Indie rock

Indie rock is a <a href="/facts/Music_subgenre/ceqIJRjh">subgenre</a> of <a href="/facts/Rock_music/zBM2guyQ">rock music</a> that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through <a href="/facts/Independent_record_labels/1NzjGB3c">independent record labels</a>, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
The sound of indie rock has its origins in the <a href="/facts/DIY_punk_ethic/C2Gf8VJW">UK DIY music</a> of <a href="/facts/Buzzcocks/CUdaaryr">the Buzzcocks</a> and <a href="/facts/Desperate_Bicycles/a7s4eY7L">Desperate Bicycles</a>, the New Zealand <a href="/facts/Dunedin_sound/bqG3kEH2">Dunedin sound</a> of <a href="/facts/The_Chills/IUXvV5nn">the Chills</a>, <a href="/facts/Tall_Dwarfs/7bR9QnXn">Tall Dwarfs</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Clean/130dqAEs">the Clean</a> and <a href="/facts/The_Verlaines/PXUVDRCe">the Verlaines</a>, alongside <a href="/facts/Australian_indie_rock/wAfba17c">Australia</a>’s <a href="/facts/The_Go-Betweens/qzsWk39s">The Go-Betweens</a> and early 1980s <a href="/facts/College_rock/rQnpRLPg">college rock</a> radio stations who would frequently play <a href="/facts/Jangle_pop/FkKcUoko">jangle pop</a> bands like <a href="/facts/The_Smiths/LoJpDj7X">the Smiths</a> and <a href="/facts/R.E.M./vshQTmmg">R.E.M.</a> The genre solidified itself during the mid–1980s with <a href="/facts/NME/EAscmwXq">NME</a>'s <a href="/facts/C86/U7k25lxJ">C86</a> cassette in the United Kingdom and the underground success of <a href="/facts/Sonic_Youth/KcpJeQ3H">Sonic Youth</a>, <a href="/facts/Dinosaur_Jr./qFKkxYWs">Dinosaur Jr.</a> and <a href="/facts/Unrest_(band)/epH2dpq9">Unrest</a> in the United States. During the 1990s, indie rock bands like Sonic Youth, <a href="/facts/The_Pixies/26WCypPz">the Pixies</a> and <a href="/facts/Radiohead/6TVeLFk7">Radiohead</a> all released albums on major labels and subgenres like <a href="/facts/Slowcore/V84gCD0J">slowcore</a>, <a href="/facts/Midwest_emo/6qNTHXR9">Midwest emo</a>, <a href="/facts/Slacker_rock/WwHEa2bQ">slacker rock</a> and <a href="/facts/Space_rock/3S2eEGT9">space rock</a> began. By this time, "indie" had evolved to refer to bands whose music was released on independent record labels, in addition to the record labels themselves. As the decade progressed many individual local scenes developed their own distinct takes on the genre: <a href="/facts/Baggy/2LM2jgFa">baggy</a> in <a href="/facts/Manchester/2Do01QHs">Manchester</a>; <a href="/facts/Grebo_(music)/v0Kt8bxK">grebo</a> in <a href="/facts/Stourbridge/NCKukmtP">Stourbridge</a> and <a href="/facts/Leicester/zcSBswu3">Leicester</a>; and <a href="/facts/Shoegaze/nGdAGr8K">shoegaze</a> in London and the <a href="/facts/Thames_Valley/gF3gj8ze">Thames Valley</a>.
During the 1990s, the mainstream success of <a href="/facts/Grunge/X7CbpRLF">grunge</a> and <a href="/facts/Britpop/oENLa3l6">Britpop</a>, two movements influenced by indie rock, brought increased attention to the genre and saw record labels use their independent status as a marketing tactic. This led to a split within indie rock: one side conforming to mainstream radio; the other becoming increasingly experimental. By this point, "indie rock" referred to the musical style rather than ties to the independent music scene. In the 2000s, indie rock reentered the mainstream through the <a href="/facts/Garage_rock_revival/cmVGhdBK">garage rock</a> and <a href="/facts/Post-punk_revival/cmVGhdBK">post-punk revival</a> and the influence of <a href="/facts/The_Strokes/364Ho6QM">the Strokes</a> and <a href="/facts/The_Libertines/IVcAdTJ2">the Libertines</a>. This success was exacerbated in the middle of the decade by <a href="/facts/Bloc_Party/6EY8F5Kb">Bloc Party</a>, <a href="/facts/Arctic_Monkeys/Lq4wMJTR">Arctic Monkeys</a> and <a href="/facts/The_Killers/IPGxCn9G">the Killers</a> and indie rock proliferated into the landfill indie movement.

Indie rock open-in-new

Indie rock