2010-2014: The Death of "Indie"

"It's the height of the festival season, and across Britain Identikit groups of tight-trousered, floppy-haired boys with guitars are taking to the stage, to thrash out a homogenous jangle. Critics have dubbed their sound 'indie landfill'. Is it the death knell of a once-vibrant underground scene?" 
-Tim Walker, The Guardian (July 2008)
Come to think of it, the last 5 years of music were really really stupid. I’ve spent 2 of those being tied with another person 100% of the time with a moral code of no listening to any music unless it sounds like Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Since then, I’ve spent over 2 years attending college in Logan, UT.  While I expected my college experience to be full of pot-smoking musicians who traded underground mixtapes with each other, I had forgotten I was in Logan, UT. Thankfully, I’ve actually spent a lot of time with goody-2-shoes Mormon girls who listen to country and Disney music. So I follow the music scene on my own.

My buddy’s older brother from Portland came into one of my Jerome High School play rehearsals when I was 17. He showed up with a copy of Animal Collective’s Strawberry Jam and a Band of Horses album. Music for college kids, 2008. I’ve noticed that the aesthetic of “college rock” music has lost its individuality since then. I returned from my mission and everyone used the term “hipster.” People who wear square glasses, trashy pants and pricey scarves. People who listen to LCD Soundsystem, Bon Iver and Arcade Fire. The generalization has been a long-lasting fashion/fad. It’s trendy. I still followed the scene in my spare time, But I started conversing music taste with hipster people and even though we had a lot of new bands in common, it was more than obvious to me that they didn’t know anything about music history. What a waste!

Now more than ever, bands are trying to achieve the 80s throwback sound. The last 5 years have been chalk-full of this music. And people just classify it as “indie.” (Ellie Goulding? Really?) The same goes for all those acoustic bands who chant and use lightweight instrumentation. So it occurred to me: If there was 1 big, important thing that happened to the music world in the last 5 years, what was it? INDIE ROCK DIED.

I will now reminisce about the days when I started following music criticism (pre+/-post 2008) like a Republican reminisces about the 50s.

I got into Pitchfork stuff in a different time. A time when small bands with guitars were making a difference. A time when people were still taking The Hold Steady seriously. Arcade Fire had 2 albums. 3 people from my work burned my copy of the 1-and-only Vampire Weekend album. Fleet Foxes were a new band. DFA Records put a classic single annually. Some weird band called Animal Collective was releasing new material every year. In Rainbows was a new album. TV on the Radio was being placed next to Lil Wayne on year-end lists. Nobody knew who the hell Bon Iver was. And yes, I was the only kid at my high school who listened to MGMT.  Oh, how the tables have turned.

2008: Baroque singer/songwriting hero Antony Hegarty with DFA disco group Hercules & Love Affair. Weird, huh?

I'm still not sure who to blame. But the shift must have happened between 2009 and 2011. “Indie” has been redefined and “indie rock” has practically been done away with. There are no consistent artists to follow. Everyone who has made a classic usually makes you wait 3 years for another release. IT’S SAD.

Screw the so-called 80s synth revolution. I miss the good old days. It took a while to get here, but when it comes to my music taste these days, I feel like good songwriting overpowers good production. Artists with a personality always win. That’s what you’ll find on my half-decade albums list.