roachboy

i thought this question (of what"indie" means, particularly with respect to the "majors") was posed when the folk from sonic youth did a tour as a&r reps for geffen a few years ago...and i suppose that sy would complicate this kind of discussion in a bunch of ways (what are they? who gets to say?)

personally, i think sy played the game in as intelligent a manner as any band i know of. they've been around for like 20 years, they've continued working on their own terms, they've got a definite sound they have developed, but its not static, they control their own fates, they can do as they like, they tour as they like, they are important patrons for a huge range of younger/otherwise more obscure bands.

and live, on a good night, they are still great.

are they an "indie" band?
yes
no
maybe
whocares.

are they actually independent, as artists, in the sense of being more or less autonomous in a context that does not enable that easily at all?

yes.

does independent then mean the same thing as "indie"?

of course not.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite