Too Many Man...On the Indie Scene

It’s 2006 and a band, with a sourly underwhelming name is set to release a debut album that will reinvigorate the British indie scene since the demise of Brit-Pop. Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not by Arctic Monkeys has all the makings of an epic album: searing guitars, riotous drums, poignant lyrics and a brazen, honest northern voice putting British bands who try, and fail, to emulate the American accent to shame. They represent everything that could be great about British music. It is only fitting that their album is set to succeed in abundance in Britain yet underwhelm American audiences who prefer Cowell’s new minion Leona Lewis and all other schmoozy X-Factor and Britain’s-Got-Talent-And-Overweight-Mad-People types (not that I’m trying to conflate Susan Boyle with all slightly fat and emotionally imbalanced British people)

But a problem occurs when great bands who single-handedly, well…together with the media, create a scene: carbon copies appear. And like burning a copy of a CD for your mate or attempting your nana’s ‘famous’ Yorkshire pudding recipe, it’s never the same as the original. It lacks the charm, uniqueness and all that makes the original special. But any boy or girl who has yearned to hear their song on the radio or play sell out gigs is willing to imprint a group who has already reached this level hoping that someday people will see in them what they saw in the original…and unfortunately this happens. The British audience is all too willing to accept sound-alike’s as ‘the real deal’. This creates an opportunity for sweaty teenage wannabe rock stars and major record labels.

So, when a scene like noughties British Indie appeared, northern boys stopped being northern boys and began emulating Alex Turner’s uniquely awkward yet endearing charm and started seeing things that they had never seen before like ‘people changing when the sun went down’ and that despite what they had been told they were not from New York but from Rotherham, a point that needed repetition and annunciation in case anyone thought otherwise. Behold the ascendency of The Northern Band: The Pigeon Detectives, Milburn, Little Man Tate…need I say more? It may be harsh to point out that the title of the latter’s second album (yes, they managed a second) ‘Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy’ perhaps should have been addressed more closely. I suggest something worth having is authentic and not a rip-off from a counter-part. Surprisingly, Little Man Tate and Milburn met their, almost predictable demise, whilst the former found platinum (?!) success and live to survive another album or two, neither being as successful as the first.

Such is the nature of the British mainstream music industry that indie leeches have a sell-by date. PEOPLE GET BORED and this is why scenes never survive but the great, like Arctic Monkeys live to tell the tale. 2009 saw Brit-rock slipping out the charts replaced by the grime-pop types like Chipmunk and Tinchy Stryder. Not the best trade off in my humblest opinion but all these little bands who dreamed of success at the height of Oasis in their hay, ceased to exist. There are just too many bands trying to be something they are not. Despite the thousands of records a copy-cat indie band may sell today, authenticity prevails in the long run. Who remembers ‘Kula Shaker’ or ‘Menswear’ from the Brit-Pop fad; who remembers ‘Paw’ from Grunge days? This proves just because little girls are poring over your scruffy hair and Topman get up now, doesn’t mean they’ll care about you when they're 20 and a new scene appears.