was it that early tho? i'd probably date it to the first use (by andrew harrison, in 2008) of the term "landfill indie"!? one of those jokes cruel-but-true enough that it just *scythes* thru the relevant critical public mind, far more broadly than fairly - ThreadSky

dubdobdee.bsky.social • 86 days ago

was it that early tho? i'd probably date it to the first use (by andrew harrison, in 2008) of the term "landfill indie"!? one of those jokes cruel-but-true enough that it just *scythes* thru the relevant critical public mind, far more broadly than fairly

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theramblingelf.bsky.social•83 days ago

For what it's worth when I went to a university in 2009 there was a Rock Society, a Metal Society and annual attempts to get an Indie Society up and running.

theramblingelf.bsky.social•83 days ago

Prior to then, indie was just seen as "rock" by many people, contrasted with nu metal. When Indie declined in 2008 it coincided with a mini revival in trad hard rock. The main genre it was then being compared to was another rock genre. I think that contributed to the surge in use of the term Indie.

theramblingelf.bsky.social•83 days ago

I asked why we had a rock and metal soc as the music the two groups liked overlapped a lot and it was explained to me that about 2-3 years prior Rock Soc had been dominated by indie, which by that time had collapsed in spectacular fashion.

otherdavemoore.com•86 days ago

Definitely earlier — I was identifying as “indie” as an identity distinct from alternative in the early 00s

otherdavemoore.com•86 days ago

Suspect it’s a differentiation from alternative which at that point had morphed into nu metal etc

dubdobdee.bsky.social•86 days ago

as idca noted the differentiation between indie and alt/alternative operated v differently in the UK (the latter always felt somewhat imported & imposed)

mikebarthel.bsky.social•86 days ago

Yeah I think in the US it maybe was bolstered with “independent cinema” as a power word with Tarantino et al from 94 on?

dubdobdee.bsky.social•86 days ago

xgau was using the unlovely term "amerindie" back in the late 80s, i always associate this with camper van beethoven (who i also consider unlovely, it's not kind or fair but i doubt i'll stop)

mikebarthel.bsky.social•86 days ago

Oh wow, I have not thought about that term for a solid decade

otherdavemoore.com•86 days ago

Weird I saw it for the first time in years yesterday for my “Cannonball” write up (the xgau quote)

dubdobdee.bsky.social•86 days ago

yes i think i was zeroing in on something narrower (as in a generalised term that's also full-throatedly negative?) than mike had in mind

otherdavemoore.com•86 days ago

Yeah that’s later, iPod indie era. (I’m writing about this now for the a-pop stuff! My lens is the collapse of “mainstream” with cratering sales before streaming)

chrisdeville.bsky.social•86 days ago

You guys would all enjoy my book for sure (link in bio 😬) thanks for the shout Mike

otherdavemoore.com•86 days ago

Already preordered

chrisdeville.bsky.social•86 days ago

🙏

marchogan.bsky.social•86 days ago

Thinking back, there was a distinction from emo too. I used “indie” for Built to Spill and Death Cab but not the Juliana Theory or Promise Ring (last album though arguably?) or the Get Up Kids

dubdobdee.bsky.social•86 days ago

ppl were still complaining abt it 15 years later 😃 😇 🔥

mikebarthel.bsky.social•86 days ago

Yeah, I was gonna say 2007, but I corrected at the last minute because the original post was about Funeral. It took a few years for the alignment to happen. It feels like it happened via PF before the UK alignment around “indie” but I’m coming from a very limited perspective there.

dubdobdee.bsky.social•86 days ago

pushing on a long-open door in the UK i feel tho, e.g. this was a two-volume nme freebie-comp from 1988 (implied: the better politics and spound-palette available via small labels blah blah)

https://www.discogs.com/release/1998709-Various-Indie-City-1?srsltid=AfmBOoq9RW6uXjL3oXjEp6S2UanKtRtgDAmIL6GS8csYo1HUMiMBQL77

dubdobdee.bsky.social•86 days ago

sound palette lol

pfunkboy.bsky.social•85 days ago

@nndroid.bsky.social was pretty fair in his description tbh.

nndroid.bsky.social•85 days ago

Am still amazed that a throwaway gag in a downpage review got such traction but I guess there’s truth in it. It’s VERY far from the first use though. I couldn’t have joked about indie as a waste product if there wasn’t a very firm idea of what indie was – as there had been for 20-odd years.

dubdobdee.bsky.social•85 days ago

ah ok -- i've always associated it with you and the internet (that great truth-teller) does seem to confer priority on you. if not you i wonder who did use it first? it's a great coinage! swellsian, even!!

(this is mark sinker btw)

nndroid.bsky.social•85 days ago

Sorry, I’d seen INDIE everywhere, obvs, but adding Landfill to it was my gift to the culture as it were

dubdobdee.bsky.social•85 days ago

i will subscribe to the statue 😍

pfunkboy.bsky.social•85 days ago

It was Andrew's review using the term that went viral but I think he means he had seen it used previously and didn't actually invent it the term.

pfunkboy.bsky.social•85 days ago

Isn't that usually the way that a throwaway comments gains an audience, but the really funny comments you do try to go viral dont?

It will be mentioned in your obituary/gravestone btw

nedraggett.bsky.social•85 days ago

There’s a reason it’s called shoegaze.

pfunkboy.bsky.social•85 days ago

and that will be in/on your obituary/gravestone!

nedraggett.bsky.social•85 days ago

Huh? I didn’t invent it!

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