Indie culture is crashing into the mainstream - there can be no doubt about that. Not only through album and single sales but also through fashion – every teenage boy and girl own a pair of skinny jeans now (I remember when wearing skinny jeans was cool but in a rather different way – Hello Axl Rose).
Popular comedians like Russell Brand and Noel Fielding are Indie scenesters and Russell just hosted the Brits for God's sake! Couple that with Kate Moss, probably the biggest icon of our generation being engaged to the most Indie man in
Now I apologise if I am equating 'Indie' or 'hip' with being good but I think people are realising again (Britpop, Punk, Mod, Rock and Roll) that manufactured pop is just quite rubbish. Of course these things seem to go in cycles so maybe in a couple of years the charts will again be flooded with rubbish S Club 7esque bands but who knows?
There is also of course the political aspect to consider. Cool Britannia was all about change and anything being possible and with the stalemate situation of the current Labour government people are looking back at those years and yearning for the same feeling of hope again. With even famously loyal Labour supporters like Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher turning their backs on Tony Blair it seems change is in the air. Not that for one second I am saying that the only plausible alternative – David Cameron, is responsible for the current rise in the quality of music. Well, maybe Keane and Snow Patrol but that's another story entirely…
Essentially it all comes down to choice and access. From your teenage Myspacers with editing suites in their bedrooms to your 'not quite a kid but not quite an adult' 30 something DJ's everyone can make music and feel like they are the ones discovering new bands. The availability of cheap music production equipment and the rise of Web 2.0 is the catalyst for this urban renewal and it's making the great British public more discerning about what they listen to as well as breaking down barriers between the artists and the fans.
Ipods, the Internet and mobile phones have all added to this hysteria. British bands are now a force to be reckoned with, no longer are the charts full of recycled pop clones bastardizing beautiful music. Great sites like Myspace, Youtube and Sellaband.com put the choice and power back to the fans - if you can play music and want to get it out there you can. You can create your own audience. Generally speaking music promotion is much less a money game now anyways and anyone can do it through social networking sites. Once again it's about your choice and the ease of access to that choice. The power of freedom has never felt so strong.
Access to a greater number of artists has also lead to a flood of mediocre bands hitting the marketplace so credible talent is now what's cool. This is pushing new talent, new kids to strive to reach these dizzy heights - a sense of competitiveness is in the air. I honestly think we are in a musical era that will be talked about for many decades - the re-birth of British quality. But as always these times are hard to identify whilst you are in them. Only with a few years behind us will we be able to truly appreciate the creative hub within which we sit.
For a true Indie kid I think cool Britannia has always been there. Anyone who follows new bands and who loves music knows that. It came crashing down on me when the Libertines hit the scene and is now cemented by the fact the masses are buying and / or downloading the records of some great bands – the proof point being Kaiser Chiefs number one in the album charts. Indie has become popular and in doing so is ironically becoming pop music in its truest sense.
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