Contemporary Indie Music’s Shaping of the College Youth’s Identity

College campuses are prime locations for new identities to surface in that they are bodies of young, influential individuals who are open to change. When these students are exposed to a new type of music and, along with it, a new identity, they are often the quickest to incorporate it into their preexisting identity. Indie, or independent, music originated in Britian during the late 1970s and based its sound and soul off of influential musicians of the 1960s. Recently, indie music has transformed into a horse of a completely different color; however, it still holds the same fundamental values: a devotion to romance, nostalgia, art, and nature. The presence of this new-age indie rock in the form of media and live shows on college campuses has resulted in a blending of the indie persona and the identity of the average college student. As a result, a lasting impression has been made in the style and identity of contemporary culture, more so in college-bound youth than any other demographic.
Indie music has existed for decades, with the first documented indie record said to be The Buzzcock’s “Spiral Scratch EP” album in 1977(Walker). An indie band originally described a band that wasn’t affiliated with any major record companies. However, the contemporary idea of an indie band doesn’t take into account whether or not the band is signed under a major label. For instance, a lot of people would consider Modest Mouse to be an indie band, however the band is signed by Epic Records. Epic Records has also signed artists such as Sean Kingston, Shakira, Michael Jackson, and Natasha Bedingfield (The Official Epic Records Site). As such, how could Modest Mouse ever be considered indie if they not only have a major label, but also share one with Sean Kingston? While the indie bands of the past decade may have rooted from those of the 70s and 80s, they are identified through other means; it’s based off an idea of what the indie identity is- a composition of their values: art, nostalgia, romance, and nature.
In an interview, Phoenix, an indie band originating from France during the past decade, was asked if they thought their music was romantic, to which they responded, “Actually, yes. I think there's maybe one theme in our music, and it's something like romantic abandon. We call that teenage abandon, that kind of anxiety and abandon that you enjoy”(Ryzik 24). What Phoenix is describing in their music is the essence of an indie band because of a shared ethic, beauty in romanticism, and therefore a similarity in identity. As such, alike bands are identified as being independent, not through the possession of a label, yet through their sound, personas, and values.
Indie musicians can differ as greatly as those of any other genre: Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus can both be defined as pop artists, but there’s definitely a difference between the two. As such, trying to define the indie identity as being a singular and specific thing would be unjust, however there are certain trends in attitudes and personalities of popular indie musicians that can be identified. The identity of an indie musician holds parallels to their 1960 inspirers. They are generally less violent or crude than rap or hip hop artists and more poetic than contemporary pop artists. For instance, Zooey Deschanel’s indie band, She & Him, sings sweetly with upbeat piano in the background, “I think you’re just so pleasant/ I would like you for my own”. In contrast, Khia, a hip hop artist, raps, “Slow head show me so much love/the best head comes from a thug”. Both songs are on the subject of romancing a man, yet the indie version is somewhat more classically romantic and poetic. Thus, indie musicians differ from musicians of other genres not only in their sound, but also in their eclectic sense of values.
Bright Eyes is a contemporary indie band consisting of guitarist and vocalist Conor Oberst, who sings about the painful discovery of love, using banjo and acoustic guitar similarly to the styling of the 1960s. He poetically describes his love, “You’re the yellow bird that I’ve been waiting for”. This line contains the essence of indie music in that it holds true to both romanticism and a love for nature. Nostalgia has an important role in his songs also, as he mentions Polaroid’s, old soul songs, and remembrances of his life before he met this woman he’s in love with. As such, Bright Eyes is a prime example of what the identity behind the music entails. Furthermore, as fans of indie music, followers not only relate to the music itself, but also these ideals of love, art, nature, and nostalgia. This absorption of the indie identity is personified in the clothing the fans begin to wear and the effects it has on the community.
The fashion of indie bands is more apparent than their collective identity. Characteristics of indie fashion include vests, v-necks, thick-rimmed glasses, print t-shirts and skinny jeans. While it may be stereotyping, it gives a basic idea as to the popular view of an indie artist. Their sense of fashion derives from the root of indie music’s sound, the 60s and early 70s. As such, their sense of style also represents this dedication to 60s music in their long hair, vests, hair bands, and the like. The influence of the independent popular music scene on the general public can be seen through its collective fashion sense after adapting the indie identity. This is manifested in the recent success of clothing retail stores such as Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie. Urban Outfitters was founded in 1970, at the beginning of the independent movement, and has reached success selling “an eclectic mix of merchandise”. On the company’s website they claim, we offer a lifestyle-specific shopping experience for the educated, urban-minded individual in the 18 to 30 year-old range”(URBN Inc). Their selection of home furniture consists of leaf-print beddings, paintings of birds, and deer antler coat hooks. As such, the Urban Outfitters hopes to appeal to college-aged students with an interest in the indie ideals- nostalgia, art, and nature. Therefore, the success of this retail store can be a reflection of the growing indie identity and fan base.
Twenty years later in 1992 came Anthropologie. Also founded by URBN Inc, this store hopes to appeal to “the fashionable, educated and creative woman of 30 to 45”, as in the woman who was in college during the initial indie movement (URBN Inc). Anthropologie serves as an illustration of the adult that develops and matures from the indie identity. There’s still a love for the same ideals- nostalgia, art, and nature- however, the style has become more mature and less condensed. It’s the continued indie movement, made accessible for adults, however, the ideals and ethics of the identity are still intact. As such, the independent movement is relatively void of age boundaries, able to reflect its identity in teenagers as well as middle-aged adults. The indie identity movement can also be seen in all social classes, as the rich can attain the style from more expensive stores like Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. Whereas the poor can still get similar clothing styles from consignment stores, due to the nostalgia influence of the indie identity. Furthermore, the only ones that aren’t able to relate to the indie identity are those that do not relate to the ideals behind the movement, whether it be because of a disinterest in aesthetics or ethics.
Growth of the indie movement can also be seen in political impacts due to the increased publicity of liberal ideals. With indie fans serving as a united base of liberal idealists, they have a larger influence on local and national politics than a dissociated group of liberal activists. In indie clothing stores, tee shirts often display opinionated political slogans such as “Hilary is my homegirl” and “Obama for your mama”. As a result of identifying with the indie identity movement, people have further possibilities of expressing their ethical and political views because of a shared interest. Liberal democrats have a louder voice in that they not only have bands singing against conservative values, such as those concerning war, but they also have their own clothing lines promoting democratic political leaders. The indie pop movement has thus further strengthened the identity of the liberal and has created a counter movement against conservatism.
The independent popular music of the early 1970s has resulted in a collective movement of liberalism and the progression of democratic values. The ideals of art, nostalgia, romance, and nature have become frequent in both fashion and contemporary culture as a whole because of its influence. While this movement may have started on campuses and at local shows, the influence has reached well beyond the demographic of college students. Those who choose to love indie music, whether it’s for the ethics or the aesthetics, choose also to reveal what is important to them. As Simon Frith once wrote, “-an identity is always already an ideal, what we would like to be, not what we are” (Frith 123). The principles of nostalgia, art, nature, and romance stand as the ideals which those who relate to indie music hope to live by and have become part of them. Consequently, this movement can be said to be an attempt to regain the romanticism we’ve lost as a society, and nostalgically remember, and a plea to remember the only thing that matters in life-each other. As Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros put it:
“Holy moley, me, oh my,
you’re the apple of my eye.
Girl I’ve never loved one like you.
Man, oh man, you’re my best friend.
I scream it to the nothingness:
There ain’t nothing else I need.”