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Does anyone else feel as if the "golden days" of indie rock are almost up? I'm not saying that there will be no more good indie rock records or that the genre can't still evolve and continue, but do you feel as if we've already gotten our great years of brilliant releases?
Personally (many will disagree), obviously we had the 1990s where indie rock basically was born into what we consider it now. At the time, it was extremely underground, and without the Internet, word of great bands didn't spread nearly as quickly. However, around 2000, things changed. And during the 2000s, it started to seem like major publications and rock audiences deemed indie rock as THE genre for popular music enthusiasts. That's evident by looking at nearly any "best albums" lists of the 2000s: they feature the White Stripes, Wilco, TV on the Radio, Deerhunter, Sigur Ros, LCD Soundsystem etc. etc. Now, this may feel premature, but doesn't it feel as if the genre is slowly drifting? Not only have their been less and less "classic" or "brilliant' indie rock records released each year, but the shift of indie aesthetics into pop radio (see Foster the People, Fun, Phoenix) is almost always a tell-tale first sign of a genre starting to lose its momentum (see Grunge).
Now, obviously indie rock is a little different than grunge since "indie rock" is such an umbrella term used now-a-days. Unlike Grunge which describes a typical type of sound, Vampire Weekend sounds nothing like LCD Soundsystem, and Girls sounds nothing like Fleet Foxes, etc... So basically, indie rock has become the new definition for "alternative rock" once alternative rock became the new norm on mainstream radio. So, the question is this - if indie rock slowly becomes the norm for the mainstream listeners, what happens to indie rock? And most importantly, is this quickly happening?
Final note: I'm not saying that indie music going mainstream is necessarily a bad thing. There are bands that I really enjoy that have had "hits" (Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse,) that still are great. Popularity doesn't mean it sucks... I'm just curious as to what your thoughts are for a genre that is now in its third decade.
Personally (many will disagree), obviously we had the 1990s where indie rock basically was born into what we consider it now. At the time, it was extremely underground, and without the Internet, word of great bands didn't spread nearly as quickly. However, around 2000, things changed. And during the 2000s, it started to seem like major publications and rock audiences deemed indie rock as THE genre for popular music enthusiasts. That's evident by looking at nearly any "best albums" lists of the 2000s: they feature the White Stripes, Wilco, TV on the Radio, Deerhunter, Sigur Ros, LCD Soundsystem etc. etc. Now, this may feel premature, but doesn't it feel as if the genre is slowly drifting? Not only have their been less and less "classic" or "brilliant' indie rock records released each year, but the shift of indie aesthetics into pop radio (see Foster the People, Fun, Phoenix) is almost always a tell-tale first sign of a genre starting to lose its momentum (see Grunge).
Now, obviously indie rock is a little different than grunge since "indie rock" is such an umbrella term used now-a-days. Unlike Grunge which describes a typical type of sound, Vampire Weekend sounds nothing like LCD Soundsystem, and Girls sounds nothing like Fleet Foxes, etc... So basically, indie rock has become the new definition for "alternative rock" once alternative rock became the new norm on mainstream radio. So, the question is this - if indie rock slowly becomes the norm for the mainstream listeners, what happens to indie rock? And most importantly, is this quickly happening?
Final note: I'm not saying that indie music going mainstream is necessarily a bad thing. There are bands that I really enjoy that have had "hits" (Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse,) that still are great. Popularity doesn't mean it sucks... I'm just curious as to what your thoughts are for a genre that is now in its third decade.