Encyclopedia of Indie Rock [Hardcover]

Kerry L. Smith (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2008

Independent rock, known as indie rock (rock independent of the major label corporations), is music dedicated to the art of rock: it's adventurous, eclectic, defiant, inventive, and restlessly creative. For over 40 years, indie bands have prided themselves on the back-breaking efforts of self-promotion, self-produced albums, homemade album cover art, and even, for the stalwart artist, self-run record labels. Encyclopedia of Indie Rock chronicles the history and development indie rock, providing students, scholars, and music fans with an extensive overview of the musical and cultural phenomenon.

Inside this engaging volume readers will find over 150 entries on the singers and songwriters, producers, labels, and icons who have shaped the genre from the humble beginnings of lo-fi homemade records in the 1960s through the history of seasoned veterans who mastered the fine art of staying afloat despite every obstacle that the cutthroat industry threw at them.

This work also includes a timeline; a resource guide, which includes recommended books and articles, Web sites, and festivals; and indices in both the front and back of the book to make navigation very user-friendly. Necessary and entertaining reading for any indie rock fan who has ever adorned their locker, backpack, or car with a band's logo, Smith captures the history and evolution of the movement in this thorough, illuminating encyclopedia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this encyclopedia, music journalists Kerry Smith surveys the history of this movement from the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads and Black Flag to Arcade Fire, Cat Power and the Decemberists. Most of the 189 entries feature bands and individual artists who have jealously guarded creative control of their own music and consequently led the independent rock movement. Other articles highlight music festivals and publications that have brought attention to the work of independent artists. . . . This entertaining guide will find avid readers of obscure musical tastes in high school, public, and academic libraries."

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Lawrence Looks at Books

"The only field-defining encyclopedia to date, this guide defines indie rock practioners not as a group of unsigned musical artists but as tenacious do-it-yourselfers whose defiant resourcefulness sparked other independent creative movements. . . . Alphabetized entries run several pages and include band photographs whenever possible. Included are indie rock's subgenres, like shoegazing and sadcore. A time line designates 1952 as indie rock's spiritual inception. . . . Recommended for all musical history collections."

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Library Journal

"Smith (freelance music journalist) covers 152 independent rockers and related topics. The entries and 1952-2007 time line both give priority to the period 1980 to present. . . . Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers."

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Choice

". . . the Encyclopedia of Indie Rock is a fun read. . . . a K-12 or a public library would be the most appropriate place for this work."

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ARBA

Book Description

Independent rock, known as indie rock (rock independent of the major label corporations), is music dedicated to the art of rock: it's adventurous, eclectic, defiant, inventive, and restlessly creative. Encyclopedia of Indie Rock chronicles the history and development indie rock, providing students, scholars, and music fans with an extensive overview of the musical and cultural phenomenon.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood (June 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313341192
• ISBN-13: 978-0313341199
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,292,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars indie, February 1, 2009

By 

Michael J. Randall "Books for pleasure" (Los Angeles, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Indie Rock (Hardcover)

This travesty is an insult to anyone who likes music. I don't see how a text could purport to be a reference volume on Indie Rock and have no Flaming Lips, Stone Roses, Slint, or Joy Division, but has James Blunt. Yes, you read that right, James Blunt! The author asserts in her description of the band Snow Patrol that they are "Rivaling English rockers Radiohead for the top slot among the best indie acts of all time." Honestly, that should be enough for any red-blooded fan of indie to have fits. The things included in this (marginal side project Out Hud, The Bravery, and some band called Del Rey that doesn't even have 2000 MySpace fans) suggests that the author has no idea about Indie Rock and her research consisted of looking at her iPod and googling whatever she found on it with no concern for accuracy. Almost every item has errors. Ian MacKaye did not form Dischord in 1970, Ben Lurie did not play the Jesus and Mary Chain reunion at Coachella and J Mascis did not leave Dinosaur Jr. in 1988. Not only that, the writing is appalling, a series clichés strung together in a nonsensical fashion. One band's music is described as "mixed soulful, artsy rock with bouncy punk into catchy and jangly pop/rock tunes, which seemingly took influences from the likes of Welsh alt rockers Super Furry Animals, 1960s melodic rock act the Zombies, British punks the Buzzcocks, and influential London rock and rollers the Kinks." You figure it out. Really, does anyone really care that a band were once invited to host an episode of MTV2's Subterranean or that another one once did an uneventful appearance on a late night talk show? Should the timeline of significant events in Indie Rock history include that Jack White once got in a fight with a member of the Von Bondies or that Blender complemented Art Brut by calling them the best unsigned band in the world? Could you at least use spell check? There is no such word as neaveau. Seriously, we deserve better. The foreword is written by one of the guys in Ambulance Ltd and is one paragraph long. Doesn't that really say it all?

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Wikipedia is written better than this badly researched book, June 18, 2009

By 

T. S. Thompson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Indie Rock (Hardcover)

I've only a few entries so far (on bands I'm quite familiar with), and can't believe the amount of lazy writing and factual errors I found. There's not really a chronology in the writing style. When he wrote that Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine joined Dinosaur Jr. and Primal Scream, you're not sure of when that happened. Also, a lot of specious facts in the Pavement and Green River entries. Do not buy this. Instead, look for the Trouser Press Guides by Ira Robbins (available for $1-$2 used). Better facts and better opinions from someone who actually lived through it and can string paragraphs together.