The Definition of Indie Pop

By the title of this article, it appears I will be explaining what the definition of indie pop is. I apologize for the misleading title. It fits the subject matter and my goal of helping you understand Indie Pop.

I wish I could explain indie music, but in all honesty, it is something I will never fully understand. Yet I can explain the difference between indie music and alternative music. The difference is a matter of birthplace, Indie was born on the British Isle, whereas Alternative was born to her rebellious colony the United States of America.

I would like to consider myself an uncultured swine of astronomical proportions and so none of this is accurate, but strictly expert opinion. Indie music is to be underground and not well-known. The logic follows that when an “indie artist” gets one of their songs played on the radio, they have officially been ruined. This is due to the radio waves entering the ear of a plebeian and so defiling their fanbase with someone of normal composition. Even one drop of blood from a creature that is not a fanatic spoils the band, transforming them into trashy pop. Like I said before, this is all opinionated, don’t use me as a credible source for anything relevant in this world. Except when it comes to your mother's eulogy.

I would like to give credit to my good friend Nathan Lewis for creating a stupendous playlist on Spotify last year. I never had good taste in music until he introduced me to this new style. I was skeptical of Indie because it was the production of try hards. Despite all this, I fell in love with the unique voices and incredible talent. You can’t find this sort of angelic beauty on the radio with its overplayed, autotuned songs.

A huge issue of mine is that most artists fall into Indie sub-genres. This is due to the Indie genre growing and bands needing deeper cracks to lose themselves in. The absurdity that a band can be indie pop, indie rock, and folk continues to rattle my little brain.

Although there are many great indie pop artists that get played on the radio, I believe they have been too popularized. By this, I mean that I do not want to share my band with everyone because they are mine. Just like Janis Ian and yourselves don't want your friends to become popular, as Cady Heron did in Mean Girls, so too hipsters don't want their Indie bands becoming famous. For example, the following 10 artists used to be true indie artists and are now popular and highly famous.

1.       Matt and Kim; indie pop, dance-pop, indie rock

2.       Grouplove; indie rock, indie pop, pop rock, alternative dance

3.       The xx; indie pop, indie rock, dream pop

4.       Walk the Moon; pop rock, indie pop, dance-rock

5.       Air Traffic Controller; indie pop

6.       Fitz and the Tantrums; indie pop, neo soul

7.       Young the Giant; alternative rock, indie pop, indie rock

8.       Vampire Weekend; indie pop, indie rock, baroque pop

9.       Passion Pit; indie rock, indie pop, electro pop

10.   Jon Bellion; hip hop, R&B, indie rock, indie pop

These are some of my favorite bands. I loved them more when they weren't so popular. Even if you are not a huge fan of this so called “hipster” music, I guarantee you will recognize at least one of the artists listed.

1.       Generationals; new wave, indie pop

2.       BᴓRNS; indie pop, alternative rock, synthpop

3.       JR JR; indie pop

4.       The Japanese House; indie pop, indie rock, dream pop

5.       Sun Culture; indie beach pop

6.       Magic Giant; indie folk, indie pop

7.       Kate Nash; indie pop, garage rock

8.       Feist; indie pop, baroque, folk music

9.       ROMES; soul music, indie pop

10.   Urban Cone; indie pop, electropop

   

These bands are well-known indie artists and are currently my favorite artists to listen to so I chose to list them instead of other smaller bands.

If you are ever in the LA area, I suggest checking out the Bardot’s School Night events which take place in Hollywood every Monday. For only ten dollars you can discover four new bands, and their varying genres, each week.

Below is my friend’s playlist that started it all. I apologize for the lack of explanation to the definitions, but my true intention was for you to press play and then understand.