Indie rock

Indie rock
Stylistic origins	Alternative rock, post-punk, new wave
Cultural origins	Early 1980s, United Kingdom, United States and Canada
Typical instruments	Guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, vocals
Subgenres
Garage punk, riot grrrl, twee pop, emo, grindie, post-punk revival, noise pop, dance-punk, New Weird America, Baroque pop, garage rock revival, lo-fi, sadcore, C86, math rock, shoegazing
Fusion genres
Indie pop – Indie folk
Regional scenes
Largely global, England – Ireland – Scotland – Wales – USA – Canada – Sweden – Japan
Other topics
Timeline of alternative rock, DIY ethic

Indie rock is a commonly used tag for rock music that is produced either by small, independent record labels, or by the artists themselves. The idea of rock music made independent of the major label establishment first started to gain prominence in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Although it is often thought of or discussed as if it were a genre of music, it is instead simply a term used to describe the means of production and distribution of independent underground music. Indie rock artists are known for placing a premium on maintaining complete control of their music and careers, releasing albums on independent record labels (sometimes self-owned and operated) and relying on touring, word-of-mouth, airplay on independent or college radio stations and, in recent years, the Internet for promotion. Musicians classified as "indie rock" are typically signed to independent record labels, rather than major record labels, although there are many examples of indie musicians switching to major labels mid-career. This practice blurs the lines between indie and mainstream music and is often the subject of debate amongst fans. Indeed, some bands that have spent most of their careers on major labels are still occasionally (and inaccurately) referred to by the press or fans as "indie rock."

History

Early roots

The roots of modern indie rock are often traced back to The Velvet Underground's self-titled debut album, released in 1967, which was ranked #7 on Blender's list of the 100 greatest indie rock albums. Allmusic notes that every "left-of-center rock movement owes an audible debt" to this album. The Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds is also commonly listed as a highly influential starting point, as are the 1960s concept albums of the Kinks. Later, the punk movement of the 1970s had a direct impact on the DIY aesthetic that later became a cornerstone of indie rock.

1980s

In the 1980s, the term alternative rock was more or less synonymous with indie rock.

In the United Kingdom, indie music charts have been compiled since the early 1980s. Initially, the charts featured bands that emerged with a form of guitar-based alternative rock that dominated the indie charts, particularly indie pop artists such as Aztec Camera, Josef K, Orange Juice, the C86 indie-pop movement and the twee pop of Sarah Records artists. Some definitive British indie rock bands of the 1980s were The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure whose music directly influenced 1990s alternative rock movements such as shoegazing and Britpop.

In the United States, the term "indie rock" was particularly associated with the abrasive, distortion-heavy sounds of Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr. and The Replacements

A number of prominent indie rock record labels were founded during the 1980s. These include Washington, DC's Dischord Records in 1980, Seattle's Sub Pop Records in 1986 and New York City's Matador Records and Durham, North Carolina's Merge Records in 1989. Chicago's Touch and Go Records was founded as a fanzine in 1979 and began to release records during the 1980s.

1990s

Pavement singer/guitarist Steve Malkmus

The 1990s brought major changes to the alternative rock scene. Grunge bands such as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream, achieving commercial chart success and widespread exposure. Punk revival bands like Green Day and The Offspring also became popular and were grouped under the "alternative" umbrella. The meaning of the term "alternative" changed as mainstream success attracted major-label investment and commercially-oriented or manufactured acts with a formulaic, conservative approach. With this, "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning and began to refer to the new form of music that was now achieving mainstream success. The term "indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained underground.

The 1990s saw the emergence of several defining movements within indie rock. The lo-fi movement was spearheaded by Elliott Smith, Pavement, Guided by Voices, Neutral Milk Hotel and several bands associated with the Elephant 6 Recording Company such as Of Montreal. It placed a premium on simplistic recording techniques (including home recording), ironic detachment, and disinterest in "selling out" to the mainstream alternative rock scene.

The emo movement, which had grown out of the hardcore punk scene in the 1980s with bands like Rites of Spring, gained popularity as the 1990s progressed. Sunny Day Real Estate, The Promise Ring, The Get Up Kids and others brought a more melodic sound to the genre. Weezer's Pinkerton introduced the genre to a wider and more mainstream audience. Years later, the term "emo" would be applied to a wider variety of more mainstream bands by the music press.

Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock and Slint's Spiderland, provided the catalyst for the development of post-rock and math rock. Post-rock, an experimental style influenced by jazz and electronic music, became recognized as a genre as Tortoise and their Chicago peers gained a national following in the middle part of the decade. Math rock shares similar experimental aesthetics, but is generally denser and more abrasive. Don Caballero, Chavez and others contributed to its rise in popularity during the 1990s.

See also

• Independent music
• List of indie rock artists
• The R3-30
• Underground music

External links

• Indie Hoy - Indie Rock
• The Decade in Indie by Nitsuh Abebe for Pitchfork Media September 16, 2009
• Allmusic - Indie Rock
• Indie Rock Cafe