Des Noise, The head-spinning end result is an indie-rock...

The head-spinning end result is an indie-rock world that feels like a place where fitting in is more valued than standing out. Chillwave and its electro-pop cousins—easily digestible, rooted in collective memory and experiences, lo-fi enough to mask amateurishness—were tailor-made for the job, capturing mood and vibe and, by extension, providing a ready-made soundtrack for listeners. The resulting pattern of looking over one’s shoulder for approval while attempting to embrace an artist as early as possible doesn’t foster a healthy creative environment but one dominated by conservative choices, where the familiar (or easily understood) trump the bold and the brave. Ruptures in expectations, risks, and singular artists who defy categorization are suppressed if the overarching motivation of the audience is a fear of looking foolish.

“

—

Confuse the Market: Post-Crossover, Indie Retreats

Scott Plagenhoef is ruthlessly on point in his Village Voice Pazz & Jop essay, particularly in this paragraph where he perfectly articulates something I’ve been trying to say since, like, 2005.

(via perpetua)

Scott’s overall point is strong, but the underlying examples seem flawed to me. He notes that Washed Out’s Within and Without made “the Top 100,” [EDIT: he means of the Pazz & Jop poll] but that’s vastly understating its popularity: The album debuted at #26 and was on the Top 200 albums for eight weeks. It has sold about 60,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. To suggest that Washed Out and artists like Ernest Greene are incapable of crossover success— “destined for a limited audience”— because they failed to achieve consensus support in a critics’ poll seems off to me. After all, Washed Out sold more copies, based on Matthew’s list from year-end 2011, than two artists Scott rightly praises, tUnE-yArDs and EMA, combined.