lecture slides for music module

1. #med332
Glamorous
indie
rock’n’roll?
@rob_jewi:

2. Defining
‘indie’
Defining
a
category
like
indie
is
not
only
problemaBc
for
scholars
who
seek
to
understand
culture;
it
is
also
difficult
for
community
members
themselves
…
Fans
and
members
of
the
BriBsh
music
industry
oKen
struggle
to
come
to
terms
with
defining
something
they
feel
they
can
recognize
intuiBvely
-­‐
Fonarow,
2006:
25

3. Defining
‘indie’
1. a
type
of
musical
produc-on
affiliated
with
small
independent
record
labels
with
a
disBncBve
mode
of
independent
distribuBon
2. a
genre
of
music
that
has
a
parBcular
sound
and
stylisBc
convenBons
3. music
that
communicates
a
parBcular
ethos
4. a
category
of
cri-cal
assessment
5. music
that
can
be
contrasted
with
other
genres

4. The
Big
3
34.1%
16.7%
22.5%
Record
companies,
physical
and
digital
revenue
market
shares,
2012–14

5. Scale
In
Britain
alone
it
has
been
esBmated
that
there
were
600
small
companies
in
the
mid-­‐1990s
(MMC
1994),
while
more
recent
directories
oKen
contain
thousands
of
entries,
given
the
marginal
nature
of
these
companies,
and
the
expansion
in
music
industries
facilitated
by
the
internet
and
the
growth
of
DIY
music,
it
is
likely
that
this
is
a
underesBmaBon
-­‐
Tim
Wall
2013:137

6. RomanBcism
Visionary
label
creators

7. 'independent
record
companies
have
long
held
a
cultural
status
that
far
exceeds
the
actual
economic
impact
they
have
in
the
market
place'
-­‐
Lee,
1995:
14

8. The
discourse
of
indie…
• More
creaBve?
• Greater
arBsBc
freedom?
• Diversity?
• Be:er
for
the
industry?

10. CelebraBon
of
Independent
labels
as
sites
of
innovaBon
from
2
camps:
1
-­‐
Passion
for
record
collecBon;
‘roots’;
authenBcity
2
-­‐
AnB-­‐capitalist;
pro-­‐counter-­‐culture

11. black
capitalism
self-­‐empowerment
African-­‐American
equality
undermined
by
the
intervenBon
of
major
companies
following
disco
boom
of
the
late
1970s
Independent
hip-­‐hop
as
the
new
African-­‐
American
empowerment

12. Majors
Independents
Safe
New/risky
Distant
Intimate
Profit
Art
Fake
Real/genuine
Standardised
Innovative
Conventional
Radical
‘Whited-out’
Ethnically assertive
Middle-aged
Youthful
Wall,
p140

13. Defining
‘indie’
1. a
type
of
musical
produc-on
affiliated
with
small
independent
record
labels
with
a
disBncBve
mode
of
independent
distribuBon

14. Indie
as
Mode
of
DistribuBon
Indie
charts
vs
mainstream
pop
chart

15. In
1977
there
were
750
chart
return
shops
in
Britain,
with
250
outlets
recording
their
sales
for
the
singles
chart
and
450
outlets
recording
their
sales
for
the
album
chart.
The
UK
charts
were
compiled
from
data
on
purchases
made
at
selected
outlets
of
major
chain
stores
such
as
WHSmith
and
Woolworths,
which
also
sell
a
broad
variety
of
other
goods,
as
well
as
from
some
of
the
megastores,
such
as
Virgin,
HMV,
and
Tower,
which
primarily
sold
music.
-­‐
Fonarow,
2006:
30

16. First
NME
indie
chart:
1979
<-­‐
Dec
1983

18. DiY
labels
Simple
>
quick
>
cheap
1977:
the
Chiswick
label
recorded
and
manufactured
2,500
copies
of
an
EP
for
£700
Fast
Product
Rough
Trade
Postcard
Zoo
Records
SBff
Factory
Mute
Beggars
Banquet
Some
Bizzare
Cherry
Red
FicBon
4AD

19. DistribuBon
“The
thing
to
do
is
to
get
your
own
distribuBon
network
then
you’ve
got
control,
you’ve
got
power.
You
can
decide
with
musicians
what
gets
out
to
the
country
and
give
people
alternate
means
of
informaBon”
-­‐
Geoff
Travis
in
Hesmondhalgh,
1997:
265

20. The
Cartel
Revolver
(Bristol),
Red
Rhino
(York),
Probe
(Liverpool)
9
Mile
(Leamington
Spa),
Fast
Forward
(Edinburgh),
Backs
(Norwich),
and
Rough
Trade
(London).

21. Rough
Trade
was
iniBally
organized
as
a
cooperaBve
that
stood
in
stark
contrast
to
the
structure
of
major
corporaBons.
IniBally,
all
Rough
Trade
employees,
from
directors
to
those
working
in
the
warehouse,
were
paid
the
same.
All
company
decisions
were
made
at
general
assemblies,
and
all
employees
were
allowed
to
have
a
voice
in
company
decisions.
-­‐
Fonarow,
2006:
34

22. The
independent
label
dream
.
.
.
was
that
romanBc
noBon
of
going
it
alone,
pure
and
untainted
by
hype
and
mulBnaBonal
marketeers”
-­‐
Cavanagh
2000:
viii

23. Traits:
• RespecBng
arBsBc
vision
• FacilitaBng
not
intervening
• Not
concerned
with
popularity
• Local
autonomy
• RejecBon
of
corporate
values
• RejecBon
of
London-­‐based
corporates
• Favoured
smaller
retail
outlets

24. 1990s
Indie
became
high
profile
in
dedicated
music
press
Major
labels
bought
smaller
labels

25. The
decision
to
take
the
independent
route
represented
an
emoBonal
rejecBon,
based
on
ethics
and
poliBcal
beliefs,
of
everything
the
major
labels
stood
for
.
.
.
major
labels
were
greedy
corporaBons
staffed
by
uncool
straights
who
maltreated
and
undermined
their
arBsts,
and
thought
nothing
of
diluBng
the
art
itself
to
make
it
commercially
viable
.
.
.
here
was
the
righteous
indie
band
making
interesBng
music
without
compromise;
and
over
there
was
the
banally
ambiBous,
morally
capitulaBng
group
that
had
sold
its
soul
to
a
major
label
for
money.
-­‐
Cavanagh
2000:
38–39

26. 1. a
type
of
musical
produc-on
affiliated
with
small
independent
record
labels
with
a
disBncBve
mode
of
independent
distribuBon
2. a
genre
of
music
that
has
a
parBcular
sound
and
stylisBc
convenBons
3. music
that
communicates
a
parBcular
ethos
4. a
category
of
cri-cal
assessment
5. music
that
can
be
contrasted
with
other
genres

27. LimitaBon
of
mode
of
producBon?
Many
genres
can
be
independent
(techno,
drum
&
bass,
house,
jungle,
hardcore,
etc)

28. BriBsh
indie
“has
itself
se:led
into
sBfling
orthodoxy:
an
insistence
on
short
songs,
lo-­‐fi,
minimalism,
purism,
and
guitars,
guitars,
guitars”
-­‐
Simon
Reynolds
in
Kruse,
1993:
36

29. Indie
music
is
generally
played
by
slender
young
white
males
in
their
late
teens
to
early
thirBes.
Most
indie
bands
are
basic
four-­‐piece
combos
with
electric
guitar,
bass,
drums,
and
vocals.
Although
other
instruments
such
as
strings,
keyboards,
organs,
or
horns
do
appear,
the
four-­‐
piece
combo
is
the
primary
structure
for
indie
bands.
-­‐
Fonarow,
2006:

31. Feminine-­‐genre?
“anB-­‐macho
shrinking
violet,”
“terrifyingly
fey,”
“[a]
melancholic
take
on
indiedom’s
bookish
wimpiness”
-­‐
Harris
2003:
386

32. Defining
‘indie’
1. a
type
of
musical
produc-on
affiliated
with
small
independent
record
labels
with
a
disBncBve
mode
of
independent
distribuBon
2. a
genre
of
music
that
has
a
parBcular
sound
and
stylisBc
convenBons
3. music
that
communicates
a
parBcular
ethos
4. a
category
of
cri-cal
assessment
5. music
that
can
be
contrasted
with
other
genres

33. A|tude
“The
theory
of
independence
was
discovered
in
the
act
of
pu|ng
out
your
own
records,
doing
very
well,
being
friends
with
your
arBsts,
and
not
ripping
them
off.
And
by
1981
we
were
all
doing
it”
-­‐
Tony
Wilson
in
Harris
2003:
8

34. Class
Generally
a
middle-­‐class
phenomenon
(university/art
school
educated)
Idealizes
working
class
experiences
as
‘authenBc’

35. Defining
‘indie’
1. a
type
of
musical
produc-on
affiliated
with
small
independent
record
labels
with
a
disBncBve
mode
of
independent
distribuBon
2. a
genre
of
music
that
has
a
parBcular
sound
and
stylisBc
convenBons
3. music
that
communicates
a
parBcular
ethos
4. a
category
of
cri-cal
assessment
5. music
that
can
be
contrasted
with
other
genres

36. CriBcal?
• Image
of
the
‘anorak’
or
‘trainspo:er’
• Obsessive
• Self-­‐referenBal
and
self-­‐reflexive
• MasochisBc
and
introspecBve

37. IntrospecBon
• What
the
hell
am
I
doing
here?
/
I
don’t
belong
here
– “Creep”
by
Radiohead
• I’ll
be
the
corpse
in
your
bathtub
/
Useless
– “Newborn”
by
Elbow
• I
sit
all
alone
/
Alone
is
all
I’ll
ever
be
– “Season”
by
Ash
• I
can
show
you
sadder
poetry
/
than
you
ever
dreamed
there
could
be
/
I
know
all
the
saddest
people
/
most
of
them
are
dead
now
– “Save
a
Secret
for
the
Moon”
by
the
MagneBc
Fields
• I
think
I’m
drowning
/
asphyxiaBng
.
.
.
– “Time
Is
Running
Out”
by
Muse
• So
you
go,
and
you
stand
on
your
own
/
and
you
leave
on
your
own
/
and
you
go
home
and
you
cry
/
and
you
want
to
die
– “How
Soon
Is
Now”
by
the
Smiths)

38. Defining
‘indie’
1. a
type
of
musical
produc-on
affiliated
with
small
independent
record
labels
with
a
disBncBve
mode
of
independent
distribuBon
2. a
genre
of
music
that
has
a
parBcular
sound
and
stylisBc
convenBons
3. music
that
communicates
a
parBcular
ethos
4. a
category
of
cri-cal
assessment
5. music
that
can
be
contrasted
with
other
genres

39.
Indie
as
a
Mode
of
AestheBc
Judgment
• DiscriminaBng
• EvaluaBve
• A
discursive
pracBce
• Canonical

40. EliBsm

41. BRITs
vs
Brats

42. The
ArcBc
Monkeys
Internet
fanbase
via
MySpace
Singed
to
indie
label
Domino
in
June
2005
Signed
to
EMI
Publishing
in
Octover
2005
for
approx
£1
million
23rd
October
2005
:
debut
single
enters
charts
at
No.1
2006:
Debut
album
was
the
fastest
selling
BriBsh
debut
of
all
Bme
Sparked
a
race
to
find
idenBkit
bands

43. BRIT
awards
2008

44. The
backlash
“ScouBng
For
Girls
somehow
occupy
a
realm
of
musical
badness
that
even
the
Darkness'
JusBn
Hawkins
at
his
most
creaBvely
distraught
may
sBll
find
difficult
to
comprehend.
How
bad
is
this
supernaturally
bad
"badness"
which
ScouBng
For
Girls
have
virtually
turned
into
an
art
form?
One
could
say
that
they're
the
Kooks
but
wacky
(and
therefore
worse),
but
that
requires
some
context.
So
here
it
is:
in
2006
the
Kooks
first
entered
the
Top
20,
excelling
at
the
type
of
bland,
crowd-­‐pleasing
hit-­‐wriBng
that
propelled
indie
music
from
being
independently
spirited
to
becoming
the
mainstream
pop
genre…”

45. The
backlash
“…By
2007
a
generaBon
of
teen
TV
presenters
rode
this
wave
of
mediocre
pseudo-­‐indie
and
Channel
4's
schedules
were
filled
with
woeful,
will-­‐this-­‐do
music
shows
sponsored
by
phone
companies.
Bands
like
the
Pigeon
DetecBves
and
the
AutomaBc
had
hits;
at
the
end
of
the
2007
fesBval
season
ScouBng
For
Girls
scored
their
first
Top
10
single.
Indie
was
the
new
pop,
but
it
had
also
turned
beige.”

46. Indie
post-­‐internet
• Many
of
the
defining
characterisBcs
are
no
longer
factors
(ie
producBon,
distribuBon,
retail)
• Easier
to
reach
a
wider
and
more
dispersed
audience
• ShiK
towards
live
music
sales
over
prerecorded
sales