‘Music is life.’ This is a saying becoming increasingly more popular in today’s society, especially among teens. Music is vastly different from song to song and there is always something for someone, whether it’s the latest hit single, a song from a musical, or an 80’s classic. There are also many different genres of music that differ greatly from each other, but one sticks out to me: Indie music.
Indie music is categorized as music produced independently from a commercial record label or their subsidiaries. Indie music is also short for ‘independent’ music, and is used for music with independent artist/band or record producer. This means that most indie music is made with an alternative style to it, but this doesn’t mean they don’t sound similar to other genres.
Since Indie music just means that it is from an independent source and does not describe the mood of the music, it has many prefixes. The most popular sub genres of Indie are -pop, -rock, and -rap. Others include -folk, -blackgaze, -emo, and -electronic dance. Each of these sub genres are similar in mood to the main genres. For example, most indie-pop music sounds similar to pop music.
Indie music has been a concept for a long time. Some of the first songs under this genre were released all the way back in the 1920s. Indie music, though, didn’t become popular until the 1950s-60s in the country of England. In the USA, indie music became popular with the help of The Recording Academy, most famous for the organization of the Grammy Awards. Through the 1970s-2000s it grew more into what it is today, gaining a wide variety of artists and bands as well as fans.
Many indie artists are very well known in modern music. One that almost everyone knows is the band Imagine Dragons. They are a four member indie-rock or indie-pop band that has some lead hits such as ‘Believer,’ ‘Thunder,’ ‘Whatever it Takes,’ and ‘Natural.’ Imagine Dragons became famous when they released their album Night Visions in late 2012.
Other major artists include the band The Neighborhood. Their music has been categorized as indie-rock, indie-pop, and alternative indie. Some of their most popular albums are I Love You., and Wiped out!. Their most famous song is ‘Sweater Weather,’ which has been covered by countless other artists since its release in 2013. Some more popular songs of theirs include ‘Afraid,’ ‘Pretty Boy,’ ‘The Beach,’ ‘Wires’ and ‘Reflections.’
Another popular indie music band is the Arctic Monkeys. They have been categorized as indie-rock music as well as post-punk. The band started in 2002, and by 2007 were headlining in the world famous festival Glastonbury. This is a five dad music festival held in Somerset, England. Their most popular album is ‘AM,’ released in 2013. Some of their most popular songs are ‘505,’ ‘I Wanna Be Yours, R U Mine?,’ and ‘Arabella.’
Indie music all around is a very diverse but distinct genre. With the independent and free style of music it allows its artists to create the sub genres that give it its great variety. Indie music can be euphoric to listen to, and that is why it stands out to me.
