Charlatan

Sonic Youth is a great example... I caught them and Jad Fair at The Knitting Factory in NYC once. They were fantastic.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Derwood

yeah, but after a while, "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me," turns into "Fuck you, I need to eat and pay my bills"

madp

Hey. . .I grew up in Memphis. Where did you record, Ardent?

As I'm sure you're well aware, many well known "indie" artists have recorded at Ardent: Will Oldham, Jeff Buckley (though his indie status is debatable), and The Grifters come to mind right off hand. The Flaming Lips NEVER spared expense in recording even when they were barely scraping by. Steve Albini continues to record indie bands in his Chicago studio, and post-rock acts like Tortoise actually often build their own studios and spend countless hours flushing out their compositions in the studio.

I agree with you this point: "Indie" was a term used to describe a band whose label was independently owned (if they had a label at all). It has come to describe more of a philosophical approach to how music is composed, and the degree to which you do or do not use slick production effects.

"All my favorite singers couldn't sing." -Dave Berman/Silver Jews

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why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

Martian

Their music is happycrack. It makes you want to grin like an idiot and dance around. But those white robes freak me out.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Derwood

they wear black soldier uniforms now

Martian

That's even creepier.

Polyphonic Spree dude says:



"The revolution has begun!"

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Charlatan

There's this great independent band you should, they don't even have a label so they self-distribute, they're called Radiohead.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

SecretMethod70

Heh, Nine Inch Nails is "indie" too

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Charlatan

So is The Barenaked Ladies...

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Martian

These are fun, because they're examples of how the music industry is restructuring. Trent Reznor is reportedly considering self-producing as an option now (he shares my hatred for the big four), Radiohead as of the last I heard is looking for a D&M deal and Barenaked Ladies already have a D&M deal with Nettwerk, who are known to be an 'artist-friendly' label.

People think these guys can do this because they're big names and they've got the cash, but the truth of it is with modern technology a band can self-produce without making huge investments. It's entirely possible to set up a workable home studio for $5000 or less, and with the internet providing a great way to distribute to worldwide audience for next to nothing.

One artist I've been keeping my eye on is Saul Williams. Trent Reznor produced his newest album and it can be downloaded from his site (it was originally offered for free with the option of paying $5, but it seems the free download has been removed). From niggytardust.com is the following:

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

Charlatan

I am heartened by the changes occurring in the music industry and hope that it won't be long until it all shakes out.

Interesting side note: I was in HMV (there are only two in the whole city) the other day and noticed more "indie" Canadian bands in the regular stacks than I expected to see: Hot Hot Heat, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, Fiest (though I don't suppose she counts now, she did when I first got here), Arcade Fire...

Granted they are the more prominent of the lot but it was still kind of cool. I bought a New Pornographers CD. How old school of me.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

creepysusie

The loser that I am bought the Extended version of the Challengers CD from the New Pornographers.
Inside is the CD plus 3 blanks to just burn other stuff.

vanblah

Nope. We recorded at Young Avenue Sound. Same price range and "class" as Ardent.

We worked with a producer, Jeff Powell, who pretty much works anywhere he wants. He's worked with just about everyone who came through Ardent in the 80's and 90's.

Which reminds me ... another great "indie" band: Big Star.

Derwood

there are a lot of Band of Horses fans who are pissed that "The Funeral" is being used in a Ford Edge commercial. Fuck those fans. The song sounds cool in the ad, it gives the band exposure, and the band is (hopefully) getting paid well. Good for them

fightnight

Holy Crap - I used to listen to Link 80 back in my angsty ska highschool days. That's funny, i hadn't thought about that band in YEARS.

So everyone mentions the BSS crew, and there was an analogy to fiest as the Neko Case of BSS. But I'm uncertain that it's her as much as it's Emily Haines. Emily Haines is the vocal you hear on "anthems of a 17..." and is mentioned above in her newest band, "emily haines and the soft skeleton." Haven't seen her other band mentioned - Metric. I personally much prefer Metric to Soft Skeleton, but they're totally different sounds. Not to mention that she's absolutely beautiful, and when she's up on stage in a little white dress banging away on the keyboard, it just makes her that much hotter.

Speaking of Radiohead, I just got tix to go see them outside DC coming up, and i'll definitely be seeing them twice at "all points west" festival in NYC. They're headlining Friday and Saturday night. I can't wait.

My "indie" obsession: Okkervil River. If you haven't heard them, go take a listen. They are far and away my favorite band. If you like arcade fire or decemberists, or Neutral milk hotel - it would probably be in your best interest to get into them. You can thank me later.

hambone

Neutral Milk hotel = good

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"Like liquid white from fallen glass,
Nothing to cry over"

Charlatan

I just found out that Broken Social Scene is going to be playing here in a week or so... I think it will be just a little weird. The last time I saw them play was at the Rivoli in Toronto.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

fightnight

I actually saw them by accident the first time. I had a friend who was from Canada who had heard of them and bought me a ticket, and it was in a tiny club. I've since seen them in progressively larger venues, and it's definitely weird seeing them in the large venues they play today. Their thing is all about being such a tight knit group, and these large venues just don't seem right for their whole vibe.... but it's always a good show none the less.

thespian86

Yeah I love the exchange between the borders of Canada and The States. I once saw, in boston, The Tragically Hip and Sam Roberts; the hip are probably Canada's band, along with BNL (imho). Long story short there were like 45 people in this bar and Gord and Sam were really cool guys, both trashed, but great. I think I was the only one there to see them.

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EX: Whats new?
ME: I officially love coffee more then you now.
EX: uh...
ME: So, not much.

Charlatan

I saw the Tragically Hip play a small campus pub at Carleton University around 1987. Downey fell off the tiny stage. The next year they were the opening band for Frosh Week on campus... after that, they were playing much bigger venues.

I just looked and the price of Broke Social Scene tickets is S$118. The show is nearing sold out. That's the price of bringing them to Asia I suppose... Now I just have to decide if I want to pay that much.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke