New Rave and the Downfall of Indie Rock

I heard something upsetting recently. I read an article on the interweb about the coming of “new rave culture” ushered in by the band Klaxons. From what I’ve come to understand, the band is nothing more than NME subsidized crap. Bear in mind, I’ve never heard them for this reason, but that isn’t the only reason I refuse to listen.

In the era of Web 2.0, it’s hard to sort through all the crap, be it major label sponsored blogwash or people with bad taste shilling for bad bands. The idea that indie rock is so readily available through the internet, while at the same time remaining unattainable and “independent” is a fallacy; it simply can’t work that way. These things are mutually exclusive. Most real rock critics look down on New Music Express, but sometimes people take the bait. With Klaxons, it seems hit-or-miss in terms of their domestic success. They’re obviously no Arctic Monkeys, but it could surely head in that direction. The idea of “new rave” being pegged as the new indie trend is a bit offensive. I’m not the most indie rock guy; in high school, I wrote gushing reviews for Jimmy Eat World’s Futures and Funeral for a Friend’s Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation. One thing I do know now is that there is good music and bad music in the world. Any kind of music that requires me to get really stoned on E and dress in neon overalls to understand is bad music. I realize that “new rave” is supposed to be a hipster friendly version of this, but a bastardized version is the same to me.

Indie rock isn’t supposed to have a certain sound, but it also shouldn’t open the floodgates to the mainstream. Hearing the new watered down Death Cab for Cutie single on the local adult alternative station is depressing because I know what they used to sound like and I know what they used to be. I can’t really expect for bands like that to stay pocket size, but somehow I expected it to last a little bit longer. I also thought that something else would come along and save me from having to listen to KCRW. Anything that hasn’t already been discovered by the Clear Channel empire is either so outlandish, only KXLU DJs would play it, or it is super insulting, like the idea of “new rave.”

I can’t go on doing this if I’m not ahead of the curve anymore and that is the most terrifying thing about the “indie rock revolution.” In an age where every Facebook profile has “ACDC, the Eagles, punk, some emo, 50 Cent and COLD WAR KIDS… anything but country and anything I can dance to” listed under music, how am I supposed to be able to listen to music anymore? Great things that I used to love were ruined by those that stole indie rock. Frat boys in disguise can go see The Science of Sleep with some girl that they’re into and come out talking about how great the cinematography was and how amazing the new Lily Allen b-sides are, but they’ll never be respected. New Rave won’t mean anything to anyone five years from now, except for the precious few “new rave/bar rock” hybrid bands of college dropouts touring all of the tri-state area. Trends are not means of currency and they definitely won’t get you anywhere.

“Is there a solution?” you might ask. I would suggest that there isn’t a clear-cut one. I suspect that something will happen in the next year or so and indie rock suddenly won’t be cool again. There might or might not be a martyr (I’m looking at you, Conor Oberst), but there will definitely be bloodshed. Things will happen organically and the balance of the universe will be returned, but only after what seems like forever. Those of us who really appreciate music will see some ridiculous things and go through fleeting periods of hating ourselves, but it will be okay. Everything will be okay.