The cassette culture refers to the practices associated with amateur production and distribution of music and sound art on compact cassette that emerged in the mid-1970s. The cassette was used by fine artists and poets for the independent distribution of new work. This article focuses on the independent music scene associated with the cassette that burgeoned internationally in the second half of the 1970s.
Queercore is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically society's disapproval of the LGBT community. Queercore expresses itself in a DIY style through magazines, music, writing and film.
John Darnielle is an American musician, novelist, and actor best known as the primary, and originally sole, member of the American band the Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He has written three novels: Wolf in White Van (2014), Universal Harvester (2017), and Devil House (2022).
Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, mainstream popular music culture. Underground music is intimately tied to popular music culture as a whole, so there are important tensions within underground music because it appears to both assimilate and resist the forms and processes of popular music culture.
Eleventyseven is an American pop punk band from Greenville, South Carolina which was formed in 2002. They chose the name "Eleventyseven" because "it's the one that looked cool the next morning". The band was originally signed to Flicker Records and released two albums with the label that charted on Christian music charts. After an independent streak, the band signed on to Sony Japan before returning to an independent status a year later. They continued to tour, self produce and release music independently until disbanding in September 2014.
KWIT is the National Public Radio member station for Sioux City, Iowa and northwestern Iowa. It airs a mix of NPR programming and classical music. Owned by Western Iowa Tech Community College, it operates a full-time satellite, KOJI in Okoboji, Iowa. It is the largest NPR station in Iowa that is not a part of Iowa Public Radio.
Colin C. is an American musician, remixer, audio engineer, and sound designer who began his career as a self-taught musician and producer with the first wave internet musicians associated with MP3.com's launch in the late 90s while living on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In these early years he was known for exploring PC computer based sequencing with Jeskola Buzz and working in various early EDM genres. Colin found music inspiring from an early age and as a teenager discovered electronic music via U.S. based Wax Trax! Imports such as Underworld and Autechre that would fuel his desire to produce and DJ.
KFMG-LP is a radio station licensed to Des Moines, Iowa. The station is owned by the Des Moines Community Radio Foundation. The noncommercial low-power station currently airs a primarily wide-ranging adult album alternative format with a strong local community focus.
Tenement is an American three piece rock band from Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, formed in 2006. They are often associated with the American hardcore punk scene. Their recorded output has been described as everything from "noise pop" to "fuzz punk", while in a live setting they are often known for experimentation, improvisation, and high-energy performance. The visual art of singer/guitarist Amos Pitsch is associated with most of their records, as well as several records by other notable punk and hardcore bands. In January 2013, NME included Tenement in their "rising stars of 2013". CMJ called Tenement a "breakout artist to watch" in 2014. In 2015, Tenement was included in Spin 's "The 50 Best Rock Bands Right Now". In 2016, they were included in Rolling Stone 's "10 Great Modern Punk Bands".
PAWS are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 2010. To date, they have released four studio albums via FatCat Records and Ernest Jenning.
Patrick Schneeweis, better known by his stage name Pat the Bunny, is a retired American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer. He has been the front man of notable folk punk and anarcho-punk groups such as Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains, Wingnut Dishwashers Union, and Ramshackle Glory. Originally based out of Brattleboro, Vermont, he lived in Tucson, Arizona, during the final part of his musical career. His writing often describes topics such as life under capitalism, drug addiction, and the importance of pursuing radical ways of relating socially and economically, usually through anarchism and the DIY ethic.
The Garden is an American experimental rock band from Orange County, California, formed in 2011 by twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears. The duo released their debut album The Life and Times of a Paperclip in 2013, with several smaller releases following. In 2015, the group released their second studio album Haha along with the lead single "All Smiles Over Here :)" to critical acclaim after being signed to Epitaph Records. The brothers have toured across the US, Europe, United Kingdom, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and in 2019 and 2023, they appeared at Coachella.
Ulrikes Dream is a Belgian punk rock band formed in 1997 as Ulrike's Dream. Their line-up has included members of Intestinal Disease, Cop on Fire, The Usual Suspects, Detritus and The League of Mental Men. Their music mixes metal, punk, grindcore and crust punk.
C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music genre characterized by jangling guitars and melodic power pop song structures, although other musical styles were represented on the tape. In its time, it became a pejorative term for its associations with so-called "shambling" and underachievement. The C86 scene is now recognized as a pivotal moment for independent music in the UK, as was recognized in the subtitle of the compilation's 2006 CD issue: CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop. 2014 saw the original compilation reissued in a 3CD expanded edition from Cherry Red Records; the 2014 box-set came with an 11,500-word book of sleevenotes by one of the tape's original curators, former NME journalist Neil Taylor.
Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends is a rock band formed in Oakland, California in 2015 by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Conan Neutron and intended as a vehicle for his songwriting. Featuring Melvins drummer Dale Crover on drums and Tony Ash on bass and with production work by Toshi Kasai, their style is influenced by classic rock, noise rock and post-punk, and the live shows feature a revolving cast of players. They are a touring act predominately based in Wisconsin.
Breakmaster Cylinder, also known as The Mysterious Breakmaster Cylinder or by the initials BmC, is a musical composer and producer who has provided title themes and background music for a number of radio shows and podcasts, principally with Gimlet Media's Reply All. Known for their pseudonymity, Breakmaster Cylinder does not make public appearances and has employed stand-ins for interviews, photographs, and other media appearances.
Erin Marie Gilbert is an American woman who vanished while attending the Girdwood Forest Fair in Girdwood, Alaska. Gilbert, who had previously resided in California, had moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where she lived with her sister and worked as a nanny. At the time she disappeared, Gilbert was on a first date with a man, David Combs, whom she had met at a bar in Anchorage several days prior. She was last seen at the fairground's beer garden at approximately 6:00 p.m.
Get Better Records is an American independent record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Courting is a British electronic rock band based in Liverpool. The band is composed of Sean Murphy-O'Neill, Sean Thomas, Joshua Cope, and Connor McCann.
