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Spoon to Release New Album, Transference
Austin, Texas’s Spoon epitomizes the major pitfall of being an indie rock artist. By virtue of being on a small label that doesn’t have much money to promote the band, being an indie rock artist usually means being widely unknown throughout the mainstream world. You’ll never get on TRL (if that show is even still on), have your photo all over the tabloids or win any Grammy awards. However, that is just the way the fans of indie music like it. The indie hipsters, a group to which I probably belong, like the idea that they listen to and appreciate artists that most people have never heard. It makes them feel special, as if they have discovered something wonderful that the rest of the world has not.
But then what happens if one of those beloved indie artists gets mainstream attention? One of two things can happen. The fans can either be excited that the band they love and have always appreciated is now being enjoyed by the masses, and they still have the pleasure of saying “I was listening to this band before anyone knew who they were,” or they can rebel and call them a sell-out. Now that everyone knows about Kings of Leon, it’s no longer cool to listen to them. And as for sell-outs, a perfect example would be R.E.M., who used to be a respected, quirky indie rock group before they started recording radio-friendly pop.
It will be interesting to see the reaction to Spoon, who has announced the release of their seventh album, Transference, in January. Spoon has long been a darling of the indie underground, with their unique blend of catchy pop rock, innovative in its rhythms, song structure and bricolage yet melodic enough to be appreciated by the mainstream. The band got a brief taste of mainstream recognition with the single “The Way We Get By,” off their 2002 album Kill the Moonlight. However, the band for the first time got wide recognition in 2007. Their album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was hailed as one of the best albums of the year by a variety of mainstream publications, such as Rolling Stone, and the singles, “Don’t You Evah” and “The Underdog” were all over the radio, television and even an EA Sports videogame.
While no one will confuse their newfound popularity with that of U2, for the first time ever if I mention that I listen to Spoon, most people would know who I’m talking about. That certainly doesn’t make them a sell-out. In fact, I think Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga may be Spoon’s best album (or maybe Gimme Fiction). Only time will tell if the rest of Spoon’s fans agree with me or if they will avoid the new album.
What do you think? Is it cooler to like a band that other people don’t listen to? Does getting played on the radio and TV shows make you a sell-out? Shouldn’t every band want to reach the largest audience possible (without compromising their music)?
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Posted by thoughts_jeremy on 2009-11-02 09:45:18 | Rating: | Views: 64
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