Indie Music

More often than not when people are asked to describe indie artist, they describe a band of what can be best thought of as 'rebels' strumming a few tunes on their guitars only to go backstage and exclaim, "Duuude. That was awesome."

Well their half right and half wrong. Indie artists are in fact rebels. The word Indie (slang for independent) itself originated in England in the wake of punk-rock in the late 1970's and the do-it-yourself ethos. This means that most is not all artists were using their musical platform, no matter how small, to perpetuate their socio-political views.

Now you may be thinking, 'Hey I liked American Idiot, I guess I like Indie.' This is where the most distinct difference lies. Greenday, from the beginning has been in contracts with major record labels such as but not limited to Reprise Records (founded by Frank Sinatra).  A better example would be 'Kids on the Street' by initial indie artists 'All-American Rejects'. However, some artists who have signed with major records can also be considered indie if their views and sentiments are being accurately projected to their audience without external influences such as 'Muse'.

Indie labels give their artists more freedom on the sort of music they make inclusive of songwriting, production and post-production. This helps encapsulate the true spirit of what the artists want to say.

This allure is exactly what attracts artists like LP. After having multiple favourite tracks dropped and the remaining altered beyond recognition in her album, Forever for Now, she took a more indie rock/pop approach, penning songs of such genius that she could not be denied. Songs such as 'Lost on You' and 'Muddy Waters' in her latest album 'Death Valley'.

Indie awards artists of portraying their rawest emotions in the form of their music. Despite a lot of indie music resembling one another due to the drawing of inspiration, Indie music is free from the constraints of musical genres, letting artists dabble in multiple genres.