Dave Meltzer
Banned
Indie is my favourite type of guitar music.
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GAF, let's talk about Indie Rock music!
- Thread starter Blood Diamonds
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Casanova
Member
Hmm, that's odd, a friend of mine showed me this band about a moth ago I guess.. I just gave the song Texas another listen and I was pretty impressed. Fairly catchy and they have some witty lyrics but they also have some cliche lyrics and that drumbeat is humdrum to say the least. Impressive though, overall.
storafötter
Member
Ah I see what you mean. Yeh the definition 'Indie' for the non independent bands seems strange.
Link us to your blog, might be a cool read
Yeah I wasnt trying to down-write bands that are indie. Bandcamp is a god sent for small bands trying to get recognition. In the past I used myspace to discover new bands as it was a viable platform for such 10 years ago, but today I haven't browsed much Bandcamp unfortunately.
I could share my music blog but unfortunately I left it to die 3 years ago as I got lazy to update it. So quite outdated!
Heres some songs that that might fit this thread.
Melody Echo Chamber - I follow you
Tennis - Never To Part
Girls - My Ma
Me too in general. It is all about the instruments and vocals style for me.
Davey Cakes
Member
I can tolerate them when they're nonsense, and I can tolerate them when they're simple (as long as the surrounding music is good).
That said, vocals that have subtleties or tell stories are certainly welcome. One of the reasons I really don't like pop music is because the vocals aren't just "bad" necessarily," but they're plain and straightforward and beat you over the head with simple ideas and no subtlety. They lack metaphoric content, and when they have it it's not done particularly well.
Indies aren't free from bad lyrics though. They also aren't free from having boring, non-compelling music.
I need to add that I'm not really into "Twee" music. That's one of my recent "this bores me to death" genres. The new Veronica Falls album was forgettable in every sense of the word.
HalfBakedProphet
Member
I think Highly Refined Pirates is far and away their best album. By your metric, they "peaked" with their first LP.
OMNI just wasn't my cup of tea. It's cool they tried to go in a different direction but I just don't think it worked. Infinity Overhead, however, had some genuinely great songs. Not their best but the definitely got back on track
Alcotholic
Banned
Some good 'ol scottish indie rock:
Frightened Rabbit- The Woodpile
Saw them live, they were amazing.
And if you dont know them already:
Grizzly Bear- Yet Again
Frightened Rabbit- The Woodpile
Saw them live, they were amazing.
And if you dont know them already:
Grizzly Bear- Yet Again
Davey Cakes
Member
My first exposure to Grizzly Bear was when they were the opening act for Radiohead. I think that was before Veckatimest. They're pretty good.
While we're on the subject, are Radiohead considered "indie" or are they more just "internet popular." I know they're big but you only hear a couple of choice songs from the 90's on the radio.
While we're on the subject, are Radiohead considered "indie" or are they more just "internet popular." I know they're big but you only hear a couple of choice songs from the 90's on the radio.
Nope I'm serious. The lyrics pretty much go in one ear and out the other. I don't really pay attention to them or think about them. I memorize them sometimes but thats just natural when you listen to the melodies/verses/choruses over and over. I need good melodies really. Vocally and musically (riffs/etc). Dylan is like the only thing where I sit and really pay attention to the lyrics. Floyd too (The Final Cut is a beautiful album...literally carried by its lyrics and Waters).
Alcotholic
Banned
Indie is just defined by the record label. They are signed onto Capitol and Parlophone, so they are now just "Alternative".
For instance, unless its hilariously stupid lyrics don't really count at all into how I view a band/song/album/etc. They don't really concern me 99% of the time. No exaggeration.
Like, on the new Major Lazer album this chick raps/sings "I can feel your Wiki Leak I can feel your Wiki Leak" (sex reference) and its so freaking dumb that it stands out for me. Thats about it though.
Like, on the new Major Lazer album this chick raps/sings "I can feel your Wiki Leak I can feel your Wiki Leak" (sex reference) and its so freaking dumb that it stands out for me. Thats about it though.
Davey Cakes
Member
Yeah, it's another one of those issues of indie as a label vs. indie as a mindset.
I disagree. Label have a lot to do with it, yes, but There is definitely something that can be recognised as an ''indie sound'', heck, there are a lot of Metal bands that are part of an indie label and I wouldn't call them indie bands.
Alternative is a genre as well as being an underground act.
Casanova
Member
That's unfortunate, I know some lyrics that tell an entire story in a single line - an amazing story - in just a single line. To basically be calling those lyrics irrelevant is like shunning Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Dickens, Vonnegut, or Orwell.. Some lyricists deserve respect as a great writer and storyteller..
My favorite lyricist is John Darnielle from The Mountain Goats and if you haven't heard them, you should and actually listen to the lyrics.
A good lyricist will use accompanied instrumentals to make the whole song come together. Lyrics are half the battle, in most cases.
Explosions in the Sky is the only band that I can listen to and not have the courtesy of listening to their lyrics.. and that's because there are none.. except for one song I think..
I can ignore bad lyrics, but usually if a band has bad lyrics their music is pretty bad too. A good writer is clever and creative - capable of being a good artist and writing good pure music and good lyrics. I can jam on a guitar and produce emotions, rythym, beats -music- but it's the lyrics that tell my story.
It is your opinion and I respect that, but you ARE missing out on some great stories by ignoring lyrics.
Alcotholic
Banned
True. I mostly got the definition from Wikipedia. But I find "Indie" to be the new "Alternative". "Alternative" just feels very 90's to me for some reason.
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