1. Indie rockoriginates fromthe termIndependentRock;itwas a way of makingrecords inthe early
1980’s. Small rock artistswouldbook time at a low-budgetrecordlabel torelease analbumintothe
musicscene as an indie rockrecord. A distinctsound wasbeingcreatedbythese independentbands
for example The SmithsandREMwere considered some of the firstindie bands, makingthe mould
for future indie music. Asa formof alternative rock, indierockvariedfromvery differentstyles, for
example bandslikePixieswhoheavily reliedonthe distortion sound. They thenwentontoinfluence
Nirvanawhomade theirdebutalbumNevermind in1991 at Sound CityStudios asmall recordlabel
that wasin regression. Asthe grunge scene broke intothe mainstreamitlostitsindierockstatus
therefore makingindie rockonly applicable tobands whostuckto theirindependentnature. This
was the way until bandslike The Stone Rosescame ontothe scene reintroducingthatindividual
soundand creatingalmosta brandfor Indie Music. Thisbrand wasreinforced bythe less
independentbandOasisinthe 90’swithparker’s, simple colours, smartclothes andscruffy hair, very
much influenced bythe modscene fromthe 1970’s. Bandstoday inthe indie rockcatchmenthave a
cross between punkandclassicrockchangingthe meaningof Indie fromanindependentlabel;toan
independentstyle of music. Magazines likeNMEand Q follow thisgenre alongwithothers.
Examples of Indie Bandstoday:
Arctic Monkeys The Strokes The Libertines
Wolf Alice Courteeners The Twang
Noah and the Whale Jack White Deer Tick
TASK 6
2. NME 20 Greatest Indie Anthems (Voted by readers)
1 The Killers - When You Were Young
2 The Killers - Mr Brightside
3 Oasis - Live Forever
4 The Strokes - Last Nite
5 The Libertines - Can’t Stand Me Now
6 Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
7 Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
8 The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
9 The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
10 Pulp - Common People
11 The Strokes - Reptilia
12 The Smiths - This Charming Man
13 Blur - Song 2
14 Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance
15 The Strokes - Someday
16 The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
17 Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
18 Oasis - Cigarettes And Alcohol
19 Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum
20 The Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection
THIS IS AN EXAMPLEOF THE
KIND OF SETTING I WAS
THINKING OF FOR MY FRONT
COVER. THE PLAIN COLOUR
BACKGROUNDS SHOWS
SIMPLICITY AND
PROFESSIONALISM AS IT
WILL MAKE THE EFFECT OF A
PHOTO SHOOT. THESE
COLOURS WILL ALSO MATCH
MY MAGAZINE STYLEAND
THEME. THE MODEL IN
THESE PICTURES IS ALSO
THE TYPE OF PERSONI WANT
ON MY COVER AS I WANTED
A FEMALE MODELTO SHOW
THE GENDER EQUALITY IN
INDIE MUSIC AND THE LONG
HAIR AND SIMPLE COLOURS
OF HER CLOTHESHITS MY
4. THE MAKEUP THAT MY MODELWILL WEAR WILL
BE FAIRLY UNDERSTATED AND NOT TOO IN
YOUR FACE THIS SHOWS THAT THE CHARACTER
IS CONFIDENT AND HIGHLIGHTS THAT
INDEPENDENCE THAT IS REQUIRED IN THE INDIE
SCENE. THE EYE MAKEUP WILL BE THE MAIN
FEATURE AS I WILL BE TAKING A CLOSE UP
PICTURE OF MY MODEL. SO AN EXAMPLEOF
THIS IS IN BOTH PICTURES WITH EYE BROWS
THICK BUT NOT LOOKING TO FAKE. AS WELL AS
EYE LINER DRAWN WITH A SLIGHT FLICK AT THE
END TO GIVE SHAPE; MASCARA MAKES THE EYE
LASHES MORE DEFINED ALONG WITH THE EYE
SHADOW TO GIVE THE WHOLE EYE SOME DEPTH.
THE FOCUS ON THE EYES WILL MAKE THE IMAGE
MUCH EASIER TO EDIT VIA STYLES.
ARTICLE IDEAS
Q & A with artist
Exclusive on new album
History of artist
Tour highlights
INFLUENCES
Other artists
views on artist
5. WHOLE PAGE DEDICATED TO THE
CONVENTIONS THE MAIN IMAGE AND
THE MAIN TITLE, I LIKE THIS IN A
DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD AND ARTICLE
AS A BIG PERCENTAGE OF ENJOYING
A MAGAZINE IS IMAGES AS WELL AS
THE ARTICLES. THE PICTURE IS A
MID SHOT AS ED SHEERAN SEES
HIMSELF AS EQUAL TO EVERYONE
HOWEVER THE LACK OF DIRECT
DRESS SHOWS AN ELEMENT OF
SWAGGER AND COOL. I LIKE THE
PULL QUOTE IN THE THE PICTURE AS
IT INVOLVES THE READER AND AND
MAKES THEM WANT THEM TO READ
ON. THE COLOUR RED NOT ONLY
MATCHES THE COLOUR SCHEME OF
THE MAGAZINE BUT ALSO FITS THE
QUOTE AS WELL AS THE COLOUR OF
HIS HAIR.
THE ARTICLE IT SELF IS FORMATTED INTO TWO COLUMN
WHICH IS VERY CONVENTIONAL FOR A MAGAZINE
ARTICLE AS IT MAKES IT EASIER TO READ FOR THE
READER. I PARTICULARLY LIKE THE DROP CAP AT THE
START AS IT MATCHES THE MASTHEAD OF THE MAGAZIN
‘Q’ (SHOWN ON THE LEFT). THIS SENSE OF COHESION
ALLOWS THE MAGAZINE TO GAIN A PROFESSIONAL
LOOK. THE FREE FLOWING ARTICLE IS USED
EFFECTIVELY TO TELL A STORY OF THE ARTISTS RECEN
ESCAPADES AND IS WRITTEN IN AN INFORMAL WAY TO
CATER FOR THE YOUNG AUDIENCE I ASSUME THE
MAGAZINE IS AIMED AT. IT ALSO HAS QUOTES FROM ED
HIMSELF AND PEOPLE CLOSE TO HIM SHOWING THAT
LITTLE BIT OF INTERACTION BUT NOT QUITE AS MUCH AS
THE ‘Q & A’ ARTICLES. I LIKE FREE FLOWING ARTICLES
BECAUSE YOU GET TO HEAR THE VIEW OF A
PROFESSIONAL JOURNALIST ABOUT SOMETHING YOU
ARE INTERESTED IN. I LIKE THE SECTION IN THE MIDDLE
WHERE IT IS JUST FACTS IT STANDS OUT AND IS WRITTE
IN NOTE FORM SO THE READER CAN TAKE IN THE INFO
VERY QUICKLY.
This edition of the ‘Q’ magazine is a ‘Q & A’ with Bono about the
newest U2 escapades, there is much more direct dress in this
page as the image of Bono is looking at the camera. There is
also a full pull quote almost like it was a separate question but
could stand alone as a quote. The question and answer element
also adds that element of personalisation and asks the
questions that the audience would be wanting to ask. As the
free flowing article is more of a story telling element this is
more of a informative piece from the lips of the of the artist
themselves. I like the ‘Q & A’ element of this article as it gets
the inside scoop which you is not available in the free flowing
articles as easy. I like how the questions are separated as they
seem like separate paragraphs making it easier for the reader to
navigate. The questions are written in bold which once again
makes the navigation much easier. Also the pull quote is in a
handwritten font with the colour associated with the punk
movement showing that Bono is trying to be personal and relate
to an audience.
