It's Round 2 Of The World Vs Indie!
The Independent steams in with a strongly-worded editorial slating the "guitar-gelled Polyfilla" that's sweeping the nation. But are they talking pants, or do they have a point?
The Independent are the latest media bastion that have steamed in on the "Indie Music: Is It All Over?" argument. Last week, Luke Pritchard of The Kooks claimed that "indie" had been "diluted" by bands like The Pigeon Detectives and remembering the golden years of 2005 as a hotbed of invention and talent.
Now comes a broadside from broadsheet The Independent, who claim in an editorial that the music of bands like The Fratellis, The Wombats, The Rascals, The Pigeon Detectives and The Automatic is "uninspiring, guitar-gelled Polyfilla", according to Independent scribe Tim Walker, who goes on to say that "their turgid, tuneless banalities use all the oxygen between ad breaks on XFM [and] they mop up the soggy midday slot on the main stage". Ooh, that hurts.
"'Indie' has become a meaningless term," weighs in former Q magazine editor and broadcaster Andrew Collins. "It just covers guitar bands. But it was never meant to be about a type of music, it was a spirit and an attitude. When I glance around the bands that are supposedly 'indie' today, I don't see any attitude." The bands in the firing line are also being tagged as "mortgage indie" - acts that are strictly careerist and out to make as much money in a short space of time.
"Once these bands stop having hits every day it will dry up," continues Collins. "The kids will get bored. You can't grow up on a diet of The Pigeon Detectives and think you could topple the Government one day. If we end up with 20 years of Tory government, it'll be The Pigeon Detectives' fault."
Xfm wants to know what you think - is this fair comment and are a lot of new bands lightweight pish compared to classics like Oasis, Blur, Bloc Party and Arctic Monkeys?
Or is this a load of meeja twaddle and rewriting history - after all, didn't we get 20 years of Tory rule right after punk originally broke? History lesson: Listen To Xfm's Independent's Day documentaries.
Should these scribes switch off T4 and start searching out some proper indie music. And why are the poor old Pigeon Detectives getting it in the neck all the time?
Leave us a comment here!
Tagged as The Pigeon Detectives, The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, Wombats, The, The Automatic, archive
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comments
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ONE NIGHT ONLY need to be banned from any X-FM Play list.
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Sorry for postibg again but I've been listening to Ricks show...
SCOUTING FOR GIRLS ITS NOT ABOUT YOU - ok
OASIS ROLL WITH IT -good
ONE NIGHT ONLY JUST FOR TONIGHT -yea i like one night only but not really "indie"
KEANE THIS IS THE LAST TIME -god did i just put capital on?
PENDULUM THE OTHER SIDE -v good - love this its different
ADELE HOMETOWN GLORY -please hold i'm going to kill something
THE WOMBATS KILL THE DIRECTOR -good but perhaps play moving to new york you play this loads
ATHLETE WIRES -ooh 2004 was it?
BIFFY CLYRO MOUNTAINS -good
BLUR GIRLS AND BOYS -v good
COLDPLAY VIVA LA VIDA -god not AGAIN!
THE RYES HOW COME LORETTA -love this!
THE VERVE LOVE IS NOISE -yea is ok
LINKIN PARK SHADOW OF THE DAY -not been on in a while which is nice
DEPECHE MODE PERSONAL JESUS -old but ok
hmmm hardly an "indie" line up...and you wonder why indie has gone, its coz no-one plays it...even London's Indie Station! -
I kind of agree, XFM is being spoilt by the Likes of "Adele & friends maybe even including the Kooks" that are being constantly being churned out all day long! The Pigeon Detectives and the Automatics etc are fine, they say that Indie music is constantly changing and currently the emphasis is on bands like the Wombats and next year it'll be different again. But XFM should be playingharder stuff aswell especially during datime, god it sounds like Virgin during the day..zzzzzzzzzzz!
X-Posure and Music:Responce are the only shows really worth listening to. Roll the music out during the day and lets go more underground! And play some of the supposed "proper indie" from 2005 aswell, variety is key! :) Go back to "The Altenative music station"... -
Tooo much emphasis on playing 'new muisc'. Xfm is to blame here to. It used to be called 'The Alternative Music Station', now 'The New Music Station' - but not all new stuff is necessarily good!
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Couldn't agree more with the Independant, so when are XFM going to listen and stop playing Scouting for Girls etc and the even worse emo rubbish like Panic at the Disco?? I think I would rather listen to the '118 212' adverts.....
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Admittedly I can't tell a lot of these bands apart, but they're not doing anyone any harm. If people buy it, they'll keep making it.
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I do agree with both Q and The Independent, however, I think part of the trouble here is the expectation of something industry-shaking from every single guitar band out there, when although the Fratellis, Pigeon Detectives, Kooks et al lack attitude and innovation, they're good for what they are - harmless (albeit somewhat santised and/or mindless) indie pop. In other words, it's dumb fun. I don't think anyone's listening to it and feeling moved to change the world, nor thinking they're listening to a starting point of some new music movement. Here today, gone tomorrow - dance, drink, be merry!
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Sad to say but I agree. Too many bands are appearing in the market with the supposed Indie tag are absolute tosh. With the success of bands like Bloc party, Artic Monkeys etc. The market has been flooded with pale imitations, very much like boy bands in the nineties. Lets be honest, how often in 5 years time are we gonna be digging out the Fratellis and admiring their song writing prowess.
But Luke Pritchard criticising other bands is a bit much. Did he not him self roll off the Brits production line? ‘Pot calling kettle black’ springs to mind.
All I can say is until these records stop selling or playing on the radio we face a near future of bubble gum indie. I mean ffs, One night only? They make Mcfly look edgy.
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