Indie Music Musings

So I was having a late-night conversation with a friend this weekend about what defines "indie" nowadays--how does it differ from alternative, are there subcategories of folk and electronic, etc.

It's getting hard to separate anything nowadays. I'm finally getting around to sitting down and listening to a bunch of new music (new as in Vampire Weekend's new album, which is SO old now) and it's fascinating to pick up on the similarities between popular bands nowadays. Popular, that is, in the indie sense. We're disregarding Miley and Taylor.

Back in high school, I feel like the scene consisted of more bands like Arcade Fire and Postal Service; they were counterpoints to people into Rooney and who were part of that whole OC-era indie scene (remember how Of Montreal was on the soundtrack? Embarrassingly, I have to give that show props for putting out some good playlists).

But now, indie music has become more homogenized. I just listened to VW's new song "California English" and was amazed by how it sounded like a combination between Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective (who, in my book, generally represent a prominent divide indie music subgenres).

In this digital mash-up age, it seems much easier for musicians to mix genres. Kind of exciting, maybe.

Anyway, as I keep listening to this VW album, it seems all over the effing place. Not sure if I'm a huge fan, since it doesn't really seem like their sound is all that original. The whole album is more an homage to contemporary indie music and, well, the band themselves. Kind of self-indulgent.

"Cousins," which Georgina just posted about, kind of sounds like a mix between themselves and The White Stripes, which doesn't really work for me. This song is actually really annoying me. It just makes me think of Arrested Development. Oh my god, and "Holiday" just came on. What the hell is this? So contrived! VW is a one-album-wonder, I think.

Back to my earlier musings: how would you define indie rock? The definition of an indie band as being part of an independent label doesn't seem as applicable anymore. "Indie" is a classifier that's tossed around a lot, and to me it seems like lots of indie bands lose their status because they "sell out" (Kings of Leon, Phoenix)...

What do you think??

Remember this song from the OC soundtrack:



I would post "Big Sur" by The Thrills, too, but alas, I cannot embed it. Instead, here's the hyperlink:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1fGNCvZL_w

Throwback.

Anyway, as one of my good friends can attest to, Scandinavia and Iceland are where it's at nowadays in terms of relatively lesser-known bands.



Isn't that PB&J video good?