The history of Indie Music
The 1980s were an incredibly important decade in indie music history. It was during this decade that the first indie charts were compiled in the United States and in the United Kingdom. In the garages of the United States and the United Kingdom, kids were figuring out just what the hell they really COULD do with their guitars and their electronic equipment, not to mention a pissed off voice. In the 1960s, the big format was pop, a little bit of R&B, and rock aka the Rolling Stones. Peace, love, and anti-war ruled the day, even among the “rebels.”
Indie is very much about going against what everyone else is doing. it was the rebellious musicians that didn't want to be signed with record labels that made it big. Its very much political as it is musical. The music of the Velvet Underground was markedly different in message and in structure than that being produced by studios at the time; their songs varied from fast to slow, pulsating to melodic. Their messages switched from songs about drug use to individual takes on law enforcement. In short, they sang about everything everyone else did not. The band sold very few records, but a movement was under way. If you listen to a Velvet Underground song, you might be surprised that it was created in the era of the Beatles instead of the era of Cobain, and that is what indie music is all about; the pioneers.
Indie rock artists are known for placing a premium on maintaining complete control of their music and careers, releasing albums on independent record labels (sometimes self-owned and operated) and relying on touring, word-of-mouth, airplay on independent or college radio stations and, in recent years, the Internet for promotion. The punk movement of the 1970s had a direct impact on the DIY aesthetic that later became a cornerstone of indie rock.
The 1980s were an incredibly important decade in indie music history. It was during this decade that the first indie charts were compiled in the United States and in the United Kingdom. In the garages of the United States and the United Kingdom, kids were figuring out just what the hell they really COULD do with their guitars and their electronic equipment, not to mention a pissed off voice. In the 1960s, the big format was pop, a little bit of R&B, and rock aka the Rolling Stones. Peace, love, and anti-war ruled the day, even among the “rebels.”
Indie is very much about going against what everyone else is doing. it was the rebellious musicians that didn't want to be signed with record labels that made it big. Its very much political as it is musical. The music of the Velvet Underground was markedly different in message and in structure than that being produced by studios at the time; their songs varied from fast to slow, pulsating to melodic. Their messages switched from songs about drug use to individual takes on law enforcement. In short, they sang about everything everyone else did not. The band sold very few records, but a movement was under way. If you listen to a Velvet Underground song, you might be surprised that it was created in the era of the Beatles instead of the era of Cobain, and that is what indie music is all about; the pioneers.
Indie rock artists are known for placing a premium on maintaining complete control of their music and careers, releasing albums on independent record labels (sometimes self-owned and operated) and relying on touring, word-of-mouth, airplay on independent or college radio stations and, in recent years, the Internet for promotion. The punk movement of the 1970s had a direct impact on the DIY aesthetic that later became a cornerstone of indie rock.
Here is a definition of “Indie Rock” from Microsoft Encarta Dictionary: “Rock released by independent record companies: rock music of the 1990s composed or performed by artists and groups who achieved some success but did not sign with a major record company.”
i find the history of indie really interesting and the reason i have tried to make my images rebellious is to reflect the rebellion from the 1960's.
I don't actually believe that Indie is about belonging to an independent label. I believe its the attitude that comes with Indie music, standing up against authority and making your self known by singing about things that people are thinking. For my double page spread, I have signed my Indie/Pop artist to Capital records, but i feel she is still represented as an Indie artist as she has the attitude, she works for what she wants and she doesn't put on a front, she is confidant, and doesn't care what people think and i believe this is what Indie is about.
Nirvana popularized punk, post-punk, and indie rock, unintentionally bringing it into the American mainstream like no other band before it. While its sound was equal parts Black Sabbath (as learned by fellow Washington underground rockers the Melvins) and Cheap Trick, Nirvana's aesthetics were strictly indie rock. They covered Vaselines songs, they revived new wave cuts by Devo, and leader Kurt Cobain relentlessly pushed his favorite bands -- whether it was the art punk of the Raincoats or the country-fried hardcore of the Meat Puppets -- as if his favorite records were always more important than his own music. While Nirvana's ideology was indie rock and melodies were pop, the sonic rush of their records and live shows merged the post-industrial white noise with heavy metal grind. And that's what made the group an unprecedented multi-platinum sensation.
I don't actually believe that Indie is about belonging to an independent label. I believe its the attitude that comes with Indie music, standing up against authority and making your self known by singing about things that people are thinking. For my double page spread, I have signed my Indie/Pop artist to Capital records, but i feel she is still represented as an Indie artist as she has the attitude, she works for what she wants and she doesn't put on a front, she is confidant, and doesn't care what people think and i believe this is what Indie is about.
Nirvana popularized punk, post-punk, and indie rock, unintentionally bringing it into the American mainstream like no other band before it. While its sound was equal parts Black Sabbath (as learned by fellow Washington underground rockers the Melvins) and Cheap Trick, Nirvana's aesthetics were strictly indie rock. They covered Vaselines songs, they revived new wave cuts by Devo, and leader Kurt Cobain relentlessly pushed his favorite bands -- whether it was the art punk of the Raincoats or the country-fried hardcore of the Meat Puppets -- as if his favorite records were always more important than his own music. While Nirvana's ideology was indie rock and melodies were pop, the sonic rush of their records and live shows merged the post-industrial white noise with heavy metal grind. And that's what made the group an unprecedented multi-platinum sensation.
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