Sinister: kids toda

[Chris Butler]

Actually there is a meta-movement going on in which I think the B&S crowd fits.  The movement is about the artists going direct to their fans, with little in the way like the record labels and megastores.  Smaller record companies are popping up like dandelions blowing the seeds of their refined tastes into the youth of today via the internet.  The technology helps significantly - standards like RealAudio and MP3 let the artists get their music out there themselves.  Not a social movement per se, but one in which all of us on the list are involved in my opinion.

The reason why the B&S fans (and like-minded fans of other indie groups) are important is because people are forming groups themselves, making it easier for the groups to target their fans.  This all helps to eliminate the middle-man.  It encourages the artists and lets the smaller but talented bands thrive in niche markets.

As for B&S lyrics and new attitude, every generation has different role models and modes of thinking.  In the 80's, there was plenty of similar music as well which molded outcast teens - think the Smiths.  I don't believe that movements are as easily indentified nowadays since there are many smaller groupings and it is difficult to label each one; look at music genres for example (rave, d&b, indie, math rock, post-rock, etc.).  In the past, there were less groups = easier stereotyping.  Now, a more heavily segmented society based on free agent tendencies (individuals' characteristics) leads to clusters of like people which float amidst many different clusters.  Movements are characterized by stronger numbers of people with generally a focused ideology.

Anyway, not enough language to explain what I mean exactly, and more than enough to bore the likes of most of you, so I'll stop the drivel and dundering.

chez pants <- sans un mot de francais 

At 02:43 PM 12/4/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Personally, I don't think a movement has to be about rebellion/politics.  It can just be a group of people quietly affecting the world in small, but significant ways.  I mean, if you think about Belle & Sebastian's lyrics, they are critiquing society's values as we live it today.  Granted, the sweetness of the music doesn't immediately make you aware of the implications of what they are really saying - for example, Seymour Stein - isn't that a tongue in cheek criticism of the major label industry?  And "Century of Fakers"??  The title says it all!  Now, I'm not saying Belle & Sebastian are a movement - you need more than one band to do that; you need a whole bunch who fall into the same ideals and beliefs as them.  I can't think of any as my mind is mired in HTML thoughts, but I've had the impression for the last 2 years that a certain honesty and thoughtfulness prevails in most of the "indie" music I listen to.  It reminds me of the classic folk songs of the 60s that we all know but don't really remember the bands or the titles, like Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel and the Moody Blues.
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