the.com/indie rock
Guitar music by people too proud to admit they wanted a hit.
means A loose genre of guitar-based music made and released independently of major record labels, prizing creative control and a lo-fi, DIY sensibility over mainstream polish.
from The name is pure shorthand: 'indie' clips 'independent,' describing the record labels — small, artist-run, un-corporate — that released this music starting in the UK and US underground scenes around the late 1970s and 1980s. 'Rock' just names the guitar-bass-drums backbone underneath. Over time 'indie' slid from describing a business model (who presses and distributes your record) to describing a sound and attitude — jangly guitars, understated vocals, a studied disinterest in gloss — even after many 'indie' bands signed to major labels, which is its own small irony baked into the word.
- name origin
- Named for independent labels, not any sound
- defining trait
- Thrift-store production hiding conservatory-level songwriting
- great irony
- Became a genre by refusing to be one
- peak symptom
- Band breaks up right after getting popular