The Lack Of Independence in Indie Culture

By: Kevin Harris

Something needs to be done about the ‘indie’ movement. Once used to describe artists not belonging to a major record label, the term ‘indie’ now represents an annoying culture of coffee, cigarettes and colorful sunglasses. Please keep in mind: this article is not about the music. Although I dislike a large majority of ‘indie’ music, some of my favorite albums come from ‘indie’ artists. At this point in the article, you (the reader) may be asking yourself “if this silly white person likes ‘indie’ music, why is he wasting time bashing the culture surrounding it?”

First of all, I would like to thank you (the reader) for posing such a wonderful question! To answer your question, you and I need to take a look at fashion (yes, fashion!) in the music industry. As Frank Zappa once pointed out, each new style of music was accompanied by a new fashion style. If you lived in the 70’s and put on bellbottoms and platform shoes, you were disco. If you lived in the 80’s and shoved a safety pin through your nose and bought a leather jacket, you were punk. If you lived in the 90’s and wore flannel, you were grunge. If you woke up in the morning today, put on your expensive jeans, North Face and orange sunglasses you’re…independent? That is what ‘indie’ stands for, right? Independent? Is shopping at Urban Outfitters an independent trend? The independence that surrounds the ‘indie’ scene is minimal. The music may be full of new ideas and expression, but the culture is lacking of these basic ideas.

That’s where the biggest flaw shows its face: the name. If the name were anything, ANYTHING other than ‘indie’, I would have no big beef. However, it is, so I do. ALL MUSIC IS INDEPENDENT. It doesn’t matter whose label it’s on or who created the material (even if it was a big record exec.), each original song is individual and independent. Just change the name.

A city that exemplifies all of the flaws of ‘indie’ culture is Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ann Arbor is a beautiful city with a culturally rich downtown (only if your culture is white American). On a recent visit to this city I realized that I was so surrounded by ‘indie’ people that I felt independent to not be like them! I have the mindset of the suburbs (be afraid, be angry and clip coupons) while these people had a more ‘indie’ mindset (be afraid, be pompous and have lots of money). After leaving Urban Outfitters with my girlfriend, I realized that the entire city resembled that store; pretty white people with lots of cash who enjoyed jumping on bandwagons. I was surrounded and outnumbered, so I tried to blend in by drinking PBR and reading Vonnegut.

At this point in the article, you may be feeling a full spectrum of emotions. You may be angry (because you consider yourself ‘indie’ or live in Ann Arbor); you may be joyful (because you agree with me); or you may be indifferent (because you honestly just don’t care). If you care enough to form an opinion and feel an emotion, let me guide you to a justification of the ‘indie’ scene.

The ‘indie’ movement is simply a way for white people to express their ever-changing culture. Just as we associate rap with black culture, we can now associate ‘indie’ with white culture. Just as we associate artists like Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and Bob Seger with middle class, industrial workers of the 1970’s and 80’s, we are now able to associate ‘indie’ artists like The Shins and The Hives with the young people entering our Information Age workforce. One of the reasons that the industrious musicians of the past became so successful is that they spoke to the working class. Their lyrics related to the men and women building the physical infrastructure of our country. Now, the successful ‘indie’ musicians of our time speak to the young people entering the working class, however their work has changed. Many fresh college graduates associate hard work with answering long e-mails, office politics and calculators. ‘Indie’ music gives them a chance to escape from their ‘grueling’ lives and become ‘independent’ once again.

So now I pose to you (the reader) a series of questions. What does it mean to be truly independent? Is independence a state of mind or a physical entity, like a record label? Are you an independent, or are you another just another ‘indie’?