NME user poll's "Indie Anthems"

[Susannah]

I saw this on Stereogum and thought it was pretty funny:

"XFM and NME have joined forces to bring you their user poll, counting down the 50 greatest anthems in indie rock (criteria? your guess is as good as ours). You could try and guess which band delivered the #1 single ... or you could take the over/under on the number of Oasis tracks to make the cut, which we've set at 5. Good luck!

    50 My Bloody Valentine - 'You Made Me Realise'
    49 The Rapture - 'House Of Jealous Lovers'
    48 Sonic Youth - 'Bull In The Heather'
    47 The Libertines - 'Up The Bracket'
    46 Dinosaur Jr - 'Freak Scene'
    45 The La's - 'There She Goes'
    44 The Stone Roses - 'Love Spreads'
    43 Suede - 'Animal Nitrate'
    42 The Cribs - 'Hey Scenesters'
    41 Blur - 'Parklife'
    40 Klaxons - 'Golden Skans'
    39 Oasis - 'Champagne Supernova'
    38 Pixies - 'Gigantic'
    37 Kasabian - 'LSF'
    36 Kaiser Chiefs - 'I Predict A Riot'
    35 Pixies - 'Monkey Gone To Heaven'
    34 Radiohead - 'Just'
    33 The Killers - 'Mr Brightside'
    32 The Stone Roses - 'Fool's Gold'
    31 Oasis - 'Cigarettes & Alcohol'
    30 Manic Street Preachers - 'A Design For Life'
    29 Arcade Fire - 'Rebellion (Lies)'
    28 Pavement - 'Cut Your Hair'
    27 Oasis -' Wonderwall'
    26 Radiohead - 'Creep'
    25 Oasis - 'Supersonic'
    24 Babyshambles - 'Fuck Forever'
    23 The Gossip - 'Standing In The Way Of Control'
    22 The Breeders - 'Cannonball'
    21 The Smiths - 'Panic'
    20 Joy Division - 'Transmission'
    19 Joy Divison - 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
    18 The Verve - 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'
    17 The Stone Roses - 'I Wanna Be Adored'
    16 Franz Ferdinand - 'Take Me Out'
    15 Blur - 'Song 2'
    14 Oasis - 'Don't Look Back In Anger'
    13 The Libertines - 'Can't Stand Me Now'
    12 The Stone Roses - 'She Bangs The Drums'
    11 The Smiths - 'This Charming Man'
    10 Arctic Monkeys - 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor'
    09 The Strokes - 'Last Nite'
    08 The Stone Roses - 'I Am The Resurrection'
    07 The Smiths - 'How Soon Is Now?'
    06 The Libertines - 'Time For Heroes'
    05 The Libertines - 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun'
    04 The Smiths - 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'
    03 Pulp - 'Common People'
    02 Nirvana - 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
    01 Oasis - 'Live Forever'

The overs have it. Thank god we're not a casino."


It is probably pointless to have a discussion about a ranked list like this, but since magazines still insist on writing them, I will insist on lamenting them.  Thoughts?

[Dan B]

NME sucks.

[bruce]

Oasis are about as indie as Bob Dylan

[Jason]

Well it depends what you mean by indie, is it the status of the record company that released your records or is it a musical genre, either way you could make a case for and against Oasis.

Regardless the NME does indeed suck and it sems appropriate to slip in this mp3 -

Thee Headcoats - We Hate The Fucking NME

[Susannah]

Agreed, and I agree that it's ridiculous there are so many Oasis songs on there...but when did everyone start hating Oasis?  I still like them, or at least their first two albums...is that bad?

Case in point: Devendra Banhart's cover of "Don't Look Back In Anger" for that "Guilt by Association" cd...isn't Devendra Banhart a little more embarrassing than Oasis?  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Rainer]

I was startled that there weren't any Robert Plant solo tracks in the top ten.

[Chris L]

Oasis are about as indie as Bob Dylan

And certainly less so than Bob Dylban.

[John Junk]

Oh, Susannah, I wish I didn't hate Oasis and Davendra, but alas...
I saw Davey Barnyard outside a Little Joys in L.A. and inside Chris whatshisface from the Black Crowes was hanging out.  It was an Arthur Magazine jam.  No point to that story, except that it was the day after Chris Crowe split with his wife, Goldie Hawn 2. (honestly, I can't remember any names right now.  I'm not pulling a Spike.  Except with the "Barnyard" thing)

Anyway, I remember being in Britain in '99 and they called The Offspring indie over there, so they're working with a different language, really.

[JP]

Well it depends what you mean by indie, is it the status of the record company that released your records or is it a musical genre, either way you could make a case for and against Oasis.

Regardless the NME does indeed suck and it sems appropriate to slip in this mp3 -

Thee Headcoats - We Hate The Fucking NME

My understanding as a lover of all things transcontinental is that the reason this "indie" thing is confusing is that in the US it implies more that you are on an independent record label and in the UK it is more like a synonym for "alternative" (yuck)

JP

[Jason]

My understanding as a lover of all things transcontinental is that the reason this "indie" thing is confusing is that in the US it implies more that you are on an independent record label and in the UK it is more like a synonym for "alternative" (yuck)

JP

I thought I'd made that very point in my post, and besides I don't think the ambiguity of the term "indie" is specific to either side of the pond. A bands independent status is further complicated by bands being on different labels in the UK and the US, bands being on an independent label and then signing to a major or even being signed to an independent that is then wholly or partly bought by a major.

[jane]

NME can go fly a kite.
Hairy Chapter forever!

[Pride of Staten Island]

If you went to Heliocentric Records and asked for any of these songs you would be completely scoffed at.

And (mostly) rightfully so.

If the Killers are an indie band then you might as well include Duran Duran on this list. "Planet Earth" is better than any Oasis song.

[Josh]

jane = guest
wha happened? ?  ?   ?

[Jason]

I guess she deleted her account.
The third person to have done so, all girls, although the first two did re-register.

[Laurie]

Broads are flaky.