headunderwater:

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Today’s guest post is brought to us by a young blogger by the name of Eloise of15on15. When Eloise offered to do a guest post I had no idea what I would get is such a well written essay by such a young writer. It’s great to see a young blogger whether love-sick or not isn’t busy posting pictures of a couples cuddling which in their warped sense of what is perfect they see as the perfect situation. Be sure to check out, Eliose’s blog 15on15 they sometimes have these awesome live sessions with artists such as The Happy Hollows, Voxhaul Broadcast and Jukebox the Ghost.

A strange thing has been taking place over the past few years—a valuable one, but unexpected in retrospect. Once “indie” simply meant independent, and by many standards it meant “weird.” And then one day it became commonplace, far from both the previous definitions. This is when the loose umbrella of “indie” became a cultural phenomenon of sorts. Recently there has been an enormous inclination from those of my generation (I’m 15, hence the name 15on15) towards all things “indie.” This is true in the music sense, but debatably more so in a cultural sense. While this may merely be a passing trend (of subjects for the Look at That Fucking Hipster website, prescription-less grandma glasses and all the merrier) this wave could potentially and more likely have an immense impact on the manner in which music is discovered and devoured, with the capability of reconstructing the culture entirely. Mainly, this profound evolution may rewire the connection between listener and artist. It’s undoubtedly happening already!

The sudden explosion of all things “indie” is very much the result of both “indie” music fans and “indie” artists’ command of and reliance on the Internet. Initially, as this cultural uprising began, fans of “indie” music were quite isolated and insular, probably due to the suddenness of this whirlwind. But now I think of most true “indie” music fans as immensely open-minded and yearning for connection. It is this sheer appreciation and acceptance of artists that drive the constant craving of discovery. The bloggers that discover and champion unconventional and avant-garde artists will gain far more respect from their peers than one blogging about Justin Beiber’s new sweeping hair-do (and thank the lord for that or else Jimmy, the rest of us, and I would be down the gutter). While acceptance is growing, listener’s and artists alike have the rare opportunity to remake the music industry by nurturing these outlets of discovery through the rapid changes in technology. Dominance and control, in regards to accessibility, is no longer an issue; the issue is now the way in which the industry will evolve, led by the audience. The manner in which we (we being the younger generation) discover the music we love, whether through blogs or any other source, will dictate the future of “indie” music. And how we devour music, whether via bandcamp or vimeo, will also determine this trajectory. The new media and technology is reconstructing the relationship between artists and audiences. Artists have found ways to interact with their fans in a profound and previously unheard of innovative manner. For example, Local Natives posted the stems of a few of their songs on their website for fans and other musicians alike to remix. This gave their audience the opportunity to take the music of their favorite band and make their own art out of it, allowing them to feel as if they were contributing to the band’s artistry. In doing this, audiences and artists cultivate a new kind of coexistence, even a collaboration of sorts. Hell, I just emailed with one of my favorite artists, talked on the phone with another one, and later tonight I’m seeing a play starring a third one! But before I go on a rant about how, “It is a changing world my friend” (I just heard that line while flipping through channels and landing on a black and white sitcom), my point is that this radical transformation allows artists and audiences to form an interwoven introspective relationship, in which collaborative creativity will enhance the experience for the listener and enrich the output of the artist.

Like all trends and cultural transformations some of us will genuinely contribute to this new paradigm, and some will meekly follow. For example there are those who bring the Coachella line-up to school along with a prominently displayed highlighter, only to announce in triumph that they will be attending the festival, and when asked who they want to see they then reply with Jay-Z (which has been reoccurrence at my school, and don’t get me wrong, I love me some Jay-Z, but what will probably add up to a thousand dollars including tickets, hotel, food, etc to see him and feel as if you are somehow ‘trendy’, come on). But that’s besides the point and only a declaration of my annoyance. My idealistic hope for the future of music is that this new world will allow artists to create art with the sole purpose of doing just that, without the constant drive to ‘make it big’. Their more modest, pure goal will be to maintain a devoted, engaged following in an interactive, participatory manner, whether that be through the blogosphere or future technologies. This cultural evolution and revitalization of music appreciation and admiration from a generation that has not been this prominent in the scene until this day, will undoubtedly be the progressive push for the industry and artist-audience relationship and further musical innovation to both cultural and sonic boundaries that have been previously untouched. I cannot describe how excited I am to see what happens!