What Is Indie Music?
The Confusion of An Indie Fan
When I was twelve I knew all the words to Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill. My mom was an avid Morissette fan and I was immediately impacted by her angsty energy and sarcastic songwriting style. Now that I’m 20, around the age Morissette was when she wrote those songs, I can really understand her interpretation of what it meant for her to be a young woman in the world. In 1995 when this album was released, it quickly sold over 30 million copies. Alanis Morissette made the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, but she was depicted as an “Angry White Female.”
I recently found this critique when writing a piece on women's anger in music. When I was young, I carelessly listened to these tracks, finding her angst powerful and daring though I didn’t understand why anyone would label her in this way. For women, both famous and anonymous, emotions can be hard to put in the spotlight. The men who have told us to “pipe down” or “oh she's just on her period” have routinely belittled, if not ruined, what it means to have emotions without being ashamed of them.
Since I was young, I’ve been attracted to artists that belong somewhat outside of mainstream culture; Kimya Dawson, Big Thief, Soccer Mommy and, as I said, Alanis Morissette. These are some artists that fall into the broad category of indie music. They felt relatable and comforting and made me feel recognized in my emotions, actions, and voice. But, as I grow up and find myself identifying with the indie persona, I struggle to find where I really belong, as a woman, musician and queer listener. So, I question why I would want to be a part of the indie community when it is both confusing and exclusive.
Due to indie's fast-moving changes and overall wide-ranging sounds and styles it's hard to ever feel like you know indie, or you are a true indie listener. I started listening to indie when pop became too bland and I wanted something more deeply emotional, but also partly because of the influence of social media and my friends. I’ve been in conversations before that have criticized me for not knowing a certain indie artist when I claim to be an indie fan. It can feel like a competition to keep up with indie as a genre, when really most people can’t describe it. I decided to dive into indie and all it can be, this was hard to accomplish, but here is my attempt to.
A GENERAL OVERVIEW: Let's Start Here
Indie used to be a reference to artists that release independently, under no major label. When looking up “indie music,” Macklemore is shown as one of the first examples simply because Macklemore releases under his own label, Macklemore LLC but he definitely is a rapper, not something I would say indie music is even close to. Today, indie is an explicit genre that seems to refrain from mainstream music and is associated with other genres like lo-fi, bedroom pop, alternative, chill wave, etc. Under these two definitions, what is indie really? What sound qualities represent indie? How do artists fit into an indie genre? It definitely takes on a significant role in music listening today. All music streaming platforms seem to have an idea of what indie is. They generate playlists for users to listen to that are titled something like “Indie and Chill.” As a listener of indie music and these playlists, I can’t help but feel confused about what makes indie music “indie” besides it being an abbreviation for independent.
The one place you will find real definition for what characterizes the indie sound is a Reddit subpage, “ indie can be described as somber, acoustic, slow, and unpolished. A lot of indie music takes on a depressive tone instrumentally as well as vocally. This could be because of the idea of straying away from popular music. Indie becomes the opposite of something more upbeat and pop-like; typical mainstream sounds. One Reddit user wrote “At this point, nothing defines the indie sound. If the music is pop, but doesn't sound like mainstream pop records, it's called indie. Or if it's rock, but doesn't sound like the classic hard rock records, it's called indie.”
According to the spotify playlist “Front Page Indie”, PinkPantheress’s new single “mosquito” falls into that category, and this isn’t because she releases independently. This track and other tracks released by her are not somber, acoustic, slow, or unpolished. Maybe it's to gain some traction for artists, or maybe spotify isn’t the most reliable source for strict genre playlists. I mean you can find playlists titled “hot girl shit” or “gloomcore.” What is so difficult about indie is it can fall into the broad category of “not mainstream” but still, wouldn’t that become indie pop? Would it be mainstream? This is just one example and I still have a lot of questions about this genre.
WHAT WOULD YOU CALL THIS PAST REBELION? Indie Rock, Grunge, Alternative?
Indie rock tends to bleed into the alternative genre. Originally, alternative was a section of the record store for customers to dive into bands they had never heard of before. Now, alternative is a genre that is more similar to what I’ve been describing as indie, unlike mainstream indie pop. Where Indie may have a more somber tone and instrumentation, alternative can be anything that is unusual or unique as long as it deviates from the mainstream. I think of bands using their urge to rebel as inspiration for their music. Consisting of dark tones, guitar-heavy instrumentals, and powerful grunge vocals; it sounds a lot like another genre we all know: punk! From the 1970s to early 2000s punk laid the groundwork for what makes alternative what it is today. Punk feels a lot like the beginning of alternative and, by extension, the beginning of indie.
A lot of independent music labels started in the punk scene and created an “alternative” outlet for musicians to not feel pressured to follow major label agendas. A punk rock band from the UK that goes by the name Buzzcocks released an album in the late 70s called Spiral Scratch. It was all DIY and released independently. They were the start to this sound, their vinyl even included a step by step tutorial on how to release music on your own. It was approachable, new, and an exciting step away from mainstream. Indie might as well be a genre that emerged from bands like Buzzcocks but compared to the indie of today you could distinct rock, alternative and punk from indie easily. So maybe the indie of today should be called something different.
Apple music's “Indie Rock Essentials” playlist lists artists like Bikini Kill, Sonic Youth, Pavement, The Breeders, and other artists from the 90’s. These artists, especially The Breeders, do carry a sweeter tone than Hole or Nirvana, Sex Pistols or The Misfits, artists considered either grunge or punk, but I see them all crossing over into one another. One thing they all have in common is how their instrumentation, lyricism, personas, and overall energy rebels against mainstream music. However, these bands have certainly made a name for themselves and their eagerness to rebel is a big reason for their fame. Nirvana is one of the best selling bands of all time and has sold over 75 million records. The Breeders album “Last Splash” went platinum in 1994. These bands took rebellion and ran with it to create a genre where people could say what they wanted, wear what they wanted, and be themselves. This was the beginning of indie music but it's largely different then the indie of today.
INDIE TODAY: Indie Pop
Indie and indie pop have the most obvious crossover out of all the indie subgenres. The only difference is that indie pop seems to be directly related to gen z’s obsession with appearance and aesthetics, not only visually but socially. From here, indie pop becomes a performative category for bigger artists to mold into. Pop is the ultimate capitalist genre, larger sums of money are found in this genre more than any other. As I’ve mentioned before, indie used to be a genre in opposition to making money in the music industry and instead being able to release music without a capitalist vendetta. When combining indie and pop it becomes an oxymoron.
An indie pop playlist consists of indie artists who are front and center in the scene right now. This includes Olivia Rodriguo, Boygenius, and Steve Lacy who have been highlighted recently due to the attention to their newer album releases. These artists also gain traction through tik tok trends and social media personalities. They are considered very popular, even mainstream, especially Olivia Rodriguo, whose debut album “Sour” broke the global Spotify record for the biggest opening week for an album by a female artist. If Rodriguo’s new songs have reached the top of multiple music charts, is she really indie anymore or is she just a popstar?
Other than Olivia Rodrigou, you could say that indie pop alludes to artists who have started more indie and have now made names for themselves in the industry. Steve Lacy started by producing and releasing his own music in 2015 and was also in the indie band The Internet before he got big. His album “Gemini Rights'' reached the top charts in 2022 after a few of his songs were turned into tik tok dance trends, especially his track “Bad Habit.” Boygenius, a group consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, took their new album in a darker direction compared to other indie pop artists by mixing lyrics consisting of heartbreak with slow emotional instrumentals. All of the artists in this group started out similarly releasing music themselves or through independent labels but now, as they’ve reached stardom, they have become social media personalities and sell jewelry on their merch websites for over two hundred dollars.
Indie pop seems to only include artists who have reached a certain mass audience through social media marketing and other forms of visual appeal. All of these artists are directly correlated with mainstream music and are therefore seen frequently in popular media. This is why indie pop doesn’t feel indie anymore. Indie pop is inclusive of only artists who have made names for themselves and are considered celebrities, not just musicians. The music itself becomes half of the equation when musicians' personas are now just as important, if not more important, than the music they produce.
Indie has had drastic changes from the 80’s and 90’s to today. This is a huge reason why it feels so muddy to me and many indie listeners. If you call something alternative does that mean old? Is it old if it's indie rock and new if it's indie pop? Therefore it's not a genre anymore, it's just a time period. Bands like Nirvana and The Breeders didn’t have social media to create personalities on and in their peak popularity they still played local shows and were a part of the music scene in the 90’s. Artists today have a huge presence on social media and use it to advertise their music or sell more tickets to their shows. The recent connection between music scenes and social media have made drastic differences to a listener's relationship to any artist or genre.
INDIE & ME
All of this research has left me in a spiral of questions, is there a place in indie to separate the art form the artist? There isn’t! Unless streaming platforms and major labels change the way they choose to hire minorities, share the space, or represent them at all, their identity will be a huge part of the way in which they choose to be a musician. Therefore can I separate indie and my personal identity? Like I’ve been saying, is there a place to love something and also be critical of it? As a kid I listened to indie music and never asked these questions. Yes, they are important to ask, but also, I will always have that part of me that loves indie. Indie is confusing for me in its exclusionary practices – I chose to compile this paper and do this research for my own education.
I wanna go back to another definition of indie that I found in my research. It read, “Introverted, intellectual, and creative, but less hardworking and gentle than fans of other styles. Passivity, anxiousness, and low self-esteem were other notable personality characteristics.” When I first read this I laughed out loud. What a ridiculous way to describe an indie fan. But after some more thought I couldn’t help but feel like it was true. This view of an indie fan is very opinionated and doesn’t really answer the overarching question of “what is indie music?” But it does highlight the aesthetics and stigmas that indie holds on to. As an indie listener, I identify with a few of these characteristics and I feel comfortable in saying, I can relate to indie music so therefore I can relate to “an indie fan” but indie is a lot more than this for me.
NPR has an article from 2009 that asked music, arts, and entertainment communities to answer the question “What Does “indie” Mean To You?” Some people referred to indie as independent, others said “indie means nothing” and a few interpreted it as a product, a “section at target.” It did seem that most were confused about what indie meant in 2009 versus the 80s and 90s when bands were actually releasing independently.
Indie has a large audience, especially in the places I have found myself in. Both my high school and college experiences have put me right into indie communities. I don’t think I could escape it even if I tried. My mom and dad are also of an “indie” generation. I put it in quotations because the indie from when my parents were teenagers (80s-90s) is different from the indie today. I remember my dad showing me Modest Mouse, and my mom listening to The Breeders every morning on the way to school.
A few weeks ago I got the chance to speak to a songwriter and self-producing artist that goes by Operelly. We had a long conversation about what genre really is and how each of us choose to label our music. She said something I have been thinking about ever since, “As a musician, you are most definitely also a listener, and when a listener you probably aren't listening to one genre. How can anyone expect me to write music under one genre?”
Music is supposed to help people make sense of the world. Making and listening to music helps me make sense of the world. Yet the world doesn’t make sense, and indie is an example of these paradoxes, in artists anywhere, in me, and in what I love. I’m forgetting that Indie is derived from many different styles of music, indie is never just one thing, just like me. So, where does this lead me? Indie music is something that I can always say will influence and be a part of my life. So maybe being indie isn’t something I have to necessarily place. Just like being a daughter, being a student, being a musician, and being a writer are all things that will develop and change. Being indie one day, will be different from the next.
