The Sounds Of Today: Indie Music

Indie music can best be descried as independant or DIY (do it yourself), when the person making the making it has full control over there art, art that people work hard on, and they do it all for others to enjoy and listen to. Theres something for everyone to enjoy. It can cover everything from punk, rap, country, emo, blues, jazz, jazzcore, and everything inbetween. It is music made by the people for the people, its American, British, Australlian, its anywhere and everywhere you can imagine. Everyone is doing it, having fun hanging out at indie events with friends or family. If its out there now and its music its either indie or was once indie, so indie is worth every second of listening.

Great music can be found anywhere from Tennessee to California, to other countries, all places have something to offer. Indie concerts are our form of entertainment. Friends go to clubs or cafes to meet new people or hang out with friends,family and most of the time theres a band,dj, or rapper playing there, they are indie artists. They are the people that spend hours writing and practiceing songs for others to have a good time. Everyone can have a form of indie music that they listen to, theymay no go and search for bands all the time but all they have to do is open the newspaper to the entertainment secton to see that there are great bands out there and see that theres such a variety out there no one can complain.

Music for the people, by the people. In a way Indie is the American way. It was created as a form of free speach that overtook the world and now it speaks to us through emotion, truth, or something similier. All artists from bands such as Greenday, Blink 182, Matchbox 20, to Aerosmith weren't always famous, they were once indie (independent) bands living out of a van. Bands such as Gage, Candiria (both from New York), and As Cities Burn (from Kentucky) are living out of that van and are considered indie and are trying to make it in the music world. What they need is support, they need people to buy there cds to keep music alive. If no one supported indie music there would be no music. It is the indie bands that will eventually be the sound of today.

Anyone could pick up a guitar and record a cd if they tried hard enough, however, in our day and age its getting harder and harder for artists to get by and do what they love. They spend thousands of dollars recording in a studio along with hundreds of hours practiceing songs for shows not for their own personal enjoyment but so that anyone who gets into what their saying can go and buy their cds. Bands travel all over the world trying to sell cds and they need as much support as possible from everyone that can give it. If the music scene were to die then there would be no more places for people especially the younger generations to hang out at and our society wouldn't be as social as it is now.

Indie music is for everyone no matter who they are, what they like, or what color their skin is, there is an indie artist(s) that they would like. Friends, family, anyone can go out and see bands play and have a great time and this is because of the artists that work hard to make poeple so happy. Music is a something for everyone to enjoy, indie music makes it so there is something for everyone no matter what they like. The music scence can only die if indie bands stop getting attention and all those dreams of thousands of people are not supported. Everyone should try to listen to indie music atleast once and remember what its about, being independent, living a dream.

Comments

[HallucinoGenic]

mm

[OpeN WidE]

ok.....

[chaz man]

nice

[alvarols]

OH YEA

[janecoffin27]

Um....whatever.

[the_beastly_one]

Nah guys, he/she is making sense. If you go to a local gig and enjoy it, you should consider buying a copy of the band's EP/album or whatever, because it will help them no end (although bands mkae most of their money from playing live anyway).

[West]

Yeah, once you rely on someone to produce your music it is no logner independent

[bobjewell87]

I dont really get this article, it saying if someone isnt on a major record label then there indie and make music for other peoples enjoyment.

[Zeke5000]

nice article

[BlackmagicNZL38]

o.a.r. good stuff

[Punkrockguy17]

I love going indie shows they are always fun. Fugazi and Pixies I think are really great bands. Theres this one indie band where I live thats really awesome. www.theroyalbangs.com check them otu sometime.

[TBCIV]

This is like one of those stories you read on standardizied tests, where everything is nice and happy and its a very general explanation of something.

[ShoeLaces907]

If anyone wants to learn about the early, pioneering indie rock bands, I'd suggest reading Michael Azzerad's "Our Band Could Be Your Life" (he's the same guy who wrote the Nirvana bio "Come As You Are").It's not a great book, but it's roughly the only indie rock book out there.

[nunley]

not the best, but i learned some stuff i didnt know.

[JPGuitarMan]

LIVE THE DREAM

[Jimmy_Page_Zep]

not a bad article, glad to see somebody write about indie artists though.

[jagcat64]

yeah thats stupid

[chanti-sama]

good article. Indie is where everything begins

[linkinguitaro]

umm..im lost...whats indi music?

[theTHORNwithin]

modest mouse and jump little children were indie when i started listening to em....modest mouse is selling out though, float on was on mtv and a song from "the moon and antarcictica" was on a car commercial! u cant help but be happy for them tought, cuz they are a great and talented band thats been aro und forever and hasnt barely gotten any recognition till now, finally, they arent as indie ne more, but they arent sell outs, im happy for em...they need to make some money every onece in awhile u know

[bleach1988]

just like to read your own writing eh?

[0blue skies0]

when the media (or my mates for that matter) refer to "indie" we're usually referring to that UK guitar band sound, kind of britpopish: matchbox...oasis, belle & sebastian, coldplay, travis, embrace, cast etc. etc.

- no one i know defines "indie" as u do.

[0blue skies0]

what u mean is "rock"...which is the blanket-term for your wide definition.

[0blue skies0]

(e.g. greenday - u mentioned - they're nu-punk, not indie, areo smith is rock n roll... blink 182? are punk too!)

[PychoArtRocker]

when he says "indie" he means any band or solo act recording on there own 0blue skies,not the indie sound (sounic youth,moutest mouse ect.)

[totenkopf]

not a bad article, but, whatever

[Click You]

i disagree of his definition of the sound of "indie". u dont feel like correcting him tho because i am too lazy to type out what i think. modest mouse rule(s/ed?)

[oasis4eva]

I thought indie was Oasis and coldplay, the U.K stuff, and greenday aren't indie, thats like saying keane are heavy metal. But Indie rocks!!!..

[Ze_Gibson]

so basically... indie is everything else crammed into one genre?
...wtf? *confused*

[JJHx1987]

When I think of Indie, music with similar sounds as Against Me comes to mind.

I hate genre labels because they are so broad and don't really work.

[RockNRollGuy420]

good article man good going i completely agree wit you dude

[monkeyspks]

Don't yell at me because I live under a rock, but I always thought indie was stuff like The Postal Service. RAHH now I'm all confyoozed.

[Snipe]

What he's saying is that indie is something that was fully made by the artist. Nobody got in the way of what they wantet. And, the majority of bands were indie at one point.

So really, indie isn't a music genre. It is small bands with little to no major media coverage, and/or a band that has close to 100% artistic freedom.

[crazygluedmybut]

thanks alot. i never really knew what indie meant before.

[scoff89]

boobs are nice

[Maggot penis]

I feel indie rock is anything that isn't commercial

[annn]

So every freakin band and artist is indie before it becomes popular and famous. Except some shit like Kelly Clarkson etc who become popular at the same second they show their face on tv.

[Kena_Stuart]

Hmm.. I don't think that you can exactly say what is indie and what isn't. I do think that it depends on de perspective of the band itself, and if they are experimental. If you begin as a indie rock band, and if your perspectives stay the same, than (I think) it doesn't matter if you become famous. Your meanings, as an indie rock band, are to make your own music, to have fun making it and everyone that wants to listen to it, may do so.. That might as well be a big audience right?

[Kena_Stuart]

and the name 'indierock', contains indie-from independent?.. So I think that they have to be indipendent, if not so... than they wouldn't call it indierock???? :S Arggg now I'm confused to... shouldn't think about it so much..

[Guitar_Maestro]

indie IS in fact a genre... independent is kinda the same thing but not really... the way i think of it, if some heavy metal band is on an independent label or w/e, they wouldn't be part of the indie GENRE... and i also feel that when indie GENRE bands are signed to big labels, they can still keep their indie GENRE sound (then again, some don't)

[FaceInTheSand]

I like your definition and interpretation. Too many people assume independent record companies and artists to be an example of rebellious socialism rather than the individualist "frontier" mentality that epitomises the 'States economic history.

Maybe, however, you should clarify your definition to not include the entire music industry. Some bands decide to live the rock 'n' roll lifestyle - fast cars, women, drugs, worldwide success. Oasis, KISS, Take That and 50cent, for instance, fit into that category. They're not indie.
However, bands who want to keep that approachability to their fans and grassroots support can count as "indie by choice/intent". Thursday, Iron Maiden and Explosions In The Sky are all that type of band, despite being huge in their own genres (Emotional Hardcore, Heavy Metal and Post-Rock, respectively) because they all keep a really good relationship with their fans and seem to play for the sheer joy of playing.