Indie rock essentials: the greatest albums you've never heard
By Lawrence Cabanero
Daily Kent Stater
Since the beginning of rock 'n roll, there has always been an underground scene that exists behind the music regularly played on the radio. Underground music, which is usually distributed by independent labels, often features musicians more concerned with their art form that with selling out a stadium tour.
The indie rock scene that emerged sometime in the '80s was a response to the punk, new wave and disposable pop of the decade. It was a genre that rejected the old rules and made way for alternative music in the '90s.
Many of the artists are recognizable enough that it's hard to call them underground anymore. But it's their attitude and artistry that have popularized them and have given them the ability to produce the best albums of the genre.
1. Belle and Sebastian -- If You're Feeling Sinister (1997). Named after a French children's television show, the seven-member band Belle and Sebastian puts together bright and whimsical melodies on their breakthrough album If You're Feeling Sinister. Their style is distinct -- clever wit, vulnerable voices and lush, beautiful song structures. Belle and Sebastian may not have been one of the early groundbreakers of indie rock, but the group represents the genre's emphasis on musicianship and individuality better than any other artist in recent years.
2. Sonic Youth -- Daydream Nation (1988). Sonic Youth is as much a symbol of indie rock music as Enya is to new age. Its first album to gain national attention, Daydream Nation, was a musical project that didn't conform; it experimented so deeply into punk rock that it helped create an entirely new musical approach. The band's unvarnished sound changed the rules for rock music, breaking down a verse-chorus-verse mentality and daring to create music that wouldn't appeal to everyone. It's a risk that indie rockers have to take in order to make an album as influential as this one.
3. My Bloody Valentine -- Loveless (1991). Heavy guitars and synthesizers blend seamlessly with the light voices of singer Bilinda Butcher and singer/guitarist/producer Kevin Shields on My Bloody Valentine's critically acclaimed final album Loveless. It's an album you can sit back and relax to, despite its loud and wandering instrumentation. And even though at times the lyrics are impossible to decipher, you get the feeling you can relate to whatever the vocalist is saying. It's as if one person's voice is hidden in an uncaring, chaotic world.
4. Pavement -- Slanted and Enchanted (1992). The poetry of Pavement was first widespread on Slanted and Enchanted, an album that showed American music listeners that there was already an alternative to the alternative music that was beginning to grunge up mainstream radio. With lyrics like "I saw you girlfriend / She's eating her fingers / Like they're just another meal" on "Summer Babe (Winter Version)," the band tries to show humor without lessening the seriousness of their musicianship. The result is an album with lines listeners try to dissect as if it were a Shakespearean sonnet.
5. Liz Phair -- Exile in Guyville (1993). Liz Phair seemingly said it all on her debut album, Exile in Guyville. She fearlessly spewed out what it means to her to be a woman in a man's world. Some tracks reveal confidence and strength while others show her as sad and defenseless. The music is relatively basic but is played with a determination that only helps the emotional development of the album. Although the album is a shout out to womanhood, it is something everyone can relate to.
6. Neutral Milk Motel -- In the Aeroplane over the Sea (1997). Neutral Milk Hotel has a lot in common with folk artists, playing rootsy rhythms on acoustic guitars and singing up and down the scale with emotional inflections. But the band goes beyond the simplicities of the singer-songwriter style. It adds instruments like the flugelhorn, the accordion and the singing saw. It attracts both people who look for solid lyricism and people who search for crazy instrumentation.
7. Tortoise -- TNT (1998). The Chicago-rooted band Tortoise helped change the direction of the indie scene from strong, attitude-driven punk to the minimalism of post-rock. On its third album, Tortoise perfects its experimental mix of moody, instrumental guitar rock and dynamic jazz fusion. The group is unique yet approachable, presenting tracks that flow logically but are still surprising to the listener. No matter how many times you play TNT, it feels like hearing the music of the future.
8. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion -- Orange (1994). After leaving the band Pussy Galore, Jon Spencer set out on a new project that would mix together funk, psychadelica, hard rock and, of course, the blues. Without a bass player, the band relies on finger-bleeding guitar work, dominating drum beats, old-school synth sounds and vocals that imitate legends like James Brown and Elvis Presley. Orange is by far one of the most consistently fun albums from the band's catalog or from anyone else's.
9. Slint -- Spiderland (1991). During the band's short lifespan, the members of Slint were determined to put out something completely different than any other underground album. Spiderland, its final and most successful full length album, is dark, and at moments, the music feels as if the CD is spinning backward under possession of a demon. Spoken words add to the album's creepiness. However, portions of the album feature somber, delicate mood shifts. The band intentionally plays around with its listeners on its albums, making people sit up and actively experience them.
10. Magnetic Fields -- 69 Love Songs (1999). When you see that an artist has put out on album of love songs, you may groan and think of Michael Bolton, but Magnetic Fields' three-CD collection of romance-inspired music isn't your standard dentist office soundtrack. On 69 Love Songs, the band may not get too complicated in its melodies, but they are brilliantly stringed together and are inspired by different genres and various approaches to falling in love, yearning for love and making love. Most of the tracks, such as "Let's Pretend We're Bunnies" and "Fido, Your Leash is Too Long," are humorous. But the sentiment is genuine.
Honorable Mentions: Yo La Tengo's I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, Sebodoh's Bakesale, Stereolab's Peng!, Sleater-Kinney's Dig Me Out, and Modest Mouse's The Lonesome Crowded West.