On the fact that I had a well thought out post in regards to independent musicians, but failed to write it down at the time resulting in the planning slipping from my memory and writing a post on something else entirely with the inclusion of an overly long title:

Hello Writing Rogues!

So independent musicians... I like them. More often than not, I will buy an independently produced album over one produced commercially by Universal, Sony, etc. simply because I know that the money I'm putting towards their music is actually going towards them making more and not just into some fat cat's pocket. Musicians like Feather Oars, Aestus Symphonia, and Telekinesis!, I feel like I have a personal connection to (and in the case of Aestus I actually do) because they are my musicians and no one else's. I do share them, though. Every chance I get.

The quality of an independent artist can range from "this garbage should have never left the instrument/vocal chords" to "this should be the anthem of our generation" and in the higher end of the spectrum is often produced with quality to match Fat Cat Music and is much better written and played simply because they're not just playing for money. They play for fun and out of desperation and this drives their music to new levels that, frankly, Justin Beiber will never see. He didn't have to sleep in his car going from gig to gig just to pay for gas and strings. He doesn't know that balance between hopelessness and hopefulness that drives a song like "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" by Brand New.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hipster, despite my indie tendencies. I love it when an unknown artist suddenly pops up into the public eye, I just don't like it if their musical quality drops when they go mainstream, when what made them unique is replaced by pop culture (I'm looking at you Weezer). If Aestus Symphonia hits the big time, though, I'll be first in line (or on Ticketmaster) to buy tickets for their world tour.

So my point is, I guess, I love indie music. Whether it's rock, metal, electronic, if it's good music, it deserves my attention. I'll follow this with a post script of some of my favorite indie/relatively unknown artists along with their genre, some of them have gotten popular since, but they'll always be indie in my mind.

Sidenote: I need a callsign of some sort...and a sign off...I kinda wish "Stay classy, San Diego" wasn't already taken. Alas! That is not of importance to this brief article, but I will give a callsign a shot.

Logging off! (after the PS)
The Trickster (if you get the reference in conjunction with our blog name, I'll give you a high five upon seeing you)

PS (as promised):
Aestus Symphonia (metal)
Modest Mouse (rock)
Telekinesis! (rock)
Generationals (rock)
Streetlight Manifesto (ska)
Bad Rabbits (hip hop/funk)
Feather Oars (rock)
Royal Bangs (rock)
Mazarin (rock)
Temple Veil (worship)

And I'm sure there are plenty of others that I missed. Comment with your favorites! I'm always looking for more.

EDIT: A nice web comic by The Oatmeal that describes the music industry pretty well, as well as my feelings as to where it should go here.

EDIT: Linked most (but not all) bands to respective band pages on the Facebook to listen to tunes and such.