Colegiul Naţional “Dimitrie Cantemir” Oneşti Lucrare de atestat la Limba Engleză sesiunea mai 2012 Coordonator, Candidat, Prof. Filip Felicia Panţîru Andreea A brief history of British Indie Rock Contents Foreword …………………………………………………. i Chapter 1 (“Origins: 1980s”) ………….………............... 1 College rock and noise rock Development: 1990s Mainstream success: 2000s–present Chapter 2 (“The Smiths”) ………………………………. 3 Formation and early singles (1982 -1984) Discography (1984 – 1987) Chapter 3 (“Oasis”) ……………………………............... 5 Formation and early years (1991–1994) Discography (1995-2009) Chapter 4 (“Arctic Monkeys”) …………………. ……....8 Early years and record deal (2002–2005) Discography (2006-present) ―Turner’s affair‖ - The Last Shadow Puppets Conclusion ………………………………………………. ii Appendices ……………………………………………… iii Appendix 1 – ―The Smiths on the cover of NME in 2011‖ Appendix 2 – ―Noel Gallagher on the cover of Q magazine in 1996‖ Appendix 3 – ―Arctic Monkeys on the cover of Hot Press in 2009‖ Bibliography ……………………………………. ………vi Foreword Indie is a genre of alternative rock which for the past 10-12 years has been slowly but surely taking shape and emerging from musical underground into becoming the broadly beloved outlaw of mainstream, defying the charts and gathering followers like a new unconventional religion. With roots spread across the United Kingdom, United States and Canada since the early 1980s, the British indie movement will remain the most significant and ardent, through the eagerness and ambition of both its veterans and rookies. As far as a definition is concerned, indie rock is generally associated with a number of styles that are: "too sensitive and melancholy; too soft and delicate; too dreamy and hypnotic; too personal and intimately revealing in its lyrics; too low-fidelity and low-budget in its production; too angular in its melodies and riffs; too raw, abrasive, too oblique and fractured in its song structures; too influenced by experimental or otherwise unpopular musical styles." (clashmusic.com) The purpose of this paper is to offer an overall view on the evolution of the British indie scene as well as the succinct story of several significant musicians throughout its different stages, from The Smiths, standing out as a defining band back when indie rock was not yet a clearly distinct genre, to Oasis, who have brought a revolution not only in their area, but in the entire British music scene with visible effects until this day, and Arctic Monkeys, the representatives of today’s indie rock culture, carrying on their legacy and assuring that this genre is yet to have proven its full potential. i 1. Origins: 1980s College rock and noise rock In the mid-1980s, the term "indie" began to be used to describe the music produced on post-punk labels rather than the labels themselves. The indie rock scene in the US was prefigured by the college rock that dominated college radio playlists, which included key bands like R.E.M. from the US and The Smiths from the UK. These bands rejected the dominant synthpop of the early 1980s, and helped inspire guitar-based jangle pop; other important bands in the genre included 10,000 Maniacs and the dB's from the US, and The Housemartins and The La's from the UK. The most abrasive and discordant outgrowth of punk was noise rock, which emphasized loud distorted electric guitars bands and powerful drums, and was pioneered by bands including Sonic Youth, Swans, Big Black and Butthole Surfers. A number of prominent indie rock record labels were founded during the 1980s. These include Washington DC's Dischord Records in 1980, Seattle's Sub Pop Records in 1986 and New York City's Matador Records and Durham, North Carolina's Merge Records in 1989. Chicago's Touch and Go Records was founded as a fanzine in 1979 and began to release records during the 1980s. Development: 1990s The 1990s brought major changes to the alternative rock scene. Grunge bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains broke into the mainstream, achieving commercial chart success and widespread exposure. Punk revival bands like Green Day and The Offspring also became popular and were grouped under the "alternative" umbrella. Similarly, in the United Kingdom Britpop saw bands like Blur and Oasis emerge into the mainstream, abandoning the regional, small-scale and political elements of the 1980s indie scene. As a result of these changes the term "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning and began to refer to the new, commercially lighter form of music that was now achieving mainstream success. The term "indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained dedicated to their independent status. Ryan Moore has argued that in the wake of the appropriation of alternative rock by the corporate music industry that what became known as indie rock increasingly turned to the past to produce forms of "retro" rock that drew on garage rock, rockabilly, blues, country and swing. 1 Mainstream success: 2000s–present In the 2000s, the changing music industry, the decline in record sales, the growth of new digital technology and increased use of the Internet as a tool for music promotion allowed a new wave of indie rock bands to achieve mainstream success. This new commercial breakthrough and the widespread use of the term "indie" to other forms of popular culture, led a number of commentators to suggest that indie rock had ceased to be a meaningful term. During the decade, the term which previously in the United States had very limited usage "became the label of choice for Americans – and an even greater worldwide audience – to talk about modern rock and pop music". Wendy Fonarow, an anthropology professor and author of the book ―Empire of Dirt: The Aesthetics and Rituals of British Indie Culture‖, asserts that this change occurred because at the turn of the century American bands began to be influenced by British indie music and the Internet, which made British music publications and online music websites such as Pitchfork Media immediately available to readers. In the early 2000s, a new group of bands that played a stripped-down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock emerged into the mainstream. They were variously characterized as part of a garage rock, New Wave or post-punk revival. Because the bands came from across the globe, cited diverse influences (from traditional blues, through New Wave to grunge), and adopted differing styles of dress, their unity as a genre has been disputed. There had been attempts to revive garage rock and elements of punk in the 1980s and 1990s and by 2000 scenes had grown up in several countries. The commercial breakthrough from these scenes was led by four bands: The Strokes, who emerged from the New York club scene with their début album ―Is This It‖ (2001), The White Stripes, from Detroit, with their third album ―White Blood Cells‖ (2001), The Hives from Sweden, after their compilation album ―Your New Favourite Band‖ (2001), and The Vines from Australia with ―Highly Evolved‖ (2002). They were christened the "The" bands by the media, and dubbed "The saviours of rock 'n' roll", leading to accusations of hype. A second wave of bands that managed to gain international recognition as a result of the movement included The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Modest Mouse, The Killers, Interpol and Kings of Leon from the US. From the UK were The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Editors, The Fratellis, Placebo, Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs and The Kooks, but without a doubt, Arctic Monkeys were the most prominent indie rock act to emerge from the UK scene at the time, owing their initial commercial success to the use of Internet social networking. 2 2. The Smiths Formation and early singles (1982 -1984) The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey (vocals) and Johnny Marr (guitar), the band also included Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). Critics have called them the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. The Smiths were formed by Steven Patrick Morrissey, a writer who was a big fan of the New York Dolls and briefly fronted punk rock band The Nosebleeds, and John Maher, a guitarist and songwriter. Maher changed his name to Johnny Marr to avoid confusion with Buzzcocks drummer John Maher, and Morrissey performed under his surname alone. After recording several demo tapes with Simon Wolstencroft (later of The Fall) on drums, Morrissey and Marr recruited drummer Mike Joyce in the autumn of 1982. The band picked their name in part as a reaction against those used by synthpop bands of the early 1980s, such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Spandau Ballet, which they considered pretentious. In a 1984 interview Morrissey said that he chose The Smiths "because it was the most ordinary name" and because he thought that it was "time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces". Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single, "Hand in Glove", in May 1983. The record was championed by DJ John Peel, as were all of their later singles, but failed to chart. The follow-up singles "This Charming Man" and "What Difference Does It Make?" fared better when they reached numbers 25 and 12 respectively on the UK Singles Chart. Discography (1984 – 1987) In February 1984, the group released their debut album ―The Smiths‖, which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. Early in 1985 the band released their second album, ―Meat Is Murder‖. This album was more strident and political than its predecessor, including the pro-vegetarian title track (Morrissey forbade the rest of the group from being photographed eating meat), the light-hearted republicanism of "Nowhere Fast", and the anti-corporal punishment "The Headmaster Ritual" and "Barbarism Begins at Home".