Top 3 "Indie" Albums...So Far...

[Dayne1234]

I'm just curious what you think are the top 3 classic, indie albums of all-time...so far. What albums exude the true spirit of true indie rock?

Here are the top three I think are the "Holy Grail" of Indie Rock...

1. Archers of Loaf, "Icky Mettle"
2. Pavement, "Slanted and Enchanted"
3. Guided by Voices, "Bee Thousand"

These albums still give me shivers when I hear them they are so good!

Cheers,
Dayne :)

[Dayne1234]

The Pixies, "Doolittle"

What in the world was I thinking!?

[Paul]

Originally posted by Dayne1234
The Pixies, "Doolittle"

What in the world was I thinking!? Perhaps you were thinking "Hmm, Doolittle was released on a major label!"

[Paul]

Also, I'm putting this nugget on a t-shirt asap:

"the true spirit of true indie rock"

[tinobeat]

Originally posted by Paul
Perhaps you were thinking "Hmm, Doolittle was released on a major label!"

well, 4AD is an indie, though distributed by Elektra...

I was thinking "Hmm, maybe because Doolittle, while good, doesn't hold a candle to the three initially listed?"

If you make that t-shirt, I want one too...

[Dayne1234]

I don't care if "Doolittle" was on an indie label, I still consider it a prime example of the true spirit of indie rock. Sure, I guess if you consider "indie" independent label music, than that is true...it wouldn't be considered indie rock. But, I guess what I'm trying to ask is what are the best albums that exude the spirit of indie rock...on any label.

To me, Indie Rock isn't about the label, it is about the type of music and the band. Maybe that is just me. Oh well...

Dayne

[tinobeat]

Originally posted by Dayne1234
To me, Indie Rock isn't about the label, it is about the type of music and the band. Maybe that is just me. Oh well...

No, you're right... don't mind Paul...

The problem is that if "indie-esque" major label bands are in play, then the whole idea of "indie" just becomes about a "sound" instead of an attitude or work ethic...

In the end, its all rock music.

[Maximo]

Originally posted by tinobeat
No, you're right... don't mind Paul...

The problem is that if "indie-esque" major label bands are in play, then the whole idea of "indie" just becomes about a "sound" instead of an attitude or work ethic...

In the end, its all rock music.


Well said, tino.

[Paul]

Yeah, sorry. I was just being an ass for the sake of it.

[tinobeat]

Originally posted by Paul
Yeah, sorry. I was just being an ass for the sake of it.

and that's why we love ya!

;)

[george]

Originally posted by tinobeat
If you make that t-shirt, I want one too...

me too for sure. i can't wait for the rub's online store to open.

[Futureman]

I still have yet to find a copy of Icky Mettle.

[sonicyouthyumyu]

archers is a pavement rip-off band - great, but a rip-off nonetheless...
here are my 5 - some of them started as indy and exploaded - some of them are super influencial w/o the cash, but...in no particular order...

1. r.e.m. - reckoning (transformed the industry)
2. replacements - let it be
3. pavement - slanted (transformed the industry)
4. dinosaur - you're living all over me (transformed the industry)
5. royal trux - accelerator
6. Nirvana - Never Mind (transformed the industry

[tinobeat]

Originally posted by sonicyouthyumyu
archers is a pavement rip-off band - great, but a rip-off nonetheless...

I think that while there are similarities (you know, both have guitars, drums, bass, songs, not always the most in-tune), that's a pretty shortsighted statement.

In the early '90's there were a lot of bands that had sounds and songs in that neighborhood, and Pavement certainly weren't the progenitors, just one of the best at it.

Its entirely possible for bands to sound similar and not be ripoffs of one another.

The one I never got was the "Weezer as Pavement ripoff" thing that got thrown around for a long time.

[interrust]

no neutral milk hotel? and i think someday in the future all will think the arcade fire album will say it was important in making indie what it was. maybe blueberry boat as well?

[River Tigris]

R.E.M. - "Murmur"
The Replacements - "Tim"
Husker Du - "New Day Rising"
Dinosaur Jr. - "You're Living All Over Me"
Sonic Youth - "Daydream Nation"
Pixies - "Surfer Rosa"
Slint - "Spiderland"
My Bloody Valentine - "Loveless"
Nirvana - "Nevermind"
Pavement - "Slanted And Enchanted"

...are pretty much the classics of indie - or "indie" - rock. I resisted the urge to list albums from the past decade or so, but I'm sure Cat Power's "Moon Pix" and the Shins' "Oh, Inverted World" will be among the more recent albums to be remembered in ten or twenty years.

[on the moon]

Arcade fire is way overrated

but i cant wait for the dinosaur jr. re-releases

and why hasnt anybody mentioned....joy division--unknown pleasures?
slint -spiderland
sonic youth - probably evol

[tinobeat]

Originally posted by interrust
no neutral milk hotel? and i think someday in the future all will think the arcade fire album will say it was important in making indie what it was. maybe blueberry boat as well?

I'll say that in the future people will look at the Arcade Fire album and say "indie rock's long history allowed an album like this to be made," sort of the flip of what you prophesize. Honestly, while its an alright record, god help us if its a foreshadowing of years of independent rock to come...

[Patrick]

Originally posted by tinobeat
The one I never got was the "Weezer as Pavement ripoff" thing that got thrown around for a long time.

Indeed. Weezer were a Superchunk ripoff, not a Pavement ripoff.

Patrick

[johansen smith]

my favorites of the past ten years, in roughly chronological order:

Wowee Zowee by Pavement
Alien Lanes by Guided by Voices
Electr-o-pura by Yo La Tengo
What Would the Community Think? by Cat Power
Come on Die Young by Mogwai
A Series of Sneaks by Spoon
Since I Left You by the Avalanches
Bright Flight by Silver Jews
the World Won't End by Pernice Brothers
Didn't it Rain? by Songs: Ohia
the Headphone Masterpiece by Cody ChesnuTT
Blueberry Boat by the Fiery Furnaces


anyone else read Sylus's Top 40 of the last 40 years? Avalanches at a lowly #16, six spots behind the Arcade Fire. absurd.

[earl grey]

Originally posted by johansen smith

anyone else read Sylus's Top 40 of the last 40 years? Avalanches at a lowly #16, six spots behind the Arcade Fire. absurd.


and eight spots behind modest mouse.

i was surprised to see '( )' by sigur ros on that chart ... i always thought the critical response to it was pretty middling.

[Funk]

Originally posted by johansen smith

anyone else read Sylus's Top 40 of the last 40 years? Avalanches at a lowly #16, six spots behind the Arcade Fire. absurd.

d00d, the Avalanches AND Arcade Fire being top 40 albums of the last 40 years is absurd.

[Paul]

Arcade Fire? Certainly. But the Avalanches record? I still assert that Since I Left You is the greatest record of this decade thus far.

[vesper]

what 40 years are guys talking about? the feature is from 2000-2004.

[Maximo]

I really dont see anything special about Arcade fire :( It didnt hit me at all the first time I listened to it.

[johansen smith]

Originally posted by Paul
Arcade Fire? Certainly. But the Avalanches record? I still assert that Since I Left You is the greatest record of this decade thus far.
Paul and I rarely see eye to eye, but I'm in agreeance with this.

and the 40 was a typo, I know it's 2000-4.

[justin_S]

Ok, Now maybe I'm biased since I'm from Montreal and all, but I think Arcade Fire deserves a spot on the list. While I would never give their album a spot on the top forty of the past forty years, I'm having trouble thinking of forty albums which have been released in the past 4 years that I have enjoyed more. Once again, I admit that I might be looking a this through home-town-hero-tinted glasses. Feel free to rip into me as you see fit.

[Brushback]

the top 3 classic, indie albums of all-time...
Mission of Burma-- "Signals, Calls, and Marches"
The Replacements-- "Hootenany"
Black Flag-- "Damaged"

Leaving 7-inchers off the list, and speaking only casually, I think these are three releases that laid the most groundwork for the independent music of the past 20 years or so.

[sonicyouthyumyu]

the biggest glaring omission from "our band could be your life" is r.e.m.'s prominence - here's the thing, and this may piss off some of the hipsters who can't seem to remember back to the bands who created the fucking market - and this is just my take for what its worth - growing up in the south, it was primarily r.e.m. that created college rock - and who was their biggest influence? Big star. rem did a touring loop around the south and later the country - that created the college scene/market - as i recall, and i may be mistaken, it was primarily r.e.m. that toured all the colleges, called up the college radio stations, met with them, etc...(no one else was doing this to this extent, certainly not at chapel hill) r.e.m. took the replacements out on tour and helped pave the way for those bands. Now, certainly, sonic youth opened up the flood gates - thank god for them, and dinosaur created the sound that defined the sound that everyone tried to copy in the 90's - minor threat and black flag were also huge - so i don't know, but that's my take for what its worth... and re. archers being a pvement rip-off - yes, they were and gentling would be the first to tell you that - it was the joke that he would laugh about with us at parties in college...circa 1991
rem murmur
rem chronic town
big star #1 record
replacements - let it be
dinosaur yr living all over me
sonic youth - daydream nation

[TheSadDebaser]

REM didn't make it into OBCBYL because they didn't meet the criteria Azzerad used to define "independant" band. And rightly so, I think. Maybe I'm just ignorant of REM history (honestly, not one of my favorite bands, sorry), but they never seemed to be part of the whole DIY/punk rock community of guys that had bands and started their own labels, booked their own tours, etc, that developed in the Eighties.

And Arcade Fire is fucking dull. That said, they're okay. Decent at best, but totally forgetable. Anyone remember Fischerspooner?

[Paul]

Originally posted by TheSadDebaser
Anyone remember Fischerspooner? How could anyone forget? They've released and re-released #1 three times in as many years. Looking forward to finally hearing a new new album.

As for REM, their original indieness shouldn't be in question at all. They just crossed the rubicon into mainstream recognition really quickly.

[earl grey]

Originally posted by TheSadDebaser

Anyone remember Fischerspooner?

for me, fischerspooner was one of those bands that i kept on hearing about but had never actually heard. or so i thought, till i realized "emerge" had been inescapable for months and i just hadn't made the connection. i actually never heard the rest of their album, is it worth checking out? i wasn't so keen on "emerge."

if i remember correctly, there's a good chapter on REM's "indieness" in the gina arnold book 'route 666.'

[Miss Tasty Princess]

Originally posted by TheSadDebaser
REM didn't make it into OBCBYL because they didn't meet the criteria Azzerad used to define "independant" band. And rightly so, I think. Maybe I'm just ignorant of REM history (honestly, not one of my favorite bands, sorry), but they never seemed to be part of the whole DIY/punk rock community of guys that had bands and started their own labels, booked their own tours, etc, that developed in the Eighties. Putting out your first single on a tiny indie label then signing with a rather small independent label doesn't count for R.E.M.? In that case, a lot of bands in that book don't deserve to be in it, then (not that I've read it but none of the bands I'm aware that are in it put out their own records on their own labels when they started out).

[sunne]

i actually never heard the rest of their album, is it worth checking out?

I would say so. there is also a dvd on the album with videos for the 15th, emerge, sweetness...there might be another one, i dont remember right now.

[TheSadDebaser]

Well, for anyone who hasn't read the book, REM are not included because IRS was distributed by a major (Warner Bros.), and Azerrad was going for the indie-est of indies.

I never actually heard anything by Fischerspooner, all I remember is everyone talking about them all the time, then not.

[Paul]

IRS had separate deals with both A&M and MCA, but never Warner Bros. as far as I know.

[TheSadDebaser]

Oh whoops, my apologies. I believe I meant A&M.

Edit: Michael Azerrad wrote:
This book is devoted solely to bands who were on independent labels. So R.E.M., for instance, didn't make the cut, since the band's pre-Warner albums were recorded for I.R.S. Records, whoe releases were manufactured and distributed by A&M (which in turn had a business relationship with RCA) and later, MCA.

[sonicyouthyumyu]

R.E.M.'s indy cred is 2nd to none, regardless of "azzelrod's standards" -
fucking hilarious and ironic...R.E.M. did more for "indy rock" than just about anyone else - ever hear of Chronic Town?

they, along with burma and sy spearheaded a small group of bands that created the fucking "indy" market - they did more to pave the way for smaller bands that came later - like the Replacements - than just about anyone else - you just can't ignore the touring loop THEY CREATED during the 80's - helping to ignite college radio - reaching out to college radio - at a time when no one else really was...but they're not "indy" enough for some is ignorant as shit...