originally post May 5, 2008
Recently I saw Feist talking the Colbert Report, and he asked her what indie rock is since she describes her music that way, and she couldn't define it. Why? Because she isn't indie rock, and never was really. Just because she began her career on a small indie label, doesn't mean she is still indie today, nor does she play indie rock. In fact, none of the bands are her label, Arts and Crafts, are technically indie since they are distributed by a major label (EMI).
Then it got me wondering, so what is indie rock today? Technically, "indie" is short for independent and would imply that indie refers to a method of operation and distribution that was independent from the major labels. But that's not the case, because if Feist is indie rock, how does that explain her major label distribution?
So then you must assume that the term 'indie rock' described the kind of music it is, not it's method of operation. Much like in the way the major labels adopted the term 'alternative' when Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins became popular in the 90's. I always how wondered how it could be termed 'alternative' - alternative to what? The mainstream? If it's truly alternative, then I've never heard of it before. Otherwise, it can't be the alternative, it's the mainstream.
Anyways, so then is 'indie rock' a type of sound? No, because there are some bands who operate independently, but they also don't sound anything like Feist, Bright Eyes or Death Cab For Cutie, or any of the darling 'indie' bands that Pitchfork go crazy over. For example, The Happies, who have more alliance with geeky rock/pop and singer/songwriter roots, are truly independent, doing everything themselves on a small independent system of operation. Or Majandra Delfino, an actress most popular for her role on the TV series Roswell, makes music that doesn't like anything I've ever heard, and she does it all by herself.
However, the industry has taken over the term to described their music, calculated to attract a certain type of listener, and there's no shortage of exploitation: indie rock also applies to dance-punk, new prog, garage-rock, new weird America, post-punk (when did punk die?), etc, etc. It's getting to the point where Starbucks will be a music genre.
And while I'm ranting...I blame Britney Spears (as I do for the downfall of society in general) who turned 'bubblegum pop' into a dirty phrase. It used to mean happy-go-lucky super catchy pop songs by the 1910 Fruitgum Company, The Partridge Family, The Archies, Tommy Roe, etc. But somehow, the term now applies to the level of intelligence of the singer (as in, a brain made of bubblegum).
Sigh. Meanwhile, the term 'pirate radio' will always be that, I think. I just finished a book by Sue Carpenters called 40 Watts from Nowhere, all about her life running 2 pirate radio stations in the mid 90s in San Francisco and L.A. I love reading about pirate radio, because I've always wanted to have a radio station, even a totally legal small 1-watt station.
Well, probably the closest I'll ever get is broadcasting on the internet, ironically I found this cool piece of software that looks like an easy way to do it. Who knew subversivism could be so marketable? I haven't tried it yet, so I'm certainly not endorsing it.
If you're into pirate radio, there's also this documentary about the subject at bside.com, which will let you download it for free if you register.
An archive of Lee's posts from his Early Edition blogpage.
