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Indie (culture)

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Indie, an abbreviation of independent, is a term regarding a trend seen in music, film, business and subculture originating in the late 20th century. The most general definition of the word is to be independent from the mainstream. Today, the word is most often associated with the subculture which is defined by its associated music, fashion, behavior and beliefs.

Overview

Indie culture is an avant-garde lifestyle which follows underground social trends with which is considered to consciously deviate from the mainstream of society and culture. One common belief in indie culture is in the virtue of anti-conformity.

The major influence for the indie culture came out of the support and interest of independent music groups, associated with the do-it-yourself approach to the arts. This continues as many followers of the indie culture today are still often associated with the local independent art and music scenes, especially college radio.

Since its emergence sometime in the 1980's, inscreasing numbers of youths have been drawn to the beliefs and trends of indie culture. Like many underground cultures before it, the indie culture ultimately expanded to become a part of mainstream youth culture, in some ways amounting to the very conformist status that it initially rejected.

Music

Main article: Indie music

As a main influence on the indie culture, indie music became a driving catalyst which was shaped by many indie artists and music scenes.

The Seattle music scene became one such setting during the early 1990s, when bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and The Screaming Trees had immense success. Bands such as Pixies and Sonic Youth, who were not given as much mainstream credibility up to this point, found themselves adored by new fans, assembling a strong indie following.

New York City, notably Williamsburg, Brooklyn, also became a major scene for indie rock music with such bands as The Walkmen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, They Might Be Giants and The Strokes.

Los Angeles' indie scene rides the wave of gentrification through Eastside neighborhoods like Los Feliz, Silverlake, and Echo Park, which have given rise to such bands as Moving Units, Autolux, Shiny Toy Guns, Earlimart, and Giant Drag.

Britain's Indie music scene can be traced back to the early 1960's with the emergence of rock'n'roll bands like The Who, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones, which greatly influenced the many bands who dominated the Indie music scene in the 1990's with Brit Pop bands such as Blur, and Ocean Colour Scene. Some particularly popular indie groups of more recent times include Belle & Sebastian, The Shins, and The Decemberists.

Film

Main article: Indie film

Like the indie music scene, independent films are an art form produced without the funding, and thus adjustment, from a major movie studio, which thus allows appreciative fans to discover purer or more avant-garde qualities within the movies.

Example of indie films:

Fashion

A key characteristic of clothing trends within the modern indie culture is focus on uniqueness and individuality [1], which is often achieved by appealing to fashion trends associated with music from the 1970s (rock, punk and country) and 1980s (New Wave). Common clothing items include band t-shirts, vintage clothing, skinny jeans, and Converse shoes. Brand labels are often rejected as an exemplification of mainstream culture, and several small companies cater to the indie style, including Tourist Attraction, Artus and Fullbleed [2].

Recent status

In the last decade, the indie culture has had many major cross-overs with other former subcultures, including Alternative, Artsy, Neo-Hippies, Emo, Grungers and Mods. However, many indie followers are offended that such links are made between the indie subculture and some of those listed above, including Emo because of their differing philosophies and Emo's links to mainstream culture[3].

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Merely Human (April 23, 2006). ""Emo Fashion Whores, Check Out These Bitchin' Shoes"" (blog). Retrieved June 30, 2006. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ Indie Clothing Blog
  3. ^ Xanga blogring, "That "Indie is not emo" blogring is full of emos."
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