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
4. This is an example of 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 magazinestyle and theme. The
model in these pictures is also the
type of person I wanton my cover as I
wanted a female model to show the
gender equality in Indie music and the
long hair and simple colours of her
clothes hits my genre.
The makeup that my model will wear will be fairly
understated and not too in your face this shows thatthe
character is confident and highlights that independence that
is required in the Indiescene. The eye makeup will be the
main feature as I will be taking a close up picture of my
model. So an example of 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 columns 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 magazine ‘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 recent
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 E
himself and people close to him showing that little bit of interaction b
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 written in note form so the reader ca
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.
