RELATED SEARCHES
Sponsored Indie Rock Bands Results:
Indie Rock Bands: British Indie Rock Music, Alternative Rock, REM, White Stripes And Fall Out Boy
By:
Published: May 22, 2007
As seen in the early 1990s, indie rock bands are making something of a resurgence in the American pop music scene. With the current pop music charts mostly dominated by dance hall hits and rap music, what seemed like a new rock revolution in the late 90s lead by indie rock bands like The Vines and the White Stripes fell off in favor of more stylized acts and heavily produced pop tracks. However, as seems to happen every few years, the public is reacting in a big way to a few select indie rock bands that are putting themselves into the position to make it to the top of the charts.
First, one has to understand that these are not indie rock bands as one would normally classify them. The truth is that true indie rock bands will never get a major release or leave the club scene. What is presented in the modern music scene as indie rock is actually former garage and alternative rock bands lifted out of the indie music scene, with their sound largely unchanged and put on the national stage. This kind of movement really started as part of the British indie rock revolutions of the 1980s, which introduced fans to bands like The Smiths and later The Verve. The success of semi-commercial indie rock bands in Europe gave rise to a second British indie rock resurgence in the form of bands like Franz Ferdinand and Oasis.
In America, the first real commercialized indie rock bands movement was led by R.E.M., who went from being a largely unheralded touring act to a college radio phenomena to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers largely overnight. Thanks to the popularity of their indie rock bands sentimentality combined with a cheesey pop veneer, R.E.M. hit it big with Radio Free Europe and continues to enjoy a great deal of success with a lot of their indie rock music credibility still intact.
In recent years, labels looking to recapture that same sense of touring indie rock bands with commercial radio and television success have taken to signing young, good looking bands. One of the first in the recent movement was The White Stripes, whose unique look and poppy garage rock sound was an immediate hit. Though the White Stripes weren't really amongst the indie rock bands for very long they maintain some of the same sensibilities, and an album was recently produced featuring some of the White Stripes' hits covered by popular underground artists.
More recently, MTV and the pop charts have been pushing bands like Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy as the indie rock bands of the future. Fall Out Boy has achieved quite a bit of commercial success thanks to their controversial guitarist Pete Wentz and radio ready songs like “This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race.” Whether these indie rock bands will see continued commercial success is unclear. Their albums seem to be moving well, but concert sales have been somewhat sluggish.
Every few years, it seems the music scene purges itself of whatever influences it is currently under and starts anew with different indie rock bands. This is unlikely to change any time soon. Only time will tell if bands like Fall Out Boy or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are part of a new alternative rock music revolution, or just a palate cleanser for the next set of cheap, overproduced pop acts.
Sources:
"Indie Rock". Wikipedia. 20 May 2007. 21 May 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_rock.
R.E.M. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 12 March 2007. 21 May 2007. http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/rem/.
Keefe, Michael. “Profile: The White Stripes.” About: Alternative Music. 2007. About, Inc. 21 May 2007. http://altmusic.about.com/od/bandsartistsmz/p/whit e_stripes.htm.
Tianen, Dave. “They're Rocking the Empty Seats.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 18 May 2007. 21 May 2007. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=607757 .
First, one has to understand that these are not indie rock bands as one would normally classify them. The truth is that true indie rock bands will never get a major release or leave the club scene. What is presented in the modern music scene as indie rock is actually former garage and alternative rock bands lifted out of the indie music scene, with their sound largely unchanged and put on the national stage. This kind of movement really started as part of the British indie rock revolutions of the 1980s, which introduced fans to bands like The Smiths and later The Verve. The success of semi-commercial indie rock bands in Europe gave rise to a second British indie rock resurgence in the form of bands like Franz Ferdinand and Oasis.
In America, the first real commercialized indie rock bands movement was led by R.E.M., who went from being a largely unheralded touring act to a college radio phenomena to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers largely overnight. Thanks to the popularity of their indie rock bands sentimentality combined with a cheesey pop veneer, R.E.M. hit it big with Radio Free Europe and continues to enjoy a great deal of success with a lot of their indie rock music credibility still intact.
In recent years, labels looking to recapture that same sense of touring indie rock bands with commercial radio and television success have taken to signing young, good looking bands. One of the first in the recent movement was The White Stripes, whose unique look and poppy garage rock sound was an immediate hit. Though the White Stripes weren't really amongst the indie rock bands for very long they maintain some of the same sensibilities, and an album was recently produced featuring some of the White Stripes' hits covered by popular underground artists.
More recently, MTV and the pop charts have been pushing bands like Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy as the indie rock bands of the future. Fall Out Boy has achieved quite a bit of commercial success thanks to their controversial guitarist Pete Wentz and radio ready songs like “This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race.” Whether these indie rock bands will see continued commercial success is unclear. Their albums seem to be moving well, but concert sales have been somewhat sluggish.
Every few years, it seems the music scene purges itself of whatever influences it is currently under and starts anew with different indie rock bands. This is unlikely to change any time soon. Only time will tell if bands like Fall Out Boy or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are part of a new alternative rock music revolution, or just a palate cleanser for the next set of cheap, overproduced pop acts.
Sources:
"Indie Rock". Wikipedia. 20 May 2007. 21 May 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_rock.
R.E.M. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 12 March 2007. 21 May 2007. http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/rem/.
Keefe, Michael. “Profile: The White Stripes.” About: Alternative Music. 2007. About, Inc. 21 May 2007. http://altmusic.about.com/od/bandsartistsmz/p/whit e_stripes.htm.
Tianen, Dave. “They're Rocking the Empty Seats.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 18 May 2007. 21 May 2007. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=607757 .
Featured Indie Rock Bands Products:
