first indie band? what was yours?
 

the first indie band i ever heard was CHAOTICA(I'm only 21 what do you expect)
first song i heard by them was called Unstable.
what about you guys?

The White Stripes. Are they considered indie? **** it, The White Stripes.

...I actually can't recall. It might have been The Flaming Lips, because they had that one track in the Spongebob movie. But the first band I really listened to would have been Mudhoney or Primus. There's probabpy an obvious one I'm looking over, if that's the case I'll get back to you.

Chaotica is one of my favorites next to Marilyn Manson! I love their song church of man!

It depends on what you count as indie, but I heard R.E.M., The Smiths, Husker Du, Meat Puppets, and a number of others when their first albums came out.

Define "indie", because it doesn't really describe any type of music for me. It only defines their status as far as labels go.

Bands not on major labels. So you know the standard definition of indie.

We already know this, but people often call bands on major labels "indie" and it doesn't make sense. That's what I had asked.

Arcade Fire

well those people arent too bright then

Arctic Monkeys

Its apparent most of you have no clue what indie actually is.......NMH was mine. GBV as well.

A sense of "indie" that's been used for decades is the same as what Rolling Stone magazine used to call "college rock"--they used to have "college rock" charts at the back of the magazine (circa the late 70s or early-to-mid 80s). There are "family resemblance" musical characteristics to it--which isn't the case if you're using the term to strictly refer to artists not on major labels (and that's murky anyway, because just what counts as a major label isn't necessarily clear).

Does Nirvana back when they were on sub pop records count? If so Nirvana.

Bloc Party back when they were on Wichita. Also Death Cab for Cutie when they were on Barksuk and The Decemberists when they were on Kill Rock Stars.

I love it when you post

definitely arctic monkeys!

Fml.

I hear ya.

Showing My Age Department - I would say Joy Division. Factory had a very short lived US branch for a while and my first listen to Closer borrowed from a library was that pressing.

Violent Femmes. My first concert too, they were awesome.

Some of the bands listed here I didn't know they were considered "indie"? (Such as the Decemberists). Then again, I'm horrendous at genres :bonkhead:

Im embarrassed by this thread...

What in particular? I think most of these groups are indie enough.

So the idea of a band being indie is tough nowadays because of the commercialization of the indie name. The genre indie being more influenced by new wave, post-punk, garage rock is what I believe this thread is talking about so I will say THE STROKES. They were easily the most exciting band for me coming out of the early 2000s new wave/indie rock explosion. The New York indie scene is definitely the most listened to for me. They were not independent when I listened to them as they were already signed to RCA.

Now if we are talking about independent artists, then I would have to say my first "indie" band would be Love Battery. I used to be really into grunge so I would take a look at whatever band sub pop signed or was close to signing.

Ive always thought The Strokes were a good band that didn't quite live up to their potential. Some of their melodies were really good but then Julian would f*ck them up, exmpl this song.



For the most part the string section had a well defined sound, it wasn't anything that special but it had a signature Strokes sound the problem is Julian didn't always find a vocal melody that would compliment the songs and instead would go on to his little world and write from there. Jim morrison could pull off something like that but i don't think Julian can and honestly.. i just don't like the guy. he rubs me the wrong way for some reason.

^^^

For the most part I agree with you. The problem with Julian is that he, along with tons of other "indie" rock band frontmen, have huge egos. They let that bleed into the music and it diminishes the songs. However, I do think that for the most part it wasn't the vocal melodies that were the problem. It really was his voice. After the first three albums Julian's singing voice began to deteriorate. He drank and smoked alot which obviously did a ton of damage. In 2011 and 2012 it was really at the peak of the problem. The only reason songs like Under Cover of Darkness and Machu Pichu sound good is due to the studio effects.

I watched the Austin City Limits Concert online and thought that his voice has been improving considerably though.

Sorry for the little rant there.

Kaiser Chiefs.

I believe mine was The Verve. Or maybe Oasis. Nah. The Verve. Coulda been Oasis. Nah. I'm going with The Verve:

The Promise Ring - '30 Degrees Everywhere'

So the music genre is irrelevant then—could be polka or jazz or Andean pan flute music or what have you, just as long as it's not a major label?

one thing I HATE is when my indie bands get popular. theres no room to pat myself on the back in a crowded stadium full of fans.

The Rumour said fire

Broder Daniel.

i LOVE the smiths

same, catfish and the bottlemen just isnt the same anymore :(

:laughing: bruh....Ikr.

Does Apple Records count?

Swan Song?

Blue Note?

Chess?

Stax?

Motown?

If not then probably Minor Threat on Discord.

http://images.rapgenius.com/fc1e0734....500x500x1.png

How does one get out all the words to describe a record so pivotal in the development of my musical appreciation

This is Anna Ternheim singing Broder Daniel at Roskilde festival in Denmark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDfbrdQKwjk