oh great, another debate about the definition of "labels" and why they are a bad thing.
first off, you are right about alternative, then again, that was a label given to those bands by the mainstream.....and it will always exist as an actual definition of the word, as it relates to what is happening in mainstream music.
i'm not going to debate the validity of indie rock as a genre or a mindset or anything else. my closest friend debates this with me enough for me to get my fill......and as i say to him, "i don't disagree with you totally, then again, i don't agree with you either."
what i will (and am interested in) discuss is the labeling of music.
indie rock is not indicative of "independent" music because it has long since abandon that mindset. it's old, worn out, out of date, and holds little value in the "scene" any longer.
the networks for getting things done cheaply and efficiently have all but closed down to the larger population of the underground. and as relatively untrue as that might be, or as deadly accurate.....one thing is unquestionably true. the underground as a whole is no longer interested in doing all the work by themselves. when once we photo copied our cassette inserts, cut them out, dubbed our own cassettes and assembled the whole thing. made our own shirts, stickers, etc.....
that is a fleeting thought at best and has become grossly impractical in todays market place for underground music.
the whole record label thing is a boring debate that holds little relevance any more. in the digital age things are simply different. it's harder to book a tour, it's harder to sell records, etc.....
getting a record deal simply helps a band connect the dots from point A to B and carries little importance to maintaining "indie cred"
we can all hate the strokes all we want, and we can all agree they are the "boy band" of indie rock......fact of the matter is, they are drawing attention to a lot of other bands that would have gone unnoticed all together, and i can't find a reason why that's a bad thing
the lines are being blurred across most all the genres
when you have the beastie boys and outkast making records (for years now) that combine MANY styles and genres of music into a cohesive body of work, you simply can't maintain rigid and sterile definitions of genres.
indie rock is such a large thing, it's taken on a life of it's own. you can't stop it, nor steer.......and good luck trying to get rid of it.
it IS a musical style, it IS lyrical content, it IS a fashion trend, it IS a production style, and it IS alive, just as is hip hop, pop, nu metal, whatever you call nickelback and creed....
labels exist as an over all categorization and definition to aid in communication. people complain all the time about musical labels and such......i'm sure painters bitch about "expressionism", and "postmodernism", "baroque" and all the others. fact of the matter is, everything in life has a label......
we have to communicate, we have to define things in order to clarify our thoughts to other humans. a pen is a utensil used to write with, if i refer to it as a ruler, we will be at an impass and thus have a communication break down.
choosing the focus of this forum had it's positives and negatives, i understood, and still do, them both. and i'm willing to accept them both as discussion points. and frankly, it's one reason i "focused" my forum the way i have.
no one here should flame you, this is a great topic....and i've typed WAY too much.