In today’s blogosphere culture, it is easy to find new music. Regardless of your preference, the Internet’s high accessibility makes searching for new music or playing your favorite tunes incredibly effortless. This phenomenon has made it possible for independent artist's work to be recognized.
Generally speaking, these indie artists do not dominate the charts like Jay-Z and Coldplay. Their popularity is often measured by sources like college radio, SoundCloud and YouTube, and not as much by iTunes charts and record sales. And because these artists are not as commercially successful, it is easy for them to seem cool.
Do I sound like a hipster? Well I’m not—I’m just being realistic. As pretentious as it may sound, overly associating with the mainstream music industry can hurt an artist’s reputation. That’s the way it’s always been -- As a hippie from the classic rock era would say, an artist who compromises his integrity for money is a “sell out, man.”
To put it in modern context, if you are a musician who makes music endorsed by a hip, young demographic, you are more likely—historically speaking—to maintain your cool reputation if your hit single is not overplayed on your mom’s favorite radio station.
I am not saying that all artists who associate with pop radio are uncool and rejected by college kids.
In fact, in today’s era of immense musical variety, there are certain artists who skillfully walk the line between mom-pop and cool.
And in no particular order, here is a list of 11 artists you hear on pop radio that have also maintained their cool reputations in the college radio and indie festival scenes.
1. Ellie Goulding
She’s a pop star. Your little sister probably loves her. But I dare you to find a 20-year-old guy who is not infatuated with this angel. She’s hot and her voice is beautiful.
Ellie first gained her commercial popularity with Lights in 2010. This album was well received in the U.K. that year, and in 2011, it debuted in the United States. During this time, kids across the U.S. were hearing hit singles “Lights” and “Starry Eyed” on the radio on their way to soccer practice.
Her popularity has only increased in recent years with “Anything Could Happen,” “I Need Your Love” with Calvin Harris, and most recently, “Burn.”
Although Ellie was generally received as a mainstream artist with Lights, she has still developed an edgy reputation for herself with her experimental, synthpop sound and unique vocal style.
2. Passion Pit
The opening beat on “Take A Walk”-- I know you know it. Everyone knows it. It’s provocative, it gets the people going, and it fits any situation.
When these guys released Manners in 2009, hit singles, “Little Secrets”, “The Reeling”, and “Sleepyhead” dominated the party music scene.
Passion Pit is a household name. They make great summer music. And their acceptance in the college music scene goes without question as a commonality for fraternity parties and indie music festivals alike.
3. Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick has found radio success with hits like “Swimming Pools (Drank)”, “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”, and “Poetic Justice.” Pitchfork Media, a college radio friendly review site for mainly independent and experimental artists, gives excellent ratings to his two most reason albums.
Not to mention, Backseat Freestyle is a fantastic party song. "AH RING DING DING. AH RING DING DING."
4. Vampire Weekend
Similar to Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend has some tracks that fit perfectly in your typical summer playlist. These guys have not yet had a breakout radio single, but they have received some commercial success with tracks like “A-Punk”, “Holiday”, and “Cousins”.
Vampire Weekend implements indie rock, baroque pop, afrobeat and world music influences. Graduates of Columbia University, their education comes out in their rich instrumentation and creative lyrics. Their debut self-titled LP was recorded independently and was ranked 430 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” Rolling Stone Magazine and Pitchfork Media both listed their sophomore LP, Contra, in their lists for the best albums of 2010. Their most recent effort, Modern Vampires of the City, won a Grammy this past year for Best Alternative Music Album.
With their originality, forward-thinking style and their most recent album being such a big hit, Vampire Weekend may be the most important group in alternative rock today. You can go ahead and quote me on that.
5. Frank Ocean
American R&B singer and rapper, Christopher Francis Ocean, better known as Frank Ocean, began his path to stardom as a member of the hip-hop group, Odd Future. The critics adored Channel Orange, (2012) and it was named the best album of the year by numerous publications. Ocean found more radio success with this album as well with his hit single, “Thinkin Bout You,” debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200.
Frank Ocean is the man.
6. Lana Del Rey
Lana has a certain swagger about her (and no not "swag" because that's not cool and never was cool). She’s a professional model and looks super hot in her artsy music videos.
Her single, “Summertime Sadness,” off her 2010 LP, Born To Die, was a big hit last year, with the Cedric Gervais remix popular in the college and pop radio scenes.
Similar to Ellie Goulding, Lana’s vocal style is a breath of fresh air in pop radio. She implements a jazzy influence paired with her low voice. “Contemporary music critics have called her voice ‘smoky,’ ‘gravely,’ and reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe.” (Grant, 2008).
7. The Arctic Monkeys
These guys are modern English rock stars. They have been around since 2002, but they first found commercial success in 2006 with Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. This LP became the fastest selling debut album in British music history, and it was recognized on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list for “The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.”
The Arctic Monkeys are arguably up there with The Strokes, The Killers and Kings of Leon as one of the most influential alternative rock bands of the 2000s. Their 2013 LP, AM, was ranked the number one album of 2013 on NME and Q magazine, featuring their hit single, “Do I Wanna Know?”—an incredible guitar riff.
8. Florence and the Machine
Their biggest radio single, “The Dog Days Are Over,” was covered on the hit series, Glee. Not sure if you can go more mainstream than that.
At the same time, lead singer Florence Welch brings the band a unique sound that is fitting for college radio. She is often compared to the likes of Bjork and PJ Harvey.
Florence and the Machine’s mainstream success continued with their 2011 LP, Ceremonials. The catchy hit single, “Shake It Out,” made for quite the radio pop hit. Florence Welch continued her own path to commercial success in 2012, being featured on Calvin Harris’s hit dance single, “Sweet Nothing.”
9. Drake
This Canadian hip-hop artist attained mainstream success from his very first LP, with his 2009 hit single, “Best I Ever Had.” Since then, his popularity and praise have only increased. He has been associated with the commercial music industry for a number of years now, and he is arguably one of the most influential artists in mainstream hip-hop.
As Top 40 friendly as his music is, he seems to be a big hit in the college radio music scene as well. His consistently positive reception from independent music blogs and mainstream review sites alike has demonstrated his wide fan base.
10. Foster the People
This indie pop band from Los Angeles received fame from their very fist single in 2010, “Pumped Up Kicks.” -- a very overplayed song that year. The following album, Torches, brought the band positive publicity as well, with a few other hit singles, such as “Helena Beat” and “Houidini”.
Foster the People just came out with their sophomore LP this year, entitled Supermodel. This album has not yet received the same radio success as its predecessor, but with high-energy tracks like “Best Friend” and “Coming of Age,” it will likely receive much attention in the coming months.
Foster the People’s funky, catchy tracks work great for parties as well, with several groovy remixes from groups like RAC and GIGAMESH.
11. Phoenix
Whether you know it or not, you are probably all too familiar with a couple Phoenix songs. Since their debut album, United, in 2000, this French group has been making a big mark on the indie rock music scene. However, they did not receive the stardom they now maintain in pop radio until 2009, with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix—featuring singles, “Lisztomania” and “1901.” Their popularity continues today with their most recent LP, entitled Bankrupt!.
Honorable Mentions—Why didn’t these guys make the cut?
1.
Lorde (Too new to have the same influence as these other artists)
2. Matt and Kim- (Newest album was disappointing)
3. Arcade Fire- (New album was too controversial)
4. Bon Iver – (“Skinny Love” may be the most iconic folk anthem of this generation, but they haven't had any radio hits since then)
5. MGMT- (No radio hits since "Kids")
6. A$AP Rocky (Would never play on mainstream radio)
7. The Avett Brothers (No radio hits)
The Internet’s convenience has been an excellent tool for artists to get their music out there. As a result, independent music has had a significant impact on today’s music industry, and terms like indie rock and indie pop have become popularized.
It should be interesting to see how this culture of blogging and streaming will continue to affect music in the future. Perhaps the significance of record sales and mainstream radio will continue to decrease as independent blogs and streaming sites help underground artists gain notoriety. Or maybe indie music and pop radio will continue to mesh over time.
However things turn out, music is more accessible now than ever before, and this is truly a wonderful thing.
