Idaho Music - Message Board

Changing times

RE: How times have changed | from jwMar 06 2014 - 09:03

there's still a lot of good music out there with something real swimming around in its guts. it's just harder to find because there's also more muck to wade through than there ever was before. for all the good it's done for independent artists, the internet has robbed music of some of its excitement and made it so that anyone can get their music out there, which is a real double-edged sword. i miss the days of not being able to audition anything before i bought it, popping a new album in for the first time without any idea of what i was about to hear.

RE: How times have changed | from JamesFeb 11 2014 - 10:32

christian,

I agree with your post entirely. Something's missing. I suppose the autumn of my years has made me negative to up and coming bands that just didn't endure being eastwards of the young and the record industry. And as David Berman sang, "Punk rock died when the first kid said punk's not dead." I just have a sinking feeling now that Bedhead, The American Analog Set, and Red House Painters have sunset their amps, misc, & instruments. Sure, Kozelek keeps it moving. But it's not the same to me as a fan. At least, as you wrote, the sun still shines from Idaho. Which is a testament to Jeff. Mr Martin keep a light on in the darkening days of blandness, please.

RE: How times have changed | from ChristianFeb 06 2014 - 10:36

Sorry, that "2001" should be "2011". My mistake.

Changing times | from ChristianFeb 06 2014 - 10:34

It suddenly dawned on me that it's been about 10 years or so since I've cared about anything "indie". I remember the heady days of the late 1990's/early 2000's, when I was a young guy and indie rock was something special to me. Idaho was always my favorite band and although I don't think they had any true contemporaries, I considered them indie. Now it's 2014 and I'm quietly entering middle age. I still love music just as much as ever, but the idea of "indie" died to me a long time ago... it used to mean something and it doesn't now. Maybe it's just me getting older, but somewhere around 2004 I started hearing certain new "indie" bands and I just couldn't get excited about them. I can't even remember the last time I heard a new band that excited me. I still get nostalgic for those days though, and the anticipation of a new Idaho record was always the highlight of those times. When You Were A Dick was released in 2001, it had been almost 6 years since the previous Idaho album, and although I ordered YWAD directly from IdahoMusic immediately, I secretly wondered if it would have the same impact that Alas or Hearts Of Palm did years ago... and when it did, I was thrilled! It made me feel something I hadn't in a long time. Reading posts on this board from 2005 and back are a little bittersweet... at any rate, indie rock is dead to me. But obviously, since I'm here right now, Idaho isn't and probably won't ever be.