Indie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, some indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.
Amphetamine Reptile Records is a record label which was founded in 1986 by US Marine Tom Hazelmyer in Washington state. The label specializes in noise rock and also released Strap It On, the debut album by alternative metal band Helmet which sold more than 40,000 records. According to Hazelmyer, the success of the album was vital to keeping AmRep going throughout the 1990s, as it "helped support the other things that sold less." The label was the subject of the 2014 documentary The Color of Noise.
Deerhoof is an American independent music group formed in San Francisco in 1994. It currently consists of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Initially performing improvised noise punk, Deerhoof became widely renowned and influential in the 2000s through self-produced creative output combining "noise, sugary [pop] melodies, and an experimental spirit into utterly distinctive music". They have released 14 studio albums since 1997; their latest album Mountain Moves was released in September 2017.
Cows were a post-hardcore/noise rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were known for a unique mixture of punk rock played with large amounts of noise and surreal humour; their music is often considered noise rock. Their CD releases are often difficult to find, as most of them are out of print, with the exception of Whorn and Orphan's Tragedy. Some of their albums were never released in CD format.
Norman Westberg is a guitarist from Detroit best known for his work with Swans. Present through almost the entirety of the band's existence, Westberg was brought on for Swans' debut album Filth (1983) and appeared on every album through 1991's White Light From the Mouth of Infinity. Westberg became a full-time Swans member once again when Michael Gira reactivated the group in 2010.
Naked City is an album by John Zorn, originally released on Nonesuch Records in 1990. The band which would become known under the same name included Zorn on alto saxophone with Bill Frisell on guitar, Wayne Horvitz on keyboards, Fred Frith on bass and Joey Baron on drums, and was established in 1988 as a "compositional workshop" to test the limitations of a rock band format.
Paik is a post-rock/space rock band, originally from Toledo, United States, currently living in Detroit, Michigan, United States, that includes Rob Smith and Ryan Pritts. Bassist Ali Clegg left the band in 2005, and has since been replaced by San Francisco native Anthony Petrovic (E-Zee-Tiger). Terms used when describing Paik's music include: post-rock, shoegaze, and space rock.
Jim Diamond is a music producer, studio engineer, and bass guitar player based in Detroit, Michigan. He worked on the first two White Stripes albums and played bass with The Dirtbombs.
The Heroine Sheiks were a New York-based Noise Rock band until early 2006. It began in 1999 as a collaboration of Shannon Selberg, George Porfiris, Norman Westberg and John Fell. Selberg emerged as a major songwriter in the complete history of the band whose sound was darker and more sinister than his previous work in The Cows. With several references to the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline, the band explored a thematic quality of black comedy.
John Fell is an American drummer. Born in New York City in 1961 to academic parents, he came into prominence in the early 1980s playing with rock/reggae/Latin band from Miami named "Watchdog". He is the co-owner of Main Drag Music located in Williamsburg. There, he creates custom snares, and repairs and sells drums. He has been listed on a number of lists of great drummers.
Crystal Castles are a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario by founding members songwriter/producer Ethan Kath and songwriter/vocalist Alice Glass. Current band members consist of Ethan Kath and Edith Frances. Crystal Castles are known for their chaotic live shows and lo-fi melancholic homemade productions. They released many limited vinyl singles between 2006 and 2007 before releasing a trilogy of critically acclaimed albums between 2008 and 2012.
Out of Aferica is the third studio album by the noise rock band The Heroine Sheiks. The title is an anthropological concept referring both to the theory that the human species originated in Africa, and that the majority of culture, power, political muscle and arms can now be seen to come from America. The name of the song "Cock Asia" is apparently a phonetic spelling of the Asian pronunciation of the word 'Caucasian'.
The Stage Names is the fourth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River, released on August 7, 2007. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas, with longtime Okkervil producer Brian Beattie, and with mixing from Spoon drummer and producer Jim Eno. Like other Okkervil River albums, the accompanying artwork is the work of artist William Schaff. The cover refers to a line from "Unless It's Kicks". The record was also released as a limited-edition 2-CD set that included a second disc of solo acoustic demos. A newly recorded version of "Love to a Monster", which appeared in rough demo form on the band's tour EP, Overboard and Down, was originally intended to appear on the album, but didn't make it on, and appears as a bonus track when the album is purchased through eMusic. "Shannon Wilsey on the Starry Stairs", described by lead singer and songwriter Will Sheff as "kind of a sequel to 'Savannah Smiles' and kind of a sister song to "John Allyn Smith Sails'", is included as a bonus track when the album is purchased through iTunes.
Fuck Buttons is an electronic music duo formed in Bristol in 2004 by Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power.
We Have You Surrounded is the fourth album by the American rock music group The Dirtbombs.
Journey to the End of the Knife is the fourth studio album by the noise rock band The Heroine Sheiks.
Rick Lober is the original keyboardist of the 1960s Detroit rock band The Amboy Dukes. His band mates were Ted Nugent, Steve Farmer, John Drake, Dave Palmer and Bill White.
MC5: A True Testimonial, also written as MC5 * A True Testimonial, is a 2002 feature-length documentary film about the MC5, a Detroit-based rock band of the 1960s and early 1970s. The film was produced by Laurel Legler and directed by David C. Thomas; the couple spent more than seven years working on the project.
Old Gold (1989–1991) is a compilation album by American noise rock band Cows. It is composed of material from three of their earlier albums Daddy Has a Tail, Effete and Impudent Snobs, and Peacetika.
