alors, et toi?

The Indie Movement/Revolution

by Maria Pelczar

From Mozart to They Might Be Giants, musicians with a voice too unique for their time, or a sound their labels failed to recognize, have had a difficult trek when trying to get their music to the people who would appreciate it most. They have refused to sell out by choosing to seek less conventional ways of promoting their craft, thus spawning a movement that has eventually come to be known as The Indie Revolution.

The word indie derives itself from independent, which in no way accurately describes the type of music it involves, nor does it narrow down the sweeping genres the word encompasses, but instead refers to the typical underground attitude of the artist, and their seeming desire to affiliate themselves with independent labels. From folk gurus to rock musicians, these artists are characterized by their independence from major record labels. While a majority of Indie acts are unknown to general music fans, some musicians like Willie Nelson and Maynard Keenan of Tool have become extremely successful. However, with this type of musical infamy comes the inevitable subjection to the music labels ability to stifle an artist's creativity. Due to this, these singers have chosen to go indie because of the creative freedom it allows.

As with Nelson, his disdain toward the music Moguls has prompted him to create his own label, which will include years worth of his previous recordings which were never released due to the creative boundaries set aside for the artist, which come along with being bound to a major label. It is not uncommon for an artist to record songs that are rejected by their label and, consequentially, never make it onto the final product. Nelson's new label, christened Pedernales Records, is headquartered just outside of Austin on the banks of a river bearing the same name. "I have a whole lot of material I've recorded over the last 25 years in my studio in Texas, and it's just laying there. It makes a lot of sense to have your own label if you have that much material." Everything just seems so right about it. Some of his archives include unreleased sessions with Les Paul, Jackie King and Grady Martin (1).

What is good news for Nelson is bad news for big labels. Nelson's decision to buck the system is exactly what makes big record companies nervous. For years big labels, such as Capitol and Epic, have been able to keep an almost dictator-like strangle hold on the music industry. In the 1960's, big record labels signed anything that had the potential to make money by turning out one melody after another. Even listeners who considered themselves radicals because they enjoyed the screeching sounds of Janis Joplin, and thrived on the Jimi Hendrix experience, could not consider themselves true indie fans because of the mass commercialization of these artists. The Velvet Under-ground did, however, fit the bill for being truly indie. Not only was their sound unfathomably unique and innovative for the time, they are still considered by music critics to be one of the most influential bands ever created. In this era of love and peace, the Velvet Underground belted out songs on controversial topics such as prostitution, drug abuse, and sexual deviancy. In essence, Velvet Underground's lyrics and subject matter are a perfect example of an indie artist drive to record songs outside of the mainstream realm.

The influences of the Velvet Underground had all but served to do away with the laid back messages of the 60's. The new musical era of the 70's gave birth to a more edgy, angrier set of indie artists. With the emergence of garage bands across the U.S. and U.K., musicians began experimenting with harsher sounds by utilizing electric instruments with more fervor, ultimately setting the backdrop for a louder, more dissonant artistic ambiance. Musicians lacking the skills to compete with the musical genius of Jimi Hendrix could easily create a 3-chord punk sound. By 1973, Joey Ramone of The Ramones recognized that what was needed was some pure stripped-down, no bad rock and roll. Bands like The Ramones and The Sex Pistols shocked mainstream society with their blatant rejection of peace and love and further separated themselves from cultural norms with a look that would come to be known as punk, and lyrics that embodied the angst of a generation. The punk movement stayed in the U.K. and the Eastern part of the U.S. until the late 70's, when it spread to California, giving greater exposure to bands like The Dead Kennedys and Black Flag. The growth of the punk movement can be greatly contributed to indie artists and, while this indie style and attitude had a significant influence on pop culture, the big labels, focusing solely on revenue, would not really catch on until the 1990's.

The 1980's, with the U.S. and the U.K. creating the first Indie charts, was a very significant time in the Indie Movement. The creation of the Indie List made it possible for a signed band to still be considered independent. This blatant contradiction in terms started to change what it meant to be an Indie artist, and big Indie Labels like Sub Pop and Sarah Records were formed during this time. These labels quickly went against everything Indie by relentlessly promoting signed bands. Listeners were infiltrated with everything from pop-new wave to glam rock to American heartland music, all of which were grossly commercialized. Perhaps the greatest display of over-commercialization was with bands like Poison, Ratt, and Faster Pussycat, who ruled the charts during the 80's. Relief from the glam rock came in the form of Alternative Music, a new phrase coined to describe Indie bands that did not fit into the mainstream genres of the time. This new type of indie music differentiated itself from the mainstream by creating sounds that were unlike any other being played on the radio. Bands like Sonic Youth, The Smiths, Pixies, and The Cure were important artists in the Alternative Indie Movement. These artists stuck to Independent labels and built an extensive underground scene, utilizing college radio stations, touring, and word of mouth to promote their bands.

By the early 90's, the arrival of MTV on the scene paved the way for bands to be exploited even further, and fans were manipulated in a whole new way by placing a huge emphasis on the importance of a band's image and style. The desperation of listeners trying to find something truly different brought about an interest in what would come to be known as Grunge music. The unkempt, almost dirty look of the bands like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Mudhoney was in stark contrast to the polished look promoted on MTV. With grunge, very little, if any, importance was placed on hair, clothes or, for that matter, hygiene. With these concerns out of the way, the only thing of any importance was the music. Perhaps the most influential Grunge band was Nirvana. Lead singer, Kurt Cobain, was unkempt, mumbled through songs about melancholy discontentment and disassociation and made no secret of his hatred for the bastardization of musicians. They were signed to indie label Sub Pop where they released their first album, Bleach. When Sub Pop began experiencing problems, Nirvana signed with Epic Records. Ironically, this general contempt for all things commercial made Nirvana unbelievably popular. Their first album under the new Epic label, Nevermind, ended up selling, at one point, about 300,000 copies a week. But at long last, all good things must come to an end. Cobain struggled to come to terms with Nirvana's commercialism and unparalleled fame. The band began to realize, as many grunge bands had, that to sign with a major label meant having your creativity stripped while working for someone else's expectations. The pressure coupled with drug addiction finally proved to be too much for the young singer and, in April of 1994, Cobain committed suicide. Although to this day many consider Nevermind to be the most influential album ever produced, Kurt's suicide brought a swift and sudden end to the Grunge era and, by the end of the century, Pop music once again took Indie's place.

In 2000, it would seem that many of the bands out there would be well aware of the risks involved when signing with a major label. Also, fans do not easily adjust when their favorite artists see the need for change and expand their musical genius, converting over to a very different sound. For example, earlier this year TOOL front man Maynard James Keenan did just that. With many hardcore TOOL fans appalled, Maynard still foraged forward to create Puscifer, and a sound that is best described as suitably provocative, with a good-time roll, providing a sharp contrast from the dark messages of TOOL. "Puscifer is my attempt to make music to inspire people. Heavy rock is sinking, the industry is dying. This is definitely not a thinking man's music." And when it comes to getting his music to the masses, Maynard is no technological novice. "I'd like to release it in different ways, maybe two songs at a time, every three or four months. You can do that now, with the Internet and MySpace."

We live in a time where the conventional advertising that is offered by signing with a big label has taken a backseat to mass media web sites like Myspace, where an artist can be free to make the music they feel in their hearts and record stores have become extinct, overtaken by the likes of i-Tunes. Alors et toi? is considering covering the possible development and relationship between today's modern indie bands and popular sites like Myspace. Now more than ever, music fans and artists alike can come together on the World Wide Web to give and receive the gift of music. Finally, it would seem, after decades of being controlled, artists have taken the reigns of their own careers.

Resources:

(1) Reuters: Willie Nelson launching label with sons'album
(2) Ramone, Tommy, Fight Club, Uncut, January 2007 (Wikipedia- Rock Music)

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