The word itself conjures up images of Toms, hoodies, and late nights searching the internet for that next big (but hopefully not TOO big) artist that you can tell all your friends about.
It's a tight rope that these artists and their underground followings walk.
You're 15, you listen to Bob Dylan, you pick up a guitar, you write some songs, you go to college, you drop out, you get inspired, you record an album without a record label, and you wait for those music stalkers to find you.
Maybe lots of them find you, and pretty soon you've got that record label. You go in to a real recording studio (the garage doesn't work anymore), you record an album, and then your fans complain that it's too produced, that you've lost your inspiration, that you've sold out, and that you've let them down.
Likewise, these indie singer-songwriter fans walk on thin ice.
"Hey, have you heard singer-songwriter X?"
"No, is he good?"
"So good. I listened to his new album 7 times straight last night while I made sketches in my moleskine and read Kurt Vonnegut...You should check it out. It only has 5 album reviews on iTunes so no one really knows about him yet. And besides, like half the songs have numbers or parenthetical clauses in their titles, which automatically makes them cool." (Note: has anyone noticed this trend? See Arcade Fire, "Neighborhood #1,2,3,4", which have their respective parenthetical names)
"Dude I'll definitely check out singer-songwriter X then."
(2 months later)
"Hey man, what did you think of X's album?"
"Dude I loved it. Like 2 days after I listened to it, he was the iTunes single of the week. There are like 95 album reviews now. All my friends love him now, too."
"What?? Are you serious? How many of them did you tell??? Dang, man. He's just not that cool anymore. Let me guess, he's probably about to sign with a record label too."
"Yeah, actually he is...or at least that's what pitchfork.com says."
"Sell-out. I'm over him."
I've seen this happen too many times...Too many times, I've done it myself. It's hilarious, really, and that being said, I move on to part 2 of this post.
Bon Iver, indie singer-songwriter Justin Vernon's current band, broke out into the indie scene in February 2008, and has since lived the life of indie paradise.
Songs on One Tree Hill and numerous other primetime television series, great review by Uncut and other music publications, "8th most listened-to artist on Last.fm in the year 2008", how could this guy ask for more?
In the last month, I can't really ask for more either. I've listened to this album circa 25 times, and I've probably sketched in my moleskine while doing so. Initially, you like "Skinny Love"and you think it's cool that he wrote the album while spending the winter alone in a cabin.
But then, if you're anything like me (which hopefully you're not), you can't stop listening to this 9 song, 39 minute masterpiece.
It's beautiful, it's haunting, and it's short enough that it always leaves you wanting more. The orchestral intro to "Lump Sum", the sudden bursts of emotion in "Creature Fear", the last 20 seconds of "Blindsided"--it's almost not even fair how good it is.
It's beautiful, it's haunting, and it's short enough that it always leaves you wanting more. The orchestral intro to "Lump Sum", the sudden bursts of emotion in "Creature Fear", the last 20 seconds of "Blindsided"--it's almost not even fair how good it is.
The sign of a masterpiece is that it never gets old. At this rate, "For Emma..." is on it's way.
And so, one night this past summer, three of this blog's contributers sat in a room and listened to this album straight through more than once, and talked about the finer things in life and pretended like they were really indie.
If you read this blog, and you haven't heard this album, buy it.
But whatever you do, don't tell your friends about it, or Vernon and Co. will get that record label and self-destruct.
And so, one night this past summer, three of this blog's contributers sat in a room and listened to this album straight through more than once, and talked about the finer things in life and pretended like they were really indie.
If you read this blog, and you haven't heard this album, buy it.
But whatever you do, don't tell your friends about it, or Vernon and Co. will get that record label and self-destruct.
Indie.
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