Wax Trax! Records - Arguably had the best lineup of any indie label, they were just loaded with KMFDM, Underworld, Rev Co, Thrill Kill Kult, etc. This label was the pride of Chicago and made the city the industrial music capital of the world. Wish they were still in existence.
Epitaph Records - I could have easily gone with Dischord, but this was such an amazing success story. They might be embarrassed by the fact that they still hold the record for the greatest amount of sales by an indie release. That would be Smash by The Offspring, a band that they are no longer on good terms with.
Cleopatra Records – The best Gothic label of all time.
2007-09-27 03:13:58 · 23 answers · asked by Rckets 7 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music ➔ Rock and Pop
Sookie - I knew you were going to pick Sub Pop, lol. They aren't quite as indie as back in the glory days now that Warner Bros owns half of them. Looks like their big acts today are Band of Horses, The Shins, and Wolf Parade. A far cry from grunge and riot grrls. :)
2007-09-27 03:37:45 · update #1
Prof - I saved the Matador label specifically for you. Helium was another group I liked a lot back in the day. Can't say enough good things about Mary Timony. Happy Thursday!
2007-09-27 04:22:00 · update #2
MachPen - Riot Grrl Local 707 is going to revoke your membership AND confiscate your "rusty spikes." Not disappointed though, very good list of bands. Matador getting a lot of love.
2007-09-29 14:38:40 · update #3
BuzzKill - Only a matter of time before we get one of those "holy crap, does anyone remember Superchunk?" :-) It was hard to leave out Touch and Go.
2007-09-29 14:42:38 · update #4
Hey Lovenrckts. I know I'm going to shock you with this answer, but it's all about the Matador! They've got Stephen Malkmus, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, and Yo La Tengo to name a few. They've also had groups like Pavement, Guided by Voices, the Boards of Canada, F*ck, the Fall, Interpol, Tobin Sprout, Liz Phair and the John Spencer Blues Explosion.
The other one that for me is worth mentioning (though I'm not sure it's an independent. Didn't they get purchased by Geffen at some point or something like that?). Their roster includes (former and present together): Iron and Wine, the Shins, Band of Horses, Arlo, Jeremy Enigk, the Fruit Bats, the Fastbacks, Godhead Silo, Sebadoh, Jason Loewenstein, David Cross, Nirvana, Sunny Day Real Estate, the Postal Service, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers (at least BSSM was released on sub pop which along with Mothers Milk are the ones that really count for me). Wasn't Sleater-Kinney on Sub-Pop for a little bit too?
Actually, I knew about a lot of these, but man, Sub-Pop has an even better thing going than I initially thought.
Happy Thursday.
**********************
I actually took them for granted too, as far as being on the label. I took a quick look at the roster before I made the list. I actually had no idea about the Fruit Bats or the Jeremy Enigk projects being on that label. Pretty neat.
*******************
Thanks lovenrckts for leaving it for me. Lord knows I love me some Matador Records. You know though, somehow I've never heard Helium. I'll definately have to correct that.
Good call on Kill Rock Stars (sorry, I'm a space cadet and I have already forgotten your name). They gave us Elliott Smith which I will always be greatful for.
Whoa, and apparently Deerhoof, the Decemberists, Godhead Silo, Karp, the Tight Bros, Imaad Wassif, and the Advantage. Apparently I need to pay a little more attention to who puts stuff out.
2007-09-27 03:54:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 0⤋
*edit - Oops, you said Independent, huh? oh well ... at least the last one truthfully can be called that
You know I'm gonna have to second Prof. Anger's motion for Matador records, I've also been pretty content with the artists that have been signed under that label to include most of the ones he listed and also Richard Hell, BunnyBrains, Cat Power, Love of Diagrams, and The New Pornographers
I wasn't a huge fan of grunge but yeah I'm also gonna have to agree with Sookie that another true favorite of mine is Sub Pop - where a lot of my favorite bands are currently signed with .... The Shins, Wolf Parade, The Postal Service, The Rapture, Thee Headcoats ... good stuff!
*Edit: Sorry to disappoint Lovnrckts ... but sometimes, even riot grrls hang up their rusty spikes for some easier listening ...
In The Red Recordings has carried some VERY good bands such as the Lost Sounds, Black Lips, and the Hospitals
2007-09-27 14:47:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 0⤋
Ipecac Recordings Century Media Prosthetic Records
2016-04-06 03:37:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
SST - To me, by far man's greatest gift to music. The bands signed to this label were phenomenal - Black Flag, The Minutemen, Husker Du, Dino Jr., The Descendents, Meat Puppets, Bad Brains, Negativland, etc., etc., - some of the finest that the punk and post-punk scene ever saw. They definitely had their legal problems but the quality of music released was outstanding.
Touch & Go - Rivaled SST for their band quality - Butthole Surfers, The Jesus Lizard, Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac, Seam, Don Cab, Dirty Three, Slint, The For Carnation, Lee Harvey Oswald Band - and later to merge with Quarterstick which contained the one-album brilliance of Rodan and some of their spawn.
Dischord - More great bands. I just wish Shudder to Think had put out another good album after Funeral at the Movies. I do find State of the Nation to be the best compilation that I own though.
Might as well throw in Sub-Pop, K Records, Matador,Trance Syndicate and IRS Records - after all, corporate rock still sucks.
2007-09-27 13:31:33 · answer #4 · answered by Huevo 6 · 8⤊ 0⤋
This will sound cliche coming from the grunge freak, but I was a huge Sub-Pop supporter for a long time. Not only did I get my hands on some the Seattle musicians' earlier recordings with their bands and with their former bands, but I was also introduced to new, non-Seattle stuff like Velocity Girl and Jale.
I haven't checked their stuff out in a while. I should.
Edit: I'm so transparent!
And I didn't know that Warner Bros. had absorbed any part of them...too bad. :(
Edit (again): Prof - how could I forget about Sebadoh?!? And Reverend Horton Heat!
2007-09-27 03:20:58 · answer #5 · answered by Sookie 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Frontiers Records out of Italy... absolutely the best in melodic rock across the the globe.
Now and Then Records generally has some pretty damned good melodic rock releases as well.
Z Records used to have some pretty good releases, but the owner ticked off all the talent, and now he'd be lucky to sign me to a deal.
Oh Boy! Records was a favorite because they carrie Todd Snider, but now that he's back on a major label, I doubt they'll get any more of my money.
NP: "Wings" - Tyketto
2007-09-27 03:21:10 · answer #6 · answered by Mike AKA Mike 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
It's sadly no more but Factory Records was the most important independant record label. Style and substance is a rare combination. No Factory records = No Joy Division = No New Order = :(
4AD was very good too not only for the bands such as Cocteau Twins & Pixies but for their in house albums such as 'This Mortal Coil'
2007-09-27 05:30:13 · answer #7 · answered by Darren C 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Well, since I'm a firm supporter of my home town...Up Records, K Records, and (recently) Suicide Squeeze are some of my faves - Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, and 764-HERO turned me on to those labels.
Saddle Creek is pretty cool (Cursive and The Faint have releases with them), Touch and Go - of course (Big Black, Jesus Lizard, Blonde Redhead, Girls Against Boys, Calexico, and tons more great bands), Merge Records (Superchunk and Spoon), and Matador which is probably my absolute favorite. Their first compilation is still one of the best things in my collection!
2007-09-27 08:52:58 · answer #8 · answered by Buzzkill 4 · 7⤊ 0⤋
I've always loved Fatwreckchords, Alternative Tenticales, and Sideonedummy. Hellcat, frontier, A-F, BYO, Taang!, Drive-Thru, Go Kart, Roadrunner, and Skunk are all awesome too. But if I had to choose a top dog it would have to be The Bat, just because Jello is a ****** amazing individual!
2007-09-29 11:26:54 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would have to say Wax Trax! is my favorite. I would no longer consider Epitaph "independent" despite its beginnings. I fell that label has veered toward the mainstream. Others include SST Records (Decendants) and Plan 9 (early Misfits). Cleopatra is OK, but Goth isn't my main genre of choice.
2007-09-27 05:14:24 · answer #10 · answered by kontrolfreak66 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋