Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

flux,
deal with it. this argument is dumb. it's a word. words evolve. a word is a signifier. what is signified is determined by the perception of the observer. words change.

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

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You mean like this gem?

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The word "indie" is sometimes used as a synonym for alternative, a word which often bears the stigma of being associated with cynically manufactured mass-market teen-rebellion music from major labels.

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The term "indie" is a lot like Intelligent Design, "n/m", or the re-election of George W. Bush, I'm less concerned with what people think it means, than what it actually does mean.

Then again, I'm not a big fan of things like "new math" or linguistic descriptivism.

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Okay, go ahead and list all the "indie" bands you know of. The problem is that you're talking even more arbitrarily than normal genres and the distinction is absolutely useless in terms of describing what the band *sounds* like. Indie came to refer to a bunch of bands that were roughly musically similar or shared some common traits. These apply to pretty much all the bands we listed.

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

[ QUOTE ]
the distinction is absolutely useless in terms of describing what the band *sounds* like.

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LOL. Yes, yes it is useless in desribing what the band sounds like!!! That's why rational people don't use the term Indie to describe what a band sounds like. They use the term to describe a band on an independent label.

Out of curiosity, what term do you use to describe bands on independent labels, being that indie is already taken?

Also, if you think the four "Indie" bands I quoted above sound musicially similar then you, sir, fail it.

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

[ QUOTE ]
flux,
deal with it. this argument is dumb. it's a word. words evolve. a word is a signifier. what is signified is determined by the perception of the observer. words change.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Okay, go ahead and list all the "indie" bands you know of. The problem is that you're talking even more arbitrarily than normal genres and the distinction is absolutely useless in terms of describing what the band *sounds* like. Indie came to refer to a bunch of bands that were roughly musically similar or shared some common traits. These apply to pretty much all the bands we listed.

[/ QUOTE ]

These two pretty much sum up my feelings.

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

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Out of curiosity, what term do you use to describe bands on independent labels, being that indie is already taken?

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"Band on independent label" sounds good.

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

[ QUOTE ]
LOL. Yes, yes it is useless in desribing what the band sounds like!!! That's why rational people don't use the term Indie to describe what a band sounds like. They use the term to describe a band on an independent label.

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You misunderstand me. The size of a label doesn't do a very good job in telling us what the band sounds like. At the very least most of the bands typically given the label "indie" have similar fanbases.

[ QUOTE ]
Out of curiosity, what term do you use to describe bands on independent labels, being that indie is already taken?

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I describe how they sound like, because it's stupid to designate based on the size of the label. Aside from that, I hardly ever describe any band as indie - it's a broad spectrum, similar to goth music (which has tons of subsets like post-punk, industrial, darkwave, etc).

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

There are a lot of essential albums included in the lists above, so I won't give an entire list. I'll just chime in on some earlier debates and add a couple of suggestions.

Elliot Smith - Either/Or is my selection. XO is amazing, no doubt. But Either/Or is catchier as a whole, a much better starter album. Plus, as CMI stated, it has "Say Yes" and that is enough.

Modest Mouse - Lonesome Crowded West. I'm guessing someone who wants to get into Indie rock has listened to them. Their older stuff is an absolute must and this is the cream of it.

Pretty Girls Make Graves - Good Health. No reason, other than I am fascinated with this album. A little harder than most singer/songwriter material.

Arcade Fire - Funeral. I don't see how this isn't on everyone's list. Along with YFH, Illinois, and Aeroplane, I'd think this would be an almost universal choice.

Spoon has to be in there somewhere. I prefer Series of Sneaks if the Laffitte songs are included. Otherwise Kill the Moonlight is the choice.

I'll lay off of my New Pornographers and National fetishes for now because they are not really starter bands. Also, Radiohead should be considered above Indie status.

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry euro)
 

www.questionablecontent.net may have usable recommendations (and is a pretty damn good webcomic, too).

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

anyone,

Given this criteria name me 3 or 4 albums I might like and give me a few words on why. If it's possible.

Some favorite well known bands: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Doors, The Who, Cream, Deep Purple, ELP, Yes, King Crimson, Iron Maiden. I also like bluesy rock such as Eric Clapton's non-sucky solo stuff, Johnny Winter. I like well done guitar solos. Most rock from mid 60's to early 70's. I like progressive rock that isn't soft and wimpy.

Dislikes: Whiney stuff. Female vocales. Most modern acoustic focused music. Modern pop-ish music. "Goth"ish for lack of a better term. Rap. EMO MUST DIE. Anything remotely close to emo will make me hate you.

Help me if you can.

Re: Official Indie Starter Kit Thread (Calling all hipsters... sorry e
 

well, [censored]! I was gonna suggest sleater-kinney as that's probably the closest thing to anything bluesy or classic rock that I listen to, but it's got female vocals. also, they're one of my favorite bands.

[censored], I give up, most indie rock is really just [censored] masquerading as pop music to be honest.