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

[fluxrad]

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B) Whatever 'indie' means, its pretty clear that on this board there is a consensus (you, and perhaps a few others excluded)

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So let me get this straight. Based on the concensus reached by this forum.

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Death Cab For Cutie

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Indie includes bands on major labels.

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Pavement

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Indie includes bands on "independent" labels and albums 10+ years old.

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Surfjan Stevens

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Indie includes relatively obscure artists (prior to Illinois).

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Radiohead

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Indie includes bands that have sold more than ten copies of an album.

Ok. I got you now.

To the OP. I would highly recommend these Indie albums to get you started:

Led Zeppelin - IV.
Metallica - Black.
The Beatles - The White Album.
Dr. Dre - The Chronic.

[1800GAMBLER]

seems like everyone is going for the latest stuff, just before mainstream stuff, but not on an indie record label either. fair enough.

strokes - is this it should obviously be on this list for someone new. also missing stuff like white stripes - elephant, but probably not hipster enough.

acrade fire seems to be forgot about because the album is a year old.

you guys never ever meantion the arctic monkeys.

or the libertines.

Maximo Park are worth a meantion for the same reason.

shout out louds, and sigur ros

[CallMeIshmael]

You seem to be working under the assumption that your opinion on this matter is relevant. I assure you, it is not.

No. It is far more than a twoplustwo consensus. When major music institutions (if you so wish I will link you articles from rollingstone and spin, in addition to allmusic) begin to classify these bands as 'indie' you must realize that that is now the definition the word has taken on.

I get it. Indie kind of sounds like independent. Its cute. But, sadly, thats not what it means anymore.

More information on the blurred lines between indie and maintream can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_(music)

ie: The term "indie" is often used to mean a sound that a musician presents, but when interpreted more literally, it is the way that sound is presented or made. "Indie" often refers to an artist or band that is not part of the mainstream culture and/or making music outside its influence. Though the sound of these bands may differ greatly, the "indie" definition comes from the do-it-yourself attitude and ability to work outside large corporations.

[fluxrad]

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.

[thatpfunk]

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.

[Jack of Arcades]

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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.

[fluxrad]

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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.

[CallMeIshmael]

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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.

[Jack of Arcades]

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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.

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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.

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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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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).

[Soul Daddy]

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.