Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with indierock

Too twee for me.

invitapriore — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:56:42 -0800

Draw a line from the 1981 release of This Heat's album Deceit to today. What do you get? A little while ago I realized that all of my favorite bands are at least twenty years old. I'd like to fix this, but I haven't heard anything rock-related recently that's grabbed me. Most of the new bands I've heard seem to fall in a few orbits that I'm not too interested in: Man Man, Girl Talk, The Antlers, Beirut, Devendra Banhart; all different styles that I can't muster much enthusiasm for.

My problem is that it all feels very safe to me. I don't want polite music. I don't even want impolite music. I want something seething, like the This Heat album I mentioned above, or The Fall, or something wild like The Red Krayola. I've had a little luck with Angels of Light, Michael Gira being someone I can rely on for transgression and Swans being one of the aforementioned 20 year old favorites. Still, it's not quite what I want. Come to think of it, things outside of rock are very welcome, too. Help me, AskMefi.

(Note: I'm probably not interested in anything metal or hardcore or etc., but if you can make a really good case for it I'll give it a whirl.)

(indie)rockin steel city?

rbs — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:30:32 -0800

I just moved to Pittsburgh from Chicago. Where's the live music? Specifically, the indie rock. Back home, I could count on good bands playing regularly at places like the Empty Bottle. Is there an equivalent here? Or do the bands just not come? Artists I've been listening to a lot lately include: Electrelane, Headlights, Handsome Furs, Stereolab, Belle and Sebastian, Headlights, Camera Obscura (but not their new album...), Castlemusic, Hidden Cameras, Entire Cities.

Where can I find acts like that?

What Indie Band Goes Best With 70's Rock?

Lipstick Thespian — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:02:17 -0800

Who Are The Journeys and Joni's Of Today? I am doing a 70's music show for a local radio station next week, and I am thinking that a cool theme would be pairing an iconic 70's artist with an indie band or current band that obviously sounds like/was influenced by/would be one of those "if you like X, then try Y" bands.

I want to play them back-to-back to juxtapose the old with the new, blah blah blah.

What I'm hoping the Metaverse will come up with is great rock analogies for this set, i.e. say the Doobie Brothers paired with Kings Of Leon, or Yes with The New Pornographers.

I'd love your suggestions and if anyone's interested after this post, the show airs 10 - Noon EST here: wscafm.org next Monday, 4/20/09. Show's called Raised on Radio.

What would I have been listening to in 2004-08?

Bookhouse — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:15:40 -0800

Please help me get caught up on the last four years of (certain types of) music. About four years ago I quit my job as a rock critic and, as a result of burnout, really stopped paying attention to new music. I think I'm ready to get back up to speed. I'll use year-end lists to get caught up in general, so what I could use are suggestions from the last four years of my favorite genres, which are:

1). Shoegazer-inspired stuff
2). Trippy electronica a la Boards of Canada and odd nosdam (I do have the latest albums from both of them)
3). Stoner metal
4). elephant 6-style psychedelica

Also, links to video or music blogs about the above would be welcome. Thanks.

where would tupac not go to collectively mix music online?

garfy3 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:56:53 -0800

i'm looking for a site like jamglue, but one more focussed on the indie-rock/acoustic stuff, and way less consumed by hip-hop? what are similar web-based, track editing/mixing alternatives? [not that there's anything wrong with hip-hop, of course, just not my thing at the moment]

What's Berlin's best indie rock venue?

GilloD — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:25:57 -0800

I'm looking for an indie rock/small rock venue in Berlin. My wife and I are in Berlin for 9 days. In addition to all of the regular sights, we were hoping to take in a show or two. I've attempted to find Berlin's hot spot venues, but came up empty. Suggestions? I'm sort of looking for a Berlin version of Maxwell's or the the Bowery Ballroom. Thanks!

Your favourite indie band sucks.

Robot Johnny — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:38:00 -0800

Music nerds! All these indie rock bands are starting to bore me. I want something different... something unique, unconventional, magical, soulful, challenging, uncategorizable, fun, heartbreaking, bizarre, and all or none of the above. I think as part of my mourning process for the recent disbanding of the Rheostatics, I got to wondering what made them so special. Their particularly fervent Canadianness aside, they were uncompromising, unorthodox, smart, witty, idiosyncratic, and I suppose a little avant-garde. They're the one band that grew with me from highschool into adulthood and helped me learn to broaden my musical tastes and embrace the awkward, the geeky, and the unconventional in everything.

The more I reflected on the band these past weeks, and how much their music meant to me and excited me, the more I realized just how disheartened and bored I am with the current crop of hyped indie bands like the Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Broken Social Scene, Death Cab, Wolf Parade, etc. etc.

All fine bands, but just not what I'm looking for (and without a doubt one of you was going to suggest the Arcade Fire, admit it!) My disinterest has made them all start to sound the same.

That said, in addition to the Rheostatics, here's a quick list of stuff I have been digging: Talking Heads, early Elvis Costello, Magnetic Fields/Stephin Meritt, Lambchop, Pavement, Man Man, Stereo Total, Prince, TMBG, The Polyphonic Spree, Smog, Gogol Bordello, early Bowie, Jens Lekman, Crooked Fingers, The Go! Team, Optiganally Yours, The Russian Futurists -- much of which I don't know how to classify (which in itself is a desirable quality). My last.fm profile may be a good barometer, too.

But don't limit yourself to rock/pop. Different is good! Bring on the exceptionally incomparable country, soul, doo-wop, hip-hop, bluegrass, exotica, electronic, folk, blues, polka, jazz, and punk! Bonus points for banjos, vocoders, and toy pianos.

Indie Rock Tragedy Playlist

srboisvert — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 08:31:00 -0800

Help me finish a just started Indie Rock Tragedy playlist. I currently have "The Commander Thinks Aloud - The Long Winters" and "The President is Dead - Okkervil Radio". I am looking for consistency in theme and sound/genre.

Indie Rock Love Songs

tweak — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:52:54 -0800

IndieRockLoveSongFilter: What are some good indie rock love songs? I'm making a CD for a certain someone, yet... I love all kinds of music, but especially indie stuff (more recent stuff). So does she. But the problem is that most of the music I like and listen to is usually depressing, especially the stuff about love. Like that song "Engine Driver" from the Decemberists, or anything by Wilco or Broken Social Scene or whoever; it just makes me want to lie face down on the floor and not move. Not exactly the music I'm looking for... I'm looking for the stuff that will make two sarcastic cynics feel sentimental and hopeful but not cheesy. So if you know of any good love songs that strike that middle ground between gut-wrenchingly depressing and saccharine indiepop, I would very much appreciate it. Better yet, if you had to make a CD for someone you loved, what would you put on it? Genre isn't really important in the end, but I had to pick a theme. Ok, I don't like country.

Some songs I have on my short list: "Digital Love" by Daft Punk; "Run Into Flowers" by M83; "Postcard of a Painting" by Maximo Park; "To Be Alone With You" by Sufjan Stevens (as you can see these songs don't necessarily flow together well, but the theme is overridingly digital because we first met online a few years back).

If any other information would help, she's multilingual, likes Shakespeare and we are both pretty young.

i haven't left my day job. yet.

sammich — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 03:56:44 -0800

how much do indie rock stars make on average? I know income stream is very unstable in the music business. But bands like Sleater Kinney and Interpol obviously make enough money to live on their music (ok maybe Interpol is a bad example, lets say Yo La Tengo). But how much is that on average? Is it considered middle class? I'm talking about bands that aren't huge but have an established national fanbase with a steady stream of albums (Low is another good example). And on the other hand. Is there perhaps a correlation with how 'buzzworthy' a band is and how much they make? Do people in Arcade Fire live on a tight budget? Can Conor Oberst afford to buy a nice house with a pool in West Hollywood? Parade magazine should do a cover story on this.

You were wrong.

psmealey — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 07:43:46 -0800

In Built to Spill's song "You Were Right" (from 1999's Keep it Like a Secret) Doug Martsch samples the lyrics of many Classic rock tunes. He steals from Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Stones, Bob Seger, the Beatles, Kansas and so on. I pretty much know all the references, save one. From which classic rock gem is the line "do you ever think about it" from? This has been bugging me for many years, as I should know it. Secondly, when he says, "everything is going to be all right", I assume this is a reference to "you know it's gonna be all right" from the Beatles' "Revolution", but I could be wrong. Any takers on that one?