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Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: Alternative_Pixie on 28 Jun 2008, 12:26
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Yeah, so I know hardly any indie bands and I'm sick to death of listening to what everyone else is listening to. It's all so... samey. I know one or two indie bands, i.e. The Postal Service, Idlewild, Radiohead, Feist, John Frusciante... but I need more, and to know where to actually get their music. I live in the UK if that helps.
Save me from society!!
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merzbow is the most indie band ever
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Los Campesinos! are the Best Band.
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Kai is right. Also, Lightning Bolt. Indie as fuck. Put on some headphones, crank the volume, and enjoy the tunes.
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Check out Times New Viking. They're amazing.
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SUNSET RUBDOWN is the best band ever.
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check out stuntrock. Oh yeah, and masonna is some pretty cool indie-pop. See whether you can pick up their split with cecil taylor.
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Melt Banana
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Firewater by Silkworm.
Listen to it right now.
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start with Nirvana
go from there
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Melt Banana
Get the splits with Three Studies For A Crucifixion and Narcosis and you'll be sorted.
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Yeah, so I know hardly any indie bands and I'm sick to death of listening to what everyone else is listening to.
Sounds fair. We will help you!
I know one or two indie bands, i.e. The Postal Service, Idlewild, Radiohead, Feist, John Frusciante...
Okay. I guess one or two of those could be described as 'indie'.
but I need more, and to know where to actually get their music. I live in the UK if that helps.
Well, first thing you need to do is lose this idea that you seem to have about what 'indie' music is. A lot of people are going to tell you a lot of different things. "Indie" means independent, plain and simple. That is the simplest definition, and probably the best. You've probably realised that 'indie' is a word used to describe the ethics of a band, or the way they practice business more than anything. The 'indie scene' is filled with variety. More variety in style and substance than you'll find on all of the majors combined. When you think about it like that, it makes one or two 'stab in the dark' recommendations seem a bit silly, doesn't it?
It's really simple to get into 'indie' music. You just find music that isn't distributed by major labels or their minion labels. That said, you sound pretty clueless. A common practice these days is to trawl music blogs, as the vast majority of music blogs these days seem to specialise in indie music. You'll find a million blogs like this by throwing search terms into google or blogger like "independent music blog". Start attending local gigs of small time bands, pick up flyers, hang around on myspace, check out small record labels, all that jazz.
start with Nirvana
go from there
I think this is actually great advice. Start with Nirvana, work backwards through bands that Kurt paid lip service to. Say what you will about his own music, but his influences were great.
I won't give you any recommendations, everybody else here will do that for you. I will say this, and if you take anything away from this thread, let it be this...
Indie music is the same as all the other music. It's just cheaper. I think you're gonna be okay.
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Firewater by Silkworm.
Also, the following:
Jawbox- For Your Own Special Sweetheart
The Dismemberment Plan- Emergency And I
Also, you're from the UK. Despite your country's great contributions to music in general (and there are tons), your only exposure to "indie" probably has to do with the fucking shit the NME hawks as such. (Forgive me if I'm being presumptuous.)
As far as Sox's suggestions go, they're great, especially the Nirvana one. Follow them to a T.
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Los Campesinos! are the Best Band.
This.
Also, try I Was A Cub Scout. They've technically split up now, but they are/were an awesome UK band, in the vein of tps but quite a lot better at it.
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While I'm dispensing good advice...
Follow Sox's advice to a T.
Don't listen to this, that's pretty bad advice.
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Firewater by Silkworm.
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re: Indie - Don't listen to what anybody says. If you're serious enough about it, you'll start to get the gist of it... Actually, you just end up not caring anymore.
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I think the problem is that here in the UK, the term indie music keeps being used to refer to new bands that sound like the Libertines or the Arctic Monkeys. Hardly any of them are actually independent, but a lot of people now seem to think that indie is actually a genre. I blame the NME ¬_¬
Some bands you might like: Pavement, Guided by Voices, Pixies, the Olivia Tremor Control.
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I'm sick to death of listening to what everyone else is listening to.
Listen to the Silver Jews.
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What happened to when we used to tell everyone to listen to Jets To Brazil and Ted Leo?
LISTEN TO JETS TO BRAZIL. AND LISTEN TO TED LEO.
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man if you can't dig Nirvana and the surrounding music, than you might as well not even try
seriously, my advice is the best
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Libertine by Silkworm.
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I'm sick to death of listening to what everyone else is listening to.
Listen to the Silver Jews.
This was going to be my exact fucking answer, fuck you
(<3)
Alternatively, listen to Spiritualized. Do it, you won't
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I think the problem is that here in the UK, the term indie music keeps being used to refer to new bands that sound like the Libertines or the Arctic Monkeys. Hardly any of them are actually independent, but a lot of people now seem to think that indie is actually a genre. I blame the NME ¬_¬
Some bands you might like: Pavement, Guided by Voices, Pixies, the Olivia Tremor Control.
THIS.
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mission of burma
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Honestly, you could just buy this book (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Band_Could_Be_Your_Life) and it will help you enormously.
Also, Silkworm.
seconded, it's amazing
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What happened to when we used to tell everyone to listen to Jets To Brazil and Ted Leo?
LISTEN TO JETS TO BRAZIL. AND LISTEN TO TED LEO.
That used to be my exact listening diet my sophomore year in high school. It is a good combo.
To reiterate, Silkworm.
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Listen to no music altogether for a month. Then, work backwards from Jay-Z.
Also, when I first saw this thread I thought you meant me.
Also, the mediafire thread could be your best friend. Check it out.
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Forget everything in this thread, just start with Neil Young.
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Ever read Drowned in Sound (http://www.drownedinsound.com/)?
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Honestly, you could just buy this book (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Band_Could_Be_Your_Life) and it will help you enormously.
Also, Silkworm.
Silkworm is great, but not as accessible as one might think. They sound almost conventional at first, but their changes are difficult to get used to. I'm not thinking that they're a good starter
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I'm sick to death of listening to what everyone else is listening to.
Listen to Slint.
fix'd
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The Cute Lepers
The Maine
i dunno.
purevolume.com has a ton of indie bands.
you could just try searching indie bands,
then listen and see which ones you like. :]
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(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i318/tommydski/TS_Sloan.png)
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Forget everything in this thread, just start with Neil Young.
this is actually the best advice in here. Every band, indie or not, is a direct line from Neil Young. If you think a band is doing something cutting edge and new and flashy, Neil Young already did it.
Twice.
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Seam.
I second Sloan, too.
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You're suggesting he start with Radiohead, Mogwai and Sonic Youth but not Silkwork b/c they're too inaccessible to a newbie? That doesn't sound right.
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Really, I think this thread got it right with just telling the original poster to go read Our Band Could Be Your Life.
Also Sloan.
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Actually, recommending that anyone follow any particular path into music is pretty shady, in my opinion. At least, if the point you're trying to make is that people should be listening for their own enjoyment, and not to become an expert in the "field." The only advice I'd feel comfortable giving (though, of course, I'm not as into or as knowledgeable of music as some others on this board or in this thread) is to pick a band or a singer that you really enjoy, and listen the hell out of them, one album after another. If you're keeping tabs on one band, you're likely to pick up on another; or you might just stumble upon something (say, something that's being talked about in one community or another). Listening to one album that gets thrown at you after another is more likely to leave you unfulfilled and dragging behind. You're not lacking in resources to make the connections between bands; check out music sites (last.fm, allmusic, various blogs), also the labels that sign the bands you like.
Aaaaand, pretty soon, you've got a shelf (or a hard drive) full of names that none of your friends have heard of. Which has its pleasures, I suppose... definitely not worth the time and effort, though, if you haven't really enjoyed what you have.
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Would Modest Mouse be indie? I could have sworn I was on Party Shuffle with a zillion different artists when I was listening to The Moon and Antarctica on my iTunes.
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Many, many years ago, yes.
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I'm gonna go ahead and recommend Marquee Moon by Television in this thread too.
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You'd probably find the same people don't like Neil Young either. I'm extremely jealous of the fact you have friends that would even consider listening to your music for even a second.
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I am too. Most of the people who listen to my music complain about weird reasons.
Examples:
Explosions in the Sky: "No vocals." "Boring." "I don't like instrumental bands."
The Weakerthans: "I don't like his voice."
Television: "It's too repetitive."
Faraquet: "I hate how it's like...DUN DUN *pause* DUN DUN DUN *pause*..."
Sonic Youth: "I don't like [Kim Gordon's]/[Thurston Moore's] voice. "I don't like all that weird noisy stuff."
I get the most complaints from post-rock. It's probably one of the most inaccessible music genres I know. I have no idea why.
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My problem isn't the music, people just know better than to listen to my opinions.
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I just tend to put music on without being asked/asking for permission, though I do try to be aware of who's around and what they're likely to enjoy. My roommates generally don't get much of a choice, though, and I've only been asked to turn something off once.
It was Patti Smith. I still don't get that: of all the weird stuff I listen to, Patti Smith is the thing that one of them can't abide.
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Man, I will recommend Silkworm all I want, okay? (I'm trying out something to recommend other than Broken Social Scene, okay?)
Also, according to coworkers, everyone in LITE is playing a different song at all times and Sharks Keep Moving plays elevator music.
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(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i318/tommydski/TS_Sloan.png)
What's a good entry point to Sloan then?
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HARD TO SAY.
Some would recommend Between the Bridges, while others would give you Action Pact.
I would say, start with some early stuff, but that's just because I like to listen to bands in a timeline if I can so I can really listen to their evolution.
So, start with Smeared or Twice Removed from that angle. Otherwise, I would say that Never Hear The End Of It might be another nice starting place for a new listener.
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let's just keep adding names to this guy's list so he becomes overwhelmed and decides he isn't cut out for this petty, insignificant life we live
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Wouldn't Never Hear the End Of It be kind of overwhelming? I mean it's like, an hour long song. Twice Removed would be good, One Chord to Another if you like Beatleyness, but chronologically is a very good idea too.
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(http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i318/tommydski/TS_Sloan.png)
ooh sloan! ^_^
i love them.
not only are they a band,
but it's the name of ferris bueller's girlfriend.
honestly,
for the people all mad about him asking for bands,
he's just asking for music.
we aren't shoving it down his throat.
but,
giving opinions merely.
mmkay?
honest advice tho: just find music you like on your own,
it's more fulfilling.
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I would suggest everything and anything Elephant Six: Of Montreal, The Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Essex Green, The Olivia Tremor Control, Beulah, and so on.
Also, I like Sloan just as much as the next guy (HALIFAX!!!) but aren't they... with Universal Records?
PS. First post ftw.
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it's posts like that that will turn this guy off. not because you were abrasive or rude or anything, but because you just threw way too many esoteric words at him
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I would have to disagree with pretty much all recommendations here. I've come to believe that becoming a "good" music fan and listener you actually have to practice. You have to listen to a lot of music and you have to find out what you like and don't like.
Eventually you will either kind of taper off and come to realize that maybe you're just not as interested in music intellectually as you thought you were, or you'll start to really develop a taste. You'll develop your own pallet for music. (And something tells me I'm using the wrong spelling of pallet here, but fuck it.) And I think anyone with a real taste for music will usually naturally move into some form of indie music anyway, so no worries there.
And honestly just taking all of the recommendations from this thread will probably just result in you trying to like the bands for a while before you eventually realize you don't really like them that much.
That being said, I personally think Queens of the Stone Age is better than any of those mainstream, faux-indie acts out there that could lead you into indie, and personally, the Queens are where my own musical taste really started to develop (and also one of the few bands I listened to when I was like 15 that I still think are the fucking bee's knees). So that's a group I have to recommend to any young person unacquainted with more obscure music. The Queens and The Beatles. But again, that's just me.
Edit: To add some more explanation. I think there are a lot of popular acts that are genuinely good and unique enough that they will help you develop more refined musical taste. Essentially giving you some "practice" in listening to music. Or for a different kind of metaphor, they're like a gateway drug to more extreme or difficult shit.
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Also, I like Sloan just as much as the next guy (HALIFAX!!!) but aren't they... with Universal Records?
Please tell me this is a joke post.