Within the last year, I've been getting pretty into some Indie groups, with bands like Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, The Flaming Lips, Cloud Cult, Dan Deacon, Dinosaur Jr, Fleet Foxes, Frou Frou, The Halo Benders, Metric, Passion Pit, Pinback, Pixies, The Shins, TV on the Radio, The Vines, The Wrens, Yo La Tengo, and Animal Collective. The more I explore, the more I discover how much the genre has to offer. But, I really don't know anyone else into the Indie genre, so I'm guessing that I'm missing out on quite a bit of great music. So, what are some great Indie CDs, bands, etc that I might find myself loving?
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Indie Kids Unite
- Thread starter Oddish On Fire
- Start date
I really hate that "indie" is a genre of music. It is short for "independent," as in an artist on an independent record label, something the Flaming Lips haven't been for years.
That said, check out Cursive, Nada Surf, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, the National, Wolf Parade. That'll be up your alley.
Oh, and just to spite #Az... OLD Death Cab For Cutie.
That said, check out Cursive, Nada Surf, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, the National, Wolf Parade. That'll be up your alley.
Oh, and just to spite #Az... OLD Death Cab For Cutie.
I'm going to go out on a limb and jump from your Halo Benders comment (which I think is weird that you woud know about them without knowing both the component parts) and give you a hearty hearty recommendation for Beat Happening. Their music is incredibly simple and amateurish but it there is just something about it that makes it immensely listenable. One of the forefathers of the American 'twee' movement, Beat Happening (vocalist Calvin Johnson of the Halo Benders is from Beat Happening) make music about first loves and childish giddiness. All of their albums are fantastic with Jamboree probably being the best. The easiest to get into is probably You Turn Me On but that sounds more like a Galaxie 500 record than a Beat Happening one, honestly.
if you're into Dinosaur Jr. I'd recommend other post punk such as Jawbreaker, Samiam and Texas is the reason
lol if by post-punk you mean emo
Please unite so that I can kill you all in the same place
EDIT: Fine, for the sake of being on-topic, I used to like Kasabian alot (mostly Empire), and you can't go wrong with a bit of Franz Ferdinand. Oh and Metric too I suppose. That's all the "indie" I can stand these days really.
EDIT: Fine, for the sake of being on-topic, I used to like Kasabian alot (mostly Empire), and you can't go wrong with a bit of Franz Ferdinand. Oh and Metric too I suppose. That's all the "indie" I can stand these days really.
of Montreal, Sufjan Stevens, Sunny Day Real Estate and Minus the Bear are all great and very different bands that you should love based off that list, and I say this with confidence as the first two bands you listed are my two favourite bands :)
And in terms the word "indie", I honestly hate the fact that people hate the word "indie". Of course what it meant at one point was independant, and of course now half the bands people commonly refer to as indie are signed, but it still remains the best way to describe the kind of music being posted in this thread, in an all encompassing way.
The National, Sufjan Stevens and Sunny Day Real Estate are three completely different bands with completely different sounds and completely different genres. Saying you like indie is an easy way to say you like all three, despite the actual definition of the word, and until someone comes up with a better way that I can describe to people what kind of music I like, I will continue to say I like indie.
When you say alternative to some people, they think you mean Incubus or Creed when really you mean Radiohead. When you say emo to people they think you mean the Used or Bullet for My Valentine when really you mean Built to Spill. There was really no other way for him to title this thread.
And in terms the word "indie", I honestly hate the fact that people hate the word "indie". Of course what it meant at one point was independant, and of course now half the bands people commonly refer to as indie are signed, but it still remains the best way to describe the kind of music being posted in this thread, in an all encompassing way.
The National, Sufjan Stevens and Sunny Day Real Estate are three completely different bands with completely different sounds and completely different genres. Saying you like indie is an easy way to say you like all three, despite the actual definition of the word, and until someone comes up with a better way that I can describe to people what kind of music I like, I will continue to say I like indie.
When you say alternative to some people, they think you mean Incubus or Creed when really you mean Radiohead. When you say emo to people they think you mean the Used or Bullet for My Valentine when really you mean Built to Spill. There was really no other way for him to title this thread.
Tons of great indie bands.
Ugh, ok first of all since you listen to the Vines, you'll absolutely have to listen to The Libertines and The Strokes. Maybe the 3 biggest driving forces in Indie Revival.
Anyways, you should become a regular on the "2010 Music" topic, we talk about alot of indie on there.
Ugh, ok first of all since you listen to the Vines, you'll absolutely have to listen to The Libertines and The Strokes. Maybe the 3 biggest driving forces in Indie Revival.
Anyways, you should become a regular on the "2010 Music" topic, we talk about alot of indie on there.
This is so much better than what I thought it would be. I've been downloading music nonstop for a few hours, but with this much good music, I've been moving quite slowly. Cursive gets a definite "dig"
Anyone heard Fall be Kind by Animal Collective? I finally got a copy from my friend and it's amazing.
As a final thing, my favorite sub genre of Indie music is lo-fi, so if you have any great bands in the same vein as Pixies, older Modest Mouse, and The Halo Benders, do tell :)
Anyone heard Fall be Kind by Animal Collective? I finally got a copy from my friend and it's amazing.
As a final thing, my favorite sub genre of Indie music is lo-fi, so if you have any great bands in the same vein as Pixies, older Modest Mouse, and The Halo Benders, do tell :)
The two quintessential "lo-fi" indie rock titans are:
1) Pavement (start at the beginning, Slanted and Enchanted, and just move chronologically)
and
2) Guided by Voices (Bee Thousand to Alien Lanes then pick and choose from their incredibly large catalogue)
1) Pavement (start at the beginning, Slanted and Enchanted, and just move chronologically)
and
2) Guided by Voices (Bee Thousand to Alien Lanes then pick and choose from their incredibly large catalogue)
GOLDHEART MOUNTAINTOP QUEEN DIRECTORY!!! Seriously though, how do I get ahold of these bands? I've been trying to find them for a decent amount of time, but I only have a VERY limited collection of their material. Sadly, I've found that downloading them is even harder than finding early Built to Spill. Should I just bite the bullet and actually pay for an album?
The Replacements, Pavement, The Hold Steady, Broken Social Scene, The Libertines, LCD Soundsystem, Drive-By Truckers, Sleater-Kinney.
Only suggesting the very, very, very best.
And torrent them. These bands don't give a fuck if you do that.
Also, if you need albums to start with...
Let It Be, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, Boys And Girls In America, You Forgot It In People, Up The Bracket, Sound Of Silver, Decoration Day, Dig Me Out.
Only suggesting the very, very, very best.
And torrent them. These bands don't give a fuck if you do that.
Also, if you need albums to start with...
Let It Be, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, Boys And Girls In America, You Forgot It In People, Up The Bracket, Sound Of Silver, Decoration Day, Dig Me Out.
Is there some type of shitty indie band called the pixies i don't know about. Surely the actual pixies are not even close to indie.
I literally don't know anyone who listens to Indie where I live, so I base my categories off my personal opinions. Can we please not just debate which bands are Indie? If you think it's Indie, then it is. I don't care if you think someone elses definition is "emo" or "lo-fi" or anything else.
Basically,
THIS GENRE IS NOT CONCRETE SO STOP. Make a new thread if you want to debate. That is not the purpose of this one.
Not so much of a genre, more of a ...... movement? Iunno.....
Anyways, pretty much everything John Mellor suggested. If you want you can check out www.NME.com. It's IMO the best site for everything music. They like to fanboy indie music in particular, that's a good place to find new bands.
Anyways, pretty much everything John Mellor suggested. If you want you can check out www.NME.com. It's IMO the best site for everything music. They like to fanboy indie music in particular, that's a good place to find new bands.
I'm so sorry, I had to.
This Heat, Pere Ubu, Outsiders, Nation of Ulysses, Mars, The Trojans, The Black Dice, Todd Terry, the Germs, Section 25, Althea and Donna, Sexual Harrassment, a-ha, Pere Ubu, Dorothy Ashby, PIL, the Fania All-Stars, the Bar-Kays, the Human League, the Normal, Lou Reed, Scott Walker, Monks, Niagra, Joy Division, Lower 48, the Association, Sun Ra, Scientists, Royal Trux, 10cc, Eric B. and Rakim, Index, Basic Channel, Soulsonic Force, just hit me, Juan Atkins, David Axelrod, Electric Prunes, Gil! Scott! Heron!, the Slits, Faust, Mantronix, Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines, the Swans, the Soft Cell, The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics.
This Heat, Pere Ubu, Outsiders, Nation of Ulysses, Mars, The Trojans, The Black Dice, Todd Terry, the Germs, Section 25, Althea and Donna, Sexual Harrassment, a-ha, Pere Ubu, Dorothy Ashby, PIL, the Fania All-Stars, the Bar-Kays, the Human League, the Normal, Lou Reed, Scott Walker, Monks, Niagra, Joy Division, Lower 48, the Association, Sun Ra, Scientists, Royal Trux, 10cc, Eric B. and Rakim, Index, Basic Channel, Soulsonic Force, just hit me, Juan Atkins, David Axelrod, Electric Prunes, Gil! Scott! Heron!, the Slits, Faust, Mantronix, Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines, the Swans, the Soft Cell, The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics.
moot i am planning a prom-type formal event at my school and calvin johnson is GOING TO PLAY AT MY PROM. or at least, i've been corresponding with his booking agent for months and as long as we are able to raise the cash and book the space (so doable), we will be able to have him come play.
also yeah 'indie' as genre seems off the mark. i happened on a book titled 'slanted and enchanted: the evolution of indie culture', of course had to pick it up based on the title though i felt super-lame. it was a really good read but one of the most interesting points of the book was basically the commercialization of 'indie' as genre/lifestyle (i.e. fashion) rather than as what i would agree (w/ the author) it is, which is basically independently (that is, by the artist) distributed art
the book listed the modernist poetry movement (specifically ezra pound who i simultaneously love and absolutely hate) as an indie movement, which was silly at first but was nonetheless compelling
also i had this saved up in my evernotebook and didn't know what else to do with it, so i'll post it here. ran into it doing some reading for class: "Generic exhaustion is a common phenomenon in the history of culture. One can almost make out a life cycle characteristic of genres as they move from an initial period of articulation and discovery, through a phase of conscious self-awareness on the part of both creators and audiences, to a time when the generic patterns have become so well-known that people become tired of their predictability. It is at this point that parodic and satiric treatments proliferate and new genres gradually arise." (John G. Cawelti, Chinatown and Generic Transformation, 200)
pretty interesting
anyway to contribute to the topic more directly, i got into lo-fi stuff for a while. gbv is the fucking tops, and 'the beat happenings' are obv good and a good choice if you find yrself liking gbv. a lot of the stuff i got into was lo-fi noise pop/rock/shit/etc and that stuff is always pretty hit and miss as far as listenability goes and that stuff is a little bit unlike what other people are listing but like... times new viking stands out i guess, PENS, no age for some reason comes to mind, and then going from lo-fi to just blissy fuzzed shit there is THE MICROPHONES, that's an obvious mention. this is stupid. then there is that fucking 'chillwave' stuff which i hate to say i'm starting to like a lot. i hate doing music rec stuff to be honest. there is a load of good stuff out there and imo it's more fun sifting thru it for yourself. it's real easy to do so w/ last.fm and pandora and loads of other shit
okay bye
the book listed the modernist poetry movement (specifically ezra pound who i simultaneously love and absolutely hate) as an indie movement, which was silly at first but was nonetheless compelling
also i had this saved up in my evernotebook and didn't know what else to do with it, so i'll post it here. ran into it doing some reading for class: "Generic exhaustion is a common phenomenon in the history of culture. One can almost make out a life cycle characteristic of genres as they move from an initial period of articulation and discovery, through a phase of conscious self-awareness on the part of both creators and audiences, to a time when the generic patterns have become so well-known that people become tired of their predictability. It is at this point that parodic and satiric treatments proliferate and new genres gradually arise." (John G. Cawelti, Chinatown and Generic Transformation, 200)
pretty interesting
anyway to contribute to the topic more directly, i got into lo-fi stuff for a while. gbv is the fucking tops, and 'the beat happenings' are obv good and a good choice if you find yrself liking gbv. a lot of the stuff i got into was lo-fi noise pop/rock/shit/etc and that stuff is always pretty hit and miss as far as listenability goes and that stuff is a little bit unlike what other people are listing but like... times new viking stands out i guess, PENS, no age for some reason comes to mind, and then going from lo-fi to just blissy fuzzed shit there is THE MICROPHONES, that's an obvious mention. this is stupid. then there is that fucking 'chillwave' stuff which i hate to say i'm starting to like a lot. i hate doing music rec stuff to be honest. there is a load of good stuff out there and imo it's more fun sifting thru it for yourself. it's real easy to do so w/ last.fm and pandora and loads of other shit
okay bye
Looking at the bands you've listed, it looks like you'd really enjoy The Appleseed Cast, and i'm quite suprised no one else has mentioned them. Their older stuff is probably more down your alley than their newer material, which is more post-rock based.
Along with that you have the likes of American Football, The Casket Lottery, Small Brown Bike and Sunny Day Real Estate.
Also if you're looking for something kind of weird, or 'avant garde' you should check out a band called Kiss Kiss. Their album 'Reality vs. the Optimist' is genius.
Along with that you have the likes of American Football, The Casket Lottery, Small Brown Bike and Sunny Day Real Estate.
Also if you're looking for something kind of weird, or 'avant garde' you should check out a band called Kiss Kiss. Their album 'Reality vs. the Optimist' is genius.