Has INDIE music lost its edge??

myles

When Black Flag came upon the scene, they were insolent and brash,
quicklybecoming the outsiders of the inside world of indie-music. They were indie-music. Stars of R&R were making flashy music on flashy sets before 1000's of fans. They were grating out non melodic music in basements and garages. Their glitz was the pluck of the guitar and the harsh screaming vocals of the voice. Until "Celebrated Summer" came along with its truthful, melodic abrasiveness, the scream filled the back rooms and shoddy gigs of indie-music.

Poor recording equipment and homemade sounds became the indie badge.When it all started, no one even knew how to record or make a record of any recognizable quality, that was the mark of the "real" music industry. Slick clean recordings and perfectly balanced sounds were their hallmark. If anyone were off key, the record industry had a fix for it. No one from the underground moved up! This was music that anyone could do. It was DIY. Those who tried to make a living at it basically starved. They didn't intend to "sell" records as such. While Madonna was selling millions, the best of the Indie craze groups were lucky to sell 5000 at the top. They made their money, such as it was, touring and selling cheaply made tee shirts.

When Indie went "sweet," and bands cut record deals with "real" record
companies, we all knew it had come of age and left its roots in the garage. You can't have your mother liking the stuff. The Indie underground persists. There are kids out there dreaming of touring and becoming stars. Where once it was the music that mattered, the alienated statements, the top of the lungs brashness, you now have just the top of the lungs. The DIY remains. They do it themselves with the hope that one day they'll be heard. Someone, besides underground types, will hear them. The edge is indeed gone, replaced by the desire, not to make music their way, but to make music that the world will finally want to hear. To do that, compromises must be made and the sweet note heard.

Manufractured Individual

But...Black Flag are punk rawk man.

PiE

I think you're being a bit idealistic if you feel that all of the Indie bands in the late 80's/early 90's were all in it for the music, and not the prospect of fame and fortune.

Corko

Some bands are still pretty "indie" - They are still true to themselves & their music. One example of this is The Frank And Walters

www.thefrankandwalters.co.uk

atonal

I think the stated definition of Indie is a bit drastic. Punk was one form of Indie but I think the range is much broader. Given the commercial nature of the music industry and all these dreadful trendy mass-production acts that are out there I think Independent artists are more important than ever. It seems to me that the act of making intelligent thoughtful rock music is pretty rebellious in and of itself these days. There is no cultural rebellion on the scale of the punk movement today, but I have to give my appreciation to all the artists out there creating great music without much in the way of recognition. Ireland has more than its share of fantastic musicians and bands doing amazing stuff with little attention being paid. I can only assume most "Indie" artists would like to be recognized and mainstream, the fact that they are out there pursuing their craft without adding gimmicks like DJs and Midgets and Synchronized Dancing is rebellion enough for me.

VampVixen

I LOVE BLOTOOTH!!!!! YOU GUYS RAWK!!!

http://www.blotooth.com if you havent heard em yet....GO LISTEN TO EM NOW!!! Theyre one of THE best bands in Dublin!!!!

J. Dalliance

Indeed they do!!!

When I first heard "Give up your day job" on Phantom, I thought they must have been from the US or at least signed to a label.

With bands like Blotooth & La Rocca (and the rest of the new emerging talent) the Irish music scene is looking quite strong.

Cool website BTW.