We all know that the radio is shit, the top forty is a laughing joke, and pretentious indie blogs promote crap for the sake of “obscurity.”
So here’s my choice for the best indie music videos and indie rock artists of the year unfiltered by corporate control and snarky music critics:
Best Artists of 2011:
This is a great song. I love the juxtaposition of Russian ballerina girls with this very grungy, psychedelic sound. For some reason it reminds me of toddler beauty queens because pageants masquerade as pure innocence when they’re actually disturbing and dark.
If Jefferson Airplane and Joy Division had a baby then it would probably be this band. This is what the Killers wished they sounded like. While this video is a few years old, it captures the spirit of youth movements that have sprouted up all over the world this year.
I saw Tamaryn at Noise Pop in San Francisco. She looks like a sexy, gothic wench. Her producer kinda looks like Robert Smith, and he uses a bunch of expensive, vintage instruments which creates that kind of post-punk and shoegazy sound.
Tame Impala- Solitude is Bliss
Although this Australian band may look like they’re 12 years old, their tunes kinda hint to Pink Floyd. I also like how all of their music videos are intelligent, which is a breath of fresh air when most music video directors choose style over substance. This video has both- It’s entertaining while being a metaphor for loss and suffering.
This amazing video critiques modern society’s consumerist attitude and skewed view about sexuality and love. This band was nominated for a best alternative rock Grammy a few years back but lost out to COLDPLAY WTF! This just proves that the Grammys are total bullshit.
Brian Jonestown Massacre- Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse
This whole band is crazy. The lead singer, Anton Newcombe, is a heroin junkie who messed up a record deal for his very promising band. The tambourine player ended up working at Amoeba music after the band broke up, while the singer went on a downward spiral. Then a documentary about this band became a bit hit at Sundance and they reunited.
I hate to say it, but there really isn’t that much good indie rock that comes out of Spain. Maika Makovski, from Barcelona, is a rare exception (along with Mujeres). She has a unique sound that is soulful, sexy and mysterious.
It’s hard to believe that this band has been around since the early ’80s. Unfortunately, they separated in October of 2011 when Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon got a divorce. I love Sonic Youth, and their noisey, experimental sound influenced so many great bands.
Best Music Videos of 2011
Film noir visuals combined with a sort of Jesus and Mary Chain type sound is the reason why The Vandelles were selected to play at Austin’s very cool SXSW festival. Anyone want to buy me a festival ticket for next year?
I can hear influences of Joy Division & other 1980s postpunk bands. It’s dark but not an imitation of eighties goth bands. It’s something new & refreshing.
Amazing visuals of space accompanies the haunting melody of this beautiful song. This is a good example of how CGI can add depth to a story instead of take away from the narrative unlike most Hollywood films.
The Dolly Rocker Movement- Memory Layne
This is my idea of a romantic fairytale. Is there something wrong with me?
Dirty Beaches is a Taiwanese American who makes music as a homage to 1950s rock and roll. Think Elvis. He looks the part with his slicked back greaser hair. He makes music in the same way that directors make films by treating each song like a story, so it’s no surprise that he was influenced by directors like Kurosawa and Wong Kar-wai.
Just a really cool, artsy, funky video
I picked this video cause sometimes you just wanna fuck your life and drive in the California desert. I got lost once in the Mohave Desert, and I’ve always thought it was the ideal place for UFO sightings or other strange phenomena. Why can’t this shit happen to me on the road? Instead, I end up at freeway Mcdonalds with tour groups buses.
Joy Division masterfully transformed the loud and angry sounds of seventies punk rock into seductively, graceful despair. Though this is a live recorded version of their 1979 song, the video was created in 2011. It’s an interesting pairing because the song is dark and morose, while the video is….cute.
Best Relic - Though the video was edited in 2011, the song wasn’t. Can you believe this song was made in ‘74!? That was BEFORE punk. Yet is sounds so contemporary and ahead of its time. Yes, Brian Eno, you are a genius. (Also- get over your fear of tits, Americans. ‘Cause you’re gonna see plenty in this video].
When I was fourteen, I really wanted to be Wiccan even though I didn’t believe in religion anyways. This video is making me want to convert to Wiccanism all over again and eat granola bars in the forest. Just kidding. Though I don’t have a desire to be Wiccan, I do think these chicks have a more witchy, bewitching sound than Warpaint.
I really like The Laurels’ sound. It’s shoegaze with a splice of psychedelic. You can hear a bit of a My Bloody Valentine influence in their songs. And, like a lot of good bands at the moment, they are from the land down under, which makes me wonder what Australia is doing to produce all this good music?
Managing Editor
