I’ve made a decision to boycott the RIAA, believing them to be a despicable organization, the reasons for which are being discussed in a Pit thread.
So I’ve decided to support independent music. I don’t know much about it, so I’m looking for some recommendations about what to buy and who to buy it from. I like all types of music (except country), as long as its not affiliated with the RIAA I’ll look into it.
I just signed up for eMusic.com, and I’m blown away by how good it is. $14.99 a month for up to 2000 tracks (They say unlimited, but the message boards say otherwise), all legal, all standard MP3s. If you want to sample some indie music, I HIGHLY recommend it.
Similarly, I’ll join in in asking for help: My first true indie download was the New Pornographers album, and I also got the new Cramps album. Both are spectacular.
I’m a big Weezer fan, and like that sold out, not really emo music. I also enjoy some punk. So if this turns into a “recommendations for everyone thread”, I’d like some advice too.
If you are interested, here is a list of the RIAA’s member labels.
I will offer up The Appleseed Cast as a recommendation. You can find mp3s for two songs off their latest album here. They started off as a pretty typical emo band, slowly got more daring, then produced a great experimental two CD work where all of the music sort of flows together. With their latest album they have returned to a more traditional sound. The music is excellent and the vocals have the indie earnestness I have come to love.
I know we’re not to do pulls a chair up posts, but I’ll be eagerly watching this thread for new suggestions. Since my girlfriend isn’t a music dork and the radio sucks, I watch the Dope for new ideas.
Love the Appleseed Cast songs. Kinda remind me of the Get Up Kids (who I love).
OK, Labels that rock:
Kill Rock Stars (Sleater-Kinney, Gossip, Bikini Kill, Slumber Party…)
Matador (Cornelius, Interpol, Helium, New Pornographers…)
Bobsled (Stereo Total, Adventures in Stereo)
K Records (All Girl Summer Fun Band, Chicks on Speed, Modest Mouse)
Kindercore (Dressy Bessy)
Emperor Norton (Felix the Housecat, Ladytron)
This is just what comes to mind. It helps to know what style of music you listen to, as most indie record labels have a particular sound, style, or location they represent. For example, Kill Rock Stars is THE place to go for Northeast US girl punk. Matador is a bit more varied, carrying everything from Japanese dance pop to straight-ahead indie rock.
I would like to give a plug to our friend:
And a friend of hers whom I think if very, very funny:
Both folksie in sound.
I’ll second the recommendations for Kill Rock Stars and Matador. Great labels. I’m pretty sure Sub Pop is kosher as well, and that’s pretty much the place to start for indie rock. Barsuk is good too. And also Jade Tree.
If you’re into electronic music, Tigerbeat6 and Warp records make some good (but pretty fucked up) stuff. And I’ll promote Australian labels Trifekta, Ivy League (who had the Vines before they were big) and Candle Records.
I’m dismayed to see that Vagrant is on the RIAA list. But I’m not intending any boycott - I like my music too much. I’ll just keep on downloading.
Check out the Thrill Jockey label. Tortoise (and their numerous incarnations) is a very interesting band…
Also, check out Low. They are kind of hard to describe but their name fits them perfectly. Great volcal harmonies and really sparse musically, but it all works.
If you are a fan of the ‘wannabe emo’, I highly recommend Jets To Brazil. They are even better live if you get the opportunity to see them.
I checked all of their labels (Thrill Jockey, Chairkickers, and Jade Tree, respectively) and none of them showed up on the link to the RIAA… so buy away!
Two other fantastic labels are Touch and Go (The Jesus Lizard, Slint, Don Caballero, Calexico, The Mekons, etc.) and Jetset (Firewater, 16 Horsepower, the Go-Betweens, Black Box Recorder, etc.).
Well-known indie punk labels:
Lookout Records , Bay Area punk… had Op Ivy, Screeching Weasel, and Green Day back in the day. Now they have/had Pansy Division (gay punk), the Mr T. Experience (pop punk), the Donnas (girl punk), Tilt (better girl punk), Pretty Girls Make Graves (screaming girl punk), etc.
And then there’s Fat Wreck Chords, run by Fat Mike… chock-full of Van’s Tour-attending NOFX-style Californian punk. Lagwagon, Good Riddance, No Use For a Name, Sick of It All, Swingin’ Utters, the Mad Caddies, Less Than Jake, etc.
Another big one is Nitro, run by Dexter Holland of the Offspring fame. AFI was signed to them, before they decided to hit the big time. Also the Damned, Son of Sam, Guttermouth, and the Vandals.
And for the American-hating political punk type of stuff there’s always Anti-Flag’s label. I kinda like Thought Riot and the Unseen, even if the politics are… overly simplistic.
For emo (and other stuff) centered in Omaha, there’s always Saddle Creek . Bright Eyes (i.e., Conor Oberst), Cursive (emo), and the Faint (new wave-ish techno)
Give Sugar Hill Records a shot for bluegrass and Americana.
I definitely second the recommendations of Tilt and The New Pornographers. Both superb bands (in rather different genres, admittedly ;))!
I add the better-than-Weezer pop-rock band Ozma to the recommendations list. Not only are they on the non-RIAA Kung Fu record label, but their music is showcased on mp3.com :). If you like Weezer or the New Pornographers then Ozma are definitely worth checking out.
Man, the more I listen to the Appleseed Cast songs, the more I like em.
Ozma is cool too, thanks bluecanary. I suggest downloading the Russian folksong thingie ASAP.
Two consensus favorite songs from The Appleseed Cast are “Forever Longing the Golden Sunsets” and “Steps and Numbers.” Be sure to check them out.
Their drummer, Josh “Cobra” Baruth, is an absolute madman live. The two times I’ve seen them live, he went through four bottles of water during the ten song sets.
If you’ve heard the Tetris theme, the ‘Russian folksong thingie’ ('Korobeiniki) may be vaguely familiar
I forgot one…
Mint Records - home of The New Pornographers. (I linked to the videos page)
According to that list, Artemis Records is not a member of the RIAA.
Artemis is home to, among others, Warren Zevon, Steve Earle, The Pretenders, and Susan Tedeschi.
Zevon’s album “The Wind” is one of the best albums of the year.