"Indie"

Odin
Odin Posts: 599
edited May 2008 in Other Music
A comment I just read on YouTube......

"All indie bands sound identical. There's never been an easier time for the music industry to make money out of the stupid empty soul-less little pop culture student morons. People who listen to indie don't care about music, they care about image. That's why the industry keeps churning out bands that look (and sound) identical; the insecure popularity-conscious indie crowd will know it's ok to listen to a new band who are exactly the same as some other band they already know it's 'cool' to like.

The irony about indie is that 'independent' used to be about being different and doing things your own way (hence the word 'independent'). But now, indie has spawned a whole generation of ignorant pricks, whose main concern is adapting their lifestyle and personality to appease some 'indie scene', lest their peers would consider them un-cool."

Discuss.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • Azwethinkweiz
    Azwethinkweiz Posts: 547
    The person who wrote that completely hit the spot.
  • ledvedderman
    ledvedderman Posts: 7,762
    I have to admit that the whole "indie" thing never did much for me at all. I gave it a fair shake, but it just didn't do anything for me.
    E8toX.gif

    http://www.reverbnation.com/brianzilm
  • Azwethinkweiz
    Azwethinkweiz Posts: 547
    The only "indie" related band I really love is Death Cab. They have their own sound and Transatlanticsim is an amazing album.
  • muppet
    muppet Posts: 980
    Whilst I like certain bands that could be classed as indie, I'd say that comment has it spot on, at least in regards to the UK.
  • harmless_little_f***
    harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    As far as the UK goes - spot on.
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • muppet
    muppet Posts: 980
    In fact, I think it pretty summed up that TV show "Skins" :p
  • LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun
    LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun Posts: 6,097
    i'm not sure what indie is. i guess i listen to a few indie bands. i like what i like. I kinda hate all the wannabe Beatles indie bands.

    i think maybe i just like all these new southern rock sounding bands.
  • intodeep
    intodeep Posts: 7,249
    There may be some indie bands like that, but there are some bands that get labeled as indie that make some great fucking music

    I love:
    built to spill
    modest mouse
    and you will know us by the trail of the dead
    minus the bear
    dredg


    and others

    I think the folks in those bands make music because they dig making it not because they are trying to fit into a scene. Even after modest mouse and built to spill moved to a major label they continued to make the same kind of music they had in teh past.
    Charlotte 00 | Charlotte 03 | Asheville 04 | Atlanta 12 | Greenville 16 | Columbia 16 |Seattle 18  | Nashville 22 | Ohana Festival 24 x2 | Atlanta 25 x2
  • 12345AGNST1
    12345AGNST1 Posts: 4,906
    Odin wrote:
    A comment I just read on YouTube......

    "All indie bands sound identical. There's never been an easier time for the music industry to make money out of the stupid empty soul-less little pop culture student morons. People who listen to indie don't care about music, they care about image. That's why the industry keeps churning out bands that look (and sound) identical; the insecure popularity-conscious indie crowd will know it's ok to listen to a new band who are exactly the same as some other band they already know it's 'cool' to like.

    The irony about indie is that 'independent' used to be about being different and doing things your own way (hence the word 'independent'). But now, indie has spawned a whole generation of ignorant pricks, whose main concern is adapting their lifestyle and personality to appease some 'indie scene', lest their peers would consider them un-cool."

    Discuss.

    And the award for the most intelligent (or only intelligent) comment on Youtube goes to...............whoever wrote that.



    PS: i'm not being sarcastic.
    5/28/06, 6/27/08, 10/28/09, 5/18/10, 5/21/10
    8/7/08, 6/9/09
  • bold99
    bold99 Posts: 17
    could not agree more....its funny because bands I like, like MMJ and the White Stripes for the most part were indie bands technically....but to me it has become a sound rather than just being on an indie label.
  • hendrix78
    hendrix78 Posts: 507
    I pretty much totally agree with the youtube guy. I love the idea of indie - i.e. a band recording on a shoestring budget with a DIY attitude creating music for the joy of it, not to become celebrities, but that is not what indie means anymore. I generally hate it when people try to turn a style of music into a lifestyle. For me, that just detracts from the truly important thing - which is the music itself. I don't give a shit what clothes a band wears or what their politics or world views are, I just care how their music makes me feel. Most current so-called indie rock does nothing for me. It seems marketed towards music snobs who think a guitar solo means you're a sell out, when in reality, they are the real sell outs because their focus is not on the music itself. They claim to be anti-conformist when all they are doing is conforming to a subculture. There is no true originaltiy in that.

    Ok, rant over. I just miss the days when indie meant great bands on labels like SST and Sub Pop.
  • LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun
    LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun Posts: 6,097
    isn't this basically like every other genre ever invented though?

    a few bands reject whatever is popular and start playing a new sound, then it catches on and gets popular and all the bands get lumped into one vague category, then other bands clone their sound, then moron fans start basing there lives around it and wear whatever clothes the bands wear, then the genre gets overexposed, people start selling out, and then some other sound comes along. repeat.
  • hendrix78
    hendrix78 Posts: 507
    MrSmith wrote:
    isn't this basically like every other genre ever invented though?

    a few bands reject whatever is popular and start playing a new sound, then it catches on and gets popular and all the bands get lumped into one vague category, then other bands clone their sound, then moron fans start basing there lives around it and wear whatever clothes the bands wear, then the genre gets overexposed, people start selling out, and then some other sound comes along. repeat.

    I think that's a pretty valid point. I guess for some reason many people (myself included) find the current indie hipster trend even more obnoxious than past homogenization of popular genres. They seem to have a snobbier attitude about it all.
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    All bands that claim to be "indie" need to conduct themselves like Fugazi, the absolute epitome of musical integrity, or insist upon being called something else.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • Pauk
    Pauk Posts: 1,084
    Indie is such a vague term. It's basically the genre bands describe themselves when they don't want to be put into a genre. Being on an 'indie label' doesn't describe a band at all! Most bands at one time or another have been on an indie label.

    The NME's use of 'indie' on the other hand fits that description, but people shouldn't be whining about it. Find decent music and listen to it or shut up. I don't care what everyone else is listening to as long as I have some bands I like. In my opinion, whining about 'commercial' music is pretty much saying "I'm too lazy to look for decent music". I REALLY can't stand it.
    Paul
    '06 - London, Dublin, Reading
    '07 - Katowice, Wembley, Dusseldorf, Copenhagen, Nijmegen
    '09 - London, Manchester, London
    '12 - Manchester, Manchester, Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    fowls wrote:
    Indie is such a vague term. It's basically the genre bands describe themselves when they don't want to be put into a genre.

    The NME's use of 'indie' on the other hand fits that description, but people shouldn't be whining about it. Find decent music and listen to it or shut up. I don't care what everyone else is listening to as long as I have some bands I like. In my opinion, whining about 'commercial' music is pretty much saying "I'm too lazy to look for decent music". I REALLY can't stand it.
    Agreed on that :) My biggest pet peeve is people who say "music these days SUCKS". Seriously you people, fuck off! Stop being such lazy pricks and go out and find the good music. It's not a right you know.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • Pre
    Pre Posts: 17
    Well, Britt Daniel, the lead singer/guitarist for indie rock band Spoon, once said that he's never been interested in indie rock as a genre, and I think that it's a good point to make.

    Spoon is indie in the sense that they release albums on an independent label, not because they try to "sound indie." I think a lot of "indie" bands have forgotten about why they have that label and are caught up in thinking about it a genre more than anything else.
  • Murderers.
    Murderers. Posts: 1,382
    intodeep wrote:
    There may be some indie bands like that, but there are some bands that get labeled as indie that make some great fucking music

    I love:
    built to spill
    modest mouse
    and you will know us by the trail of the dead
    minus the bear
    dredg


    and others

    I think the folks in those bands make music because they dig making it not because they are trying to fit into a scene. Even after modest mouse and built to spill moved to a major label they continued to make the same kind of music they had in teh past.
    Yes, REAL indie bands. I'm talking about bands that are on INDEPENDENT LABELS.

    Don't forget Dinosaur Jr, and Sebadoh. ;)
    What the fuck is this world?
  • Anon
    Anon Posts: 11,175
    i agree to a point but it's not all like that. i think it's more of a fan thing than anything. i've been to a lot of idie shows and most of the time it's like an underground community of people who like to have fun and hear good music... sometimes though it is like a fashion show.. very clique-y and Star Trek-like. you feel like you're in the Twilight Zone or something.
    most of the shows i go to are not like that but i went to see Boris in Philly 2 years ago and it was sort of like that... the Twilight Zone. very weird.
  • Pacomc79
    Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    I thought Indie meant you were signed to an independant small or your own record label... that you didn't have a big record deal and therefore were not wealthy but enjoyed the freedom to do what you wanted instead of being forced to put an album out the way a company wanted to produce it so that it would sound a certain way...

    If anything I think the big record company 10 year 10 record deal is going away. I think record companies want to sign talent but then get a return on everything to get thier money back. Ultimately everyone in the music industry is in it for thier livelyhood. It's about making a living the way you want definately. With popularity comes strange bedfellows... but ultimately... we all make our own musical choices for whatever reasons.

    Humans do tend to like a feeling of belonging and solidarity whatever that group may be

    If you are so good that the scene comes to you... I don't think you should have to appologise for it.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.

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