To Indie or not Indie

An in-depth look on what the word “indie” really means.

I’m noticing more and more these days that young artists are eager to label themselves as “indie” or “indie rock”. I myself am guilty of telling others that I’m a fan of “indie bands” or “indie music”, but at the root of all that, what does “indie” really mean.

The term indie was originally coined as a shorter form of independent, referring to bands that were signed to independent labels. I’ve heard Radiohead referred to as “indie” yet only their latest album of new material (thus exclusing their greatest hits) actually qualifies as an independent release. Still, Radiohead is an extremely well known band, and far more widely known than other Indie would-bes.

Similary, The White Stripes, Modest Mouse, and even R.E.M.(Life’s Rich Pageant) have had songs played on Top 40 Radio stations and videos featured on MTV. Movie soundtracks like Garden State and Juno have also seen to it that bands like The Shins and The Moldy Peaches have received more mainstream attention than their some of their “indie” brother bands.

Most frightening, perhaps, is that I once saw a Hilary Duff album featured in the “Top Indie Albums” category on itunes. Even if that album was released outside of Virgin or Universal, does Duff really deserve to be put in the same category musically as say Sleater-Kinney.

At some point, indie began referring to the sound rather than describing the record label under which the artists were performing. Modern bands that emulate a Beatles sound are often called indie (The Vines, Oasis, Tears for Fears, etc). It is under this umbrella that Radiohead or similar bands can refer to themselves as indie without misusing the term.

Ultimately, however, indie is simply as broad of a term as “rock”. At some point, both defined a clear type of music. Rock soon became post-rock, hardcore, pop rock, country rock, and even the infamous “indie rock”. And until we find a way to clearly label what is and isn’t indie rock, I’ll continue using it to describe the quirky, lo-fi sound I desperately cannot get enough of.