Spiritually, what is it
Something existential, economic, emotional, geographical
Marnie Stern: To me, indie rock is defined by a philosophy that is raw, non-materialistic, urgent, music-loving, and driven by a group of creative, abandoned people.
Randy Randall: Indie rock is at its best when it provides a safe and welcoming space for outsiders and voices that connect to marginal communities. Sensitive, personal and depressive music could be considered accepted in the indie rock camp (…) Hopefully indie rock will be remembered for the acceptance and inclusiveness it can sometimes bring. On the other hand, I would like a quick CTE to the heterosexual mainstream embrace of white colleges that has devolved into jam bandification of the term.
Karly Hartzman: I think the real markers of this music are the experimentation and ingenuity that is brought on by budgetary constraints, time constraints (many people on independent labels are in school or have to have jobs outside of music), and equipment constraints. I think these limitations often give a more personal and unique touch to the music.
Ryan Schreiber: Boiled down to its purest essence – in its most codified form – indie rock is a very specific and tangible thing: a lineage of guitar-based music with a strong DIY ethos and ties to local, grassroots music scenes. It’s sloppy and raw, raw and imperfect, sometimes experimental and inventive, but always heavily focused on pop hooks and songcraft. Over the decades, I’ve seen it mutate, twist, and divide into a hundred hyphens, but ultimately indie rock seems content to be itself again.
Ben Gibbard: The second definition, for me, is that it’s more of an esoteric idea about people making music from an iconoclastic position, as opposed to what’s commercially successful at the time. Not necessarily out of defiance, but simply out of a spirit of independence. I was trying not to use the word “independent” in any of my explanations, but this is the one place where I feel like there’s no escaping it. And this music can exist on major labels. It’s Sonic Youth, it’s Built to Spill, you know, Perfect from now on. Built to Spill signed to a major label and they made the Pacific Northwest The hidden side of the Moon.
Gn entert
