indie rock

genre of music, nicknamed after the independent labels which support lesser-known bands. typically, the independent labels allow more “musical freedom”, which results in a truer, less cookie-cutter sound that mainstream listeners do not immediately identify with. indie rock draws inspiration from bands such as the beatles, the velvet underground, and radiohead.

many indie rock bands are characterized by the use of unique or less-popular instruments. subjectively (since music is subjective), indie rock cds typically sound less “perfect” than mainstream music, which typically grabs the attention of indie rock enthusiasts.

indie rock is a mixture of many other genres, including alternative rock, folk music, electronica, even pop. it also tends to be very positive music, despite popular opinion.
more well-known rockers that are excellent introductions: the killers, death cab for cutie, modest mouse, arctic monkeys, spoon, yeah yeah yeahs
others that are popular among indie rockers: the flaming lips, the shins, bright eyes, the decemberists, wilco, the magic numbers, mates of state, the ess-x green, calexico, dios (malos), clap your hands say yeah, rilo kiley, far too many to list. find a paste magazine and dig in.
indie rock- a genre of music and cult following of younger generation which is striving to be different from pop music followers. music is often “underground”, not known to popular audiences because of independent record labels. the musical style combines british punk, rock and roll, and heavy metal.
indie rock is a genre of music that is “undeground”, thus not many people in the pop culture world know about these music gems. although some indie bands become big (ex. death cab for cutie) then their followers begin to think of them as “sell outs”. indie rock is the best music out there, too bad todays sh-t music blinds the general public.
indie although is very compet-tive and mos hipsters compete for who knows more “un-known” bands.
some examples of indie rock artists are:
bright eyes
the umbrellas
hot chip
cat power

some indie rock record labels:
crank
saddle creek
1.music not signed to a label or not signed to a major label.
2.underground, somewhat experimental, music. (modest mouse, sigur ros, the decemberists)
3. a tribe of people, hipsters, indie kids who all try to latch onto the next hip band before their friend does.
sonic unyon is an indie rock label.
elitist pop music for people who like to think of themselves as being “artsy” but still want something that adheres to the same general composition formats and harmonic structures of all pop music for the past 70 years, and is sufficiently non-abstract enough to be appreciated without exerting too much intellectual effort.
indie rock fan: hey, check out this new vinyl i paid $35 for of the new digitally recorded “metric” alb-m! they are really pioneering new territory here!

avant-guard jazz fan: sigh…
originally a term for the independent/unsigned indie rock scene, now is a sub-genre of alternative rock. not only categorized anymore by the independence or label of the band, but rather by the sound. vocals usually exemplify attributes such as exadurated consonant pr-nunciation, poetic/symbolic/allegoric lyrics, lyrics which are completely random and interpretive, or lyrics that tell a story. the lyrics of certain songs may be confused with “emo” music, but the indie scene does not center on such pathetic subjects and has an overall brighter philosophy on life. sloppy guitar chords, random solos, violin/other commonly cl-ssical instrumentals, off-beats and unique digital editing.
the pixies
arctic monkeys
bright eyes
the fratellis
the killers
franz ferdinand

i know they’re on a major label, but they are definitely indie rock!
arguably the best sub-genre of modern music today, not that that’s saying much. is highly derivative of 80s college rock and 90s alternative rock. the overall sound is often highly pretentious, and it is clear that many indie rock artists consider themselves to be musical geniuses. never mind the fact that the songs hardly ever deviate from standard song structure and cliche lyrics(albeit in a pretentious fashion, utilizing ridiculous metaphors and overblown instrumentation). still, a step up from the pop punk and party rap on mtv.
arcade fire, death cab for cutie, tv on the radio, modest mouse, arctic monkeys, broken social scene, yeah yeah yeahs. these are all indie rock bands. it should be noted that some of these bands take a garage rock approach, yet the ridiculously convoluted lyrics and delusions of genius remain. sounds like some people missed the point of punk rock’s simplicity.