Indie Kid > Scene Kid
Read This, then this. After, read this. I have had about ten posts on music saved as drafts, I figured now would be a good time to combine them. It’s a response to Eric and a babble about some other stuff I’ve been meaning to say.
RE & Rant: I would gladly fulfill some of those stereotypes. In fact, I think I do. I don’t really compare anybody to Iron and Wine because, well, I don’t really listen to anybody else that sounds like him. Nevertheless, I wear unique shirts, I enjoy records, and I wish I could find a decent pair of sunglasses. I’m not trying to be a scene kid, I’m simply associating myself with something I enjoy the most. It’s the scene kids who ruin this. They’re that friend trying to hard. Chances are they were that white kid in high school who had cornrows. Hell, he may still own that red New York Yankees hat from middle school.
This may sound like I want to be just another indie kid, but I feel that it’s all in how you approach your identity. I don’t try to be indie, I simply like the music that is classified in that genre. I don’t want to hear a song that was produced by timbaland, nor do I prefer something simply because it’s different (I’m looking at you, girl who rated that Battles CD); It’s all a balance. I’m comfortable with telling somebody I don’t like MTV(2), the 95% of music they play, and why. Usually, people get upset about Indie kids, but it’s the scene kid who tends to make us look bad. He’s the dude who goes around telling people about this really cool new band. They are foreign, nobody knows about them, and he just discovered them. Most likely, the kid comes off as trying to hard. He may also own a few OC Soundtracks.
What is your definition of indie? Is it primarily folk? Psych-folk? Indie-pop? Why is my favorite artist Sufjan? Why is Elliott Smith yours? Why is Radiohead yours? I believe that that question cannot be answered simply. However, to some degree, its what you have connected to most, what you grew up with, and what describes your personality best; granted, this may change depending on your level of value regarding music.
In addition, if you are 100% indie, anti-everything popular, then you, my friend, you are a scene kid. You are way too deep to recognize that not all popular music is bad. You are more concerned about holding your image. “The shins?! Come on, I wanna listen to that Sun 0))).” Now, you may be telling the truth, but your desire to listen to the less-listened is coming off as a little fake.
8 Comments
August 16, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Hey man, I had cornrows in high school, and believe me, it does not help you find acceptance or admiration–it makes you socially cast-out. I had them so I could play basketball and because it was different–I thought it was cool to be different. Can’t wait to smoke again… hugs and kisses.
August 17, 2007 at 4:24 am
Yeah, i liked the first definition on the urban dictionary. What i typically see is kids trying to be so indie that they pick up on stereotypes and forget that it’s about the music.
August 22, 2007 at 3:11 am
I’m an indie blogger. I was talking about this in 2003.
August 24, 2007 at 5:05 am
I’m sure we could have discussed this in 2003, but it wasn’t borderline becoming a fad like it is now. Once upon a time indie music was not as well accepted and you could go to an indie show and not have to pay over 20 dollars or be concerned about it selling out. but now indie isn’t so indie unless they are really truly independent, recording at their home, playing shows around town and around their state. I think a splitting of the indie music genre needs to occur. mainstream indie and authentic indie… it’s a tough genre just because a bands popularity can grow so quickly, especially being asked to tour with mainstream indie bands, or small indie record companies all of a sudden sign an act that is really talented, that record company starts getting money, and plus more people look to that company for other suggestions on artists… it’s a chain of events… but indie is now a term used often thanks to that asshole zach braff.
August 24, 2007 at 6:13 am
Amen, Eric. I think a lot of it has to do with indie compilations as well; the OC Soundtracks have done more damage than braff ever could. Indie is a fad right now, just how poppy synth before it, and emo was before that.
It’s kind of a catch 22 being an indie fan because you hate the music played on the radio, but get upset when somebody starts to listen to good music.
August 24, 2007 at 6:39 am
I think the main difference between Braff and OC Soundtracks is that Braff genuinely appreciates “indie” music, whereas the OC was trying to capitalize on a fad that was clearly ready to grow. I don’t know if anyone else read Braff’s blog while he was making Garden State, but at the end of every post he wrote about an actual indie band that he was into at the time. It was pretty cool.
November 25, 2008 at 3:26 am
Eric is right. Unfortunatly indie is no longer “indie”. I have made this discovery souly on the fact that any time i find a new band that I like, I proceed to tell a friend about it and the response I usually get is, oh yea i love them! or, oh yea i’ve been listening to them for years! The tricky part of looking fake comes in when the band is so popular that you try and tell your friends you discovered them (meanwhile you introduced the band to half your friends, which they seem to have forgotten.) So then you look like the overly obsessed loser you talked about. Unfortunatly for now indie is in and anyone who is truely indie gets pushed to the side by a million people who like all the bands that you liked 3 years ago. Time will pass and the movement will be forgotten and life for most of us will return to how it was 3 years ago. For now though there is enough bands out there you can always find one who isn’t all that popular.
December 25, 2008 at 10:00 am
I agree with all of you guys, I have seen and also have just been informed that the reason why indie is in right now is because when emo went big, people resorted to scene and now that they feel like its becoming big as well they are going to indie. Now, I don’t know if this is why its happening or the reason behind it, but it might have some truth to it. Like you guys have just said its a fad and sooner or later its not going to be “in”. I feel that the newer generations are just looking for anything that they think is “cool” and therefor are ruining many different “lifestyles” which I feel should stop