American Indie Underground

by Florence Sunnen

“To begin with, the key principle of American indie rock wasn’t a circumscribed musical style; it was the punk ethos of DIY, or do-it-yourself. The equation was simple: If punk was rebellious and DIY was rebellious, then doing it yourself was punk. “Punk was about more than just starting a band,” former Minutemen bassist Mike Watt once said, “it was about starting a label, it was about touring, it was about taking control. It was like songwriting; you just do it. You want a record, you pay the pressing plant. That’s what it was all about.”
The breakthrough realization that you didn’t have to be a blow-dried guitar god to be a valid rock musician ran deep; it was liberating on many levels, especially from what many perceived as the selfishness, greed, and arrogance of Reagan’s America. The indie underground made a modest way of life not just attractive but a downright moral imperative.”

 

Michael Azerrad – Our Band could be Your Life