The 'Indie' Re- examined
There are times, due to shifting social,cultural, and technological changes that syntax has to go through some type of metamorphic re-defining. In the 90's, there was these burgeoning group of songwriters, producers and bands: genuine independents ,showing the conglomerate recording monoliths that they, too, could impact trend, style, and content without corporate interference and A&R mainstream polishing. It was from this sort of self-promoting meddle that eventually gave rise to grunge. By 1992, terrestrial radio stations completely altered their playlist to accommodate the maelstrom of bands bringing this new fire:Mother Lovebone, Temple of the Dog, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Blind Mellon and many others suddenly found themselves in regular rotation on mainstream radio and MTV.
But then there was this sudden silence. Nirvana disbanded, STP sold out and broke up, Soundgarden disappeared, Blind Melon, like Nirv., lost their frontman to premature death…and the two most horrific events that put the revolution collectively in a coffin: Mariah Carey was back on top by the beginning of '94..and indie bands and labels coughed up their vanguard status, and began to sell there wares to the highest bidding conglomerates willing to pay out. And for the next 7 years, the airwaves would again be besieged by effeminate boy bands, one-hit wonders, pop divas, and Alt-Rock wannnabe's. It was in 1999, that the 'majors' would be in possession of the largest revenues in recording history. CD sales went through the roof, execs and A&R slugs were in a position of great control of driving the very market which they sold to, and the once great 'indie' didn't just pass away. It malignantly mutated; watered itself down..and became just 'alternitive'.
Grunge was comercialised for a few years. And in this new commercial state, was borne a new breed of so-called 'indie' artists like Blink 182, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Strokes, Local H, Nada Surfer, Weezer, and The Offspring, which weren't really independent at all. They were able to duplicate the grunge style, and make it more palpable for the mainstream, but they all shared one major similarity: they got their big break through a conglomerate recording company.Although many of the bands listed above did cultivate their fanbase independently, it wasn't until a commercial distribution/recording agreement came along that they experienced any kind of mass appeal. Their predecessors in this genre had already acquired this appeal before inking any contracts with a major.
Now the tie-in: what people construe as 'indie' , isn't indie at all. Many is the time I've surfed through various music-related blogs, grouping themselves as an 'indie fan community' that reference bands like The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Artic Monkeys,The White Stripes, and other similar-sounding bands as their favourite independent acts. The irony in this, (though each band I've listed have their own merits), is that NONE of them are even in that category.
The word 'indie' is defined in wikipedia as:…"characterised by perceived independence from commercial pop music and mainstream culture and an autonomous, do-it-yourself (DIY) approach." The key adjective is perceived. And this convaluted use of this word has created the very vague interpretation in context as demonstrated in the prior paragraph. Indie is the DIY-er, the one-man artist/producer/label making music in his/her living room….generating flyers, pimping their myspace and soundclick artist profile to everyone that will even dare to listen, following up with radio station programmers and internet radio archetypes for the billionteenth time in hopes of airplay. Indie is that reallyGOOD band you have NOT heard yet. It's that kat you work with at your punk-ass 9-to-fiver always bringing in shit he's worked all night previous and wants YOU to hear it..(or anyone withing audable range, for that matter). And most of all, Indie is independent:Not controlled or coalesced by any major conglomerate..and willing to put his ass on the line for the belief of his art. Come hell, high water, OR haters. Elvis Costello said it best during an interview in 1985, when talking about Rock trends: "Rock n' Roll isn't wots happenin on the radio, or wots on the charts..Rock n'Roll is wots happenin' every time some young kid in his room plugs his guitar to his amp and dares to be free (creatively). That's Rock n' Roll". Thats the definition of an 'Indie'
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