Indie rock is a genre of
Alternative rock that most notably exists in the
independent underground music scene. It primarily refers to rock musicians that are or were unsigned, or have signed to
independent record labels, rather than
major record labels. Genres or subgenres often associated with indie rock include
lo-fi,
post-rock,
sadcore,
C86, and
math rock, to list but a few; other related (and sometimes overlapping) categories include
shoegazing and
indie pop. Indie rock artists place a premium on maintaining complete control of their music and careers, releasing albums on independent record labels (sometimes their own) and relying on touring, word-of-mouth, and airplay on independent or college radio stations for promotion. Some end up moving to major labels, often on favorable terms won by their prior independent success.
History
1980s
In the
United Kingdom, indie music charts have been compiled since the early 1980s. Initially, the charts featured bands that emerged with a form of guitar-based alternative rock that dominated the indie charts, particularly
indie pop artists such as
Aztec Camera and
Orange Juice, the
C86 jangle-pop movement and the
twee pop of
Sarah Records artists. Some definitive British indie rock bands of the 1980s were
The Smiths,
The Stone Roses and
The Jesus and Mary Chain, whose music directly influenced 1990s alternative rock movements such as
shoegazing and
Britpop.
In the
United States, the music commonly regarded as indie rock is descended from an alternative rock scene largely influenced by the movements of the 1970s and early 1980s and their
DIY ethic. In the 1980s the term "indie rock" was particularly associated with the abrasive, distortion-heavy sounds of
Hüsker Dü,
Dinosaur Jr,
Sonic Youth,
Big Black, and others that populated American indie labels, separating them from jangly
college rock bands like
R.E.M. and
10,000 Maniacs, who, by the end of the decade, were signed to major labels. The late eighties band
Pixies is said to be the main influence in 1990s-present indie rock.
