They sing for themselves, not for others. They are the greatest indie rock bands who not only created music, but history with their compositions. Latch into the most popular names of all time ticked off here…
They’re far away from the glitterati. They were never crazy about amassing the crowd. They always remained underground. They are indie music bands. Well, there are a lot of speculations in association with the term ‘indie’. While some construe to it as a genre of rock music, some deeply believe that it has more to do with independent music created by artists who work under independent record labels.
But who’s interested in knowing the history these indie alternative bands mazed behind? Today, we’ll rather talk about the aesthetic rock bands of the indie genre which cared less about the context in which the music was composed, but more on independent acknowledgment. So, which are the best indie bands that transformed rock music into something that’s savored across the world, and recognized as an entirely unparalleled euphony? Well, here’s a segmented list of bands you-cant-afford-to-miss!
Latest Bands: ‘Bassness, Beatness, Rockness!’
Let us start from the latest! Usually, people tour all the way from the olden times to the recent happenings, but we’ll do something different. Now, talking about each indie rock band is not my cup of tea. All I believe in is jotting down those names which make you jump and say ‘Oh my! I’ve heard this one, it’s awesome!’, or something like ‘Yeah! That’s one crazy rock band too!’. Well, you follow a number of bands mentioned here, and are a devoted lover of their music, aren’t you? So, here’s to the top indie bands that embellished independent rock music into something that’s too hard to escape!
Name | Members | Year of Formation |
Arcade Fire | Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry, William Butler, Jeremy Gara, Sarah Neufeld, Tim Kingsbury, Marika Anthony-Shaw | 2003 |
Vampire Weekend | Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson, Chris Baio | 2006 |
Interpol | Paul Banks, Sam Fogarino, Daniel Kessler | 1997 |
LCD Soundsystem | James Murphy, Nancy Whang, Tyler Pope, Pat Mahoney, Gavin Russom, David Scott Stone | 2001 |
The Strokes | Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond, Jr., Nikolai Fraiture, Fabrizio Moretti | 1998 |
Spoon | Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Rob Pope, Eric Harvey | 1994 |
MGMT | Andrew VanWyngarden, Ben Goldwasser, James Richardson, Matt Asti, Will Berman | 2005 |
The National | Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Bryan Devendorf, Scott Devendorf | 1999 |
Surfer Blood | John Paul Pitts, TJ Schwarz, Thomas Fekete, Kevin Williams, Marcos Marchesani | 2009 |
Avi Buffalo | Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg, Arin Fazio, Sheridan Riley, Rebecca Coleman | 2010 |
Mumford and Sons | Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett, Ted Dwane | 2007 |
The xx | Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith | 2005 |
Bands of the 2000s: ‘The Dedicated Decade’
Rockness soared high when these bands pounced over people’s hearts with their out-of-the-world music compositions. There’s a reason behind me calling them top of the decade. That’s because they shattered all the myths associated with the dominion of Pop and R n’ B all throughout the decade. This one’s for you, mate, if you’re one of those believers! Here we go with the most popular bands having immortalized their names on the 2000s:
Name | Members | Year of Formation |
The White Stripes | Meg White, Jack White | 1997 |
Radiohead | Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway | 1985 |
Kings of Leon | Nathan Followill, Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill | 1999 |
Muse | Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme, Dominic Howard | 1994 |
Tokyo Police Club | Dave Monks, Graham Wright, Josh Hook, Greg Alsop | 2005 |
Death Cab for Cutie | Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla, Nick Harmer, Jason McGerr | 1997 |
Belle & Sebastian | Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson, Chris Geddes, Richard Colburn, Sarah Martin, Mick Cooke, Bobby Kildea | 1996 |
The Decemberists | Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, John Moen | 2000 |
Voxtrot | Ramesh Srivastava, Jason Chronis, Matt Simon, Mitch Calvert | 2003 |
The Shins | James Mercer, Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson, Joe Plummer, Ron Lewis | 1997 |
Oh, there are a lot of names which are struggling to find a place in the indie bands list of the most acknowledged ‘covens’ of the decade. However, above are the ones which, I think, are the most deserving contestants. What say? So, forget about the rankings. Let’s jump over to the best bands ever, ever, ever! Even if you and me don’t reach accord in reference to the first two lists, I’m sure you’ll totally agree with me over this one. Take a whack!
Best Bands Ever: ‘Euphony at its Best!’
So, how do we make an all-inclusive list of the selected best? The ones that have always been the numero uno, and are still soaring high? These indie rock families aren’t conquerable. Instead, they’ve gotten better with time. Even though, today, some have gotten far away from the indie genre they once began from, I’m not going to forget to mention their names here. No matter how much you think ‘latest is good’, these bands will keep breaking all your misconceptions. Hard to believe? You better check out the following:
Name | Members | Year of Formation |
Arcade Fire | Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry, William Butler, Jeremy Gara, Sarah Neufeld, Tim Kingsbury, Marika Anthony-Shaw | 2003 |
Manchester Orchestra | Andy Hull, Jonathan Corley, Chris Freeman, Robert McDowell | 2005 |
Death Cab for Cutie | Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla, Nick Harmer, Jason McGerr | 1997 |
Arctic Monkeys | Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Nick O’Malley, Matt Helders | 2002 |
The New Pornographers | Dan Bejar, Kathryn Calder, Neko Case, John Collins, Kurt Dahle, Todd Fancey, Carl Newman, Blaine Thurier | 1997 |
The Shins | James Mercer, Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson, Joe Plummer, Ron Lewis | 1997 |
Spoon | Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Rob Pope, Eric Harvey | 1994 |
Brand New | Jesse Lacey, Garrett Tierney, Brian Lane, Vincent Accardi, Derrick Sherman | 2000 |
Neutral Milk Hotel | Jeff Mangum, Scott Spillane, Jeremy Barnes, Julian Koster | 1991 |
Radiohead | Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway | 1985 |
Dear and the Highlights | Ian Metzger, Robert Cissel, P.J. Waxman, Patrick Taylor, Mark Kulvinskas | 2007 |
Pavement | Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich, Scott Kannberg, Steve West, Mark Ibold | 1989 |
Sleater-Kinney | Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein, Janet Weiss, Lora MacFarlane, Toni Gogin, Misty Farrell | 1994 |
Oh-my-Rock! ‘Indied’, they are countless, don’t you think so? I sure know that even if I’ve included plenty of bands that flourished all over, you’re sure going to come up with your own set of the bestest-best! Well, in that case, my purpose is solved, because that’s how we celebrate indie music, don’t we? Something from your kitty, something from mine, let’s make indie rock music rise and shine, gimme some vodka, gimme some wine, I’m sorry I couldn’t come up with another pathetic line (that was such a horrible poetry!). Never mind, so, here I’ll conclude my take on indie rock bands in a single write-up. Comments and suggestions are welcome, rock-heartedly!
–The above lists are based on the personal choice of the author. They are randomly included, and have nothing to do with the ranking.