'Indie'

It's that time again. I had the weirdest/coolest dream ever. The dream was that "International Honour Indie Music Day" was coming up soon, and I should write a blog on some of my favourite indie (independent) music. I woke up and decided maybe that's not such a bad idea, regardless of whether International Honour Indie Music Day exists or not. Interestingly, this week there seems to be a theme for indie bands beginning with the letter 'b'.

This site claims to have Canada's indie band database. Bands can submit their name to be included, verified by the submission of an album.
Another great site for finding less well-known Canadian music is CBC Radio 3. And let me make a big deal about my favourite music blog site, Stereogum.com. Free, legal downloads, remixes, videos, reviews and music news. You should check it out, and sign up for their weekly newsletter, The 'Gum Drop, which contains a free, artist-sanctioned mp3 download every week!

Fun fact: Portland, Oregon, is known as the indie rock capitol of the world. Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland seem to really encourage artistic vibrancy outside of the conventional mainstream. This psychologist says this sort of vibrancy may something to do with the openness to experience of the liberal mind.

Now indie's a funny thing, and the term 'indie' is often used to attempt to describe a genre which actually doesn't exist. In its true form, 'indie' means that the artist produces their work independently - outside of the clutches of a major record label - thereby securing greater musical and political independence. Thus, indie is not a genre, but it is a label.

Recently, it has become a popular trend in shows like The O.C. and Smallville to seek out and use obscure indie music in their soundtracks. This music becomes popular, which is great for the musicians, but for a number of reasons indie has now become a term that everyone likes to throw around but has jack all of an idea what they are talking about.

For example, The Killers are not indie. They're signed to a major label and get way more radio airtime than they probably deserve. Now Death Cab For Cutie and Radiohead are peculiar cases because they have both released albums independently. Remember In Rainbows (2007) electronic release and the huge fuss a while back? While Death Cab's Ben Gibbard produces work for The Postal Service independently, Death Cab's transition to a major label I believe declassifies that particular band, just as any other who does the same. As for Radiohead, having released 6 studio albums and several live recordings with media giant EMI, and then returned to an independent label, they are a tricky one to classify - in their defense, they fought hard to maintain both lyrical, musical, and political independence from their label right to the end, but I think they just don't quite cut it according to the traditional definition of 'indie'. This does not affect the fact that they are still really awesome.

But enough counter-examples, and on with the list:
Currently listening: "In Love" - Jon Foreman - The Song Inside the Sounds of Breaking Down

Bodies of Water
I'm just going to go out on a limb here and do some musical calculation for you:
Kings of Leon + Arcade Fire ÷ of Montreal = Bodies of Water. If that sounds like math you might enjoy doing, I would urge you to calculate your way over to their myspace or last.fm page.
(check the back of your textbook if you suspect an error. If that doesn't help you at all, try this one instead)

Maclean
I just found out that Vancouver band Maclean's first full length album Hang This On Your Wall was produced with the guy I'm taking Digital Recording class with next semester. They've toured around the Pacific Northwest, even managing to play an opening act for Lynyrd Skynyrd last July. They play a really ambient, melodious alternative rock, with hints of progressivity (see song "Changing Views").

B
Yep. Just 'B'. They play dreamy, atmospheric post-rock not quite as epic as Godspeed You! Black Emperor but certainly comparable to a slightly less percussive Explosions in the Sky. If you want to find them, it'll take some serious searching on the Internets - I haven't been able to find them yet online, all I know is I own their eponymous four song EP. They played at the awesome Cornerstone Musical Festival this summer and their album is really good for sleepytime, or if played quietly, maybe a good meditative atmosphere.

Blonde Redhead
Driven, bass-heavy rock written by Italian twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace and featuring the soaring, expressive vocals of the talented female singer Kazu Makino, based out of New York. You can listen to tracks off their albums here. Make sure to check out '23' when you do.