Top Five Indie Albums You Must Own Classic (music history lessons) & New
By Ian Dougherty
Do you want to be an indie music fan, but don’t know where to start? Below are some of your core indie albums that every fan should have in his or her collection. Some are classic, others are a little more recent on the music front. Leave a comment if you don’t agree.
The Soft Bulletin’ by The Flaming Lips
Why:
It was the first album to fully harness the band’s commercial spirit
It set the groundwork for their amazing live shows
Songs like ‘Waiting For Superman’, ‘Race For the Prize’ and ‘The Spark that Bled’
They may be better known for their spectacular live shows featuring Wayne Coyne running across the crowd in a giant bubble, fancy dress costumes, glove puppets and much more but this album contains everything that is great about The Flaming Lips.
The introduction to opening track ‘Race for the Prize’ immediately informs you that something special is about to happen, the small count in and then crashing gong immediately gives way to a track that is almost too positive to imagine. Wayne Coyne may sound like Kermit the Frog on acid but as a lyricist and front man he is second to none.
Daydream Nation’ by Sonic Youth
Why:
Possibly the bands most accessible album
The vocal interplay of Kim and Thurston
It retains all the guitar fuzz that Sonic Youth are known and loved for
Tracks like ‘Teenage Riot, ‘Candle’ and ‘Silver Rocket.’
There has been an increase in the ‘Don’t Look Back’ series of gigs where a band plays a classic album from their history. In some cases you have been left wondering why an album was held in such regard that it required to be dragged out again years later but this can’t be said about ‘Daydream Nation.’
Opening track ‘Teenage Riot’ sets the tone with its high tempo and squalor and the noise and confusion doesn’t really give up over the rest of the album. It is not often that all the magazines will have the same opinion on indie rock but there appears to be universal acclaim for ‘Daydream Nation’ and it has captured the true genius of Sonic Youth. At times their albums have been patchy and perhaps too experimental for some ears but on this 1988 release they got it exactly right.
The Queen is Dead’ by The Smiths
Why:
The album features Morrissey at his most humorous
Johnny Marr starting to show his true talent on guitar
Brings together many different styles in one cohesive record
Tracks like ‘I Know its Over, ‘Cemetery Gates’ and ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes out’
For some, The Smiths will be the perfect template of an indie band such was the mix of intelligent lyrics and working class backgrounds. It is fair to say that the majority of the focus falls upon Morrissey but Johnny Marr showcased a sense of jangle guitar that went a long way to influencing the entire Britpop era.
‘The Queen is Dead’ album has a largely humorous streak running through it and it stands as a strong argument to people who say that indie music is all po-faced and afraid to have fun. Morrissey may set himself up as being pretentious at times but tracks like ‘Frankly Mr Shankly’ and ‘Vicar in a tutu’ indicated he could enjoy a laugh with the best of them.
‘Rings Around The World’ by Super Furry Animals
Why:
It was their largest and most ambitious album to date
It brought to light so many of their influences
It has Paul McCartney and John Cale appearing on it
Tracks like ‘Receptacle for the Respectable’ and ‘Juxtapozed Wit U’
Welsh indie wizards the Super Furry Animals have always been regarded as an innovative and adventurous band but this 2001 release showcased the band at their most “out there”. With not much emphasis on their techno past, this album crosses the gap between indie rock and classic 60s Beach Boys effortlessly. They have never quite managed to equal this masterpiece but they have created a great number of albums since.
Funeral’ by Arcade Fire
Why:
The vast array of instruments on show
Really powerful song, emotionally and musically
Fantastic percussion and rhythm sections
Tracks like ‘Wake Up’, ‘Power Out’ and ‘Rebellion (Lies)’
They pulled off one of the hardest tricks in music, namely writing an album about death and change yet making it sound like the most uplifting album of the year. There were a few stand out singles released from this record but collectively it worked tremendously and still stands up to repeated plays today.
Follow up album ‘Neon Bible’ took the band to a higher level and you can see them rivaling U2 and REM in a few years if they continue this upwards trajectory but ‘Funeral’ remains a must hear album for anyone drawn to grandiose statements and classic songs.
Ian Dougherty is a freelance music writer from the UK. Dougherty has written for well known music magazines, Ezines, and websites for over fifteen years. For the latest in indie bands and indi music, visit MadeLoud.com, where bands keep more from each digital music download.
Indie Band Lists - Does it Start With MySpace?
By Ian Dougherty
The Internet has clearly made it easier for bands to promote themselves and make themselves better known but people still have to find them. Social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook are supposed to be the answer to this problem so let’s see how good at finding indie bands MySpace really is.
MySpace offers top ten artists of today for a number of genres and for today (August 27th 2008), the top the indie bands were: Bloc Party, Bring Me The Horizon, Adele, Oasis, The Wombats, The Streets, Kano, Chemical Brothers, Paul Oakenfold, Biffy Clyro.
That’s quite an eclectic mix and to be honest, theres a lot in that which would not pass for indie. It may give you a good starting point and with the rush release of Bloc Party’s new album you can tell why they rank highly but some of the choices are baffling to say the least.
The selection between 11 and 20 is probably more stereotypical for indie featuring The Kills, Last Shadow Puppets and The Automatic amongst others. This means you can find indie bands on myspace but you may need to do a bit more digging around for them.
How does MySpace defines Indie?
What makes it more frustrating is that in the column beside the indie acts is a mainstream column and not far away from The Last Shadow Puppets are the Arctic Monkeys. Yes, Sheffield’s current finest may have sold enough records to make them mainstream, but they remain an indie band. They are certainly more indie than Paul Oakenfold or Kano who made it into the top ten of the indie chart. Similarly, The Verve rank highly in the mainstream chart but nowhere on the indie column.
That said it’s not as if it’s telling you about any new or up and coming acts is it? All of these acts, indie or not, are major commercial artists when MySpace should really be about launching new bands. There is an unsigned column but when you see that contains acts like The Darkness and Fatboy Slim, you start to lose faith in it.
It is still possible to find new indie bands but MySpace doesn’t really help until you search through the musical sections and come to the indie section and here is where you can start to find some news about new acts. Some of the new acts featuring on this section include:
Flamboyant Bella:
If you could imagine Kate Nash joining up with an indie band you would be close to the sound of Flamboyant Bella. They carry the excitement of youth and may well be a tip for mainstream crossover although musical greatness is probably beyond them.
I Haunt Wizards:
With a name like that you just know they are going to have a slightly electro edge and yes, I Haunt Wizards are influenced by the electro 80s sound that appears to be fashionable at the moment. Another bunch of three crazy kids who may be worth checking out soon before the musical fashion changes to something else.
The Filthy Youth:
With a few more choruses these lads could be the new Fratellis as the guitar riffs and swagger are all in place. Theres a cheeky 60s vibe running through their songs and of the new bands listed so far, they appear to be the most equipped to become an indie favorite.
Obviously, the beauty of MySpace is that once you find a band there will be songs available for you to check out right away. This is where these sites really excel and help listeners get involved with new bands right from the off.
Ian Dougherty is a freelance music writer and lover from the United Kingdom. Dougherty has written for well known music magazines, Ezines, and websites for over fifteen years. For the latest in indie artists and get the latest news through an up-to-date indie blog, visit MadeLoud.com, where bands keep more from each digital music download.
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