SoYouWanna fake being an indie rock expert?
So I read this article and found it pretty amusing, of course, because I’m not an indie rock snob. However, it’s Galaxie 500, not Galaxy 500. Alternative Press is a start, but the best magazine is CMJ New Music Monthly (includes a free CD!) although they had some serious issues with keeping issues coming out timely to subscribers and I didn’t renew. There’s a good run-down of labels, but I also recommend Emperor Norton and Dedicated. (While not necessarily indie-rock, Crippled Dick Hot Wax and the now-defunct Grand Royal are also worth a look.) There also could have been a brief list of subgenres.
And I don’t really like Sonic Youth, so you can just ignore me. I might just be a shoegazer-listenin’ poseur.
Ok, so like, I’ve got the high-mileage car (300,000 miles and counting), the slovenly looks, the history (my music collection includes Velvet Underground and Camper Van Beethoven), but I still just don’t get it.
The ’80s “indie” rock scene (we called it “alternative” then because that actually meant something), was more populated by the likes of Black Flag, the Lemonheads, the Surf Punks, the Dead Kennedys, Nina Hagen, Siouxsie and the Banshees. U2 was on MTV in the early ’80s, for goodness’ sake. Now I like U2, but how can the Indie Rock Faker site claim that they were ever indie?
Try playing Tom Waits to a classroom full of 18 year-olds and see what happens. Or the Velvet Underground for that matter. Indie rock is a myth, no matter the label. After all, if it’s mere independence that does it, most bluegrass bands are “indie.” If you want to be really alternative, listen to John Cage or Arnold Schoenberg. . .