I really like a lot of Indie music. Some of it just goes real far out there on the weird-music-ometer but a lot of Indie music I come across I either like off the bat, or after a minimal amount of listens.
There are two aspects to Indie music in my mind: 1. the sound of it and 2. the fact that it's not known by people who don't do their homework in the genre. Some bands *cough Gotye cough* have an Indie sound, but as far as social standing with the masses goes, they might as well be Kesha (yepp. I just spelled her name with out the dollar $ign.) Don't get me wrong, I spend a good amount of time listening to the mainstream radio songs too (and sometimes, liking it). It just doesn't hold the same liking to my musical palette as Indie does.
To me, a big part of being an Indie artist is that you're not popular with everyone. Because that probably means you have something unique and you're strong enough to be okay with not being liked by some people because of it. I'm not implying that having a big fan base means you've sold out, but in a lot of cases, that happens. It's the same concept as the pseudo-hipster (made that up just now). You may look like a hipster, but do you look like a hipster because you actually are one, or because it's popular. See my point? I hope so.
I like me some Mumford and Sons on the radio and hearing an Arcade Fire song come on in Guitar Center always makes me feel like I won something. But for the most part, I appreciate Indie music being a private affair between my iPod and myself, and my friends. And maybe, my blog. ;)
There are two aspects to Indie music in my mind: 1. the sound of it and 2. the fact that it's not known by people who don't do their homework in the genre. Some bands *cough Gotye cough* have an Indie sound, but as far as social standing with the masses goes, they might as well be Kesha (yepp. I just spelled her name with out the dollar $ign.) Don't get me wrong, I spend a good amount of time listening to the mainstream radio songs too (and sometimes, liking it). It just doesn't hold the same liking to my musical palette as Indie does.
To me, a big part of being an Indie artist is that you're not popular with everyone. Because that probably means you have something unique and you're strong enough to be okay with not being liked by some people because of it. I'm not implying that having a big fan base means you've sold out, but in a lot of cases, that happens. It's the same concept as the pseudo-hipster (made that up just now). You may look like a hipster, but do you look like a hipster because you actually are one, or because it's popular. See my point? I hope so.
I like me some Mumford and Sons on the radio and hearing an Arcade Fire song come on in Guitar Center always makes me feel like I won something. But for the most part, I appreciate Indie music being a private affair between my iPod and myself, and my friends. And maybe, my blog. ;)