I just read this post: 25 Best Indie Albums Ever.
Lot’s of good stuff, including Death Cab, Sufjan and Postal Service.
My question for you is this? Do you agree or disagree? Who would you add or subtract?
And is it just me, but the word “Indie” now seems compromised since being “Indie” is now the cool thing!
One Comment
As the author of the blog, I’d like to note first that the list was made by my many readers, not by me (I would never have put Neutral Milk Hotel at the top). Second, “indie” never meant “unpopular” or “unknown.” It used to mean (and still means to me) “independent” of the RIAA–smaller labels who generally allow their artists more freedom because they don’t need to move as many units to justify their existence. So I’d say the answer to your question is “no,” but a qualified “no” because these days lots of people think “indie” is a sound, and count The Killers and the new Death Cab as indie. If that’s what you mean by “indie,” then I’d agree–that is a compromised definition because the music has become popular enough that big labels buy and sell it. But I don’t think that simply because it is popular it is compromised. The Beatles were popular, but never sold out their style or quality. Ditto the The Who, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash (their later work is less good because of their intergroup dynamic, not because of the label). I think an artist can be both popular and good. Don’t you?