indie music

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Indie music

From New World Encyclopedia

"Indie" was first used to differentiate between pop music and independent artists. It is based on the fact that indie artists were on independent record labels; it did not refer to the stylistic qualities of the music. "Indie" as a musical term grew from the confusion that emerged as certain sounds became associated with the term. The musical stylings of the bands overshadowed Indie's original connotation. The term "Indie" would be most effective when used as a descriptive add-on to a musical genre term, making distinctions between the musical and business aspects of music. For example: indie-rock, indie-pop, indie-rap, indie-metal, etc. Yet, indie is still widely used as a stand-alone term, resulting in a term that is broad and vague. The use of this term in America differs from its use in Britain because, in each respective region, there are completely different histories and, thus, different connotations.

"Indie" music charts have existed in the United Kingdom since the early 80s. As in America, where there are charts for Pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary, etc., Britain has the similar categories plus an independent music section. The sounds that dominated the charts, during the time of their conception in the early 80s, were guitar-based alternative music from the C86 movement, the Sarah Records' twee pop sound, and other indie pop artists. So, the sounds of the first indie artists were mistakenly understood to be the sound of indie. Yet, beyond those initial indie influences, the sounds of indie music became as wide and varied as those of the commercial market and beyond, only linked in terminology by their independent record label affiliation.

In America, indie has quite a different history. "Indie" and "alternative" were synonymous outgrowths of the post-punk and new-wave movements, which derived from the 70s punk movement. The genre that resulted was an alternative to commercial radio music and was deemed "College Rock" because of its prevalent exposure on college radio stations. When alternative rock broke out of the underground scene into the general market in the early 90s, a split occurred in the alternative scene. Two factions emerged: The artists who went to major labels and those that stayed underground. Nirvana and similar grunge bands became the commercial face of alternative rock and bands like Pavement created the aesthetic and stylistic blueprint for 90s indie rock. The artists who remained underground were called "indie" while "alternative" became the catch-all phrase to describe popular music. Once again the sound, not the commercial stance, of bands like Pavement became associated with "indie" and confusion of the term persists.

Current indie trends

In fact, there are likely to be several popular, and wildly varying, strains of indie rock going at any given time. For example, some of the more popular recent strains include:

• Baroque Pop, an updated take on the folk music of the 1960s, as well as the Beach Boys' pioneering Pet Sounds album, typically identified by its quiet vocals and more ornate, orchestral instrumentation and arrangements. (See: Arcade Fire, Danielson Famile, Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, Broken Social Scene, Islands, Stars)

• New Prog, a complex, experimental, intricate, and meticulous form of rock music. (see: Mew, Muse, Porcupine Tree)

• New Weird America or Freak Folk, a more experimental take on New Folk that generally revolves around quirky, psych-inflected folk songs and ballads. (See: Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Animal Collective, Six Organs of Admittance)

• Psych-Folk, the most heavily psych-influenced strain of New Folk, frequently consisting of avant-garde noise, drones, or dissonance, and often employing natural field recordings for added atmosphere. (See: No-Neck Blues Band, Brightblack Morning Light, Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice)

• Psychedelic pop, a revival of 70s psychedelic pop. (See: The Shins, Of Montreal, The Flaming Lips)

• Disco-Punk/Dance-Punk, a hybridization of New Wave music and punk rock aesthetics. (See: LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, !!!, Out Hud, Liars, Radio 4, Death from Above 1979, Lost Sounds, The Stiletto Formal)

• Garage rock revival, a throwback to a more primitive 60s rock and roll sound which was heavily influenced by Delta blues. (See: The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Von Bondies, Eagles of Death Metal, The Vines, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Hives, The Black Keys)

• Twee pop, a genre which is known for simple, sweet melodies and lyrics, often with jangling guitars and a noted emphasis on childlike naivete. The name "twee" comes from the British slang for something overly sweet or knowingly cute. (See: The Boy Least Likely To, Architecture in Helsinki, Belle & Sebastian, Tullycraft, Camera Obscura, Girls in Hawaii)

• Musical collectives, where a large group of musicians—which may vary significantly from album to album, or even from song to song—collaborate on a project, often while maintaining solo careers as well. (See Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, Arcade Fire, The Polyphonic Spree, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, dEUS, The Hidden Cameras, Islands)

• Post-punk revival movement. Popularized by bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things, Babyshambles, Razorlight, Editors, Bloc Party, The View, it is influenced primarily by the New Wave and post-punk movements of the 1980s. The core of this movement has mostly been the resurgence of spiky 70s punk and 80s post-punk rhythms and riffs akin to those played by The Clash, Gang Of Four, Television and Wire. Often this style has been blended with other genres such as garage rock.