Indie rock - the musical genre of 'The Vaccines' (chosen track artist's)

"Indie rock" genre of music

Indie rock (or alternative rock) is a genre of alternative rock which originally started in the UK & US in the 80’s . It’s style is very diverse, and comes in many varieties and sub-genres. For example indie pop (Indie pop was inspired by punk's DIY ethic and generated a thriving fanzine (fan magazine), label, and club and gig circuit. Indie pop differs from indie rock to the extent that it is more melodic, less abrasive – grindy & metalic, and relatively angst-free), jangle pop (Mid-1980s jangle pop was a non-mainstream "pop-based format" with "some folk-rock overtones", with psychedelic influences & uses raw and immediate sounding melodic guitar-bands) , C86 (a guitar-based musical genre characterized by jangling guitars and melodic power pop song structures) and lo-fi (a sound recording which contains technical flaws such as distortion, hum, or background noise, or limited frequency response). 

When grunge (a subgenre of alternative rock which started in the US in the 80’s, it was inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, and is characterised by heavily distorted electric guitars + contrasting song dynamics, and apathetic (showing of feeling no interest) or angst-filled -violent / passionate lyrics) and punk revival ( more mainstream 90’s punk) bands in the US & Britpop bands in the UK (The movement developed as a reaction against various musical & cultural trends in the late 80’s & early 90’s. Britpop groups brought British alternative rock into the mainstream market and created a forum for a large British cultural movement called 'Cool Britannia' . Britpop groups were defined by a focus on bands rather than solo artists (using drums/bass/guitar/vocals) and this style majorly broke into the mainstream music industry  (in the 90’s it was used to identify those acts that still retained an “outsider” & “underground” (less testosterone-driven) perspective.

 In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet and sights such as youtube which allowed them to freely market and brand their groups on a much larger scale that ever before (and more people find out about their style & beliefs) a number of indie rock acts began to emerge more publicly and enjoy their share of commercial success. Indie rock came from the term "independent" & is basically a musical wave which is made up of a relatively small and quite low-budget group of labels, who’s artists & bands have a generally have a do-it-yourself attitude. 

Even though most of their distribution deals are often made with major companies these labels and the bands they manage still try and attempt to maintain some of their autonomy, self government & individuality. Meaning they are usually left to freely explore sounds, emotions & subjects  which are probably of limited appeal to a large the mass market audience.   Indie rock is influenced by styles such as extremely diverse, including punk, psychedelia (influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs.), rock (a popular music genre which centres around the electric guitar, usually ‘rock’ artists are in groups and include the instrumental use of bass guitar & drums as well as of course vocals) and country (It takes its roots from southeastern American folk music, Western cowboy, and often consists of ballads and dance tunes with generally simple forms and harmonies accompanied by mostly string instruments such as banjoes, electric and acoustic guitars, fiddles, and harmonicas.) Indie rock has been identified as a reaction against the "macho" culture & came into it’s own after the major success of Nirvana. 

It has been described as 
"too sensitive and melancholy; too soft and delicate; too dreamy and hypnotic; too personal and intimately revealing in its lyrics; too low-fidelity and low-budget in its production; too angular in its melodies and riffs; too raw, skronky and abrasive, wrapped in too many sheets of Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr./Pixies/Jesus & Mary Chain-style guitar noise; too oblique and fractured in its song structures; too influenced by experimental or otherwise unpopular musical styles." (by all music an online music guide website) 

History of Indie Rock from the 1980's-2000's

1980's

began in the1980's with College rock and noise rock produced on post-punk labels (a genre which emerged from  punk rock but is more complex and experimental). The indie rock scene dominated collage radio stations & playlists (popular bands of this genre were R.E.M from the US & The Smiths from the UK). "Indie rock" was very abrasive, used distortion techniques and heavy sounds, very guitar based. They rejected the popular 'synpop' genre which was ruling at the time (a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, where synthesizeris where the dominant musical instrument, a synthesiser either imitates other instruments or generate new tones and  can be controlled by a variety of different input devices such as keyboards, music sequencers and instrument controllers). A number of prominent indie rock record labels were founded during this period (EG:  Washington, DC's Dischord Records, Seattle's Sub Pop Records, New York City's Matador Records and Merge Records) & a number of popular indie rock bands emerged (EG: 

 The Housemartins,The La's ,10,000 Maniacs, the dB's,  Sonic Youth, Swans, Big Black , Butthole Surfers,  Pixies, Hüsker Dü, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr., and The Replacements). 

The Indie pop scene followed suit :

New Order,   The Mary Chain, Bloody Valentine,  Slowdive ,Ride (created a loud "wash of sound" that obscured vocals and melodies with long, droning riffs, distortion, and feedback).The other major movement at the end of the 1980s was the drug-fuelled Madchesterscene -  Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses (mixed acid housedance rhythms, Northern soul and funk with melodic guitar pop).

1990's

 Grunge bands like for example : Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains broke into the mainstream and  achieved commercial chart success and had a much more widespread exposure that previous bands of this genre. In the UK bands like Blur and Oasis became popular on a big scale and abandoned the regional, small-scale and political elements of the 1980s indie scene.As a result of these changes "alternative" sort of began to loose its true counter-culture, anti-establishment meanings & origins & began to refer to a new and more  commercially light form of music that was getting a share of mainstream success. The term "indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained dedicated to their independent status. In addition a number of sub-genres and related styles evolved for example 

lo-fi, noise pop, emo, sadcore, post-rock, space rock and math rock. 

2000's

The growth of new digital technology & internet usage  as a tool for music promotion created a new wave of indie rock bands achieving an even greater mainstream success. The naughty's brought with it a commercial breakthrough and the widespread and meant that "indie" ceased to be a meaningful term despite the fact that there is no other way to refer to the genre. In some ways it actually flipped the power coin and American artists began  to be influenced by British indie music and the Internet, which made British music publications and online music websites such available easily in the states. 

Furthermore in the early 2000s a  brand new group of bands who performed stripped-down (back-to-basics) versions of guitar rock also came into the mainstream. The bands came from across the globe, and cited diverse influences, from traditional blues to New Wave to grunge, They adopted different styles of dress, and didn't have the same sense of unity as a genre. Commercial success came from : The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Vines, The Black Keys, The Killers, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Placebo, Razorlight, Kaiser Cheifs, The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, The Datsuns, D4 (UK,US,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND alike). (some became much more prominent thanks to initial commercial success because of the availability of the Internet and social networking sites.)

The subgenre "Emo" also broke into mainstream culture with a popular appeal amongst teenagers, with bands like  Dashboard Confessional's,Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance,  Paramore and Panic at the Disco emerging. The term expanded and was  used in association with fashion, hairstyles and any music that expressed emotion. The subgenre "indie electronic" also grew (it actually began in the early 90's) with the development digital technology. They mixied a variety of indie sounds with electronic music and largely produced on small independent labels - forming a scene visually similar to earlier rave. 

Generic Features of Indie Music Videos :
Illustration, stop motion animation, found footage (substantial parts of the film are presented as discovered film or video recordings), home video, striking effects repeated,second hand & re-purposed objects and costumes (used with irony and/or sincerity), simple camera work (that finds beautiful angles and light by looking closely), shots of the instrumentals, exterior locations, lack of editing . The low budget style also forces a strong need for the "indie" artists to depend upon on friends & other "indie" makers, which can actually make the video more iconic (and more artistic - creative minds) + bizarre + diverse + perverse and arty. 

Star Image Change

STAR IMAGE
Britney spears meta-narrative is long & ever evolving. 
Her Image change from innocent southern teeanger girl to a sexualised women. 
(Innocent Mickey mouse kid, virginal yet sexy teen, trashy rehab terror, bounce back femme Fatale) 

Here I have basically accounted the "pop princess's" personal history, however this has a lot to do with the development of her star image, in relation to Britney it all interlinks. Her troubled social life (which relates to the development of her image( will of course be in some way connected to the pressures of The industry, their control over her, the breach personal space, and the influences this type of business has upon a person. She started off as such a 'imitation' somebody who was subtly sexualised but yet still a women set up to be a "role model" for teenagers, somebody they could aspire to be like, and in fact she is probably a clear example of Goodwin's concept of Projection, when this imitated obsession reaches an extreme (her fans behaviour became more than a simple mimic of clothes). Her early days where a time of 'girl power' and 'fun' - a rise in structured female iconic figures (followed suit to artists such as madonna) and this was clearly represented in her early videos. she often played a cheesy / playful character, and relied heavily upon narrative pieces, costume & choreography (the school girl outfit from 'Hit me baby one more time' and the air-hostess suit-in 'Toxic') presenting a story with a clearly fixed look & audience type . This image evolved throughout her time as an artists & of course in suit to the changing industry & cultural society (the rise is voyeuristic appeal and the promiscuity deemed show-able to the mainstream society growing & developing), & her personal & media coverage  (she is an artist who was bombarded with 247 press & was unable to ever hide herself from the public eye). Her music videos clearly present this gradual progression and later work displays the dance features of the primary ones but in a mature and now much more overtly sexual way - a new sales strategy as such (also presented through the fast pace of the edits which amplify her energy & drive). Most of her modern videos are wholly performance based & rely upon the edition of special effects, and mis en scene to support her image. This change is also notable through her lyrical connotation for instance "hit ME baby one more time" and "your toxic I'M slippin' under" -placing a subtle emphasis on male domination over her, contrasting to her later work for instance "But all of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy" which still revolves around sexual innuendoes but places strain on her power & open sexuality & freedom. 

She was your typical child star, traumatised teen who the media & industry moulded into a bomb ready to explode under the pressure of stardom. She was only 8 when she and her mum forced her to audition for a part in the “Mickey Mouse Club” & she was rejected, something which can't exactly play well against a child's confidence.  She made it in after time at performing arts school at 13 and was groomed to become a pop star from such an early age,( and is rumoured/ a conspiracy is that she entered in to the CIA mind control project - a traumatic  molding into the elite ‘handler's’ vision for their future).  She was only 16 at the time "Hit me Baby one more time" was  released and the video for the song raised eye brows, she was  also on the cover of a Rolling Stones issue where she was shot as a blend of innocence and sexuality - not overt and brash but a tamed victim to voyeurism. 

She began as the patron saint of innocent virtues first emerged into the big time in 1999 as a Mississippi ‘princess of pop’. Becoming a prominent figure in popular culture, a media frenzy, with her first x2 albums breaking record sales &  having international number 1’s. She was an icon & the revival of teen pop turning into the ‘best-selling teenage artist of all time before she turned 20’.
When the naughty’s began she had sold more than 70 million records and was ranked as the most powerful celebrity in the world on Forbes Magazine’s 2002 list. In 2003 she confessed in an interview with W magazine that she “had only spelt with one person” in her entire life.  She famously said that she would remain a virgin until marriage. She was a teenage role model with songs such as I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” which reached out to young girls and spoke about the angst and heartache of going through puberty, creating a musical helpline and connection to her fan base.

Her media attention had previously been huge but when she started getting picked up for the social elements of her life it was went it hit the roof. First it began with the marking shift her virginal status, the pole opposite marriage. She married her childhood friend Jason Alexander On the 3rd of January in 2004, in a 5:30am Vegas style ceremony with a total period of wedded bliss equaling a mere 55 hours. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions".

Despite this first public explosion, it was Britney’s second marriage that really captured the always wandering tabloid eye. In July 2004 she got engaged to American dancer called Kevin Federline, who she had only known for a three months. Their relationship received mass media attention from the media, as Federline had only recently broke up with his ex the actress Shar Jackson, who was pregnant with their second child at the time - the marriage was seen as very scandalous. 

She had her first child (Sean Preston Federline) in 2005 and in February 2006, pictures were released of Britney driving with her son Sean, on her lap instead of in a car seat. The public were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and Sean with the other, and rumors started circulating about her capabilities as a mother. Later that year Spears posed nude for the cover of Harper's Bazaar.

 By September 2006 she had had her second child Jayden James Federline, and x2 months later she filed for a divorce (which was finalised in July 2007 with shared custody). Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January and by February she had started to break down and had been checked in to a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua (for less than a day). 

The following night (after being submitted), she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in LA & attacked a car with an umbrella. She then admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks. After completing a month-long program at Promises (is a for-profit provider of residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation with facilities in Malibu).  she wrote on her website, "I truly hit rock bottom" 

She had passed her peak in terms of any form of popularity as an artist Britney was starting to fall completely flat as a trashy trailer terror - going back to her alleged roots and for-filling the underlining stereotype of  the Southern slut - "white trash"  . She didn’t write her own music, or have an extremely powerful voice, and had thus had always relied upon her image and appearance as a main selling drive. This key appeal to keep a  profitable consumer base now meant it was critical for her to uphold a new image, one which she could believably sell after the cheap reputation she had built she self. 

COMPLETE IMAGE CHANGE

Consequently In May 2007, she produced a series of promotional concerts at House of Blues venues, titled The M+M's Tour. The show featured Spears accompanied by four female back-up dancers performing shortened versions of five songs to choreographed dance movements and little only one costume change throughout the entire performance (very unlike Britney and her previously cute & theatrical shows). During the performance of one of the song a male audience member actually participated onstage, and she gave him a lap dance during the performance. Her x2 costumes were very promiscuous, she wore a silver beaded bra & pleated white skirt and boots and then a hot pink bra, white fur coat and jean skirt. Her choreographed dance moves were very sexualized EG: using a chair as a prop, and shakira like dance moves. Mtv’s statement after the concert was :"Her body newly toned and her smile beaming, she looked every bit like a woman who had emerged from her quarter-life crisis stronger than yesterday." She also said Spears performed with "a naughty, free-spirited attitude", as though she "had invited 900 friends to her dirty little dance party, and too bad for you if you couldn't roll with the fun.”

She lost custody of her children to her ex husband Federline in October 2007 and was sued by Louis Vuitton (the fashion designer) over her 2005 music video "Do Somethin'" for pimping out her truck interior in counterfeit Louis Vuitton cherry blossom fabric (wlhich resulted in her video being banned on European TV stations). Later that year she was back and Her fifth studio album ‘Blackout’ was released which  debuted at the top of chart’s in several countries. Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart and Blackout managed to sell over 3.1 million copies worldwide. However On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalised at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, after police men who arrived at her house had noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. Her visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical legal custody of the children. In January (2008) she was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court then placed her under temporary conservatorship (a legal concept where an entity or organisation is subjected to the legal control of an external entity or organisation, known as a conservator) of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets.

She did bounce back to some degree after her release - with tv cameo’s, some visitation rights for her kids, opening the MTV Video Music Awards with comedy sketch with Jonah Hill & an introduction speech, winning Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year for "Piece of Me", A 60-minute documentary produced to chronicle her return to the recording industry ( with the highest ratings in the networks history). Her sixth studio album had positive reviews (‘circus’) and debut and number one in several places becoming one of the fastest-selling albums of the year selling  4 million copies worldwide. In January 2009, Spears and her father James obtained a restraining order against her former manager, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley—all of whom, court documents claim, had been conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs.

 Her tune started to alter again, not back to innocence by any stretch of the imagination, she holds an overtly sexual image still, and though she has claimed back a more ‘popular’ pop identity it is as a but as a sexualised and empowered adult not school girl or trashy loon.  Huge markers for her bounce back to teen affection were: Her appearance on the popular television show ‘Glee’ ,as an inspiration for their episode & a whole episode based around her with a holy, Goddess status, giving ‘Glee’ their highest ever ratings! Her  appearance in the remix of the song "S&M" by Rihanna (after Rihanna asked her fans via Twitter who they wanted her to collaborate with). Her latest album release Femme Fatale (2011). With the release  Spears explained that she "wanted to make a fierce dance record where each song makes you want to get up and move your body in a different way." She wanted to stray away sonically from her previous material, and worked with different producers over the course of two years.

The Vaccines - basic overview & history of our chosen song's original artists

The Vaccines are an English indie rock band who were formed in West London back in 2010 (Initially influenced strongly by 50s rock 'n' roll and 80s American hardcore and good pop music.) Their debut album ‘What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?’ was produced through the company Columbia Records (an American record label that’s owned by Sony Music Entertainment  operating under their Columbia Music Group) and managed  place fourth on the UK Album Chart. They have started to slip into mainstream pop culture and have become a well known ‘indie’ group as supposed to unsigned hopefuls. They have now toured extensively and opening shows for groups such as The Walkmen, The Stone Roses, Arctic Monkeys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Arcade Fire.

Their musical style + genre and target audience is similar to bands such as:‘Ramones’ – They were an American rock band who were formed in the NYC (in Queens) back in 1974. They are cited as one of the first ever punk rock group’s .They only achieved a limited commercial success, but were a major influence on the punk rock movement in both the US and the UK. ‘The Strokes’ – An American rock band from NYC. They are one of the most prominent indie-rock bands to spring from the US at the start of the 21st century and have helped start the garage rock revival movement. Their album titled ‘Is This It’ was ranked in the top 200 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. ‘The Jesus and Mary Chain’ – They’re a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of  two brothers (Jim and William Reid). 

They have released a string of albums, singles and EPs between forming 1983 and ending in1999. They were known notoriety in their early days for short sets and violence which then became  a common feature of their live shows. ( They also reunited in 2007 and in 2008 released a song called “All Things Must Pass" which was on the soundtrack album to the NBC television drama Heroes.) The band consists of Justin Young - guitar and  vocals, Jay Jay Pistolet – vocals , Arni Hjörvar  - the bass, Freddie Cowan - the guitar and Pete Robertson -  the drums. The band uploaded the demo of their first single "If You Wanna" to YouTube in the August of 2010, it immediately became a YouTube hit and was strongly praised by people such as Zane Lowe (a radio DJ, record producer and television presenter who presents on BBC radio 1’s evening show). 

They performed their first gig in Leicester and began their debut UK tour in September 2010 ( ran until November 2010) which then landed the band ltheir first London performance which amazingly sold out and was watched by not only a dowting public fan base (200 people were actually not allowed in due to the mass numbers) but a variety of celebrities of their field such as : Alex Kapranos ( musician - the lead singer and the guitarist of the Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand ), Marcus Mumford (he lead singer of the band Mumford & Sons), and members of the famous indie bands White Lies and The Maccabees. 

In the November of 2010 they released their debut single on Marshall Teller Records called "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" / "Blow It Up", in the UK ( the record was limited to 1000 copies). Both of their videos for the double a-side were directed by Doug Hart of The Jesus & Mary Chain fame.

Their  popularity rose : 

*Their track Wreckin' Bar was named "Track of the Day" by Q magazine

* They recorded their first ever radio session for Marc Riley's BBC 6 Music show in December 2010

* They performed live on Later with Jools Holland, the first band ever to do so before releasing a single. (is a contemporary British music television show)

*In 2011, they were placed third in the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll. (an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent)

* In January of 2011 they appeared on the cover of NME Magazine. (The New Musical Express which is a UK music publication )

* They spent the start of 2011 on tour on the 2011 NME Awards Tour (supporting Crystal Castles - are an electronic/experimental band) 

* They went over to America and were watched in NYC but the star Debbie Harry (An American singer/songwriter/actress). 

• They were then signed to Columbia Records (an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group). As part of Columbia records they then released their second single which was called  "Post Break-Up Sex" ( In early 2011 & it debuted at number 32 in the UK charts). Accordingly they were nominated for an MTV Award (s an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos) for "Best New Band of 2011" and a Critics' Choice Brit Award (The British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards and the British equivalent of the American Grammy Awards.)

They went on to perform with the famous band ‘The Arctic Monkeys’ in a 10,000 tent set up and crack the TV market with their video for ‘If Ya Wanna’ (The song we have chosen for our music video). They then went on to play at a multitude of festivals over the summer period – for example Reading & Leads festivals. (joined by other bands). Following on from their youth frenzy success they debuted a new song called "Tiger Blood", produced by Albert Hammond (an American musician and member of the indie rock band The Strokes), Jr. of The Strokes (An American Rock Band) at his New York studio. During the course of the year the band managed to play 150+ shows ending with two nights at London's O2 Brixton Academy!

In October 2011, The Vaccines launched the world's first crowd sourced music video for their single “Wetsuit” (an amazing song!) Ending the year on a very merry christmassy note  on the hit music show ‘Top of the Pops’ & welcoming in the new year on Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny (an annual New Year's Eve music show on BBC2). At the start of 2012 they began work on their new album ‘Come of Age’ with producer Ethan Johns (is a record producer, engineer, mixer, musician, and songwriter who has worked with such artists such as Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Ray LaMontagne, Kevin Prosch, Rufus Wainwright, The Boxer Rebellion, Howard Eliott Payne, Emmylou Harris, Crowded House, The Vaccines, Laura Marling, Luthea Salom, The Staves, Tom Jones and Crosby, Stills and Nash, and more!). By June they had released their song’s "No Hope" & "Teenage Icon" onto their YouTube channel. 

                               

http://www.thevaccines.co.uk/gb/home/ - official band website

I found this video particularly interesting as it incorporated a contemporary photo editing style - 'intsagram' (which is used across all mac products). The idea is that with 'instagram' you can instantly upload shots of what your doing to others who use the program and you follow, all your photographs you can add interesting filters to in order to create quirky & 'indie' like  versions of your original photos. The software allows the ordinary to absorb themselves into the world of creative photography and let their shots live in this colourful , commutative world. The concept of incorporating this as a montage sequence in the video 'Wetsuit' by 'The Vaccines' amplifies the festival rhythm of the instrumentals & the laid back, fresh, liberal lyrics, which embrace living life to the full and enjoy the relaxing simplicities of a casual surfer life. The modern programming & varied pace/speeds & lighting effects & stop motion elements creates an extremely atmospheric video & highlights their 'festival', 'indie' 'rock' style & ethos - loyal fan base, less commerical etc. 

OutKast - 'Hey Ya!' application of Goodwin's theory's

We began brainstorming ideas for our music video & planning our pitch. We looked at the technical obstacles that we would have to face to create an authentic project, and started to plan out ideas for costumes, actors/actresses,locations,style,genre etc. Looking at Goodwin's theories also personally helped me get a much better understanding of the angle on which to tackle not just the analysis of others music videos but the elements which I should (or my group should) include in my own. I have enclosed some photographs of our group meeting today just to track our progress as we continue in developing of original concepts. 

         

Examples of Artists websites

Examples of (Album art) digitial packs

*Paloma faith - picking up the pieces
*Gorillaz - Demon Days
*Blondie - Paralell lines
*Pulp - Pulp Hits
*Lily Allen - Alright still