Buy:DrRingDing
09-20-05, 08:58 AM
i hope it is and i mean this in a good way.
in the past few years (and thanks to high profile television series and film soundtracks), many "indie" bands have been making it into the mainstream. only a very select few have made it out of the one hit stage, but many have increased their audiences substantially.
i would go back a few years to see the start of this, with The Strokes <i>Is This It?</i> or better yet The White Stripes <i>White Blood Cells</i>. beginning in 2000 or so, rock began to be revived in the mainstream, the move away from Limp Bizkit and Britney knock-offs was in gear.
for example, Modest Mouse, an indie band with many albums to their credit, got significant airplay in 2003/2004 with "Float On" off of <i>Good News for People who Like Bad News</i>. bigger yet, Franz Ferdinand, who five years ago would've only found a niche market, has broken into the mainstream in a big way. their second album will be out soon and it's already making waves.
i'm listening to Interpol right now, another band who, in another lifetime, would've been relegated to small audiences but who have seen their audience grow in part because of <i>The O.C.</i>, amongst other things.
the 4 volumes of soundtracks thus far released for <i>The O.C.</i> all feature bands that would have, at one time, been considered obscure (by mainstream audiences) but who are making their names known. the most recent one has a song by Sufjan Stevens, this years biggest gainer in my opinion.
do i even need to mention <i>Garden State</i>? i suppose i should. especially since in the dialogue in the film it highlighted a band many people had only recently learned off, if they weren't hearing them for the first time: The Shins. the soundtrack to the film made waves (i.e. racked up sales, was downloaded a lot, etc.), so it's understandable that many people now have heard The Shins a few times over.
anyway, i hope this trend continues where real rock music is increasingly heard by more people instead of the mass market crap that many of the major labels try to force feed the public. is this a return to innovative mainstream rock? this is not meant to chastize those mainstream bands that have been around for years (like U2 or the Rolling Stones) as they are also still making relevant albums. it's more of a blow to the trends that exceeded their appeal really quickly - most notably the Limp Bizkit/Linkin Park/Korn rap-rock hybrid trend which grew stale very quickly (in my opinion, of course).
if you look to history there's precedent, as well, i would say. for example, The Doors were comparatively "indie" to the music of the day. their music was niche, but enough people caught on so as to make them bigger than they otherwise would've been. then again, a lot of the music happening at that time was different from the other music around it. much was yet to be done or explored and music hadn't become as much of a commodity as it is today.
lastly, i would just like to list some of the bands that i feel have found greater exposure thanks to this trend (and thank goodness for it): Interpol, Modest Mouse, Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture, The Shins, Belle & Sebastian, Pedro the Lion, Kings of Convenience, Snow Patrol, The Postal Service, The Arcade Fire, The Fiery Furnaces, Rilo Kiley... I'll stop here because this list could go on forever.
anyway, i think "indie" has become the new "mainstream". i'm just happy that today's children will grow up hearing (not necessarily listening to) and being more exposed to "indie" music.
admittedly, popular radio is still dominated by hip-hop and related genres, but rock radio can again play artists other than classic artists (U2, Led Zep, etc).
and there are still bands that will have trouble finding a larger audiences, possibly purposely so, because their music is too eclectic for the average individual - even though i listed Fiery Furnaces above, they are the first that jump to mind. their new album apparently carries them further away from the new mainstream ('indie').
maybe it's time to redefine the meaning of 'indie', since many artists formerly considered 'indie' really don't belong there.
i don't know if i actually made any sort of argument there. i just wanted to post my thoughts on "indie", which are still muddled and probably confusing anyway...
in the past few years (and thanks to high profile television series and film soundtracks), many "indie" bands have been making it into the mainstream. only a very select few have made it out of the one hit stage, but many have increased their audiences substantially.
i would go back a few years to see the start of this, with The Strokes <i>Is This It?</i> or better yet The White Stripes <i>White Blood Cells</i>. beginning in 2000 or so, rock began to be revived in the mainstream, the move away from Limp Bizkit and Britney knock-offs was in gear.
for example, Modest Mouse, an indie band with many albums to their credit, got significant airplay in 2003/2004 with "Float On" off of <i>Good News for People who Like Bad News</i>. bigger yet, Franz Ferdinand, who five years ago would've only found a niche market, has broken into the mainstream in a big way. their second album will be out soon and it's already making waves.
i'm listening to Interpol right now, another band who, in another lifetime, would've been relegated to small audiences but who have seen their audience grow in part because of <i>The O.C.</i>, amongst other things.
the 4 volumes of soundtracks thus far released for <i>The O.C.</i> all feature bands that would have, at one time, been considered obscure (by mainstream audiences) but who are making their names known. the most recent one has a song by Sufjan Stevens, this years biggest gainer in my opinion.
do i even need to mention <i>Garden State</i>? i suppose i should. especially since in the dialogue in the film it highlighted a band many people had only recently learned off, if they weren't hearing them for the first time: The Shins. the soundtrack to the film made waves (i.e. racked up sales, was downloaded a lot, etc.), so it's understandable that many people now have heard The Shins a few times over.
anyway, i hope this trend continues where real rock music is increasingly heard by more people instead of the mass market crap that many of the major labels try to force feed the public. is this a return to innovative mainstream rock? this is not meant to chastize those mainstream bands that have been around for years (like U2 or the Rolling Stones) as they are also still making relevant albums. it's more of a blow to the trends that exceeded their appeal really quickly - most notably the Limp Bizkit/Linkin Park/Korn rap-rock hybrid trend which grew stale very quickly (in my opinion, of course).
if you look to history there's precedent, as well, i would say. for example, The Doors were comparatively "indie" to the music of the day. their music was niche, but enough people caught on so as to make them bigger than they otherwise would've been. then again, a lot of the music happening at that time was different from the other music around it. much was yet to be done or explored and music hadn't become as much of a commodity as it is today.
lastly, i would just like to list some of the bands that i feel have found greater exposure thanks to this trend (and thank goodness for it): Interpol, Modest Mouse, Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture, The Shins, Belle & Sebastian, Pedro the Lion, Kings of Convenience, Snow Patrol, The Postal Service, The Arcade Fire, The Fiery Furnaces, Rilo Kiley... I'll stop here because this list could go on forever.
anyway, i think "indie" has become the new "mainstream". i'm just happy that today's children will grow up hearing (not necessarily listening to) and being more exposed to "indie" music.
admittedly, popular radio is still dominated by hip-hop and related genres, but rock radio can again play artists other than classic artists (U2, Led Zep, etc).
and there are still bands that will have trouble finding a larger audiences, possibly purposely so, because their music is too eclectic for the average individual - even though i listed Fiery Furnaces above, they are the first that jump to mind. their new album apparently carries them further away from the new mainstream ('indie').
maybe it's time to redefine the meaning of 'indie', since many artists formerly considered 'indie' really don't belong there.
i don't know if i actually made any sort of argument there. i just wanted to post my thoughts on "indie", which are still muddled and probably confusing anyway...