Why I hate 'Indie' &NME

[alexxxxx]

I hate 'NME' and 'Pop' Indie. It sucks big time. I'll give you my reasons for this:

-They aren't indie(independant), usually backed by big record label or subsidy of one.

-The music is so blad, constant strumming of chord and flat lyrics.

-It usually is so similiar to each other.

Sometimes NME does pick up some good music, I personally think Black Kids are great and CSS (I've been listening to CSS since 2006). But I've been listening to MGMT for a few months, why has it taken so long for them to become 'popular?'

But usually it doesn't, Glasvegas 'The best new band in britain' - I don't think so, it's not the worst, but it's just so normal and suckass.

Indie and NME is not cool or indie at all - it's just styled pop.

I can't say i'm much better, I listen to alot of pop-rock and even-less North American 'Indie' and I try to make myself feel like i'm listening to something special (ahahaha) but I try to discover my music through other means rather than mainstream TV (IE. Music Blogs, Last.fm, Deezer, eMusic).

[Elasticated]

i reckon there is definately an 'indie' sound.

[Monopoly]

It's just a music style, don't take it so seriously.

[RedStratocas]

yeah, i hate nme too. they're so close-minded and hype-crazy. they gave "blueberry boat" by fiery furnaces, an incredibly creative and fun album, one star. i was mad when i saw that.

while a lot of people hate them because they're a bit elitist, pitchforkmedia.com probably has the best perspective on the music world today, especially indie.

[Crimson]

Every label changes as time goes on.. Heavy metal used to be like ozzy and stuff like that - if you heard that nowadays it'd probably be called Indie.. lol :-P

[-Eyeless-]

If you don't like NME don't buy it ;)

But seriously I recommend searching the net, I found a few sites that have much better reviews and are much more "in tune" lol, if I can remember them I will post them here :)

Edit: I agree with redstrat, pitchforkmedia are good. I will try to find some more :)

[Jõnathan]

I found out most of the bands I like through MTV2, and the only time that I bought NME was when the Flux Remix EP came free with it

[samsaBEAR]

i have no problems with NME. the only thing i dont like is when they pick a band, then they hype them up beyond belief, such as Glasvegas.
but through NME ive heard of many good bands such as To My Boy (before Jon sent me stuff :P), Klaxons, CSS, Hadouken! (but that was a collab with MTV2) and the like.

[omgitslily]

Well yeah I like NME, I always buy it but lately it has gone downhill because I used to find new bands from it and I have usually already heard the 'new' bands it features now..

But when you say all the music sounds the same, an outsider looking in on a genre they don't listen to would say that about anyone. Because bands in genres have songs consisting of different things to make them fit into that genre, so they're bound to have some musical similarities.

[distraction]

i hate the nme, they haven't really a clue what they are talking about.

they don't find bands, they latch onto ones that have already gained cult status and hype them up to the point where they become unbearable.

[untrustus]

glasvegas are crap for a start, nme are so wrong on there. i read nme regurlarly, but i do disagree with them sometimes. plus there's so many staff, that sometimes they'll be raving on about a band (for instance crystal castles) but in the same issue another writer will be totally slating them in a single review.

same with pitchfork though, some stuff that they hype (such as HEALTH, vampire weekend) is excellent, but some of it isn't very good (hercules and love affair wasn't 9/10+ material in my opinion). i also think they're a bit harsh on british indie.

& people have to accept that, like emo, indie has a different meaning these days. yes i know it's supposed to mean independent music, but the definition has evolved recently.

[Smits]

I'd have to say i like NME and the music given the 'indie' label nowadays. Yeah, alot of it is similar, but at the same time alot of the bands are different. It's just finding the right bands.

[alexxxxx]

Stuff like Vampire Weekend and Foals (they aren't that good - many people just like it cause they wear the same clothes and they look a bit different) I can't stand - but I seriously love CSS and a few others that NME ocassionally cover. I really hate stuff like Dirty Pretty Things and The Cribs (apart from Hey Scenesters) also. Yuck Yuck.

[Elasticated]

vampire weekend and foals are brilliant! so are dirty pretty things and the cribs. i don't like them cos they look a bit different :S

[Smits]

Ahh i like some of Dirty Pretty Things and i love The Cribs.
I won't usually listen to the foals and vampire weekend isn't too bad.

[Andys]

I so agree with indie, it takes no skill whatever and its a bunch of poofs who sing in northern accents lol.

metal is the way to go :)

[Elasticated]

I so agree with indie, it takes no skill whatever and its a bunch of poofs who sing in northern accents lol.

metal is the way to go :)
not really? if making 'indie' music takes no skill then neither does metal, it's just some ******s smashing guitars and screaming so you can't understand what the **** they're saying.

[untrustus]

;4853872']Stuff like Vampire Weekend and Foals (they aren't that good - many people just like it cause they wear the same clothes and they look a bit different) I can't stand - but I seriously love CSS and a few others that NME ocassionally cover. I really hate stuff like Dirty Pretty Things and The Cribs (apart from Hey Scenesters) also. Yuck Yuck.

who gives a **** what they look like? foals look absolutely awful, they cut each others hair, but their album is one of my favourite's this year. i tend to listen to bands rather than look at them when judging whether i like them.
& the cribs are excellent, amen.


I so agree with indie, it takes no skill whatever and its a bunch of poofs who sing in northern accents lol.

metal is the way to go :)
wow, you suck.

[Misawa]

Today, "indie" is the style and sound rather than being independent. Like since "emo" became trendy a few years back, it has a totally different meaning to what it had when it was created over 30 years ago; now it's just a fashion fad.

[alexxxxx]

Haha.

Foals just annoy me, not really that special, though i can see why people do like their music - metal, i don't really like either. I don't really know what I like, what it's classed as. But NME's elitist stance sucks - and I hate people who live by it, NME highjack bands as said before.


Merged by samsaBEAR (Forum Moderator). Double post due to forum lag.

[RedStratocas]

same with pitchfork though, some stuff that they hype (such as HEALTH, vampire weekend) is excellent, but some of it isn't very good (hercules and love affair wasn't 9/10+ material in my opinion). i also think they're a bit harsh on british indie.

there's a difference between nme hype and pitchfork hype, though. with the exception of interpol, pitchfork hype bands that haven't gotten any specific attention such as hercules & love affair. as said earlier, nme latches on to hype, they get a band that already has a cult following then give it a rave review to push it over the edge, bolstering their influence. and they aren't that harsh on british indie, they're quite fond of arctic monkeys and klaxons and report on them pretty regularly.


I so agree with indie, it takes no skill whatever and its a bunch of poofs who sing in northern accents lol.

metal is the way to go :)

i lol'd pretty hard, so i'll save my my mega-rip on you. thanks for the laugh.

[Asher]

metal is ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are a good few indie bands out there

[Misawa]

Keep your opinions to yourself if they contain profanity.

[-Eyeless-]

metal is ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are a good few indie bands out there

Please do not try to provoke arguments :)

Like I said earlier I don't like NME but I do like some indie, it would be good if there was a magazine that focused solely on more underground bands... Or at least one that was sold at my local newsagents lol

[GommeInc]

I don't get why there are so many genres now. Isn't Indie just soft rock?

[Misawa]

Indie is basically ultra-light rock, poppy-rock at that.

[Andys]

not really? if making 'indie' music takes no skill then neither does metal, it's just some ******s smashing guitars and screaming so you can't understand what the **** they're saying.
Haha is this a joke or are you actually being serious?

I could learn an indie song in 5 minutes flat, a metal song is so hard to learn? Have you ever even seen anyone play a metal song? - obviously not otherwise you would realise what skill it takes to become a metal artist. Bands like Metallica and Slayer etc have been playing and practising for years to be able to do what they do, unlike some indie band which when i started learning guitar was one the first things i learned - an indie song? I wonder why...

[Misawa]

Haha is this a joke or are you actually being serious?

I could learn an indie song in 5 minutes flat, a metal song is so hard to learn? Have you ever even seen anyone play a metal song? - obviously not otherwise you would realise what skill it takes to become a metal artist. Bands like Metallica and Slayer etc have been playing and practising for years to be able to do what they do, unlike some indie band which when i started learning guitar was one the first things i learned - an indie song? I wonder why...

Have to agree that metal is a far harder craft to master.

[-Eyeless-]

Have to agree that metal is a far harder craft to master.

I second that, I play guitar and love both genres but if I was choosing something technical to play to show off my skill metal comes up above most straight away, listen to dragonforce or children of bodom and then realise how hard it is. And this is a neutral view as I like both ;)

[untrustus]

Haha is this a joke or are you actually being serious?

I could learn an indie song in 5 minutes flat, a metal song is so hard to learn? Have you ever even seen anyone play a metal song? - obviously not otherwise you would realise what skill it takes to become a metal artist. Bands like Metallica and Slayer etc have been playing and practising for years to be able to do what they do, unlike some indie band which when i started learning guitar was one the first things i learned - an indie song? I wonder why...

yeah, metallica have been practising for years. but they still can't make a post-puppets album that anyone thinks is worth listening to.

[-Eyeless-]

yeah, metallica have been practising for years. but they still can't make a post-puppets album that anyone thinks is worth listening to.

Hmm obviously not read about their new album, based on the same formula for puppets... THE SOLOS ARE BACK! So I stand by it being harder than indie ;)

[samsaBEAR]

they both suffer from the same problem. 75% of metal+indie bands sound the same. there's no point in arguing about it, you know i'm right :D
but that doesnt mean that once is better than the other, i personally prefer indie, but i can appriciate the hard work and skill that goes into metal.
although i must admit, even i could probably learn an indie track, and i can barely read tabs :D

[-Eyeless-]

I almost always agree with you :P The reason I suggested children of bodom is because they are like a crossbreed of all different metal genres, plus they have an amazing keyboardist :P

[superfly-dan]

If you don't like NME don't buy it ;)


God that phrase makes my blood boil.

"If you don't like it, don't buy it"
or
"If you don't like it, don't use it" or whatever. Obviously we're not going to buy it if we don't like it, idiot! :@

I hate NME too. Indie really sucks, although I really do like The Pigeon Detectives. I really hate all these "poppy" bands that are in the charts, The Hoosiers, Scouting For Girls, The Kooks, The Killers etc, I hate them all. The Hoosiers are the worst though.

Edited by lAscend (Forum Super Moderator): Please don't insult other forum memebers.

[Andys]

they both suffer from the same problem. 75% of metal+indie bands sound the same. there's no point in arguing about it, you know i'm right :D
but that doesnt mean that once is better than the other, i personally prefer indie, but i can appriciate the hard work and skill that goes into metal.
although i must admit, even i could probably learn an indie track, and i can barely read tabs :D
your kidding? Metal sounds nothing like indie!

[-Eyeless-]

God that phrase makes my blood boil.

"If you don't like it, don't buy it"
or
"If you don't like it, don't use it" or whatever. Obviously we're not going to buy it if we don't like it, idiot! :@

I hate NME too. Indie really sucks, although I really do like The Pigeon Detectives. I really hate all these "poppy" bands that are in the charts, The Hoosiers, Scouting For Girls, The Kooks, The Killers etc, I hate them all. The Hoosiers are the worst though.

Actually the person was saying how they don't like the magazine and so they must have bought it in the first place to form an opinion on it, so my point was valid :)


your kidding? Metal sounds nothing like indie!

He meant all indie sounds the same and all metal sounds the same :)

[Andys]

He meant all indie sounds the same and all metal sounds the same :)
Oh right, sorry - misunderstood.
My bad.

[-Eyeless-]

Oh right, sorry - misunderstood.
My bad.

No worrys happens to everyone ;)

[RedStratocas]

I second that, I play guitar and love both genres but if I was choosing something technical to play to show off my skill metal comes up above most straight away, listen to dragonforce or children of bodom and then realise how hard it is. And this is a neutral view as I like both ;)

pffft. i've been playing guitar for 5 years, and most metal (i.e. dragonforce) is uncreative dribble. sure its hard to play, but its not hard to come up with, seeing as everything is in scale, which is what angers me most. the best and most creative artists around today hate scales and music theory and all that garbage. why would i want to hear something so expected and predictable? thats exactly how i feel when i listen to some crappy metal band playing a scale at lightning speed: bored out of my mind.

[-Eyeless-]

pffft. i've been playing guitar for 5 years, and most metal (i.e. dragonforce) is uncreative dribble. sure its hard to play, but its not hard to come up with, seeing as everything is in scale, which is what angers me most. the best and most creative artists around today hate scales and music theory and all that garbage. why would i want to hear something so expected and predictable? thats exactly how i feel when i listen to some crappy metal band playing a scale at lightning speed: bored out of my mind.

I totally agree, I said I like to play it to show off my skill at playing lol. But the reason I don't like indie though is its just repetative chords, which are just as simple as a load of scales... I prefer to play things like jazz and ska and reggae for fun because they are more interesting and you can get a groove and jam easily :)

[samsaBEAR]

Oh right, sorry - misunderstood.
My bad.
yeh sorry, i was gonna edit it, but i thought that people understand what i meant :D
my bad, not yours :P

[omgitslily]

hm a lot of people are being quite ignorant, i'm glad that i don't have a one sided music taste.

i like indie, rock, metal, electro, some punk and some rnb/pop and i can see the qualities in each one of the genres.

i think it's the worst thing ever when people are disrespectful of what other people like. seriously grow up.

[untrustus]

oh and this whole attitude of the harder the guitar is to play, the better the track is nonsense. you wouldn't say a film was better than another just because it had more special effects would you?

[beth]

me & my ex had a five hour discussion on how bad nme is.

they kill it. completely.

[-Eyeless-]

oh and this whole attitude of the harder the guitar is to play, the better the track is nonsense. you wouldn't say a film was better than another just because it had more special effects would you?

I don't actually think anybody said that exactly :) we were saying that it is harder to play but nobody said it made the songs better ;) I love both.

[GommeInc]

hm a lot of people are being quite ignorant, i'm glad that i don't have a one sided music taste.

i like indie, rock, metal, electro, some punk and some rnb/pop and i can see the qualities in each one of the genres.

i think it's the worst thing ever when people are disrespectful of what other people like. seriously grow up.
I have a friend who literally hates anything joyful and happy, like Madonna, Kylie, LazyTown... Anything pop-like. He says they're just made for money and don't have any meaning behind them. It's irritating. I'm ok with anything, I can listen to anything in the background and a few genres/people as my main focus when I listen with my Zen or with the radio.

[untrustus]

I don't actually think anybody said that exactly :) we were saying that it is harder to play but nobody said it made the songs better ;) I love both.

no, they didn't exactly, but they were basically saying metal is superior because indie guitar parts are easier to learn.

[stickwitu]

i don't like NME because of their reviews.
a majority of the albums that aren't indie that they review are given poor ratings and that's simply because they're of a different genre

why bother reviewing stuff that they hate even before listening to.

[untrustus]

they cover a variety of genre's. and they don't 'hate' stuff before listening to it, no reviewer has that attitude. sure, certain genre's (such as chart pop albums) usually get bad ratings, but it's all down to opinion. if i flick through a recent issue for instance, santogold's album (who's far from indie) got an 8 out of 10

[alexxxxx]

sure, certain genre's (such as chart pop albums) usually get bad ratings, but it's all down to opinion.

yeah - it's this elitist opinion that i don't like.

[stickwitu]

they cover a variety of genre's. and they don't 'hate' stuff before listening to it, no reviewer has that attitude. sure, certain genre's (such as chart pop albums) usually get bad ratings, but it's all down to opinion. if i flick through a recent issue for instance, santogold's album (who's far from indie) got an 8 out of 10

i wouldn't class santogold's album far from indie at all
it definetly has indie influences, but also pretty much every other genre combined into it as well, it's definetly alternative and a genuinely strong album

and yeah exactly, certain genres are looked down upon in their magazine
they need specialist reviewers for certain genres, you shouldn't get an indie rock lover reviewing a commercial pop album because it's clearly going to get a low rating.

[Coldplay]

I think Indie is good personally, but I always thought that indie meant individual?

[alexxxxx]

I think Indie is good personally, but I always thought that indie meant individual?

nah 'independant' lol

[Coldplay]

Maybe they shouldn't call it indie, and just stick to the "Alternative" then?

[samsaBEAR]

because Indie used to refer to the fact that they weren't signed to major labels, they were signed to an Independant label

[RedStratocas]

Maybe they shouldn't call it indie, and just stick to the "Alternative" then?

actually, "alternative" used to mean what indie means now. the term "alternative" came around when a wave of different music came in the early 90's. it covered all sorts of music, from nirvana to beck to any sort of music that was a "new scene." but of course, by the end of the 90's the term itself defined a style of music (nickleback, bush, three doors down etc) and now it's just another genre instead of an idea. pretty much the same thing happened with indie, but indie still has semi-meanings.

[RedStratocas]

they cover a variety of genre's. and they don't 'hate' stuff before listening to it, no reviewer has that attitude. sure, certain genre's (such as chart pop albums) usually get bad ratings, but it's all down to opinion. if i flick through a recent issue for instance, santogold's album (who's far from indie) got an 8 out of 10

i wouldnt call her "far from indie." she's on a fairly small label in the U.S. that only host a few musicians (some of whom, like art brut and cold war kids are considered part of the indie scene).

Edit by samsaBEAR (Forum Moderator): Please don't double post, simply edit your previous one :)

[samsaBEAR]

i wouldnt call her "far from indie." she's on a fairly small label in the U.S. that only host a few musicians (some of whom, like art brut and cold war kids are considered part of the indie scene).

Edit by samsaBEAR (Forum Moderator): Please don't double post, simply edit your previous one :)

i love art brut so much. they're playing at a local festival, but they are the only 'known' band playing apart from black kids and lightspeed champion, and i dont really like either of them.

[RedStratocas]

i love art brut so much. they're playing at a local festival, but they are the only 'known' band playing apart from black kids and lightspeed champion, and i dont really like either of them.

my bad @ the double post.

but yeah, art brut rulez.

[samsaBEAR]

my bad @ the double post.

but yeah, art brut rulez.
lol, dw. just dont it again or INFRACTIONZZ!! will be coming your way.
:D

i found a band that are really similar to art brut, but i now cannot think for the life of me what their name was.

[beth]

i wouldnt call her "far from indie." she's on a fairly small label in the U.S. that only host a few musicians (some of whom, like art brut and cold war kids are considered part of the indie scene).

Edit by samsaBEAR (Forum Moderator): Please don't double post, simply edit your previous one :)

she's on a small label in the US? i street-teamed for her a couple of months back, which means she's on a pretty big label since i only work for warner/atlantic.

[RedStratocas]

she's on a small label in the US? i street-teamed for her a couple of months back, which means she's on a pretty big label since i only work for warner/atlantic.

she's on atlantic in the u.k., she's on downtown records in the u.s., which is a small subsidary of atlantic and warner.

[untrustus]

my bad @ the double post.

but yeah, art brut rulez.
protip: if you like art brut, listen to let's wrestle

[Janeisntpleased]

all nme does is rape the klaxons.
the klaxons are crap.

[untrustus]

*klaxons

and they never talk about them anymore.

[Janeisntpleased]

*klaxons

and they never talk about them anymore.



i haven't read it in time, but that's all they raved about last time i read it.

[help23]

Most of the bands featured in nme have a plugger behind them so that is why they are getting the attention of nme and nme are basicly tiold what to say about them by their plugger. :D

[YoManGo!]

yeah, i hate nme too. they're so close-minded and hype-crazy. they gave "blueberry boat" by fiery furnaces, an incredibly creative and fun album, one star. i was mad when i saw that.

while a lot of people hate them because they're a bit elitist, pitchforkmedia.com probably has the best perspective on the music world today, especially indie.

pitchforkmedia.com called flogging molly a post-grunge band.

[RedStratocas]

pitchforkmedia.com called flogging molly a post-grunge band.

haha, ive never even seen them cover flogging molly. they have some bad genre habits. especially coining genre names then acting like it's a huge scene (i dont think there's any other "freak folk" band other than animal collective)