History of Indie Music Video

Indie music is a my kind of music characterised by its independence from commercial from commercial pop music and mainstream culture. 

Indie music videos have been around since post war (but were little known in the wider society). In the 1050's/1960's the major record companies had a lot more power than they do now so it was harder for independent companies to thrive leaving indie artists to play in garages or little venues.

The 1070's saw the creation of the NAIRD along with many smaller organisations aiming to do the same thing. 

In the 80's indie music started to rise in popularity.

Recently Indie music has become more popular with the rise of artists like Ed Sheeran. In addition the use of online platforms such as YouTube has allowed indie artists to build a following without the need tor an independent label. 

Although Indie music is not very big in popular music, it is still in a steady incline becoming more and more popular. 

The Smiths - This Charming Man (1984)

The Smiths are an alternative/indie band and the music video was one of the first indie music videos. This video has a lot of interesting features to it. This music video was an eye opener for a lot of people as I challenged gender stereotypes depicting the group of man surrounded my feminine things such as flowers, necklaces and bright colours; however this was seen by many as low-brow and not artistic and edgy like it was intended. The lead singer also looked right into the camera coming across as breaking the forth wall and creating a feeling to the audience that he is telling a story to them. There is also a lot of focus on the instruments, a key aspect in many indie music videos.

Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger

Don't look back in anger is a alternative/indie rock song. They follow many conventions of an indie music video. Although the video doesn't necessarily tell a story the video and the lyrics do link together. There are recurring images of instruments like guitars and drums fitting with the genre. There are also a lot of close ups of both the Gallagher brothers (the front men of the band). In addition there is a lot of iconography to do with British icons of the time such as John Lennon following the lyric "I'm gonna start a revolution from my bed" inspired by Lennon's bed protest in 1969.

The Killers - Mr Brightside (2009)

The killers are an alternative indie rock group. The video was inspired by 'Moulin Rouge' as it is set in a burlesque show, along with the costume and colours creating intertextuality. It tells the story of a love triangle between the lead singer, one of the dancers and the 'boss' of the place.
The music video reflects many of the conventions of an indie music video. It focuses on the instruments with lots of close ups of them, it also involves the band a lot with many close ups of the lead singer and long shots of the whole band. In addition the video and the lyrics together tell a story to the audience. 

The 1975 - Chocolate (2013)

Chocolate is an indie/alternative rock video. The video generally has a dark colour to it with the majority of it in black and white. Similar to the other videos the band is shown together however differently they are not shown playing their instruments, nor is there any type of instrument in the video at all. There is still multiple close ups of the lead singer singing. Also the video does not seem to have a story to it however there are multiple links to lyrics of the song.