October 21, 2008

Indiepop ≠ twee

One of the more pointless things one can do is trying to define a genre, but hey, we do it all the time anyway. We do it to explain what we like, and to defend what we like. Anyone who categorizes their favourite genre as 'indiepop' will be aware of the prejudices against it with people who don't actually know what you mean. And it's a tough one to make clear, indeed. The best I can offer is something like: indiepop is (mainly) guitar based, smile inducing melodic pop with an intrinsic DIY aesthetic and a positive feel about it - even if the lyrics can be quite gloomy sometimes. It has as a primary goal to just exist - everything else is considered a bonus.

This is not a post about defining the genre though. Sorry for that.

Writing the above was a reaction to reading some reviews of indiepop records and -festivals in mainstream media, that seemed to automatically equate indiepop with twee. Even though a lot of indiepop fans do this too, and even though it's hardly considered an insult anymore, it just doesn't seem correct. Is this important? Of course not. But yes. Even if we don't want to admit it, it defines quite a big part of our lives. And I don't feel that twee at all. Not all the time.

Download (Mediafire)
1. Vivian Girls - All the time
2. The Manhattan Love Suicides - Jonny boy
3. Crystal Stilts - Crippled croon
4. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Everything with you
5. Slow Down Tallahassee - The beautiful light
6. Jay Reatard - Always wanting more


kidfrostbite said...

You are absolutely right. It may not be the most important thing in the world but it drives me crazy.

lostinsushi said...

yeah...so true