Real indie fans?

Question

For some reason I feel like none of them are here on Yahoo!Answers.

I'm talking Sufjan Stevens, Beirut, Shins, Wolf Parade, Iron & Wine, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, The Decemberists, the list is long. Anybody out there? I love this stuff.

I'm just not too into popular music right now, and it seems to be the only thing popping up on here.

Woot! One answer! You might just get best answer man. Bright Eyes is pretty sweet. Finally someone with good taste around here. No offense people.

I'd have to say Sufjan Stevens is number one on my list. Check him out. I have all his albums

"say anything" are emo perverts and they suck big time. they will never pass for indie rock. but the violent femmes are okay. but say anything, never.

props to you. i definitely dig alot of artists on your list. but i haven't heard of casiotone ftpa or fiery furnance. I'll have to check them out. thanks for the tip. : )

glad to see someone equally crazy about sufjan. gah! illinois was a good album. i really liked the male backup vocals for decatur. and thanks for the tip on pitchfork. I've kinda ben picking up artists as I went along, and the list has gotten so long it's hard to find fresh faces. at least now i'll have a source. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

I have a last.fm account and many of these bands are on my top artists list. The first person who answered has good taste. Bright eyes and Cursive are amazing. I saw both play live when they weren't popular enough to sell out yet. The Good Life, a side project of Tim Kasher (Cursive frontman) is amazing as well.

There was a period when I listened to nothing but Sufjan Stevens. He can make amazing music AND write some of the wittiest lyrics I've ever seen. So many good tracks on Illinois. I bought his Christmas album last month and that's a good listen too. I hear he's doing another midwest state next. I wish he'd do California. I want a song about California that's on par with "Decatur."

Arcade Fire is beyond adjectives. Almost every song in Funeral was a winner. "In The Backseat" especially was amazing, the way she wails at the end. I hope she sings more in Neon Bible. I can't wait until Neon Bible leaks or drops in stores, I'll be on that so fast. What I wouldn't give to see this band live.

Modest Mouse, classic. Even after so many years I still listen to them on regular rotation. I have the complete discography plus some rare tracks. Beyond awesome.

The Decemberists. I was into them before they exploded into the music scene with Picaresque, so I've had the pleasure of seeing them live as well. Awesome sound, and they can write some good lyrics.

Some artists I'm currently listening to:

-Joanna Newsom (Ys topped many "best of" lists in 2006, and rightly so)
-TV On The Radio (ditto)
-The Hold Steady
-Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
-Elliott Smith
-Madeline
-Keren Ann
-Do Make Say Think
-Sunny Day Real Estate
-Deerhoof
-Feist
-Mirah
-Xiu Xiu
-Of Montreal
-Belle & Sebastian
-Neko Case (what Jenny Lewis aspires to be)
-Fiery Furnaces
-Cat Power
-The Knife

These are relatively newer (within the past year or so) I assume you've heard all the classics like Neutral Milk Hotel and such.

If you want more recommendations, you can do what other indie hipsters do and frequent Pitchfork. They do a decent job of separating the music from the noise.

Radio music be damned! Pretentious indie elitists unite! =)

PS- Modest Mouse technically isn't "indie" anymore. They signed to Epic for Good News For People Who Love Bad News, which is a major. But who cares about that when they make such good music, right?

Answer 2

I would say that it's because Zepp is mainly just where it's at. I'm the same as your father, apparently; i'm a 17 year old girl and I stick with my big five...Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac and Grateful Dead. I usually only stay within these five bands, mainly because I have no taste for any music that is any more recent than these. Led Zeppelin were, in my opinion, truly artists and innovators. The combination of their musical prowess, mythical lyricism and the sheer force of their rock is mind-blowing. Look at it from your father's, (any my own) perspective; you have John Paul Jones, an incredible bassist and keyboard player who brought driving rhythm and harmonies. John "Bonzo" Bonham, one of the most incredibly talented drummers of all time, whose pounding, driving, sexual beats were the foundation of the band. Jimmy Page, whose guitar playing is lush, complicated, spellbinding and all together utterly unbelievable. And finally, you top it off with Robert Plant, whose very voice is an instrument...he looks like a gorgeous, Tolkien-esque ranger and can wail with heartbreak one minute, and whisper provocatively into the mic the next. Listen to 'Hey, Hey What Can I Do", "Kashmir", "The Lemon Song", 'Going to California" or "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" and you will understand why your dad won't make time for any other, more recent bands. Because Led Zeppelin are the kings of rock, and will always remain that way.

Answer 3

I am just getting into indie music, having also tired of the same old popular mediocrity. I love the Decemberists, absolutely brilliant (yes, even their albums before they signed with a major label) and Funeral is a superb album.

We'll soon see about the rest of the bands you mentioned, thanks for the leads to check out, and feel free to add to that long list :-)

Answer 4

Is Broken Social Scene on that list?
Look at the entire Arts and Crafts label if you are not familiar with it.
PS- March 6 is when the Arcade Fire releases Neon Bible.

Answer 5

Dude, i feel the same way. I always come here and try to answer those questions "What song is this?" and its always total ****!!!! Everybody always talk about AFI, My Chemical Romance, and 30 seconds to Mars ... they should just kill themselves. I seriously gotta meet you b/c the bands you named are basically my favorites.

Two bands that you didn't name and that I really dig are Sunset Rubdown and Interpol. You prob know them but if you havent give a listen to "Turn on the Bright Lights" by Interpol ... its better than their second cd "Antics." Theyre also coming out with a third cd real soon and I think theyre gonna debut some of the songs at Coachella (night one).

As for Sunset Rubdown, you said you liked Wolf Parade so you'll like them too if you dont know them. This is Spencer Krug's (vocals and keyboards for Wolf Parade) other band. Their cd, "Shut Up I'm Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings" is my favorite of 2006.

Dan Boeckner (vocals and guitar for Wolf Parade) also has a side project named The Handsome Furs that are coming out with a cd later this year.

All right now I'm gonna have to discuss the other bands you mentioned because this might be my last chance!

Sufjan - I just got into him about 3 months ago thanks to the indie flick Little Miss Sunshine playing "Chicago" during the roadtrip. This guys sings some of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. My favs are "Jacksonville" and "Casmir Pulaski Day"

Beirut - "Postcards from Italy" is a brilliant song. After I heard this 1 song I found out they were playing in LA the next week and I watched them w/o checking out the rest of their cd. Sometimes this makes a concert trip less fun, but these guys are magnificant. So much energy, so many sounds, and Zach Cordon (I think thats his name) has one of the nicest voices ever.

The Shins - like a lot of people I found about these guys through Garden State. They're pretty awesome - Chutes too Narrow is the better of the first 2 cds and I have to admit, I dled the 3rd cd once I found it. Its pretty good and stil growing on me, but the other 2 are better.

Wolf Parade - I can't say enough about WP. The 2 lead singers voices complement each other amazingly and everytime I hear it, it still feels like I just struck gold.

Iron & Wine - I've heard a lot about these guys, but havent checked them out yet. I've only heard "Such Great Heights". Who came out with that first, them or The Postal Service? Oh ya PS are supposedly working on another cd.

Arcade Fire - These guys got the Canadian indie scene going with Funeral. I love them for that. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" is in my top 5 songs of all time.

The Decemberists - I found out about these guys recently as well when they played "O, Valencia!" on Conan O' Brien. I have all 3 of their cds now - the guys voice is like no ones else. Extremely unique. "The Mariners Revenge Song" kicks asssss!

Modest Mouse - I've gotta save the best for last. MM got me into indie music. The Lonesome Crowded West and The Moon and Antarctica are 2 of the best cds ever. And I think This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About is extremely underrated. I know that a lot of MM fans starting hating them when they went mainstream with Good News and "Float On," but I say **** those indie snobs. Sure, its not the same as the cds i mentioned, but its still good. Plus we should be happy Issac is clean and hes still gonna be alive to make more great music. And you cant seriously tell me "Ocean Breathes Salty," "The View," "Black Cadillacs," "Bukowski," and "The Good Times are Killing me" are not excellent songs that deserve to be mentioned with some of their older stuff. I cant wait for their new cd and I already got a preview at a concert. I like what I heard .. I'll never hate on these guys.

And lastly, although I'm into indie music, I still like a lot of the good mainstream stuff like Red Hot, Foo Fighters, Muse, Nirvana, and Sublime.

Ah, finally I got to do talk about the good music thats rarely mentioned on these boards.

And Pitchfork is good, but those guys dissed the recent Modest Mouse and I cant stand that.

Answer 6

I love indie music. Among my favorites are Bright Eyes (fav) and Cursive. One of my friends got me into them.

Answer 7

say anything and the violent femmes