I was amused to hear my students refer to a certain type of music as "indie", as if it were some kind of novelty. Once more my theory that the eighties are back is confirmed.
As much as kids nowadays want to sound cool by using that label to address music that is not gobbled up by the masses, the truth is that once again record companies use it as a marketing gimmick (just the same way they did when I was a kid).
Before I go on, let us look at what the term indie originally wanted to acknowledge. Indie comes from the word independent and, as far as music is concerned, usually meant any band that did not record its material through one of the "Big Four" (Warner, Universal, Sony BMG, and EMI). I believe this to be a relatively sensible definition of the term (for the time being I will not go into independent films, as I am not that familiar with the concept).
The term gained notoriety in the eighties, as some artists decided to shy away from the burgeoning business started by MTV, in which musicians were more about style than substance. The counter culture started by labels such as Factory Records, Rough Trade Records, and Sarah Records gained popularity specially in college campuses, where many teenagers felt a sense of dislocation amidst the new cult to image.
As much as kids nowadays want to sound cool by using that label to address music that is not gobbled up by the masses, the truth is that once again record companies use it as a marketing gimmick (just the same way they did when I was a kid).
Before I go on, let us look at what the term indie originally wanted to acknowledge. Indie comes from the word independent and, as far as music is concerned, usually meant any band that did not record its material through one of the "Big Four" (Warner, Universal, Sony BMG, and EMI). I believe this to be a relatively sensible definition of the term (for the time being I will not go into independent films, as I am not that familiar with the concept).
The term gained notoriety in the eighties, as some artists decided to shy away from the burgeoning business started by MTV, in which musicians were more about style than substance. The counter culture started by labels such as Factory Records, Rough Trade Records, and Sarah Records gained popularity specially in college campuses, where many teenagers felt a sense of dislocation amidst the new cult to image.
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