I seem to have completely missed the whole “indie rock” or “indie music” boat. I don’t even know if the terms are supposed to refer to an actual genre of music or just to any band not signed to a major label. What are examples of “indie” groups? What do they sound like?
"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed" – Blaise Pascal
4 responses to “Another example of my lameness”
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Not signed to a major label is about right, although indie sometimes ends up being signed to a major label. Try Radiohead for an example of indie gone major, or The Flaming Lips, or Sufjan Stevens, to name a few.
Indie music is like indie film, same kinds of themese apply. It’s like the difference between fiction and literature.
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I think “Indie” is just a measure of pretentiousness
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I don’t think that’s true, dan. In this case it’s a measure of its not getting much radio play or promotion from a major label. Often that’s because of the sort of music it is, true–but that has much less to do with pretention and much more to do with what isn’t the big thing in the mass market right now (that is, not appealing to 14 year olds).
The recording industry is at this point promoting as narrow a range of acts as has ever been the case (just a few sure things they promote the hell out of). Simultaneously, the economic value of recorded music has crashed, due to the ease of digital duplication (a given recording is less and less a scarce good), and cheaper technology has made recording processes more accessible.
In short, the indie music scene is a consequence of the slow death of the major studio recording industry.
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I agree that in traditional sense Indie means not being involved with a major record label, and doesn’t get the behemoth of BMG or some other company to promote their new record.
But now, that is not the primary usage. A band will say that they are “indie”, just to prove that they haven’t sold out, when in fact they have. The word has been corrupted by screaming little EMO bands trying to get on TRL claiming that they are indie.
A Thinking Reed 
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