Indie Mathrock From Japan: Zazen Boys

The Zazen Boys are a crazy Japanese indie rock band formed by former Number Girl guitarist and vocalist Mukai Shutoku. Number Girl, which disbanded in 2002, is considered to this day to be one of the most influential bands of the Japanese indie rock scene, and Shutoku has continued to evolve the characteristic rock electro/dance in Zazen Boys.

The band makes great use of punctuated breaks in their rhythmic composition, often complicating to the point where the music becomes comical. I think they are just as adept at making people laugh as they are excellent musicians. Here’s a selection of our favorite videos: Continue reading...

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Study: Indie Music Only Gets 10 Percent of Radio Airplay

The Future of Music Coalition (FMC) has conducted a study called “Same Old Song” to determine the amount of independent music played on terrestrial radio. It turns out that from 2005 to 2008, indie music received only slightly more than 10 percent of traditional commercial radio airplay, with major label artists securing 78 to 82 percent. The results are somewhat expected, but grossly unfair, as indie music accounts for 30 percent of total music sales in the US. Read more...

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Editorial: How to Support Independent Music in a Changing Industry

The music industry is changing, major labels have been losing money since file-sharing started cutting into their profits. Maybe we shouldn’t care, for most major label artists are heavily publicized, pre-packaged for the masses, and generally worse than our favorite indie bands. But how is the shift in industry affecting independent labels? Common sense says that indie labels suffer alongside the big players, but the change in the industry is shifting towards a diversification of music, with more and more people listening to what they really want to hear, instead of what is imposed by the mass media. How you can support indie music in our changing times, after the jump: Continue reading...

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