School Project
 

Right, that's not the name of some way cool new band, I really have to do a school project. Anyways, my project is investigating the "indie subculture" (for an Anthropology class), and I would be much obliged if anyone with a few minutes to spare could help me out a bit. My prof. suggested that I interview people and perhaps post on a message board (this being the best one I could find). So again, if you have a few minutes to spare, please answer my questions - you can be as brief or thorough as you wish with your answers.

Do you consider yourself "indie"? If yes, answer group A questions, if no, group B.

A
What does indie mean to you, ideally. (In other words, what should it mean? is it a genre? state of mind? label status? other?)

How do you think the mainstream media/ non indie fan sees indie? (same type of thing- genre, state of mind, etc.)

What makes someone (not a band) indie? Is there a certain stereotype (dress, attitude, etc.)? Can a true indie fan listen to mainstream music? Are there any other restrictions/qualifications someone must avoid/meet in order to be "indie"?

B
What do you think it means for a band to be indie? (of a certain genre, state of mind, label status, or other)

Is there a certain stereotype you have of indie fans? (could you pick one out of a crowd? specific clothes, attitude, etc.?)

Now I'll list 10 bands - tell me if you think they are indie or not. A simple yes or no is sufficient, but if you wish to tell me why or why not, that would be great. And if you aren't sure or don't know who a band is, just answer N/A.

Franz Ferdinand
The Pixies
The Flaming Lips
Galaxie 500
The New Pornographers
Pavement
Yo La Tengo
The Go-Betweens
Of Montreal
The Killers

Yeah, I know most people probably won't want to do this, but I would appreciate it if anyone answers. I only need a few, and I'll take anything I can get. Thanks in advance if anyone answers.

Do you consider yourself "indie"? If yes, answer group A questions, if no, group B.

i'm involved with the independant music scene, so in that sense, yes

A
What does indie mean to you, ideally. (In other words, what should it mean? is it a genre? state of mind? label status? other?)

From my point of view... genres only exist in alternative music, outside of chart music, outside of the mainstream, independant. this obviously covers rock, metal, jazz, folk, anything.. i think 'indie' is a genre within this.

being a label owner i obviously have a strong interest in labels.. (i can name the label who put out every CD i own) so it is something i think about when i think about bands.

How do you think the mainstream media/ non indie fan sees indie? (same type of thing- genre, state of mind, etc.)

I think they see it as a genre of pop music.. alot of people consider anything with a guitar to be alternative.. and the stuff that isn't very 'rocky' is lumped as being indie. in reality most of these bands are signed to majors so i wouldn't call them alternative, let alone indie.

What makes someone (not a band) indie? Is there a certain stereotype (dress, attitude, etc.)? Can a true indie fan listen to mainstream music? Are there any other restrictions/qualifications someone must avoid/meet in order to be "indie"?

i think for a person to be indie it goes back to the 'independant' idea again. you can't label people from the type of music they listen to... you can however describe people regarding their involvment in music. i'd say an 'indie' person then would be someone who actively supports the independant music scene in any way... although i still think its a silly term.

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mainly music genre, although it appears that indie kids are a special brand of people, i would say a bit more artistically inclined, slightly more introverted than most people, and more intelligent...;)

as a pretentious load of bollocks...

anyone with a wide music taste can listen to indie and mainstream music without compromising his "indie" reputation. i don't think there's a special dress code for indie folk, unlike other music genre followers...

I don`t consider myself to be anything,but as someone who listens to some of what would be regarded as 'indie' and also as someone who doesn`t regard themselves as a fan of it and can look outside of it i`ll answer both

A bastardized term that lost it`s true meaning a long long time ago. In a time where stuff is easily accessable on the internet ,the size of the label it comes out on is irrelevent to me.

Any generic white boy guitar music that isn`t metal

Never really cared enough to form an opinion on other peoples clothes. Why would anybody want to be a true fan of anything , i`d rather listen to the best of many things than listen to a load of clone bands clogging up the 'scene'.

The NME drooling over them for 6 month

People who read the above mentioned rag and take it as gospel.

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Thanks to everyone for answering, and keep it coming. And I forgot to add, I'll be using your posts anonymously unless you ask otherwise. So if you really want your name to be known to about the 20 people that will see the report/presentation, by all means include your name.

you can call me "H - Sound Devastation Records" ;)