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What is indiepop? Is it a world of girls?

At an indiepop festival, a friend asked me,
 'Is that the theme? Do all indiepop bands have to have females in them?'
My answer?
'No, you don't have to have females for a band to be indiepop; it often just seems to happen like that.'

Getting to basics, indiepop has three core elements:

  1. The punk ethic that anyone can form a band and be listened to.
  2. A joy and wonder in the world reflected in tuneful, often simple songs.
  3. Small-scale media publicity via word of mouth, fanzines, blogs, podcasts and mixtapes.
The toy industry's idea of an 'indie-girl'

Being male or female has nothing to do with these; it's just that indiepop doesn't set itself up as a boy's club. Women and girls may feel more willing to have a go within this genre, feeling that their ideas are welcomed. I guess that the child-like joy and wonder thing often correlates with middle-class decency and romanticism, which is why so many indiepop bands look like a bunch of lovely young primary school teachers. It's also probably why so many Japanese people like it.

But the actual sound of indiepop is a wide spectrum; it can be grungy and garage-y; there is sexiness and politics and mad humour at times and sometimes it's wistful and sparse. In these modern times, there's less self-deprecation on stage, but it's still there on a good/bad day. There seem to be lots of bands with couples in - and having a band together with your mate is a sweet and fun thing to do.

Last year, I loved it when my band PO! played Indietracks festival and there were so many bands with female musicians playing; often as front people but also many drummers, bassists and so on. Having a gender balance makes music more civilised whilst also being super exciting. So yes, indiepop is a world of girls, but only because so many other genres are weirdly macho.

What's also great for me is the generosity and loveliness of audiences. Those floppy-haired boys who collected and followed indiepop seem just as sensitive and spirited twenty years later when they're balding and bespectacled.





Comments

  1. Reading this blog on a train somewhere between Moscow and St Petersburg, has caused much bemusement to my fellow passengers as I collapse in fits of laughter!!
    The last paragraph is genius and hysterical. I must confess as I approach my fiftieth year (still sporting a full head of hair) that, something resembling a Pete Astor quiff has replaced the Bobby Gillespie clone fringe I was so awfully proud off.
    So yes, no longer floppy but definitely still as sensitive and spirited !!!
    Brilliant blog Ruth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jim; I'm getting a lot of correspondence from males claiming not to be balding, so I'm sorry if I have misrepresented you lot!

      Delete


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