Indie (culture)
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Indie, an abbreviation of independent, is a term regarding a trend seen in music, film, business and subculture originating in the late 20th century.
The most general definition of the word is to be independent from the mainstream. The word has become most often associated with a subculture defined by its associated music, fashion, behavior and beliefs. Indie culture is a lifestyle which follows social trends that are considered to consciously deviate from the mainstream. One common belief within indie culture is anti-conformity. The major influence for the indie culture came out of the indie music scene, associated with the DIY culture to the arts. Many followers of the indie culture are associated with local independent art and music scenes.
Since its emergence in the early 1980s, increasing numbers of youths have been drawn to the beliefs and trends of indie culture. Like many subcultures before it, the indie culture has become part of mainstream youth culture, in some ways earning the conformist status that it initially rejected. In the 2000s, the indie culture has had crossovers with other subcultures, including alternative, hipster, art school, hippie, emo, grungers, and mods.
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[edit] Music
Indie Rock established itself as a genre of music in the 1980s when bands such as Pixies and Sonic Youth, who were never to achieve much mainstream success, achieved a level of critical acclaim and cult following amongst a group of fans of alternative or of music not on major labels. Indie music defines itself as being necessarily against the major label, arising from the era of Hardcore Punk when bands like Minor Threat, Black Flag and Bad Brains all defined themselves by their independent spirit, releasing their own records on small labels, booking their shows and creating a true DIY attitude in punk music. In America those early Independent bands would later by labelled as 'Alternative' or 'College' rock bands.
Britain's indie music scene can be traced back to the early 1960s mod era, when bands like The Who and The Kinks where to make a large imprint on indie culture. Their views were seen as rebellious and against the mainstream music culture. These bands greatly influenced many of the indie rock bands of the 1980s (The Smiths, Joy Division) and 1990s and Britpop bands such as Oasis, Blur, and Ocean Colour Scene). The recent indie rock revival (roughly (2002-present) was spear-headed by bands such as The Libertines and The Strokes, but received mainstream appeal with bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, ], Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Kate Nash, Editors, Razorlight, and many others. Some British music publications, notably the weekly magazine NME, focus specifically on this genre and have been influential in the publicisation of now-successful indie acts.
In Canada, Montreal (Quebec) is home to a very well developed indie scene, merging influences from France, the UK, and the United States in one city. In 2004, Pitchfork Media and Spin Magazine dubbed Montreal as North America's "Next Big Scene", due to bands such as Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, Land of Talk, Islands, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Stills, The Dears, The Besnard Lakes, Kiss Me Deadly, Wolf Parade, Stars, and Broken Social Scene.
[edit] Fashion
A key characteristic of clothing trends within the modern indie culture is focus on fashion trends associated with music from the 1960s (Psychedelia, Mod, Counterculture), 1970s (rock, punk and country) and 1980s (New Wave). Common clothing items include band T-shirts, vintage clothing, striped tops, glasses, blazers, distressed jeans, waistcoats, ties, cardigans and scarves. Some of the most popular footwear choices include Converse or other plimsolls, slip-on shoes of all manners, ballet pumps, flip-flops and various styles of dress shoes. Another kind of Indie fashion in Great Britain (mostly by Males) is to wear items of clothing that usually the other sex would wear, this was made popular by Suede frontman Brett Anderson. A somewhat counterintuitive result of this is that though individuality is prized, or at least vocally espoused, indie culture does have an identifiable look, making it less than truly individual and more like any other subculture. This is particularly evident in the case of the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes which has become the most successful brand of shoe in history, as a result of the make being prized for its "independent" style. Surprisingly, the increase in demand for "Chucks" has, as of late, driven up the market price for the once-inexpensive footwear.
Brand labels are sometimes rejected as an exemplification of mainstream culture, and several small companies cater to the indie style, including Tourist Attraction and Artus. American Apparel, however, has broken this mould and is one of the few brand labels that is accepted amongst the indie culture. A few products that are a favorite in the indie culture include low cut v-neck shirts, drain-pipe jeans, lip, nose, and septum piercings, short cut-off jean shorts or short athletic shorts, cardigans, any sort of small slip-on shoe, and an emergence of early 90's culture such as cartoon T-Shirts and Jumpers, hats and high waisted jeans have also become very popular. There are counterintuitive consequences here as well: though adherents to indie culture would criticize those who patronize mainstream retail outlets for spending too much on mass-produced items, the retailers that cater to indie culture tend to be at least as expensive, if not significantly more so. The clothing chain Urban Outfitters is one example.
Indie fashion has become popular on the highstreet as the subculture grows. Stores such as TopShop, Miss Selfridge and especially H&M stock more vintage inspired quirky pieces- that, ironically, wouldn't have necessarily sold so well 10 years ago.
The fashion of the Indie Subculture also features a wide variety of hairstyles, ranging from very stylized and shaped haircuts to hair that is intended to appear as though very little, if any, effort has gone into its arrangement.
[edit] Film
Like the indie music scene, independent films are an art form produced without the funding, and thus adjustment, from a major movie studio, which thus allows appreciative fans to discover purer or more avant-garde qualities within the movies. As these films have recently seen an upsurge in popularity some satellite networks have launched devoted indie film channels, bringing independent film to a wider television audience.
[edit] See also
- Independent music
- Indie rock
- Indie pop
- Indie folk
- List of indie rock artists
- Lo-fi music
- Hipster (contemporary subculture)
- No Wave
- Punk
- Indie design
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- CNN.com article about Indie culture
- Indie Krush - Indie Art & Music Collective in Las Vegas.
- Hipster Hunter - Guide to understanding indie hipster scene
- 'Beauty Bar - Indie, Dance, Nu-Rave, Hipster & Scenester Bar'
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