All the Indie I Possess

[Bunny]

Indie is my second favorite muscial genre of all time and so I feel I must share the very best of it with others. If you're an Indie fan, pile it on.

Sufjan Stevens
If you like composed pieces, you will this man. His music uses orchestral sounds and hauntingly whimsical vocals. He generally has themed music. Illinois is my favorite album of his. Lots of Christian allusions.

Feist
She's gained a lot of popularity for her recent iPod commercial. (Blue sequins, people in patterns of color and lots of choreography?) If you like female vocals with laid back sounds reminiscent of European lounges, she's your girl. (For all you Imogen Heap fans, this is a good pick.)

Death Cab for Cutie
Has one of the most clever and talented writers for a lead singer. I saw him perform solo and he was witty, sober (which is unusual for a secular artist in this genre) and very heartfelt. Don't be fooled by their name, they're mostly pretty mellow but upbeat. They have a tendency to put a sad theme to catchy and memorable music and somehow make it beautiful. You may have heard of their alter ego, The Postal Service who have a very famous remake of Iron and Wine's "Such Great Heights." (In itself something to dig up. Seriously good lyrics and a very uplifting love song.)

Anathallo
Their music can get a little...helter skelter but it has a lot of marching band-style percussion and unusual instrumental combos. (They use trumpets. Where can you get away with that but with mariachi and indie?) I love this band for their lyrics. They are amazingly touching. Pure Poetry.
Read:
I awoke from a dream. I was flying home. The wind wailed on my wings, and my strength was waning. And I knew wherefrom rescue would come, but I scarcely called. Then the sun's rays fell upon me there. Raining, reigning...(and to the ground) a sobering descent. From the dust I'm sure my voice was heard on desolate heights, weeping (Jeremiah 3:21). "Break up your fallow groundand do not sow among thorns" (Jeremiah 4:3). "You shall call me, "My Father," and not turn away from me" (Jeremiah 3:19). As my Father has cared for me to this end (Matthew 10:29-31), how much more will He care for you? O Israel, return (Jeremiah 3:4).

I'll keep updating this.

[Raiden no Kishi]

Question. What defines "indie" as a genre?

.rai//

[chibiphonebooth]

oohhh~ you definitely have a nice list there. i've never heard Anathallo but i'm sure he's pretty good.

i loovee the other ones you listed though. *3*

some other good indie bands are: arcade fire, Eisley, and Mew. <3

[Ichigo_89]

Deff check out

Arcade Fire
Edison Glass
The Shins
Battles
Matt & Kim
Tokyo Police Club

[Bunny]

Question. What defines "indie" as a genre?

.rai//

Pretty much any band that's not signed to a major label can be considered indie but what people usually classify as belonging to the indie genre is anything with a really unique sound in comparison to all popular music.



I was never that fond of Arcade Fire. I liked Keep the Car Running and that was about it. The Shins are wonderful! "It'll change your life, I swear." (Little Garden State for ya there.)

Matt Costa
Really worth listening to if you're a fan of Jack Johnson. (And please tell me you are!)I don't think he can be considered because he's on Jack's label but most people haven't heard of him so I think that's enough. He has a folk/acoustic sound but he varies his melodies a lot so most of his sounds sound pretty different.

Joshua Radin
Another folk/acoustic artist. He's worked with Imogen Heap and Zach Braff and has therefore proved himself worthy of my admiration. I think Star Mile and Lovely Tonight are my favorite songs of his.

Schuyler Fisk
Seen her in Orange County? She's an even better singer/songwriter. Check out Paperweight. It's cute. Makes me smile everytime.

[EricTheFred]

Heh... most of my Classical music can be described this way...

Okay, okay. I know that's not what you mean.

Being an old fart, I'm more into Jazz, especially Acid, Fusion, and Asian Fusion. I'm a big fan of specific artists across a wide swath of other genres though. A few examples would be 'Coldplay', 'Santara', 'Halcali', Kaki King... (Yes, I know these have nothing to do with each other at all). I think what I look for in a group is a big 'vocabulary'... a wide palette of sounds and good skills in making them come together in a variety of different ways. I don't want to hear the same thing over and over throughout an album.

Any tips on Indie bands I might enjoy?

[Bunny]

I think you will really like Sufjan Stevens. If you like classical style music, he uses a lot of those orchestral sounds. He actually composes his music himself and the vast majority of it is just brilliant.

Jazz isn't very popular in contemporary music. Jim Bianco, Norah Jones, and Kid Koala are the only people to come to mind. Kid Koala...wow, I don't think I can really describe them to you. All I can say is I'm not all that crazy about it but it is entertaining.
I CAN make A LOT of jazz recommendations for you as it is my absolute favorite. If you'd be interested, send me a PM sometime. I'll drag out my library.

[Raiden no Kishi]

Pretty much any band that's not signed to a major label can be considered indie but what people usually classify as belonging to the indie genre is anything with a really unique sound in comparison to all popular music.

o_o That's a . . . pretty broad definition, then. The first definition makes sense, but how do you even define a "really unique sound in comparison to all popular music"? Especially considering that "all popular music" varies pretty greatly sound-wise, encompassing multiple genres. I'm not trying to put you on the spot, mind - these questions are rhetorical as much as anything. Good to have the answer - thanks.

.rai//

[David]

Indie is my favorite style of music ever, these are some of the bands that I like that I can think of off the top of my head

EdisonGlass,DeathCabforcutie,Copeland,Feist,Sufjan Stevens,PostalService,ArcadeFire,Rattatat,Peter Bjorn&John,Imogen Heap,Iron and Wine,Fiona Apple,tokyo police club,xiu xiu,

[Radical Dreamer]

Indie is my favorite style of music ever, these are some of the bands that I like that I can think of off the top of my head

EdisonGlass,DeathCabforcutie,Copeland,Feist,Sufjan Stevens,PostalService,ArcadeFire,Rattatat,Peter Bjorn&John,Imogen Heap,Iron and Wine,Fiona Apple,tokyo police club,xiu xiu,

Edison Glass FTW. Copeland is also great, and Sufjan Stevens is awesome. Also, check out Eisley, Lydia, The Swell Season, and Regina Spektor.

[chibiphonebooth]

Indie is my favorite style of music ever, these are some of the bands that I like that I can think of off the top of my head

EdisonGlass,DeathCabforcutie,Copeland,Feist,Sufjan Stevens,PostalService,ArcadeFire,Rattatat,Peter Bjorn&John,Imogen Heap,Iron and Wine,Fiona Apple,tokyo police club,xiu xiu,

yes, yes, yes, never heard, never heard, yes, yes, yes, never heard, and never heard.

awesome choices.

[Mimiru14]

Feist
She's gained a lot of popularity for her recent iPod commercial. (Blue sequins, people in patterns of color and lots of choreography?) If you like female vocals with laid back sounds reminiscent of European lounges, she's your girl. (For all you Imogen Heap fans, this is a good pick.)

I second this! Excellent choice

[David]

I'm actually friends with the drummer from edisonglass. He's a pretty cool guy.

[Kuro-Mizu]

UHM indie isn't a genre, it just means you don't have a record label or you have an indie record label that does very little to help you get your music out there. Basically it just means you have to put WAY more work into your music and you don't get as much money but at the same time you can do whatever you want without a label telling you what to do or claiming ownership to your songs etc.

anyways I LOVE Sufjan stevens...

most of the bands I like are indie bands that got signed like blue october and shinytoyguns, even sixpence none the richer. I loved leigh nash's cd though too and it was indie.

EDIT- ALSO postal service and imogen heap are ultimate win!

[Puguni]

Yeah, I agree that indie really isn't a genre...but my iTunes says otherwise, ha ha.

Anyway, cheers for Feist. I've only listened to two of her songs and I like what I hear.

I don't have a favorite single band, though I am really really fond of Ok Go though; I've always been that person who most likes the more unpopular songs by a popular artist. Also, I just like to pick out one or two songs by an artist.

I guess I'll just list what I regularly listen to that few people know of:
Apples in Stereo
Belle & Sebastian, though I've only heard a few songs, lol
The Hush Sound
Of Montreal
Rooney
The Unicorns
The Ting Tings
Wilco

Songs:
"Love Astronaut" by Murder Mystery
"Golden Skans" by Klaxons
"The Magic Position" by Patrick Wolf

I'm not sure what I listen to is indie, because I don't listen to the radio/watch TV anymore. Feel free to criticize my choices if they're aren't indie enough for you.