Canadian indie art-rock band Arcade Fire tells patient, involved stories. Their music is artistic, layered and rich in instrumentation. Live, they flaunt the jigsaw bits that comprise the mosaic of their orchestral sound, performing with an ensemble of medieval museum showpieces like hurdy-gurdies and glockenspiels. . . . → Read More: Arcade Fire’s ‘The Suburbs’ – Chart attack!
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In its May 1 issue, Tehelka has published my counter-point on the Indian rock scene – you can read it here. . . . → Read More: Tehelka hears us out Indie band… I’m not a fan of the phrase myself because I think it is a label for styles of music that you can’t/ don’t want to stick a label on. I mulled over that blog title before I posted it but I kept the word in for a reason — to catch the eye of those who debate over what indie is. I don’t think an indie band need make money at all. But it must make original music even if it appeals to an audience of one. And it does not even have to publish or promote this music. But then again, indie also refers to the endeavour to create music independently and make it available and accessible to an audience whether through performance or distribution. Derivatively, indie also refers to the infrastructure that must exist for indie musicians who want to make a living doing what they love and believe in. Most important, I feel that indie needn’t be seen as some low-on-frills, preachy fringe movement but a sort of cooperative society for independent musicians that helps them feel confident about the worth and validity of their music. Of course, this feeling of self-worth and achievement should also put money in their pockets because they too need to feed their dogs, send their kids to college, and splurge on a vacation at Bora Bora. . . . → Read More: When Indie gets the blues The “fascinating article” (by Arjun S Ravi on MTV Iggy) that Cicatrix speaks of in Sepia Mutiny reads like ‘The Best of RSJ (1992-1999), with Notable Exceptions’. It’s all been documented before with elan and sincerity by Amit Saigal. Today, it’s dated. Because it casually ignores a significant slice of Indian rock history — the independent music scene in Bangalore, which was where the really surprising stuff started to emerge from the mothballed closet in the late 1990s. In businesspeak, this era was when Indian rock music sought to “differentiate” itself. Not through marketing strategy (a la Parikrama et al which still have nothing to offer the discerning music fan) but through inventiveness, performance and startling creative energy. Ergo, I am not sure if Ravi’s omission stems from ignorance (which is unforgivable) or from personal bias (which is charlatan). . . . → Read More: Why MTV can never befriend Indian indie rock  39 comments  bands, bangalore, journalism, music, musicians  alms for shanti, amit saigal, bangalore, bollywood, chakraview, Chennai, colourblind, delhi, Frank Zappa, galeej gurus, India, indian rock music, indie, indie bands, indie music, jupiter cafe, kolkata, krazzy 4, kryptos, laila rouass, MTV, MTV Iggy, Mumbai, myndsnare, plan b, ram sampath, rediff.com, RSJ, sepia mutiny, taaq, Thermal And A Quarter, uday benegal, zebediah plush |
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