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1'''Indie Pop''' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: {{Pop}}-centric music made independently. It is characterized by its production; whereas standard pop acts often employ a team of writers (often with the artist in question having little-to-no involvement with the songwriting), indie pop acts write all of their songs by themselves (occasionally guest writers may be involved to help with the creative process, but it largely comes from the heart of the singer). Standard pop acts are often signed to a major label, and take heavy direction from those labels in both their image and sound. Indie Pop acts are often signed to an independent label and have full creative control over their music and image. Although some indie pop acts are signed on to major labels, they're used solely for the distribution of their music.
2
3The foundations for indie pop can be traced back to the early 1980s, when British bands such as Music/OrangeJuice and Music/{{Felt}} sought to break away from the dark, abrasive sounds which defined PostPunk by making music that was softer, more romantic and melodic, whilst retaining that scene's grassroots, do-it-yourself spirit. Other notable artists of this period included Dolly Mixture, whose sound was indebt to 60s' girl groups, and Marine Girls (featuring Tracey Thorn of later Music/EverythingButTheGirl fame), who incorporated elements of folk and bossa nova. Both bands are considered instrumental to the development of the indie pop subgenre known as twee pop, due to their romantic themes and the naive, unpolished and stripped-back nature of their songs.
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5British indie pop bands in the '80s were influenced by '60s music, jangly guitars, melodic PowerPop structures and especially the music of Music/TheSmiths, who are considered the breakout artists of the genre. They often recorded for very small labels such as Sarah Records. The term especially used to describe British acts featured on the NME compilation ''[=C86=]'', which became something of a scene in itself.
6
7Early indie pop acts like Heavenly and The Vaselines were often more influential than successful, but few others, such as Music/TheSundays and The Wedding Present, had minor chart hits in the UK and United States. The success of {{Britpop}} largely kept indie pop underground in the UK for most of the 90s, with only Music/BelleAndSebastian getting any significant press and became one of the biggest cult bands of the decade. Critics loved them and their following was large enough that they not only scored a few Top 40 singles but also - through fan vote - won Best British Breakthrough Act at the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Brit_Awards 1999 Brit Awards]].
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9The American indie pop scene was even more underground than Britain's and was led by bands like Music/BeatHappening, Music/TheMagneticFields, and Music/YoLaTengo. The only place where indie pop became a significant chart success before the turn of the millennium was New Zealand during the mid-to-late 1980s, where bands like The Chills and The Clean scored hit singles out of the homegrown Dunedin Sound scene. Meanwhile, Australia's Music/TheGoBetweens also achieved commercial success and acclaim during this period.
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11The real turning point for the genre in terms of mainstream popularity was the release of Music/ThePostalService's ''Give Up'' in 2003. While not a major seller at start, good word of mouth and the rising popularity of lead singer Ben Gibbard's other band Music/DeathCabForCutie resulted in it becoming something of an indie rock cult classic. The album was certified Platinum in the United States and its single "Such Great Heights" became one of the most popular indie songs of the whole decade. Journeymen indie poppers Music/TheShins also began to acquire a huge following after their single "New Slang" was prominently featured in the movie ''Film/GardenState''.
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13Indie pop continued to march on, especially in the UK in the late 2000s, where bands like Music/TheHoosiers, The Feeling and Scouting for Girls topped the charts. In America, however, indie pop was just a cult genre until TheNewTens, where it ''really'' became popular.
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15As indie pop continued to grow, it also did so in its sound; from that standpoint, it can be hard to describe what indie pop is supposed to sound like, since some indie pop acts don't really sound a whole lot like other indie pop acts. For example, compare Music/{{M83}} to Music/{{Lorde}}. One defining characteristic of the indie pop sound is the aforementioned freedom in the direction of their sound. As such, many indie pop acts may [[GenreBusting incorporate elements of other genres]] (or [[GenreBusting even have a distinct sound that's hard to describe]]), have more [[WordSaladLyrics complex, harder to understand lyrics]], focus on themes besides the usual SillyLoveSongs and party anthems (often will be DarkerAndEdgier compared to standard pop), and some might make more liberal use of [[PrecisionFStrike profanity]], maybe even [[ClusterFBomb plentiful use of it]]. Also, many indie pop artists make use of [[ElectronicMusic electronics]] and [[SynthPop synths]] with varying degrees of prominence, though not all of them do.
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17As mentioned before, indie pop didn't really hit it big until TheNewTens with the 'internet age' allowing for music to be discovered by other means than physical or radio airplay. Before, the biggest indie acts were cult heroes at best. Now, the biggest indie acts have produced chart topping hit singles and albums and are among the biggest acts in the industry alongside the standard pop artists. Indeed, the internet age has truly changed the landscape of the music industry. Of course, if an indie pop artist does successfully crossover to the mainstream, there'll be cries that they're "[[ItsPopularNowItSucks not truly indie]]".
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19Also known as "hipster pop" or "alternative pop". Should not be confused with '''Indipop''' which was an extremely short lived non-Bollywood pop music scene that once existed in India in the late nineties. See also AlternativeRock, which is influential on the sound, and SynthPop, which often turns up in indie pop acts. It also went hand-in-hand with JanglePop. In general, indie pop artists don't use instruments like guitars, bass, and drums...except when they do.
20
21----
22!!Indie Pop artists include:
23[[index]]
24* Music/{{The 1975}}
25* Music/{{AJR}}
26* Music/AllieX
27* Music/{{Alvvays}} (also influenced by shoegazing)
28* Music/{{Alphabeat}}
29* Music/AmericanAuthors (also indie rock)
30* Music/TheApplesInStereo
31* Music/ArcadeFire
32* Music/ArchitectureInHelsinki
33* Music/{{AURORA|Singer}}
34* Music/{{Banks}}
35* Music/{{Bastille}} (also indie rock)
36* Music/BatForLashes
37** 2006 - ''Music/FurAndGold''
38* Music/TheBats
39* Music/BeatHappening (also twee pop, punk and lo-fi)
40* Music/BelleAndSebastian
41* Music/BestCoast
42* [[Creator/AndyBiersack Andy Black]]
43* Music/BitterRuin
44* Music/BlackKids
45* Music/{{blackbear}}
46* Music/LolaBlanc
47* Music/{{Blanks}}
48* Music/{{Bleachers}}
49* Music/{{Blossoms}}
50* Music/TheBluetones (also indie rock and BritPop)
51* Music/BoEn
52* Music/BombayBicycleClub (also indie rock)
53* Music/BonIver
54* Music/{{BORNS}} (also indie rock)
55* Music/BoyceAvenue
56* Music/TheBrobecks
57* Music/{{Broods}}
58* Music/JakeBugg
59* Music/CameraObscura
60* Music/CapitalCities
61* Music/TheCardigans
62* Music/CatfishAndTheBottlemen
63* Music/{{Cavetown}}
64* Music/{{Chairlift}}
65* Music/CharliXCX
66* Music/ChristineAndTheQueens
67* Music/{{Chromatics}} (''Night Drive'' onward)
68* Music/{{CHVRCHES}}
69** 2013 - ''Music/TheBonesOfWhatYouBelieve''
70* Music/CiboMatto mix this with TripHop.
71* Music/TheClean
72* Music/CocoRosie
73* Music/LloydCole
74* Music/TheCranberries
75* Music/DeathCabForCutie (''Plans'' onward)
76** Music/ThePostalService
77* Music/TheDecemberists
78* Music/MacDeMarco
79* Music/MarinaDiamandis
80** 2012 - ''Music/ElectraHeart''
81* Music/DollyMixture (TropeMaker of twee pop)
82* Music/DorianElectra (part of the growing {{Hyperpop}} scene)
83* Music/{{Echosmith}}
84* Music/{{Eels}}
85* Music/EllieGoulding
86** 2012 - ''Music/{{Halcyon}}''
87* Music/{{Enyn}}
88* Music/EverythingButTheGirl (their early work blended this with SophistiPop, before venturing into AlternativeDance in TheNineties)
89* Music/{{Feist}}
90* Music/{{Felt}}
91* Music/SkyFerreira
92* Music/FirstAidKit (with folk-rock)
93* Music/FitzAndTheTantrums
94* Music/FleetFoxes
95* Music/TheFling
96* Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine
97* Music/FosterThePeople (also indie rock and indietronica)
98** "Music/{{Best Friend|2014}}"
99* Music/FrouFrou
100* Music/{{Fun}} (scored one of the first indie pop hits ever with "We Are Young")
101** 2012 - Music/SomeNights
102* Music/GirlInRed
103* Music/{{Glaive}}
104* Music/GlassAnimals
105* Music/GoodKid
106* Music/{{Gotye}} (had possibly the biggest indie pop hit ever with "Somebody That I Used to Know" before [[OneHitWonder fading into obscurity]])
107* Music/{{Grandaddy}}
108* Music/AGreatBigWorld
109* Music/{{Grouplove}}
110* Music/GuidedByVoices
111* Music/{{Haim}}
112* Music/HalfAlive
113* Music/TheHappyFits
114* Music/{{Hefner}}
115* Music/HelloSaferide
116* Music/HeyOcean (also indie rock)
117* Music/TheHoosiers
118* Music/HotChip (crossed with SynthPop and AlternativeDance)
119* Music/{{Hozier}}
120* Music/DevHynes
121* Music/IDontKnowHowButTheyFoundMe
122* Music/ImagineDragons
123* Music/IngridMichaelson
124* Music/JapaneseBreakfast
125** 2016 - ''Music/{{Psychopomp}}''
126** 2017 - ''Music/SoftSoundsFromAnotherPlanet''
127** 2021 - ''Music/{{Jubilee|2021}}''
128* Music/DanielJohnston (also an example of OutsiderMusic)
129* Music/VanceJoy
130* Music/{{Joywave}}
131* Music/JudahAndTheLion (with Folk-Rock)
132* Music/KFlay
133* Music/NoahKahan
134* Music/{{Kelis}} (''Food'' onward)
135* Music/{{Kenickie}}
136* Music/{{Kimbra}}
137* Music/MaryLambert
138* Music/LanaDelRey
139** 2012 - ''Music/BornToDie''
140** 2019 - ''Music/NormanFuckingRockwell''
141* Låpsley
142* Creator/LiaMarieJohnson
143* Music/TheLightningSeeds
144* Music/{{Lights}} (with a [[GenreBusting slew of other genres]])
145* [[Music/LittleXsForEyes little xs for eyes]]
146* Music/{{Lorde}} (the arguable face of this genre at the moment)
147** 2013 - ''Music/TheLoveClub''
148** 2013 - ''Music/PureHeroine''
149* Music/LosCampesinos
150* Music/LowerDens
151* Music/{{Lush}} (mostly during the ''Lovelife'' era)
152* Music/NickLutsko
153* Music/LykkeLi
154* Music/{{M83}} (with PostRock and {{Shoegazing}})
155** 2011 - Music/HurryUpWereDreaming
156* Music/TheMagneticFields
157** 1999 - ''Music/SixtyNineLoveSongs''
158* Music/{{Malukah}}
159* Music/JohnnyMarr
160* Music/MarsArgo
161* Music/MegAndDia
162* Music/MelanieC (2005 onwards)
163* Music/MelanieMartinez
164** 2015 - ''Music/{{Cry Baby|Album}}''
165** 2019 - ''Film/{{K12}}''
166* Music/JeremyMessersmith
167* Music/{{Metric}}
168* Music/{{Mew}}
169* Music/MiikeSnow
170** 2016 - "Music/{{Genghis Khan|2016}}"
171* Music/TomMilsom
172* Music/MisterWives
173* Music/{{MO}}
174* Music/{{Momus}}
175* Music/{{Monetochka}}
176* Music/MorningParade
177* [[Creator/PennBadgley MOTHXR]]
178* Music/MotherFeather (indie rock)
179* Music/MotherMother (indie rock)
180* Music/MyLifeStory
181* Music/MysteryJets
182* Music/NadaSurf
183* Music/TheNeighbourhood
184* Music/NeonTrees (also indie rock)
185* Music/JuliaNunes
186* Music/SineadOConnor (with folk-rock)
187* Music/OfMonstersAndMen (with folk-rock)
188* Music/OKGo
189** 2006 - "Music/HereItGoesAgain"
190* Music/OkkervilRiver
191* Music/OrangeJuice (considered the TropeMaker)
192* Music/PaleSaints
193* Music/PaleWaves
194* Music/NerinaPallot
195* Music/ParadeOfLights
196* Music/{{Passenger}} (with folk-rock)
197* Music/PassionPit
198* Music/{{Peace}}
199* Music/PearlCharles
200* Music/PerfumeGenius
201* Music/PeterBjornAndJohn
202* Music/{{Phantogram}}
203* Music/{{Phoenix}}
204* ''Music/PiJaMa''
205* Music/PinkPantheress (with BedroomPop, DrumAndBass and {{Hyperpop}})
206* Music/ThePipettes
207* Music/CarolinePolachek
208* Music/{{Pomplamoose}}
209* Music/{{PrettyAndNice}}
210* Music/PrimalScream
211* Music/{{Psapp}}
212* Music/{{Pulp}}
213* Music/RaRaRiot (save for ''Beta Love'')
214* Music/TheRaveonettes
215* Music/TheReadySet
216* Music/RemoDrive (second album and onward)
217* Music/TheRevolutionaryHydra
218* Music/RiloKiley
219* Music/JeffRosenstock
220* Music/RynWeaver
221* Music/SaintEtienne
222* Music/{{Sanah}}
223* Music/{{Santigold}}
224* Music/XimenaSarinana
225* Music/CosmoSheldrake
226* Music/TheShins
227* Music/SleepingAtLast
228* Music/{{Sia}}
229* Music/{{Sloan}}
230* Music/ElliottSmith
231* Music/TheSmiths (a UrExample for the genre, and one of the most influential towards its formation)
232** Music/{{Morrissey}}
233* Music/SoccerMommy
234** 2016 - ''Music/ForYoungHearts''
235** 2017 - ''{{Music/Collection}}''
236* Music/{{Sodagreen}}
237* Music/{{Sparklehorse}}
238* Music/ReginaSpektor
239** 2004 - ''Music/SovietKitsch''
240* Music/{{Spoon}}
241* Music/{{Stars|Canadian Band}}
242* Music/{{Starflyer 59}}
243* Music/JackStauber
244* Music/{{Stereolab}}
245* Music/SubRadio
246* Music/SufjanStevens
247** 2005 - ''Music/{{Illinois}}''
248** 2010 - ''Music/TheAgeOfAdz''
249** 2015 - ''Music/CarrieAndLowell''
250* Music/StuckInTheSound (also indie rock)
251* Creator/AlisonSudol (formerly A Fine Frenzy)
252* Music/TheSundays
253* Music/TallyHall
254** Music/MiracleMusical
255* Music/TheTeaParty
256* Music/TeganAndSara
257* Music/{{Tennis}} (also surf pop and dream pop)
258* Music/ToroYMoi (also indietronica)
259* Music/TonesAndI
260* Music/ToveLo (also synthpop and dance-pop)
261* Music/TrashcanSinatras
262* Music/{{Travis}}
263* Music/TuneYards
264* Music/TwentyOnePilots (has a sound that's [[GenreBusting hard to describe]])
265** 2015 - ''Music/{{Blurryface}}''
266** 2018 - ''Music/{{Trench}}''
267* Music/TwoDoorCinemaClub (also indie rock)
268* Music/{{U2}} (another UrExample for the genre)
269* Music/MaiaVidal
270* Music/TessaViolet
271* Music/RufusWainwright
272* Music/VampireWeekend
273* Music/VeronicaFalls
274* Music/SharonVanEtten
275* Music/WalkOffTheEarth
276* Music/TheWarOnDrugs (with folk-rock)
277* Music/JessieWare
278* Music/{{Wavves}}
279* Music/{{Warpaint}}
280* Music/TheWeepies
281* Music/WeyesBlood
282* Music/TheWhitestBoyAlive
283* Music/TheXX (with DreamPop)
284* Music/YoLaTengo (another massive influence on the genre)
285* Music/YoungTheGiant
286* Music/DariaZawialow
287[[/index]]
288
289!!Indie Pop provides the following tropes:
290
291* ArtifactTitle: The term "indie" means that their music is made on an independent label. However many artists eventually signed on to major labels, or in some cases were signed on to a major label from the beginning. In those cases, it's often used to describe the aesthetic.
292** Also the "pop" part of it fits too. The term "pop" means music designed for the mainstream, while many indie pop artists aren't in the mainstream, although this has changed some in recent years. Like the above, the "pop" is used to describe the style of the music than how mainstream it is.
293* DarkerAndEdgier: Often compared to label-directed pop artists, due to being able to explore darker themes that the labels would avoid. Of course, there's plenty of upbeat indie pop songs as well.
294* DoingItForTheArt: Many artists make indie pop because they want to make pop-style music with full creative control of their material, and generally aim for the people into the indie scene, not the masses. This was even more true before TheNewTens, where there was practically ''no prospect'' of being commercially successful.
295* {{Hipster}}: What people refer to as the general audience, hence why its often called "hipster pop".
296* PrecisionFStrike: Swearing shows up more in indie pop than label-produced pop, due to the artistic freedom the musician has. Though indie pop artists that never swear in their songs, although rare, do exist. Other artists like Music/CharliXCX aren't even [[ClusterFBomb precise about it]].
297** Subverted by Music/EllieGoulding who only started dropping swears in her songs once she had made a GenreShift from indie pop to a far more mainstream sound.
298* SelfBackingVocalist: Very common.
299* TropeCodifier: Bands like the Smiths and Yo La Tengo laid the seeds for the genre, but the Postal Service's ''Give Up'' was the album that started the genre's flood onto blogs and later the radio. As far as indie pop artists today, this distinction probably goes to Music/{{Lorde}}.
300----
301Here's some nice indie pop songs to get you through the day.
302* A Great Big World -- [[https://youtu.be/-2U0Ivkn2Ds Say Something feat. Christina Aguilera]]
303* Banks -- [[https://youtu.be/Twix375Me4Q Beggin For Thread]]
304+ BØRNS -- [[https://youtu.be/Cux2qJjApGA Past Lives]]
305* Bastille -- [[https://youtu.be/F90Cw4l-8NY Pompeii]]
306* The Bats -- [[https://youtu.be/1FbbXJpzkuE Treason]]
307* Bleachers -- [[https://youtu.be/o5osPtE7kXI I Wanna Get Better]]
308* Capital Cities -- [[https://youtu.be/47dtFZ8CFo8 Safe and Sound]]
309* Charli XCX -- [[https://youtu.be/AOPMlIIg_38 Boom Clap]]
310* Death Cab for Cutie -- [[https://youtu.be/qkk5wViJo-I You Are a Tourist]]
311* Ellie Goulding -- [[https://youtu.be/0NKUpo_xKyQ Lights]]
312* Feist -- [[https://youtu.be/ABYnqp-bxvg 1234]]
313* Florence + the Machine -- [[https://youtu.be/WbN0nX61rIs Shake It Out]]
314* Foster the People -- [[https://youtu.be/jlAgHt92lqE Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)]]
315* fun. -- [[https://youtu.be/qQkBeOisNM0 Some Nights]]
316* Gotye -- [[https://youtu.be/8UVNT4wvIGY Somebody That I Used to Know]]
317* Ingrid Michaelson -- [[https://youtu.be/jJOzdLwvTHA The Way I Am]]
318* Joywave -- [[https://youtu.be/AqmwKi6KOSw Tongues]]
319* Lana Del Rey -- [[https://youtu.be/Bag1gUxuU0g Born to Die]]
320* Lorde -- [[https://youtu.be/nlcIKh6sBtc Royals]]
321* Lykke Li -- [[https://youtu.be/-TTPGAy5H_E Get Some]]
322* M83 -- [[https://youtu.be/dX3k_QDnzHE Midnight City]]
323* The Magnetic Fields -- [[https://youtu.be/OKXkVUM4xu8 100,000 Fireflies]]
324* Metric -- [[https://youtu.be/FRtd8ArvH_s Gold Guns Girls]]
325* Miike Snow -- [[https://youtu.be/P_SlAzsXa7E Genghis Khan]]
326* Of Monsters and Men -- [[https://youtu.be/ghb6eDopW8I Little Talks]]
327* Passion Pit -- [[https://youtu.be/dZX6Q-Bj_xg Take a Walk]]
328* Tove Lo -- [[https://youtu.be/oh2LWWORoiM Habits (Stay High)]]
329* Trashcan Sinatras -- [[https://youtu.be/BfsSSa-3ROw Obscurity Knocks]]
330* Two Door Cinema Club -- [[https://youtu.be/Wxu02vp_Vm0 Something Good Can Work]]
331* The xx -- [[https://youtu.be/PElhV8z7I60 Islands]]
332

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