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Unsung Forum » "How Selling Out Saved Indie Rock" |
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Kid Calamity 9045 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 11:54
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machineryelf wrote: Music making tools are pretty much available now to anyone in mainland Europe/USA. This is as good a way to sort the wheat from the chaff, at least in that small area that is 'popular catchy rock songs that appeal to a wide demographic' You're still pretty fucked if you want to form a free jazz ensemble, doom rock chamber orchestra or just about anything that doesn't fit in with the view/needs of marketing executives That hits the nail firmly on the head. Anybody who fancies themselves as a weekend popstar can download a few music making applications and knock something, using preset loops and bleeps. To all intents and purposes it sounds professionally mastered, too. Sometimes democracy and technology are a bastard, aren't they*? *That's a joke, btw. Sort of.
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stray 2057 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 11:55
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I think I have an advantage, or a horrible bias, when it comes to understanding/accepting the homogenisation of music scenes from my involvement in Electronic and Dance music. They are forms that develop and mutates faster than any other. I've seen what was once called Techno renamed as House, Goan Trance became just Trance again, became Techno again, or even got badged Electro (on account of some squeaking 303s going through resonant filter sweeps) These were just name changes, the musical style/form itself didn't really change. All that changed is that time passed. If you had a time machine and took a tune forward and backwards in time it would be identified with different genre terms. Also in a weird abstract way it would also end up having different audiences, be heard in different clubs, be in different peoples record bags, etc, etc. This is not unique to Electronic or Dance music, it happens in any form of culture. We clique cos we're human. It's just because these forms develop so damn quickly it's actually noticeable year on year. The terms get crystallised, rules change or become more strict. Strata are formed, flexibility is lost. Things get homogenised under a banner/genre. So ? The experimentation continues, new forms happen, old forms cross and mutate. Things still move forwards, the names/banners can't keep up. The only constant is, if you can't dance to it but it's got a beat then it's called IDM ;). What the hell does Indie mean ? I know what it meant, but then it became a sound, and it had sub genres too, like 'jangle pop'. We clique. Indie labels identifying with a scene are responsible for this, much like electronic labels were. It's not a question of following the approaches of Majors, it's just what naturally happens, strata form. The trick for a label is to try and build themselves into such a way that they themselves don't crystalise. 4AD and Creation managed this, then.. ah.. see what happened there ? Same problem as Ninja Tune and Warp. At least when Touch Records noticed this happening to them they decided to just not be a record label anymore.
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Kid Calamity 9045 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 11:56
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It's music being neutered, isn't it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l274PJTsejU
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stray 2057 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 12:28
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Kid Calamity wrote: It's music being neutered, isn't it? I dunno, no probably. If association neuters an artwork then we need to stop making art as we have less control over association than we've ever had before. Could have been worse, could have been an advert for Coke/Pepsi or Tescos. Until we reach a utopia where artists are rewarded directly for their cultural contribution (by some egalitarian benevolent broadminded committee of course;)) without the need to deal with a competition based economic model, we need to get over this and not let it fuck us all over like it did in the late 80s. What is interesting, and may be positive, is it's forcing artists to make value based political judgements. As in, can we take money from 'X' corporation, or will that piss our fans off too much ?
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Kid Calamity 9045 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 12:34
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stray wrote: ...What is interesting, and may be positive, is it's forcing artists to make value based political judgements. As in, can we take money from 'X' corporation, or will that piss our fans off too much ? That is a good point. One soon figures out who the desperate mercenaries are... or do they? What happens if say an unscrupulous publisher who owns the rights to a piece of music (thereby overiding the creators' rights) flogs it to McDonalds for an advert?
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stray 2057 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 12:48
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Kid Calamity wrote: stray wrote: ...What is interesting, and may be positive, is it's forcing artists to make value based political judgements. As in, can we take money from 'X' corporation, or will that piss our fans off too much ? That is a good point. One soon figures out who the desperate mercenaries are... or do they? What happens if say an unscrupulous publisher who owns the rights to a piece of music (thereby overiding the creators' rights) flogs it to McDonalds for an advert? True enough, and when that has happened in the past the artists have usually been quick to point out that's what happened. Course, if they're dead, we always assume they wouldn't have given the use of their work their blessing.
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Kid Calamity 9045 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 12:50
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Yes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yni3iBfGEHg
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Hunter T Wolfe 1709 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 14:54
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Kid Calamity wrote: Yes, essentially. Though it's less of an issue I think if it's an old track by Hawkwind or the Velvet Underground or Nick Drake- we already know what they represent, and they've had their big impact on the world. It's when it's new artists who you're exposed to for the first time through an advert, and so they're just 'that band who did that song on that advert.' Which was what the original article was about; that this is what new indie / alternative bands are actively seeking out. Where would we be if the first time we heard the Sex Pistols in 1976 was on the soundtrack to a TV ad for the Mark IV Ford Cortina? But then with a lot of contemporary artists all they ever aspired to do was write a nice tune anyway, and maybe the idea of rock music representing something else is already long dead.
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Kid Calamity 9045 posts |
Edited Nov 18, 2013, 15:30
Nov 18, 2013, 15:22
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Hunter T Wolfe wrote: But then with a lot of contemporary artists all they ever aspired to do was write a nice tune anyway, and maybe the idea of rock music representing something else is already long dead. A lot of bands are, perhaps too eager to go to the audience, rather than letting the audience come to them. The more unusual and unique characteristics are being ironed out. Simple arrangements. Traditional rock stylings from the rulebook are being used for quick familiarity. Audiences are effectively being dumbed down, a bit. It's as if acts are competing to bag the crowd for themselves, shutting out competition from less formulaic artistes. Do they think a fan can only like just the one band? These 'rock schools' and all this Mark Ronson thing - all coupled with TV talent shows has created a bland grey blob, for an audience who can only comprehend twee jingles, by pretty people. We need a new punk.
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Moon Cat 9577 posts |
Nov 18, 2013, 15:23
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Enjoyed reading that. Yes, the rise of the sub-genre has been something to observe, and something that's not without it's unintentional humour moments too. I mean "Hardbag" is still one of my fave names for a sub-genre. And even what is perceived as a somewhat conservative, immobile genre, Metal, now boasts more sub-genres than you can wave a battle axe at. Musically, I think it's good in that it throws up a huge variety of things to point yer ears at and keeps things evolving and mutating. But, as so often with these things, there is occasionally a quiet sense of desperation about the whole categorizatio process. Plus, this cross pollination of stuff may keep things pretty fertile but it can make looking for stuff in some shops bloody confusing! I don't really know what indie is any more. I think I knew what it was, to my mind at least, but these days? Pffft! I mean. arena-straddling behemoths like Coldplay turn up in the 'indie' sections in some shops. And if there ever was an indie ethos, it seems to be extremely diffuse and disparate these days, probably existing on the outskirts of its own genre. My attitude to bands using ads and products to flog their wares (and someone else's wares!) has mellowed over the years simply because the game has changed so much that I don't think I can be that judgemental about it any more. Of course, some things can still jar on an instinctive, emotional level, but when the head's in charge, I can see why some bands or artists make the choices they do, even if it rankles in the gut. In the meantime, this made me grin today - http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/hundreds-of-lost-indie-bands-found-in-camden-lock-2013111881206
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