The Death Knell For "Indie"

What the shit is this? The New York Times Magazine has broken down four of the hottest current “indie” bands by their individual fashion styles. I think it’s absolutely sickening. If reading something like this doesn’t make you rethink your dreams of being a musician, I don’t know how more clearly you can be shown the being labeled with a word like “indie” should be taken as an insult.

This stylized magazine spread, with its comparisons between different artists and fashion designers, is further proof that this scene isn’t so cutting edge anymore. In fact it’s grown really, really tired. How many times is a music fan supposed to walk into a club only to be affronted with images of manufactured disinterest and posturing before it’s time to give up and focus attention on some other joyful hobby? Just once I’d like to be surprised by a group that understands the roots of the independent movement they are trying to prolong. I wish I wasn’t such a curmudgeon about something as insignificant as a shitty band, but I cannot help my tendency to romanticize things I like (ie. baseball, rock music). It’d be nice to see more people taking routes once forged by idealistic types like Gerald Cosloy (before Matador went to shit), the Effigies, Ian MacKaye, the Dead Kennedys, Corey Rusk and Greg Ginn. There’s a reason I have such great respect for a band like Tarentel, and for Jefre Cantu in particular. More than any musician I have met and spoken to, he grasps the importance of the DIY ethic. The times I have spent in his company have served only to further my belief that he is one of the most important people currently involved in the music industry on any level. If every band operated like Tarentel, or had a member who helped the community by running a label as unique and awesome as Root Strata (there are plenty more I could name that I admire, but I’d feel like I was just name-dropping), it might revitalize my faith in this suddenly depraved, over-commercialized music landscape.

That’s the end of my rant for the day. The Godfather is on TV now.