Await Lightening - Amusement Parks on Fire - Out of the Angeles - 2006

I generally have a problematic and troubled relationship with Pitchfork Media, but I did think that this article was well written and brought up a lot of valid points...it's a bit of a slog, but take a look if you have the time.

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7704-the-decade-in-indie

Despite being a review of the decade in Indie Rock, it largely details the problems of being a fan of a genre that was a niche when you found it but has become less and less of a niche by the year.

And Amusement Parks on Fire is as good enough a place to start with this conversation as any. The Nottingham band might have sound unique and like a niche band circa 1994 when Swervedriver came out of Oxford and had the brilliant idea to couple Shoegaze's sound textures with the drive of more traditional rock. But now, in 2009...or even in 2006 when this record came out...little sounds more safe than this band. This song could be in a car commercial, it could be played at an Applebees. Don't get me wrong, I listen to this band and generally enjoy them...but...the idea that this band, by virtue of being "indie rock" is breaking any new ground, or that it's underground existence is a product of the discerning tastes of their fans and the "ignorance" of the plebes holds little sway.

And so the bigger question remains, what are you when the very category that you defined yourself by...no longer makes sense as a definition. If that's not the question for our age...I don't know what is.