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[Equilibrius]

Hi everyone!

Aside from this being my first post in the Questionable Content forums, this is also my first forayee (I'm still working on on spelling and such, I got back from India a week ago and my English is horrid. Go Phonix!) into the 'indie music scene' or at least what I deem to be one.

Here's the deal: My boyfriend is big into indie music and Canadian bands in particular. Now before you all jump on the 'don't be a sop and adopt his music tastes' bandwagon I do have to say that I too quite like indie music. Or at least what I have heard from it. The only thing is is that I don't want to be nosey and ask my boyfriend all his favorite bands (I kinda sorta know most of them anyway, they just don't stick to my memory. All these indie band names are obscure and occassionally pretentious. Kinda a draw for me) just to get some names of groups to listen to. So here's what I'd like to ask of you: What bands interest you and what would you recommend to a person who's just coming into the scene?

Bands that I like so far mainly consist of Metric, Of Montreal, and Thievery Corporation. Some bands that I usually hear my boyfriend and friends talk about are Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire (I'm sure I've heard their stuff. They're huge in Canada), Death Cab.

The thing is is that my music tastes are pretty out there in terms of genre and artists that I listen to. To give you an example, I'll list some of my all time fav artists:
Robert Miles - (his evolution from calm dance/trance to Zombie-horror-movie soundtrack sound is fantastic. I don't know how to classify him. Stores say he's electronica)

Delerium - (a local Vancouver group that split up way back when. I only like Semantic Spaces and Karma. Everything else is much too pop-py)

Jane Monheit - I'll use her to explain my love of the Jazz ballad. She's not the only female singer I like, Ella Fitzgerald is classic, and some Diana Krall is decent enough. Other great names are Holly Cole and Molly Johnson. I'm into jazz. Not really the crazy, out-there, acid jazz, but good melodies that are explorable.

Esthero - she also comes off as more of a jazz thing, but with her latest cd (wikked lil girlz) she's become more pop, which I don't mind so much.

Air - Moon Safari being my only real dive into them. I like the airy-ness and smoothness of their sound. They also make great soundtracks.

Ilya - A band from Bristol, also known as San Ilya, I heard a snippet of their song in Revlon's make-up ads (don't laugh) and searched them out. Their album is an excellent James Bond intrigue style or seductive soiree sound.

Daft Punk - Da Funk for classic dance, Discovery for branching out in musicality, Human After All, erm... a bit too electronic, but some good songs. Robot Rock is fun.

Benny Benassi - I like dance music, but he best describes my tastes in it (As long as you stick to Pumphonia and Hypnotica as THE best albums he's done. I think he's losing his touch now. Cooking For Pump Kin album which he produced has some interesting DJ's)

Okay, so some of those names you will probably know and some you may not. Uh... this post has kinda of devolved from the original goal of introducing me to interesting indie artists to me talking about my own obscure musical tastes. Either way, if you guys have suggestions of music you think I might find interesting (or if you've heard of some of the groups I listen to and are ecstatic that someone else listens to them too and you want to gossip about them that's cool too. I don't know anyone who listens to my more obscure groups) please comment or say 'hi' below and I'll feel all cosy and loved!

And if you collectively reject me, that's cool too... I'll just lurk around for a bit.

Ian (Or Equilibrius. Your choice)

P.S. I read the rules for posting in this topic and I don't think I've violated any rules. Lemme know (quickly!) if I have. Thanks

[Kai]

You would totally like Impaled Nazarene.







Note: You would most definitely not like Impaled Nazarene unless you happen to have an odd streak of love for good old fashioned fucking awesome.


EDIT: I totally accidentially clicked submit. One a more serious note:
You might like Psychic TV or 23 Skidoo. Maybe.

[valley_parade]

Follow the Eighteenth Street Lounge trail from Thievery Corporation to Thunderball. They are 59 types of awesome.

[Kai]

If you like Air, you might like some of Brian Eno's stuff.

[Melodic]

I suggest blink-182, but they might be too indie for you.

..that wasn't a joke.

[est]

It is pretty much an imperative for me to suggest Ratatat.  I'm no musicologist, mind.  I don't really know how to explain them other than saying that it's relaxed & electronic.  I just know I like Air and Daft Punk and Benny Benassi and also like Ratatat, so suggesting it seems like the right thing.

[E. Spaceman]

More electronic:  Röyksopp

[valley_parade]

Yay Royksopp!

[Kid Modernist]

Man, I am so tired of people calling everything indie. IT IS NOT A GENRE. All it means is that a band is on an independant label.

I'm not saying this to be cool or "Yeah, I'm past careing about indie music." It's just selling yourself short because there is so much music out there that to confine yourself to what is popular (And get over it, "indie" is popular now, not obscure, not elitist, not an in crowd, they sell it at Wal Mart) is so retarded. Don't get into Indie, it is just another word for alternative which is now just another word for people with a lot of money making money of people with not a lot of money by selling them prepackaged SHIT.

It really sucks, because I know how useless this argument is, because 1) I probably am not making much sense. 2) Even if I do make sense, there are a hundred million people that will still talk about "INDIE MUSIC OMG" so I guess I should just relax and go with the flow till it passes like every other fad.

/rant I guess.

[Melodic]

Interesting point, Modernist. I think "indie" is used in the same sense as the word "pop" is: they split music down the middle, into bands or musical artists WITH major (or any) labels, and those with NO (or minor) labels.

"Indie" IS a classification of music, but it is NOT a genre. Same can be said for "pop", if in a much tighter sense.

If "indie" or "pop" were genres, they would have defined sounds, possibly defined lyrics, possibly defined images. This is certainly not true, as I've said before, because every major/famous band/artist could be labelled "pop", and every underground/unknown band could be labelled "indie". Even though Fall Out Boy and Nickleback sound completely different, they are both pop. Comprende?

Off the top of my head, the only comparison to the "indie/pop" classing is this one: we have video games, and we have board games. They are both kinds of games, but "video game" is not a genre of game, nor is "board game". "Role-Playing Game" is a genre of game.

Modernist, your rant was well-deserved. Thank you sir.

[Kai]

I think we should all just listen to the avant garde.



But that's just me.

[Cerulaetas]

Possibly my favorite indie band of all time: Eventide.  It's pretty simplistic stuff, nothing really in the way of virtuosic talent, but I think it sounds really great.  I linked to the free samples on their website for simplicity.

[jcknbl]

Man, I am so tired of people calling everything indie. IT IS NOT A GENRE.

Everyone knows this but no one is going to stop using the term. I've just given up. People go "Oh, so you listen to indie?" I just sigh and nod. Then I die a little on the inside.

Re: Recomendations.  This is really pissing me off now (not your fault Equilibrius). I spent a fair amount of time on that QC Rec thread and it needs to be stickied. http://forums.questionablecontent.net/viewtopic.php?t=10680


Use it guys, please.

Equil, look at the Recomendation thread and Jeph's page. Also, it sounds like your taste in music is a whole lot cooler than you boyfriends- though that might be because I don't know a lot of the artists you listed and because I know way too many people who like "indie" bands from Montreal. Speaking of Of Montreal (who aren't Canadian), that band is part of this music collective so if you like them you might as well check out the other bands that are/were part of that- the Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel and the Olivia Tremor Control (there are more, but those are the biggies).

I'm gonna go out on a crazy limb and say that you might really like the Books. Perhaps.

[TrueNeutral]

I recommend EElS.

Everybody likes EElS.

Everybody with a strong psyche, anyway.

Otherwise, don't get EElS. You might commit suicide.

[Der Golem]

I think we should all just listen to the avant garde.

[TrueNeutral]

Beeeeautiful Freak, beeeautiful freak!
If you want to get into Eels, start with Beatiful Freak.

Well, obviously. It's their first album (not counting E's solo stuff) and is probably the best place to get a feel for their way of songwriting.

If not Beautiful Freak, get Daisies of the Galaxy, because that album is actually mostly happen and has some really catchy songs (like I Like Birds and Flyswatter).

[McTaggart]

I think we should all just listen to the avant garde.

Point me in a direction, oh wise one, and I shall follow. Preferably the direction of a good starting point in the realm of the avant garde.

[Misereatur]

John Zorn.
Ornette Coleman.
Steve Reich (Modern Composer).
John Cage (Modern Composer).

Anyway, Air are amazing Electro-Pop. If you liked them you'll also like Telefon Tel Aviv.

[Slick]

Quick word(s) on 'indie':
No, indie is not a genre. There is much eye-rolling when people say I'm an indie hipster. Then again, I sometimes call myself an indie-rock hipster for simplicity.
Indie-rock/pop/folk/whatever is more like a genre, but possibly a redundant term. Iron & Wine isn't folk, it's indie-folk? [sarcasm]Does that make sense?[/sarcasm]

Though indie does not define a specific genre, I like music, and indie is music that isn't necessarily influenced by the 'mainstream' money making machine as much, and has fresh and interesting takes on sound. Hence I can say I'm into indie, because there's not much of it I dislike, and I'll listen to most of it's genres. I like indie because it says to me 'different', 'new', 'creative', 'fun', 'stimulating'.

So indie, no, not a genre, but yes, a good word for the music I like.

EDIT: Forgot to apply the sarcasm tags.

[Kid Modernist]

 I like indie because it says to me 'different', 'new', 'creative', 'fun', 'stimulating'.

So indie, no, not a genre, but yes, a good word for the music I like.

So what you're saying is "I like to put "indie" in front of things because it makes me feel better."

[Equilibrius]

Oooookay. I apologize, it's true, the 'indie' thing isn't a genre, it's the whole non-big-label deal. In a society that likes to keep things simple by using keywords, though, I kinda said it was Indie just because that's how it all appears to me. Hehe, it seems like I've tapped a nerve in some people though. Which is cool.

To clarify, my boyfriend is into rock, but not mainstream stuff. I'm more into dreamy/intrigue/fun-rock/musicality stuff. I was raised on classical music and still have an appreciation for groups and artists that try and branch out beyond the standard three chord progression chorus songs. Not that I don't mind simple stuff either. It's all context sensitive in the end.

As an update: I did check out Jeff's recommended listenings and I recognized a few artists that I'd either known myself or through my guy. I was having a bit of trouble loading up the recommendations thread but it seems to be working now and I shall mosey along selecting artists and songs at random to see what tickles my fancy (teehee! It tickles just to type that! ... Wow, how flambouyant was that?! Right... AHEM... back to the deep voice of reasoning). As a general rule for CD's I usually have to like 3 songs (or around a quarter of the album) in order to go purchase it. And I'm big about buying cd's of artists I like, so no worries about leeching here.

Why am I telling you (you being the ambiguous reader who could be anyone, but is actually, and specifically, you. I know you're reading this) this? Uh... because updates give closure and I'm hoping to impart a sense of my everywhere-yet-not personality. Why? Because I like to be endearing. Almost fanatically so...

Uh...

See you all at Sasquatch? D'yar!

Ian

[Rubby]

Why do you care so much? Really?
edit: That was directed at Kid Modernist.

Anyways, because of the Air reference, I'm going to tell you that you should listen to Talking Heads if you don’t already. I know that chances are you've heard the band, but you know, just in case.

[Slick]

So what you're saying is "I like to put "indie" in front of things because it makes me feel better."

Not quite, Mr. Modern, I try and avoid using the word indie to anyone who has an inkling of what it means. I was actually trying slight sarcasm with the Iron & Wine comment. I only use the word myself sarcastically or to someone who has no idea what I'm about and needs a buzzword for me.

Though I try and abstain from its usage myself, I've found when other people apply the indie tag, it's more likely to interest me, that's all. It's just as meaningless as the 'Alternative' genre of the 90's, but it can give a feel for kind of people are into it at least. Indie is just the best available word 'we' could grab that defines 'us'.

I'll try to stop taking myself and my music too seriously now though.

[Kai]

I think we should all just listen to the avant garde.

Point me in a direction, oh wise one, and I shall follow. Preferably the direction of a good starting point in the realm of the avant garde.

The Residents.
Zappa's earlier/composing work
Captain Beefheart
NURSE WITH WOUND
The Nurse With Wound list (http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ultimathule/nww/nwwlist.html)
Foetus


...shit, just look for my post in here, I made a nice list:

http://forums.questionablecontent.net/viewtopic.php?t=10673

[Slick]

Jane Monheit - I'll use her to explain my love of the Jazz ballad. She's not the only female singer I like, Ella Fitzgerald is classic, and some Diana Krall is decent enough. Other great names are Holly Cole and Molly Johnson. I'm into jazz.

Another great female vocalist is Leslie Feist, she's got a great solo album out there. Lovely voice, I've yet to show her music to someone who doesn't like it. My mom, dad, and punk-ass little brother all like her. Universal appeal to musicians.
Also, I don't know if this is in the other thread, but whereas you've mentioned indie, metric, and canada, so I can not stress enough Broken Social Scene. Their latest self titled is ridiculously densely amazing music, You Forgot It In People is also an amazing album, and I still haven't found a copy of their other album, but yes, they are what you need.

[Merkava]

Man, I am so tired of people calling everything indie. IT IS NOT A GENRE. All it means is that a band is on an independant label.

I'm not saying this to be cool or "Yeah, I'm past careing about indie music." It's just selling yourself short because there is so much music out there that to confine yourself to what is popular (And get over it, "indie" is popular now, not obscure, not elitist, not an in crowd, they sell it at Wal Mart) is so retarded. Don't get into Indie, it is just another word for alternative which is now just another word for people with a lot of money making money of people with not a lot of money by selling them prepackaged SHIT.

It really sucks, because I know how useless this argument is, because 1) I probably am not making much sense. 2) Even if I do make sense, there are a hundred million people that will still talk about "INDIE MUSIC OMG" so I guess I should just relax and go with the flow till it passes like every other fad.

/rant I guess.

I always thought of Indie as the sound and underground as the status. When I listen to bands within the indie "genre", they sound simmilar to eachother, but seperate from other styles of rock. Pavement doesn't sound like, say, Pearl Jam or Blink-182, and neither do bands like Built to Spill or Modest Mouse or Sonic Youth.

Sorry for the off topicness.

[KharBevNor]

Combine the female vocalists and the jazz and the avant-garde!

Diamanda Galas is the way forward!

You cannot argue with 'The Singer' (best rendition of Gloomy Sunday I've ever heard) or 'Plague Mass'.

[Filk]

Quick word(s) on 'indie':
No, indie is not a genre. There is much eye-rolling when people say I'm an indie hipster. Then again, I sometimes call myself an indie-rock hipster for simplicity.
Indie-rock/pop/folk/whatever is more like a genre, but possibly a redundant term. Iron & Wine isn't folk, it's indie-folk? [sarcasm]Does that make sense?[/sarcasm]

Have you ever wondered why there's no such thing as indie-rap, indie-punk or indie-metal even though there's plenty of bands who fit the criteria of being 'different', 'new', 'creative', 'fun', 'stimulating' and don't get signed by big labels?
That's because indie, while technically not being a genre, has developed a defined sound. When i hear indie-rock i already have a vague idea what the band is going to sound like.

[KharBevNor]

I hear the term indie rap bandied about quite a lot, almost all punk that actually deserves the name is 'indie' anyway (to the point where it is better to point out the exceptions, ie pop-punk) and metal is either metal or not metal. If something is actually metal (which a lot of 'non indie' metal isn't, ie nu-metal) then it will normally be judged by its merits, not its record label. Metalheads care not whether a band is a multi-platinum selling act on a  major label (ie Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden) or runs its own record label, releases 666 hand-numbered copies of each album and presses its vinyl in the bassists garage, as long as it's good, which makes the idea of indie or non indie metal somewhat pointless.

In some genres, such as most old-school industrial and post-industrial stuff, everyone is indie, so the distinction is moot.

[Johnny C]

Indie rap exists, actually. And "punk" already should connote "indie" - if we have to at all insert something declaring individuality, creativity and DIY-ness next to "punk" then something is terribly wrong. Last, I don't know about indie-metal, but there's like art-metal and shit out there. Indie kids seem to like that.

Also: You may like some of Bjork's more electronic stuff. Maybe. I don't know. And I'm not sure about p:ano but you might like them.

[Kai]

Course, what you silly kids call art metal isn't very arty. At least from what I've heard referred to it. Say, Pelican. They are totally not art metal. People totally should not refer to them like that (at least two people I know. So.)

[jcknbl]

That's because indie, while technically not being a genre, has developed a defined sound. When i hear indie-rock i already have a vague idea what the band is going to sound like.

What common feature does the word indie signify when its used to describe bands as disparate as Death Cab for Cutie, Lightning Bolt, the Fiery Furnaces, the Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel, Deerhoof, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pavement, Wilco, Sleater-Kinney, Sunny Day Real Estate, My Bloody Valentine, and At The Drive-In?

[KharBevNor]

I can think of better words to describe half those bands.  

Besides which, a lot of them share the same sort of aesthetic. I mean, you should see some of the stuff that gets lumped together as 'gothic' music. And I'm just talking the stuff that actually has a claim to the title.

[Johnny C]

Course, what you silly kids call art metal isn't very arty. At least from what I've heard referred to it. Say, Pelican. They are totally not art metal. People totally should not refer to them like that (at least two people I know. So.)

I consider art metal to be metal with a decidedly artistic intent, and yes that DOES refer to certain bands. One, if Pelican isn't art-metal, with their double kick drums, machine-gun riffs, and drop-tuned guitars combined with ambient soundscapes, what are they? And secondly, Sunn-O))), Isis and Khanate, for example, fall under the "art-metal" banner. And third, artists can be classified as more than one genre. And fourth, before you launch Fantomas or anything at me, "art" is not synonymous with "confusing and alienating."

POW, mothafucka.

Oh, and good points, Khar. I posted at such a time as to exactly miss your post which says kind of similar things to mine except you understand metal better. SHEEPISH LOOK!

And I totally forgot to include this in my last post: Semantics is a crappy game, everyone. Try Katamari instead.

EDIT: Dammit, Khar.

[Kai]

Pelican I've always called sludge metal, because that is way more descriptive of what they are. Sunn-O))) are most certainly doom metal, albiet very heavy and droneish.  Isis... post metalish, I guess, although that's not a very good term. I love all these bands, just for simplicity sake I keep them out of the art metal genre. And I'm very well aware art isn't synonymous with "confusing and alienating". I'm just considering it pretty much the metal vesion of what people call art rock: The Mothers, Can, Amon Duul, etc.



Although you do put up a nice point when you bring up there artistic intent, I personally would quicker classify them by their sound than the intent. And looking back on it, you could lump them into Art Metal.

[KharBevNor]

I just generally dislike the banner art-metal, because it either means nothing,  or it means whatever metal bands are hip, or it is synonymous with post-metal, or it means every metal band whose main intention is to create art of whatever form and not entertain, which must be a good half of all metal bands, covering everything from Kayo Dot to Edge of Sanity by way of ...And Oceans and Dark Tranquillity. If there is a better genre to describe a band, just use it I say. And I say this as someone who fully subscribes to genres like cybermetal and forest metal.

[pat101]

I think we should all just listen to the avant garde.



But that's just me.

fuck yeah

[Kai]

Oh shit, there's like three or four of us.



Let's make a club.



With club sandwhiches.



"I like sprouts on my sandwhiches."
"Well then you're out of the fucking club!"


This is a very disjointed post.

[Storm Rider]

Course, what you silly kids call art metal isn't very arty. At least from what I've heard referred to it. Say, Pelican. They are totally not art metal. People totally should not refer to them like that (at least two people I know. So.)

I consider art metal to be metal with a decidedly artistic intent, and yes that DOES refer to certain bands. One, if Pelican isn't art-metal, with their double kick drums, machine-gun riffs, and drop-tuned guitars combined with ambient soundscapes, what are they? And secondly, Sunn-O))), Isis and Khanate, for example, fall under the "art-metal" banner. And third, artists can be classified as more than one genre. And fourth, before you launch Fantomas or anything at me, "art" is not synonymous with "confusing and alienating."

POW, mothafucka.

So you're suggesting something has to be ambient to be arty? That doesn't really make any sense to me. And by your definition of Pelican, I could call later-era Death, with their inclusion of Spanish acoustic interludes, jazz phrasing and so on, 'art metal'.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a jackass. I love Isis and have a casual interest in Pelican and Sunn-O))) (though their name is a pain in the ass), but I'm not understanding your distinction.

[Kid Modernist]

Why do you care so much? Really?
edit: That was directed at Kid Modernist.

People debating? .... On the internert?

I don't know that seems like a weird thing to say. It's not like I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, or repeating myself again and again. I made my argument and so on. "Why do you care so much?" sounds like a copout.

[Cernunnos]

by avant garde, what bands do you mean, kai? i am very curious about this stuff.

[Rubby]

Why do you care so much? Really?
edit: That was directed at Kid Modernist.

People debating? .... On the internert?

I don't know that seems like a weird thing to say. It's not like I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, or repeating myself again and again. I made my argument and so on. "Why do you care so much?" sounds like a copout.

It is a cop-out. This has all gotten so ridiculous; I really don’t see the point in trying to challenge someone’s viewpoint in regards to the subject. The topic’s been beaten to death 20 or 30 time now.

[Kai]

by avant garde, what bands do you mean, kai? i am very curious about this stuff.

I made a nice little list to start out with here:
http://forums.questionablecontent.net/viewtopic.php?t=10673&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=50

Also, The Nurse With Wound List is a pretty good list.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ultimathule/nww/nwwlist.html

[Johnny C]

So you're suggesting something has to be ambient to be arty?

...I'm not understanding your distinction.

I'm pretty sure (though I unfortunately can't source for you, given that I don't recall the exact quotes) that the bands listed have all declared a specific intent to venture into unexplored avenues of metal and find art therein - as opposed to, say, someone who just wants their riffs to eat you, or enjoys proclaming your doom for the sheer giddy rush of it all. Hence, I consider those bands "art-metal." I hope that clears things up.

And if you want to consider later-era Death art-metal, if the shoe fits, shove it up a non-krieg's ass.

[Storm Rider]

I wasn't trying to discredit you with that example, I just wasn't sure how exactly it applied to the situation.

Really, I think art-metal is sorta like speed metal: while you can argue it has definite characteristics, it's generally not as good of a way to describe a band as more conventional terms.

[Johnny C]

There was no offence taken or anything; I just would have saved myself the trouble if I'd given what I defined "art-metal" in the first place. The general consensus seems to be that "art-metal" isn't a great genre statement. I'm a metal neophyte, mostly, so my mental classification of "art-metal" isn't useful to everyone, I suppose.

I think we got derailed. Anything to recommend at Equilibrius?