is good?
That obviously means A TON of bands are considered indie.
But as I said before, the definition of indie has changed. I was a child of the 90's. I remember how painful it was for those bands to gain exposure, how they didnt want anything to do with mainstream music and commcerical forces.
And things have changed. But all in all, I think the feeling is the same. I dont think Conor Oberst wants fame any more than Kurt did, and I dont think The Shins are out to sell out and start promoting the values of the status quo. The values are still there, its just its muddied a bit.
What makes a band like Vampire Weekend, or Bon Iver, or Bright Eyes indie, despite the fact they all are different styles of music, I think in all honesty as I said, Pitchfork and others called them indie.
Thus is I think the power and force of Pitchfork in these times. More than any other force in the industry today, it has the power to make or break a band. Its happened a million times since the site began. The site promotes some unknown band, magically, people start raving about said band, and people start buzzing about the band.
Its odd music. Thats the point. Some music, even if you fail to see the beauty and value in it, you understand why its popular.
For heart on sleeve bands like Death Cab or Bon Iver, to be big and popular, I am a fan of both, but its odd music.
Is Bon Iver really THAT popular though?
To me Death Cab being popular isn't that weird...
When a band like The Mountain Goats or say Menomena start getting some serious popularity then I will start scratching my head.
an equivilant is the fact that Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective are pretty big right now. As I said, Jay-Z in the lead up to the release of the Blueprint 3, he didnt just say, "hey I think Grizzly Bear is a great band", he seemed to suggest indie rock, and he used the term in that context, the context of it being a cohesive movement and scene and genre, that indie rock and grizzly bear were sort of pushing music's boundaries and inspiring him and others to sort of step up their games. Whatever you may think of Jay-z's music I think he needs to be praised as one of the most successful and important MC's post Tupac and Biggies death. When he says someone is going above and beyond, I think we sort of need to pay attention.
I think for me though its sort of surreal because I arrive sort of late to the whole "scene" in 2006. Funeral had been out for 2 years. The OC was ending. But, since 2006, indie has sort of only increased in popularity. In2006 it was still a sort of cult type thing. Now its sort of mainstream and a household term. Thats where I get sort of wierded out in a way. Most of the music I tend to like is offkilter, nonmainstream affair. And for someone no less important than Jay-Z to start raving about Grizzly Bear this Brooklyn band that makes Beach Boys type songs is pretty odd to say the least. For me its been odd seeing a genre or movement start to rise and now take off and become mainstream.
I turned to it because so much crap was on the radio i could not take it any more. Shallow meanless crap.
I found bands who fell under the "indie" rock genre that seemed to like making music for the point of making music. Not becoming a rock star. In turn what they made was cool (not always but for the most part)
Just my 2 cents.
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Right and in this day and age it's much easier for people to go ahead and do something like this... just go online and poke around, you will eventually find something you like... My boss finds new bands for himself to listen to all the time through Pandora, for example. When the radio or MTV isn't your only option, you're gonna get your music in other ways.
Also a lot of "indie" music is more musically accessible nowadays, meaning it appeals to more people b/c it's easier to listen to... Bands like Sonic Youth, who don't sound very conventional all of the time still have a smaller fan base because not everyone can get into screeching guitars and distortion... it's the indie bands that are easier to listen to that are becoming more popular.
And it's popular because it's good, and people have more access to the indie market than before with the invention of the intraweb.
And artists have more access to recording equipment since it's gone digital.
this gives you both a larger qty supplied of music and a larger qty demanded of music resulting in a more populous indie music market.
wow, what a ridiculous statement.