The Indie Revival
Somewhere on an old Motorola that has since been recycled, there is a very low quality picture of me and my late-teens boyfriend sitting in a Starbucks inside Borders in the same pair of Topshop super-spray-on skinny jeans, which we paired with thin scarves and pointless cardigans. (link)
It was 2007 and I walked down Murray Street in Perth. We had been to Amplifier, a night club banging out the latest indie music circling the still standing original mp3 blogs. The first time I entered the dance floor was when Wolf Like Me came on. After that I stayed and kept on coming back. That night, walking down Murray Street in Perth towards William Street’s late night eateries, I was wearing shiny black super-spray-on skinny jeans, a checkered think scarf and purple cardigan.
Someone heckled me. I did a lazy peace sign… backwards… unknowingly declaring war with an up yours sign. Next second I’m pushed over while my friends intervene and cool off the situation.
Lots has changed since back then. Rarely are indie kids, emos and nerds heckled. These days they’re praised. They are the center of the cultural elite. Their canon is the mainstream — Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Future Islands, Arcade Fire and much more. So the question is, are we really seeing a revival? Maybe it’s the cementation of indie as the mainstream.
