How To Do Just About Everything
How To Do Just About Everything
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If you're sick of digesting mainstream, overproduced drivel from the local "be-caller-100" pop station, you might like to be edgier and more "underground"--or at least you'd like to pretend you're both of those things. The trouble is knowing where to begin. Being in-the-know about independent rock music--a.k.a. "indie rock"--can seem like an overwhelming task. Indie fans often come across as if they belong to some sort of secret society, frowning upon all those poor, ignorant souls who just don't "get it" when it comes to music. But by learning the basics of what the indie phenomenon is all about, you'll be well on your way to passing yourself off as a die-hard fan.
To begin your indie rock education, you might think you should go buy some indie rock records. But there are several personal actions you must undertake before bothering with the music itself. After all, part of being an indie rock expert is having the image that goes along with it.
First, alter your grooming habits. The "bedhead" look is too obvious, but a modified bedhead with a greasy sheen to it will have you blending right in with the crowd at the indie rock show.
Next, think about your clothes. An old, undersized T-shirt is a safe bet, but it should be some vibrant color--green, orange and yellow are all good choices--never white or black. White is gauche, and black is too glamorous. Generally speaking, the shirt should look like something you would find at a thrift store.
Once you're dressed for the occasion, you need to immerse yourself in the history of indie rock.
The '60s
The Velvet Underground, a band that hit the scene during the '60s, is the roots of indie rock. As the rest of the world was into peace, love and really good hallucinogenics, the Velvet Underground was tearing the pages out of the rock rulebook. The band's music sounded kind of like rock, but incorporated elements of social realism and the beginnings of punk and new wave. In short, the Velvet Underground was way ahead of its time.
The '70s
After the VU, the deconstructive proposition born in the bowels on New York's Bowery quickly took the form of punk. Punk became somewhat successful and mainstream, so it had to die. That left a bunch of post-punk bands, such as Elvis Costello, Talking Heads and the Pretenders, who started getting airplay and became successful. Post-punk bottomed out when the Clash made "Combat Rock," a radio-friendly album that included such commercially viable songs as "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go."
The '80s
Sometime in the late '80s, the moniker of underground tunes changed from "punk" to "college music" because the only people who played it were DJs at college radio stations. Anybody with a radio was free to listen, but not very many people did--until people realized that, despite the weird names of some of these bands, they weren't scary like punks. In fact, a lot of college music was just pop music. R.E.M., U2 and Camper Van Beethoven were all college bands, and they were harmless.
As many of those bands became popular, college radio stations became a little harder and a little darker (a la Nirvana). That's when college music started to become known as "alternative," or very different that what you'd hear on mainstream radio.
The '90s
In the early '90s, Nirvana released "Nevermind." As a result, alternative launched its own radio format, and paradoxically became mainstream. So the bands who were still an alternative to something that was getting airplay became, of course, "indie rock."
So what makes something indie rock? Unfortunately, there is no clear set of criteria that you can apply to make that determination. It is easier to define indie rock by what it isn't: It isn't successful, glamorous or sexy, but it isn't insipid. Nonetheless, getting to the point where you can identify those negatives is going to take a little work. You might actually have to read a book or some magazines to get a sufficient feel for what qualifies as indie in order to pull this off--you might be best off flipping through a copy of Alternative Press.
Familiarize yourself with the names of the indie record labels, because seven times out of 10, if it's on an indie label, it's indie rock. Matador Records, for example, is now the Warner or Sony of indie rock, as its staff numbers about 30 people and its roster includes about 40 bands. In fact, a few of its most popular artists, including Liz Phair and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (JSBX), have distribution deals with Capitol Records.
But because Matador has become moderately successful, in many respects it's yesterday's news. So now, even if you've never listened to JSBX, you can act like you think the band is passé because you know that it's on Matador. If you want to talk about JSBX, limit the conversation to older albums like either "Extra Width" or "Orange," both of which are truly worth owning if you actually like indie rock.
Other labels you should familiarize yourself with include Merge, Kill Rock Stars, Lookout, Evil Teen, Amphetamine Reptile, Alternative Tentacles, Shimmy Disc, K Records, Touch and Go, 4AD, spinART, Thrill Jockey and the belated Trance Syndicate. And if you see anything on C/Z Records in the used bin, it might be wise to jump on it, or at least read the name of the band on the CD so it will be familiar in conversation. Bloodshot is certainly indie, but it isn't rock--yet even if twang isn't your thing, you should still have respect for the label's adherence to general indie principles.
Unlike most major labels, indie labels are kind of like brands, meaning that they generally stay stylistically consistent. This is especially true when the label is young and small. For example, most of the early Seattle grunge bands were playing under the Sub Pop label long before David Geffen showed up in the Pacific Northwest with a checkbook and started paying alternative bands. It's not so much the case anymore, but once upon a time, you knew that if you bought a band on the Sub Pop label, you wouldn't need a volume knob. So if you can identify the sound of one band on the label, there's a good chance you'll be in the ballpark with the others.
If you look cool enough, eventually, someone is going to talk to you and expect you to talk back, so you don't want to open your mouth and say something like, "David Cassidy is really cool."
Start somewhere safe, like Sonic Youth. You cannot go wrong if you like Sonic Youth. Most people in indie rock likes Sonic Youth, and those who don't are afraid to admit it. So you can talk all night long about what a genius band Sonic Youth is, and nobody will ever think you don't know what you are talking about.
Once you've worn out all possible conversation topics regarding Sonic Youth, move on. The coolest indie rock band is someone nobody has heard of and is on a label that doesn't even exist yet. That's just the way it works. Of course, you can't talk exclusively about bands nobody else knows anything about, and you shouldn't invent bands, either. If you make up a name, you will probably give yourself away.
If you want to look like you know what you are talking about, depth is more important than breadth. And you just need to be deep in one or two places. That is where something like the "Trouser Press Guide" might come in handy (see Resources). It's cross-referenced so you can peruse it and easily pick up information on bands that are related by history, and specifically find out what other bands the members might have been in. That way, when you speak, you transcend simple knowledge by appearing to have a sense of history when you really don't.
For instance, you may look up Built to Spill because you've read about them in some indie 'zine. You see that there is another band cross-listed with Built to Spill called Stuntman. That's a bonus, because Stuntman is still pretty obscure. Where you really rack up the points is by pointing out that both those bands arose out of Treepeople. You couldn't pick Treepeople out of a lineup, but you've just linked three cool bands from Idaho. Who the heck is going to doubt your authority after that?
Or maybe you read about Galaxy 500 and the two bands it spawned: Luna, and Damon and Naomi. Then, when you're at an indie rock show, you can say:
"Yeah, Dean Wareham is such a Lou Reed and Velvet Underground disciple. But it's funny because Galaxy 500 was more about the drone, but Luna has more of the pop-strum feel of 'Loaded.' So he's covered the gamut of Lou's influence in his career. I don't like Damon and Naomi, though. They are way too Lo-Fi. (Pause). You know, I saw Luna open for VU in Prague back in the early '90s on their European reunion tour."
This is a great way of faking indie rock knowledge, because you linked two good indie bands to their parent band, and you referenced them back to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. You also recognized the differences between Dean Wareham when he fronted Luna and when he fronted Galaxy 500, and you threw in another VU reference--this time to "Loaded." Be careful not to do too much work for your interlocutor, leaving him an opening to say something like, "Yeah, but 'Loaded' wasn't really a VU record, because John Cale had already left the band by then."
Don't be afraid to not like someone; in the Galaxy 500 example, not only dis Damon and Naomi, but reference an indie sub-genre in your dismissal, as you did with Lo-Fi.
Going for legendary status by claiming you were at arguably the coolest show of the '90s is great, but watch what you reference. If you aren't old enough to have attended that show, for example, you'll reveal that you are trying to look cooler than you are.
You've got the basics down; now you need to fill in some of the gaps. Remember, you don't need to fill in all of them ... you don't want to actually BE an indie rock expert, because that's a lifetime of work. You just need to fill in enough of the holes to keep people from prying further to see how many are actually there.
Familiarize yourself with The Elephant 6 Collective of the Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, and Neutral Milk Hotel. This is a group of bands who have taken up where the Stones' "Their Satanic Majesties Request" and the Beatles' "Revolver" left off. The Beatles and the Stones? That may sound mainstream, but these guys do retro psych-pop in a way that nobody with a taste for Top-40 would ever want to sit through.
Know about Minneapolis in the heyday of the '80s, when the Replacements, Hüsker Dü and Soul Asylum were the underground holy trinity of rock. Drop mentions of the Replacements whenever possible, and mention Peter Jesperson, even if you have no idea who he is. It doesn't matter. Just say something like, "Yeah, I hear Jesperson's got something new going on."
Finally, it will be advantageous to pick one favorite band that just never broke despite its genius--someone like Spoon. Do you own both Spoon records, as well as the "Soft Effects" EP? Probably not, because they are not easy to find, but if someone sees you in an indie record store, that's what you tell them you are looking for. As for what you buy at the record store--CD or vinyl--you are free to go either way without really affecting your indie cred.
If you really want to do the extra-credit work, pick a foreign country and school yourself in some of its bands. For instance, you can pick Japan and drop names like Lolita No. 18, Zoobombs, Melt Banana, Cornelius, Buffalo Daughter, Guitar Wolf and Husking Bee. You should actually listen to one or two of them. That way, you can make a judgment like, "You know, the Japanese bands are finally starting to move away from simple imitation of American music, and are now starting to incorporate elements that are wholly original."
One last minefield you need to navigate is what happens when an indie band jumps to a major label. No matter how cool a band is, this is bound to happen. Sometimes it doesn't mean much, and other times it is the end of the band. Again, Sonic Youth was cool even on DGC, but the Goo Goo Dolls, who did about the coolest Prince cover ever by singing "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," became something else when they went to a major label. Showing anything but disdain for that bunch of milksops will get you cast out east of indie Eden. Then there are cases like Dinosaur Jr.: "Green Mind" is good but anything after "Where You Been" is bad. There is no science here, and without a good knowledge of the bands, you are only likely to get into trouble.