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| − | ==History==
| + | The word Indie has several different applications in culture and music. [[Hipsters]] are a part of indie culture. The genre of indie music is often somewhat of a catch-all for modern bands that defy categorization. Sometimes indie music takes talent to make. See [[Of Montreal]]. Sometimes it doesn't. See [[Neutral Milk Hotel]]. Pretension is an important factor in any successful indie band, as is making sure that you never ever become popular or make enough money to pay the rent. If you do, you will have [[Sold Out]]. |
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| − | Indie Pop grew out of the aesthetics of punk and post punk of England in the late 1970s to early 80’s. Essentially a bunch of bookish college kids decided to embrace the “do it yourself" attitude of punk (recording and selling their own music) while accentuating their bookish quirks. Early Indie Pop (The Pastels, The Field Mice, The Vaselines) rejected “cool” for a sort of charming simplicity. Often referred to as “twee” (British baby talk for “sweet”) Indie kids sought to revitalize the specifically uncool: high school crushes, coloring books, record players, intimate folksy fuzz, and the idealism of being a little kid. | + | Indie music is quite popular at Knox. |
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| − | Within the context of this ostentatious, outward sweetness, a dark undercurrent permeates the innocent melodies of Indie Pop, so that you might have to listen to a song a few times before you realize how sad it is.
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| − | ==Influences==
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| − | The immediate influences of Britain’s Indie Pop self conscious explosion include: Shoegazers (Jesus and the Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive), Kurt Cobain (why do you think he likes Cardigan sweaters so much and covers the Vaselines?) and of course the various Indie permutations in the United States (Indie Rock, Indie Folk, Lo Fi, Anti Folk).
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| − | ==Today==
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| − | From about the early 90’s to now definitions of Indie are indistinct at best. Many bands retain the core principals of Indie on bigger record labels (Belle and Sebastian, Elliott Smith, The Shins), others retain the lo-fi quality inherent to self-made productions while pushing it’s lyrical and experimental boundaries (Neutral Milk Hotel, Cat Power, Iron and Wine), while others seem to have accentuated the pop aesthetics of early Indie along with its dialectic of bizarre and beautiful lyrics (Beck, The Flaming Lips, The Arcade Fire). Other influences of Indie in contemporary music include the offshoot Anti-Folk (The Magnetic Fields, The Moldy Peaches, Regina Spektor), and countless Alternative bands (Weezer comes to mind). Finally many bands specifically not Indie, or more accurately pre-Indie, have been more or less adopted by the Indie Fuck community for their predating Indie-esque qualities. Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, The Velvet Underground, and Tom Waits come to mind for their value of poetic songwriting over polished and mechanical pop, quirky and occasionally stunning experimentations and songs so sweetly constructed that it might take you a couple of listens before you realize how sad it is.
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| − | ==Indie at Knox==
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| − | Indie is quite popular at Knox, both in terms of culture and music. Unnecessarily bulky plastic-framed glasses abound, as do skinny jeans. An elite subculture who go beyond the few indie trends that have become pop culture bandwagons are known as [[Hipsters]]. Knox has some of these, too. They can be spotted by their worn slipper-like shoes, exceptionally skinny jeans, bandanas, and haircuts so odd or just plain ''bad'' that they have to be intentional. Odd hats, out-of-fashion glasses, and moustaches are also fairly reliable indicators, though it should be noted that the moustaches are a transient local trend. Recently, people have begun to fear that [[Hipsters]] are attempting to take over [[Jazz House]]. These fears stem from the fact that [[Jazz House]] plays host to many bands on campus whose members might be classified as indie, and thus one can often find many hipsters congregated in the living room of jazz house on weekends.
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