EDWARD'S LECTURE NOTES:
More notes at http://tanguay.info/learntracker
C O U R S E
History of Rock, 1970-Present
John Covach, University of Rochester
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C O U R S E L E C T U R E 1990s Indie Rock and the Question of Selling Out Notes taken on July 16, 2017 by Edward Tanguay |
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many of the bands from the 1980s indie scene went to major labels
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ended up on MTV, went on tours
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there was some push back on this, e.g. Pearl Jam protested Ticket Master's prices
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the indie scene continued
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a kind of alternative to the alternative
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more dedicated to the idea of not selling out, keep it indie, keep it real, keep the do-it-yourself aesthetic
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indie record labels
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Matador
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from New York
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Merge
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Chapel Hill
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Sub Pop
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Seattle
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continued involvement of college radio stations
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College Music Journal (CMJ)
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parallel to Billboard
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wide circulation
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alternative network
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Lo-Fi movement
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it cost a lot of money to make a quality sound production
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indie artists would have to create lower quality
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they embraced this idea and owned it
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turned it into a mark of distinction, of authenticity
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a way of showing: we haven't sold out, we can do something hip with this lo-fi approach
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people moving back to cassette tapes
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Pavement
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Stockton, California
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Stephen Malkmus
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Scott Kannberg
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Slanted and Enchanted (1992)
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Matador label
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Guided by Voices
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Dayton, Ohio
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Robert Pollard
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1994 album: Bee Thousand
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Elliot Smith
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born in Omaha
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career emerged out of Portland, Oregon
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1994 Roman Candle
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Indie label: Cavity Search
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recorded on a simply machine
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Merge Records
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Chapel Hill
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Indie music brings together many styles
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Superchunk
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1991 No Pocky for Kitty
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clear punk roots
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guitar rhythm
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Neutral Milk Hotel
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1998 In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
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singer songwriter
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lo-fi
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The Magnetic Fields
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out of London
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Stephin Merrits
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69 Love Songs (1999)
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singer songwriter theme
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interesting and diverse
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not a lot of air play
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college radio and venues
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a kind of a parallel culture, a shadow culture
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Noise Pop
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roots in the Velvet Underground
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fascination for sound and sound effects
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artsy
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Yo La Tengo
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Ira Kaplan
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Georgia Hubley
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1993 Painful
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1997 I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One
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Moby Octopad
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My Bloody Valentine
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1991 Loveless
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classic of 90s Indie rock
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When You Sleep
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Only Shallow
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Alt-Country
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blending country with rock
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old country, honky-tonk country
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authentic back-porch music
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Uncle Tupelo
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Illinois
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1990 No Depression
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Screen Door
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split up and form:
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Wilco
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Jeff Tweedy
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Son Volt
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Jay Farrar
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Whiskeytown
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Ryan Adams
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1995 Faithless Street
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India label: Mood Food
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Old 97's
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Dallas, Texas
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Bottle Rockets
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Festus, Missouri
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Beck Hanson
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goes major label but tries to retain his integrity
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much like R.E.M.
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Los Angeles
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1994 signs to Geffen Records
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1993 "Loser"
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Bong Load
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when Geffen re-released it, it became very popular
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1994 Mellow Gold
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1996 Odelay
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combines pop hooks with hip hop, country rock, soul, and classical music