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Raves/Rants about the goings-on on a little blue inconsequential planet in a small and relatively uninspiring solar system which is on the far end of a small and wholly unspectacular galaxy in the large universe.

Classical Indie Scene

Category: , By El Subliminal
Zakir Hussain + this article (who would have thought Denton of all places will evolve into Cools-ville USA? Tracer Bullit is from Denton! Enuff said.. ) gives me some food for thought.

Why aren't classical musicians sufficiently indie? Should they be? What does it mean anyway?

As far as Indian classical musicians are concerned, most famous musicians today come from rich and storied musical families where playing music was and continues to be the main source of income. The child starts learning music at a young age and is expected to be a musician when he/she grows up. The same can be said about western classical musicians.

And what does it mean to be indie in the first place? Lot of people
mistake it for being some sort of art-for-art's-sake deal. Nothing can be further from the truth. It means not attaching oneself with a corporate biggie, but rather maintaining
one's integrity and artistic control and still making money.
But there is a definite aspect of putting more onus on self-expression rather than on raking in moolah.

In this context, I'm not sure if one can have any classical indie artists.
Something else to brood about..


 

6 comments so far.

  1. Seetal May 15, 2008 at 7:56 AM
    I respect Indie artists because not only do you have to have the musical talent but also the business knowledge to be able to promote yourself, negotiate, advertise, market, etc.

    What can be outrageous about recording companies is that more often than not, mediocrity gets appreciated just because they feel a certain individual is marketable and does not necessarily have the musical talent.
  2. Satchal May 16, 2008 at 7:21 AM
    Of course...the bottom line for recording companies is profit, as it is for any corporate entity. Artistic integrity or talent really has little to do with it. The same could be said of really any commodity or product here: mediocrity sells as long as you can coat it with the glossy veneer of marketing. That's why we have fast food and American Idol.
  3. Satchal May 16, 2008 at 7:30 AM
    By the way, the fact that this Indie scene has evolved in Denton is certainly a stunner, to me anyway (last time I lived there, it remained a bastion of gun-toting hicks). And although the article claims all of the cool joints are reportedly populated with the Bingo-crowd, count me impressed.
  4. Gulti_As_Charged May 16, 2008 at 7:59 AM
    I think "Indie" is just another label to market a band. It kind of lends a street cred and some mystique to the band.

    But more generally, are towns in the south getting more liberal?

    Fayetteville was definitely a liberal town.
  5. Satchal May 16, 2008 at 10:10 AM
    I think college towns in the south tend to be liberal, and Denton is essentially a college town, and that too a college with a heavy liberal arts and fine arts emphasis. Of course I really can't speak for places like Alabama and Missouri, but who'd want to live there, anyway?
  6. Satchal May 16, 2008 at 10:10 AM
    Er, sorry, Mississippi.

Something to say?

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