The Art of Indie Rock Music

Find out how to make it in the music industry by learning from the best. The Art of Indie Rock Music will teach you everything you need to know about being a successful musician.

Introduction

The history of indie rock music is often traced back to the 1980s, when a number of independent record labels began to emerge. These labels were often started by people who were passionate about music and wanted to provide an alternative to the major record labels, which they felt were too commercialized.

The first wave of indie rock bands was led by groups such as R.E.M., who were signed to an independent label called I.R.S. Records. Other prominent indie rock bands from this era include Sonic Youth, Pixies, and Dinosaur Jr.

The 1990s saw the rise of a second wave of indie rock bands, including Pavement, Weezer, and Beck. These bands were often influenced by punk rock and grunge, and helped to create a more diverse and experimental sound for the genre.

In the 2000s, indie rock became increasingly popular, with bands such as The Strokes, The White Stripes, and Arcade Fire achieving mainstream success. This new wave of indie rock bands has continued to experiment with different sounds and styles, helping to keep the genre fresh and exciting.

The Early Days of Indie Rock

The early days of indie rock are often considered to be the mid-1990s, when a number of influential bands and labels began to emerge. Among these were Pavement, Guided by Voices, Sebadoh, and Superchunk, as well as the labels Matador, Merge, and Domino. Indie rock was a DIY movement that was deeply influenced by punk rock, and it relied on creative self-expression rather than commercial success.

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The group’s musical style ranged from garage rock to punk to avant-garde, and their lyrical themes addressed topics such as drug addiction, debauchery, and sexual exploration. Despite very little commercial success, the band is often cited as one of the most influential groups of their era.

The Velvet Underground’s debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), is considered one of the most important and influential records in rock music history. The album’s sound—a combination of guitar feedback, distorted melodies, and drone-like textures—was influential on subsequent generations of musicians; Brian Eno once stated that while the album only sold 30,000 copies upon its initial release, “everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.”

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth was an American rock band from New York City, active between 1981 and 2011. The band is considered to be one of the most important and influential acts of the indie rock music scene in the 1980s and 1990s.

The band was founded by Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals), who were all members of the noise rock band Glenn Branca Ensemble. The three musicians started Sonic Youth as an informal experiment with feedback, extended guitar techniques and alternative tunings.

The band released its debut album, Confusion Is Sex, in 1983 on Homestead Records. The album was poorly received by critics but garnered a cult following among fans of underground rock music.

Sonic Youth developed a unique sonic approach that blended noise rock, punk rock and avant-garde improvisation. The band’s style was further explored on subsequent albums such as Bad Moon Rising (1985), EVOL (1986) and Sister (1987).By the early 1990s, Sonic Youth had gained a significant amount of mainstream attention with the release of Goo (1990), which featured the hit single “Kool Thing”.

The band continued to experiment with new musical styles on albums such as Dirty (1992) and Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (1994). Sonic Youth entered a hiatus in 1995 but returned with a new album in 1999, A Thousand Leaves. The band’s final studio album, The Eternal, was released in 2009. Moore and Ranaldo announced their departure from Sonic Youth in 2011, effectively ending the band.

The Rise of Indie Rock

Indie rock is a term used to describe a wide range of genres, usually characterized by a do-it-yourself or DIY ethic, and Invalid input: characters found instead of words. This type of music emerged in the 1970s and became popular in the 1990s with the help of the Internet. Today, indie rock is still going strong with new bands and artists emerging all the time.

Nirvana

Nirvana was an American rock bandformed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. It was founded by singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting and best-known being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990. Though the band dissolved in 1994 after the suicide of Cobain, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock and roll culture. In the late 1980s, Nirvana established itself as part of the Seattle grunge scene, releasing its first album, Bleach, for the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. They developed a sound that relied on dynamic contrasts, often between quiet verses and loud refrains, sometimes supplemented with long instrumental sections. After signing to major label DGC Records in 1991, Nirvana found unexpected success with “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, the first single from their critically acclaimed second album Nevermind (1991).

Pavement

One of the most popular and influential indie rock bands of the 1990s, Pavement formed in 1989 in Stockton, California. The group was led by singer and guitarist Stephen Malkmus, with drummer and co-songwriter Scott Kannberg, bassist Mark Ibold, and guitarist Spiral Stairs (born Preston School of Industry leader Scott Kannberg) rounding out the lineup. Pavement released their debut EP, Slay Tracks (1933-1969), in early 1992 on Matador Records; the five-song collection marked the band’s first collaboration with engineer/producer Steve Albini, who would go on to play a major role in shaping the group’s sound. A full-length album followed later that year with Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe Edition.

The New Wave of Indie Rock

In the past decade, Indie Rock music has made a comeback in a big way. With artists like Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, and The Paper Kites, this new wave of Indie Rock has taken the world by storm. What sets this new wave of Indie Rock apart from the music of the past? In this article, we will explore the new sound of Indie Rock and what makes it so special.

The Strokes

The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the group is composed of vocalist Julian Casablancas, lead guitarist Nick Valensi, rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Following the success of their debut album, Is This It (2001), which was lauded by critics as one of the best albums of the 2000s,[1][2] the Strokes achieved commercial success with its follow-up room on Fire (2003).

The band has released five studio albums: Is This It (2001), Room on Fire (2003), First Impressions of Earth (2006), Angels (2011), and Comedown Machine (2013); as well as one live album: Live in Tokyo (2002). Their next album is currently in production.

The White Stripes

The White Stripes is an American rock duo, formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consists of Jack White (lead vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and percussion). After releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit music scene, The White Stripes rose to prominence in 2002 as part of the garage rock revival scene. Their successful and critically acclaimed albums White Blood Cells (2001) and Elephant (2003) drew attention from a national audience within the indie rock community.

In 2004, the group signed with XL Recordings and released their fourth album, Get Behind Me Satan. This album saw a change in direction for The White Stripes with its experimental sound. The duo released their fifth album Icky Thump in 2007 to critical acclaim; it was named the best album of 2007 by Time magazine. In 2012, they announced an indefinite hiatus due to Meg’s “wish to focus on other personal matters.” But since then Jack has gone on to have a successful solo career as well as various other side projects.

The Future of Indie Rock

Indie rock music has been around for decades, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, it’s only getting bigger and better. Indie rock is the perfect blend of alternative, punk, and indie music, and it’s attracting more and more listeners every day. If you’re a fan of indie music, then you’re in for a treat.

Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band that formed in Montreal, Quebec in 2001. The band consists of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, along with Win’s younger brother William Butler, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band’s five studio albums have all been highly acclaimed by critics and commercially successful. Their first album, “Funeral”, was released in 2004 and is often cited as one of the best indie rock albums of all time. Their most recent album, “Everything Now”, was released in 2017 to critical acclaim.

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Ezra Koenig (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Chris Baio (bass guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), and drummer Chris Tomson. Historian writes that the band’s “afropolitan” aesthetic draws on “a combination of classical music, classic pop, alternative rock, and Afro-indie rock.”

The band released its first album Vampire Weekend in 2008. The album peaked at number seventeen on the Billboard 200 andnumber fifteen in the United Kingdom. Four singles were released from the album: “A-Punk”, “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Oxford Comma”, and ” Walcott”. A-Punk reached number nineteen on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. The band released its second album Contra in 2010. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 124,000 copies; it also peaked at number three in the UK. Four singles were released from Contra: “White Sky”, “Holiday”, “California English”, and Cousins”. White Sky peaked at number seven on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart; Holiday reached number sixteen on Billboard’s Rock Songs chart; California English peaked at number thirty-five on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay Chart; Cousins received significant airplay but was not officially released as a single.

In 2013, Vampire Weekend released their third album Modern Vampires of the City. The album debuted at number one in both the US and UK charts selling 220,000 copies and 159,000 copies in their first weeks respectively. The album’s lead single Diane Young peaked at number forty-two on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay chart while follow-up single Step reached number twelve on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart; both songs also entered the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. A third single from Modern Vampires of the City entitled Unbelievers was released to radio in late May 2013 and also achieved airplay success peaking at number twenty-one on Alternative Songs andnumber thirty eight on Rock Songs