Indie - they don't make it like they used to

I was raised on 90s indie, then got into the 80s stuff. Back then it really meant something...then, round about the time Coldplay came along, it suddenly got a lot worse, am I right or am I right? It lost all meaning, it became all about slogans, posturing and fashion.

Maybe I'm too young to know what 'indie' truly meant in the 80s, or maybe not. But it seems to me to be so vapid these days. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't listen to any of it for very long.

Honestly, I could rant on this stuff for days...

 

Indie just means an unsigned band and there are a ton of talented and unique bands out there who are not working within the confines of the record industry.

 

Sure, unsigned or on an independent label. And yes, there are plenty of good bands out there under the radar, but I'm talking about the stuff that does get recognised, the bands who 'make it'. Compared to 20-30 years ago, the music out there is pretty uninspiring in my opinion, at least from new bands; most of the best new stuff out there is being made by people who've been around for decades.

 

I don't recall anything being called indie in the 90's.

 

Yeah, I know what you mean. I think its harder for bands to "make it" these days. I really listen to regional music more than anything else recently

 

"Indie" is like a zombie - alive but not dead,dead yet not alive...

 

To me it is more like 'classic rock', it is clearly there but it can be many different things and the defining word ('classic' and 'indie') can not be taken literally, well it could be if we would insist (except many indie bands seem not to be independant), but a band/artist falling in one of this specific genres can usually be defined better by losing the classic/indie word.