Just a tip of the iceberg of what's in store.
To think about it, the art of writing is a dying art in itself. Words and sentences don't string together to encapsulate the true beauty of it in the minds of the public anymore. It has lost out to the more people-friendly form of movies and even Youtube videos. People would prefer to spend their time having a screen of moving pictures in front of their face than sitting for a longer period of time, reading something.
This is not me bashing videos/movies because I watch a lot of videos in my daily life. But it really is a shame. Because reading is something beautiful. You people reading this should know that.
All right, that's all for my little monologue. I tend to do that sometimes. It's starting to be something of a tradition in my blog.
So, indie music. Where do I start?
Well, if you're currently on a desktop reading this fine piece of art then you would have heard some music blaring from the speakers. This is because I have a cute little widget that plays my favorite music tracks for you guys. I love sharing. I know, I'm the best. And the music I'm playing are all indie songs.
Alright time for some facts, living in Malaysia has provided me with two real sources of music. Radio and the internet. I'll start with Malaysian radio stations. The bane of driving a car at times. The projection of the side of society that I have grown to hate so much.
Oh, I'm licking my lips now. I'm gonna start some mindless ranting.
Well, if you're currently on a desktop reading this fine piece of art then you would have heard some music blaring from the speakers. This is because I have a cute little widget that plays my favorite music tracks for you guys. I love sharing. I know, I'm the best. And the music I'm playing are all indie songs.
Alright time for some facts, living in Malaysia has provided me with two real sources of music. Radio and the internet. I'll start with Malaysian radio stations. The bane of driving a car at times. The projection of the side of society that I have grown to hate so much.
Oh, I'm licking my lips now. I'm gonna start some mindless ranting.
In Malaysia, the mainstream radio stations are nearly clones of each other. Every mainstream radio station basically plays the same music from the Billboard charts with little to no variation. When I'm talking about mainstream radio stations, I mean Hitz FM, Fly FM , My FM and even Mix FM. Although Mix FM is much better as it mixes it up with some 90s music at times, no pun intended.
Ah the music. If you want a radio that plays 5 songs and repeats the same songs for the next hour or so, then Hitz FM is probably the radio for you. Fly FM and My FM is guilty at times for its oversaturation of mainstream music on their radio but they do add a few gems from time to time. My FM being a Chinese radio does alleviate the repetition of songs but adding Chinese songs and Fly FM did play a Gorillaz song once so they are forgiven too.
But Hitz FM, you have no excuses anymore.
My other pet peeve with radios in Malaysia are the prank calls they have as a daily routine on their airtime slots. Now, I'll try to keep this nice and short because I'm not here to rant about Malaysia radio stations. As a kid, I loved these prank calls. It was hilarious and good for a few laughs. That's it. But fuck me, nearly every radio station decided to do the same thing but instead calling their very own prank call skit by a completely different name. And these prank calls took away what I wanted radio to be, an avenue for songs. It dominated the airwaves, leaving a shorter amount of time for songs. This is where the uniqueness of the art form slowly deteriorated. Their once unbeatable formula got repetitive and stale very quickly. And it is still going on . Damn.
As a kid though, I worshipped Hitz FM and Mix FM as the Santa Claus of music. They provided me with music for free and it was the only source of music I really had besides the old CDs ( remember those things? ) of Westlife. So, pop music from the 90s and 2000s are still lovingly embedded into my skull as wonderful nostalgic memories.
However the Internet came along with the swagger of a rich transfer student rolling into a new school with Rolex watches and expensive imported sport cars. The new kid in town who knew he had an unsurpassable advantage over the competition. No limits, restrictions or chains were locked onto this rising star which was to explode in front of the public eye as something as revolutionary as sliced bread. The whole world was literally at the fingertips of man, in the confines of his or her living room. And so was music.
The moment I really started to branch away from the 'normality of music' was when I got myself a Sony MP3 player. Damn, those things were really cool way back in 2011. Obviously, I slowly built up a playlist of songs which I liked and it was mostly comprised of radio station hits. Now, this was a real turning point for me in my taste in music.
Over the next several months, I had earphones plugged into both of my ears with mostly uber-cool pop music blaring its ever-present simplistic lyrics for my brain to intepret. And somewhere inside me just snapped. It was fine to hear the same song once or twice. But to hear the same song every time not only from my ever reliable MP3 player but having it being heard on the radio did something to me. With most songs emerging out from the never-ending conveyor belt from the radio having little to no substance, it got pretty irritating after a while. No meaningful lyrics, just simplistic four to five words of chorus lyrics going along with some catchy electronic beat was easily forgettable after maybe a fortnight of listening.
But, I still needed music in my life. But where would it come from? Sometimes great things come from the most unlikeliest of my places. My whole venture into a completely untapped genre of music was to come from a pirated game disc stolen from my uncle's house. And that game was to be FIFA 08.
I love video games. It has been a part of my life ever since I took a glimpse of a PS1 nestling in the living room of my grandmother's house. From the Gameboy Advance to the PS4, I have always been an avid gamer.
FIFA 08 was the first sports game I had ever played and one of my first PC games I've ever played. It has a very nostalgic feeling whenever I talk about it, never mind when replaying it. It was the epitome of my childhood back in 2007. The gameplay was slick and very rewarding to master fully. But, most importantly and perhaps relevantly, its soundtrack was amazing.
The songs in FIFA 08 was not from the radio and that puzzled me as a child. I would wonder about the weirdness of listening to songs that was not on the radio but still leaps and bounds better than the usual track they roll out on a daily basis in Hitz FM. I didn't know at the time but this genre of music that I have slowly fallen in love with was indie songs. As a child, I didn't know the genre but I kept the artists' names at heart such as, Santigold, Peter Bjorn & John, The Hoosiers and Datarock.
I wasn't completely rid of radio music in my head yet but indie songs were starting to penetrate into my once indestructible cerebellum. I was still really young and peer pressure from people of my age eventually persevered me into listening to radio music. Which wasn't all bad. They just weren't special. Each a carbon copy of each other. Good for a week or so but nothing more than that.
As years soon passed by, my yearly fix for indie music was satisfied with the acquisition of the annual releases of the FIFA series. More and more amazing music artists were featured such as Portugal The Man, Grouplove, Foster The People and what was to be my favourite band, The Whitest Boy Alive. My ears were having eargasms with this fresh and new music blaring from the TV. The only obstacle stopping me from fully converting to the teachings of indie music was me. Me not knowing what genre it was at the time halted me at my tracks which was puzzling and irritating my young mind . Stupid, I know.
Until December 2014.
The month which at last really jump started my love for indie music. I was in a camp full of unknown people in the middle of nowhere because I was assigned to cover the camp as my part of my journalist assignment. Not quite how you envisioned it, eh?
But, I had nothing but fantastic memories about the camp and the people I've met there. One of those people was a girl named Bernice. We don't talk much anymore but back then at camp, everyone was pretty tight, with no contact to the outside world and all that.
It was late as all the activities had ended and we went to get some midnight snacks at the canteen. There were like 4 to 5 people there as we just talked about whatever as long as it kept us awake. Then, we decided to play songs from everyone's handphones. When it was my turn, I played a Black Keys song. Now, only Bernice knew what song it was and that piqued me as that was something of a rarity. She took a look at my minature sized Samsung Y and went through my playlist.
She then uttered the words that would have started it all.
''Wow, you're a real hipster. All these songs are so indie !''
BINGO
Indie. That was the word. That was all I needed.
The moment I really started to branch away from the 'normality of music' was when I got myself a Sony MP3 player. Damn, those things were really cool way back in 2011. Obviously, I slowly built up a playlist of songs which I liked and it was mostly comprised of radio station hits. Now, this was a real turning point for me in my taste in music.
Over the next several months, I had earphones plugged into both of my ears with mostly uber-cool pop music blaring its ever-present simplistic lyrics for my brain to intepret. And somewhere inside me just snapped. It was fine to hear the same song once or twice. But to hear the same song every time not only from my ever reliable MP3 player but having it being heard on the radio did something to me. With most songs emerging out from the never-ending conveyor belt from the radio having little to no substance, it got pretty irritating after a while. No meaningful lyrics, just simplistic four to five words of chorus lyrics going along with some catchy electronic beat was easily forgettable after maybe a fortnight of listening.
But, I still needed music in my life. But where would it come from? Sometimes great things come from the most unlikeliest of my places. My whole venture into a completely untapped genre of music was to come from a pirated game disc stolen from my uncle's house. And that game was to be FIFA 08.
The catalyst of it all
I love video games. It has been a part of my life ever since I took a glimpse of a PS1 nestling in the living room of my grandmother's house. From the Gameboy Advance to the PS4, I have always been an avid gamer.
FIFA 08 was the first sports game I had ever played and one of my first PC games I've ever played. It has a very nostalgic feeling whenever I talk about it, never mind when replaying it. It was the epitome of my childhood back in 2007. The gameplay was slick and very rewarding to master fully. But, most importantly and perhaps relevantly, its soundtrack was amazing.
The songs in FIFA 08 was not from the radio and that puzzled me as a child. I would wonder about the weirdness of listening to songs that was not on the radio but still leaps and bounds better than the usual track they roll out on a daily basis in Hitz FM. I didn't know at the time but this genre of music that I have slowly fallen in love with was indie songs. As a child, I didn't know the genre but I kept the artists' names at heart such as, Santigold, Peter Bjorn & John, The Hoosiers and Datarock.
I wasn't completely rid of radio music in my head yet but indie songs were starting to penetrate into my once indestructible cerebellum. I was still really young and peer pressure from people of my age eventually persevered me into listening to radio music. Which wasn't all bad. They just weren't special. Each a carbon copy of each other. Good for a week or so but nothing more than that.
As years soon passed by, my yearly fix for indie music was satisfied with the acquisition of the annual releases of the FIFA series. More and more amazing music artists were featured such as Portugal The Man, Grouplove, Foster The People and what was to be my favourite band, The Whitest Boy Alive. My ears were having eargasms with this fresh and new music blaring from the TV. The only obstacle stopping me from fully converting to the teachings of indie music was me. Me not knowing what genre it was at the time halted me at my tracks which was puzzling and irritating my young mind . Stupid, I know.
Until December 2014.
The month which at last really jump started my love for indie music. I was in a camp full of unknown people in the middle of nowhere because I was assigned to cover the camp as my part of my journalist assignment. Not quite how you envisioned it, eh?
But, I had nothing but fantastic memories about the camp and the people I've met there. One of those people was a girl named Bernice. We don't talk much anymore but back then at camp, everyone was pretty tight, with no contact to the outside world and all that.
It was late as all the activities had ended and we went to get some midnight snacks at the canteen. There were like 4 to 5 people there as we just talked about whatever as long as it kept us awake. Then, we decided to play songs from everyone's handphones. When it was my turn, I played a Black Keys song. Now, only Bernice knew what song it was and that piqued me as that was something of a rarity. She took a look at my minature sized Samsung Y and went through my playlist.
She then uttered the words that would have started it all.
''Wow, you're a real hipster. All these songs are so indie !''
BINGO
Indie. That was the word. That was all I needed.
Now, the real irony was that she wasn't even an indie fan to begin with. She was a metal fan. Dark metal even. Bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Metallica were her cup of tea. A far cry from Two Door Cinema Club.
After the camp, I went into the Internet and googled indie music. Familiar names popped up and not so familiar names popped up right on my handphone screen. I clicked on links that led me to a few music videos. I was hooked.
The End.
Really, I could just end it there but it would be way too simple after building it up so much. Actually, there was to be another spanner in the works as this particular app was to catapult me into the nether regions of indie music. They were to catapult me so deep into it that I would never leave. Not that I would have wanted to. It felt too good to leave.
That app was Spotify. Hell, I'm using Spotify as my personal magic juice in typing out this article right now. It has conquered my life to that extent and I would like it to stay that way.
I'm pretty sure everyone knows about Spotify. Their music streaming service has been enjoyed by many all over the world. And me. Now, I had always used Youtube as my primary source for listening to music but Spotify offered something extremely new and flat out amazing to the table, the Discover Weekly feature.
Discover Weekly feature basically is a playlist of songs that Spotify would recommend based on the songs I listened to on their app. Which are indie songs. Which meant I could get a list of brand new indie songs refreshed weekly every Monday. Now, that was the fuel to the fire I was looking for. The fire that would keep on burning.
Spotify didn't start the fire. It was always burning, since the world was turning.
Now if you understood their reference, I'll buy you a cool icy drink on a sweaty afternoon.
And now we're at the present day. It took a while to reach to this point and if you're still reading, I am truly impressed. Like crazy impressed. You will be a great person one day.
To end this long ass article, I should state why I love indie music as a genre. As a way of life. As my food and water. As a escape from reality. Now, I realize that indie music is not everyone's cup of tea. But there are simply qualities to indie music that even the most bigoted people out there will fail to disagree with me.
After the camp, I went into the Internet and googled indie music. Familiar names popped up and not so familiar names popped up right on my handphone screen. I clicked on links that led me to a few music videos. I was hooked.
The End.
Really, I could just end it there but it would be way too simple after building it up so much. Actually, there was to be another spanner in the works as this particular app was to catapult me into the nether regions of indie music. They were to catapult me so deep into it that I would never leave. Not that I would have wanted to. It felt too good to leave.
That app was Spotify. Hell, I'm using Spotify as my personal magic juice in typing out this article right now. It has conquered my life to that extent and I would like it to stay that way.
I'm pretty sure everyone knows about Spotify. Their music streaming service has been enjoyed by many all over the world. And me. Now, I had always used Youtube as my primary source for listening to music but Spotify offered something extremely new and flat out amazing to the table, the Discover Weekly feature.
Discover Weekly feature basically is a playlist of songs that Spotify would recommend based on the songs I listened to on their app. Which are indie songs. Which meant I could get a list of brand new indie songs refreshed weekly every Monday. Now, that was the fuel to the fire I was looking for. The fire that would keep on burning.
Spotify didn't start the fire. It was always burning, since the world was turning.
Now if you understood their reference, I'll buy you a cool icy drink on a sweaty afternoon.
And now we're at the present day. It took a while to reach to this point and if you're still reading, I am truly impressed. Like crazy impressed. You will be a great person one day.
To end this long ass article, I should state why I love indie music as a genre. As a way of life. As my food and water. As a escape from reality. Now, I realize that indie music is not everyone's cup of tea. But there are simply qualities to indie music that even the most bigoted people out there will fail to disagree with me.
Indie music is an untamed genre which set no barriers for each other. There are no written or unwritten guidelines in the production of their music which is a breath of fresh air from the music being heard on the radio. It is very obvious that mainstream music limits itself from truly being great with reducing themselves to lower standards in pursuit of the public's nod of approval. But indie music? They don't aim to please.
You can see it from the lyrics of indie songs out there. It perfectly conveys the artist's thoughts, emotions and desires instead of sacrificing meaningful words for the sake of a two second catchy chorus that mean nearly nothing. The tone of the song is all up to the artist with the true effort from the artist can be seen in his/her very own customization of their song. They do not listen to anyone but themselves which I find more truthfully refreshing.
Now, this is interesting because it is a main part in unlocking my love for indie music. The lyrics for indie songs are something to be behold of . They struck a chord within me which is a feeling so powerful that cannot be replicated from a song that tries to hard too be catchy. Because once you try too hard to be catchy, songs tend to absolve into a mere fad instead of being a classic. The meaning of the song could be lost. But indie music is special. Their lyrics tend to be so relatable as a person and this really is an important aspect of my love affair with indie music. Because we as human beings have a desire to be understood. A need to be understood. Interaction through songs are one way to be understood. And when the lyrics start to give you chills, it really is time to create an altar for its genre.
This also means indie, by definition can mean a whole lot. It ranges from indie rock to indie electronica. Each has their own themes but fitting in the category of indie with its unique sound. There is a type for everyone in indie with this fascinating characteristic.
Now, people assume that indie music lovers surround themselves with indie music in an attempt to be different, or what they love to call, hipster. Now, I don't speak for everyone but I simply love indie music over the songs on the radio because they just sound so much better to me. I don't pride myself in being drastically different from my peers. Hell, I try to instill some love of indie music into my fellow friends. It works some times but mostly it falls flat on my face.
I have no shame in telling that I have not a single clue what hit song is playing on the airwaves at the moment. I live in my very own bubble and I have no intention of leaving it at the moment. It is a matter of preference, of course but my demeanor towards radio music has drastically changed recently. Bands from these stations will eventually die and be replaced but classic indie bands will always be there as legends that carved out paths for more to come.
This has been a long article, yet again. I should end it soon but before leaving, I'll leave some indie bands for you people to check out. Maybe you guys could still be saved. Fingers crossed.
Now I bid you adieu to listen to Glass Animals recent album, How To Be A Human Being. Masterpiece.
Indie Bands Checklist
1. Glass Animals
2. Arctic Monkeys
3. The Strokes
4. Foster The People
5. The Killers
6. The Whitest Boy Alive
7. Tame Impala
8. Portugal. The Man
9. Young The Giant
10. Two Door Cinema Club
You can see it from the lyrics of indie songs out there. It perfectly conveys the artist's thoughts, emotions and desires instead of sacrificing meaningful words for the sake of a two second catchy chorus that mean nearly nothing. The tone of the song is all up to the artist with the true effort from the artist can be seen in his/her very own customization of their song. They do not listen to anyone but themselves which I find more truthfully refreshing.
Now, this is interesting because it is a main part in unlocking my love for indie music. The lyrics for indie songs are something to be behold of . They struck a chord within me which is a feeling so powerful that cannot be replicated from a song that tries to hard too be catchy. Because once you try too hard to be catchy, songs tend to absolve into a mere fad instead of being a classic. The meaning of the song could be lost. But indie music is special. Their lyrics tend to be so relatable as a person and this really is an important aspect of my love affair with indie music. Because we as human beings have a desire to be understood. A need to be understood. Interaction through songs are one way to be understood. And when the lyrics start to give you chills, it really is time to create an altar for its genre.
This also means indie, by definition can mean a whole lot. It ranges from indie rock to indie electronica. Each has their own themes but fitting in the category of indie with its unique sound. There is a type for everyone in indie with this fascinating characteristic.
Now, people assume that indie music lovers surround themselves with indie music in an attempt to be different, or what they love to call, hipster. Now, I don't speak for everyone but I simply love indie music over the songs on the radio because they just sound so much better to me. I don't pride myself in being drastically different from my peers. Hell, I try to instill some love of indie music into my fellow friends. It works some times but mostly it falls flat on my face.
I have no shame in telling that I have not a single clue what hit song is playing on the airwaves at the moment. I live in my very own bubble and I have no intention of leaving it at the moment. It is a matter of preference, of course but my demeanor towards radio music has drastically changed recently. Bands from these stations will eventually die and be replaced but classic indie bands will always be there as legends that carved out paths for more to come.
This has been a long article, yet again. I should end it soon but before leaving, I'll leave some indie bands for you people to check out. Maybe you guys could still be saved. Fingers crossed.
Now I bid you adieu to listen to Glass Animals recent album, How To Be A Human Being. Masterpiece.
Jamming it up with these peanut butter vibes
Indie Bands Checklist
1. Glass Animals
2. Arctic Monkeys
3. The Strokes
4. Foster The People
5. The Killers
6. The Whitest Boy Alive
7. Tame Impala
8. Portugal. The Man
9. Young The Giant
10. Two Door Cinema Club
Thank me later.
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