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What is indie music? #1: On defining indie
When doing research for my main assignment in music history January 2009, I noticed that there weren’t really any thorough articles on indie music online. My local library held no books on the subject, and not even the best music encyclopaedias had articles or notes concerning it. I realised that this was due to the novelty that indie really is. Indie as we know it today started about the same time as the new millennium. Actually, it would be fair to call the 2000s the decade of indie, both musically and stylistically.
The lack of previous literature landed me more work but it also provided me with freedom when writing about indie. I could group bands into genres and name them as I pleased. Readers may well disagree with my theories, but I personally think they make sense.
Some would say that indie is not a genre but a term for music distributed by an independent record label. Others would claim that it is a musical genre indeed, and use bands like The Arctic Monkeys and The Kooks as examples. My research on the subject has led me to believe and argue that indie is not as much a genre as it is a movement. Indie music as a whole has too little in common to be considered a genre in itself. However, there are subgenres within it that can be defined with musical characteristics.
Through this series of articles I will discuss the musical history leading up to the 2000s, why indie became mainstream and name the different subgenres.
Coming up next: Indie in perspective.
03/02/2010 - 18:12
Mitt tips er Our Band Could Be Your Life, synes de definerer hva indie er gjennom hvilke band han trekker ut. Tror han valgte bare band som var uavhengige. Jeg bruker den som eksempel på definisjon av indie.