Supposedly, Brandon Flowers isn't the only one with cravings for indie music. Whether it be "experimental", "chill", or "pop" indie, there has been an explosion of new listeners. This can be credited to a few things. 1, everyone is tired of rap about dancing and grinding on your hoe. 2, who doesn't want to be a hipster. And finally 3, the internet. The internet is clearly the biggest reason why indie bands have been able to make it. With the ability to torrent, download, blog, and "scrobble", indie bands have been able to develop a fan base far beyond their local areas. Bands such as Vampire Weekend and Feist were popular topics of blogs and through that exposure were able to succeed. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah can also credit the large success of their first album to blogging. Last.fm has also had an extremely large impact on music. If you take 5 minutes to start an account, plus about a week of intense iTunes listening, you will be exposed to plenty of bands that you would love, yet never knew existed. The technology that Last.fm uses, as well as Pandora Radio, is allowing bands to get larger fan bases and more success.This doesn't just apply to newer bands, although. This explosion of music blogs and increased
indie exposure has also helped older bands, such as Neutral Milk Hotel, to get exposure they never got when they were playing the nineties. For bands like NMH, it was difficult to consolidate a fan base because they weren't a Billboard 100 band. Without blogging and a solid file downloading system, their music was never able to launch as far as it would have if they were playing now.The internet has allowed Neutral Milk Hotel's music to live on long after they have stopped playing, and have given them a name as an extremely talented indie band.
With the internet being a great medium for getting music, it seems as if indie music has a large pedestal for indie music to sit on. As it continues to get bigger, we can finally see indie hit more mainstream. Bands such as Vampire Weekend, MGMT , Passion Pit, and Chester French will be able to get much more exposure and fame due to their distinct, yet poppish sound. Although these bands have clear pop roots, they experiment and do different things that give them a completely different sound than all of the Fall Out Boy's and All American Rejects.So as we continue to bask in the glory that is indie music, we give our thanks to the internet. Without downloading, myspace, and other blogs, what would indie music be now?
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do i dare say that indie music would be better without the internet? the whole blogging thing is kind of killing these bands (see clap you hands say yeah and killers and bravery shitty second albums). do you think any of those bands that you named will make it long enough to make a good second album?
blogging has put tremendous pressure on the indie music scene, bands feel like they have remain relevant or fall victim to the next big thing.
and popularity can be dangerous, especially for people who aren't seeking it. jeff magnum is a great songwriter and if he wanted to be on the billboard 100, he could've been there. but that's not his thing, he likes reading Anne Frank and making heartfelt music. in fact, popularity made him go crazy (he hasn't played a full show in more than 10 years) and broke up his band! so i wouldn't really call this blogging thing helping NMH, who never were in it for a fanbase.
in your defense, the internet HAS made it a whole lot easier, but it hasn't necessarily made the music or the scene better. to answer the question you ask at the end, indie rock would be where it always has been, in the underground, rocking out in some basement..
-james
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