Did Mac DeMarco Kill Indie?

Love ‪@macdemarco‬ , what do y'all think?
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#MacDeMarco #HereComesTheCowboy #Indie

[@sergescardigno]

Re: "Mac had more than just a couple hundred bucks worth of stuff man" Point still stands, we’re getting lost in a detail at that point. Mac might’ve had some expensive pieces even for the time, but ultimately his image was not one of, “dang this guy’s stuff is awesome, sounds almost unattainable, he looks like he has some special/expensive stuff, I’m not even gonna attempt to emulate this.” His sound/persona/ethos has always kinda been “you can do this too”, and I think right now with easy access to software emulation for synths and guitar cabs and whatnot, most people could get really close for not much money at all if they’d like. Even back then, if you hunted through the used market, I’m sure you could get his sound for a decent price. Point is, people looked up to it and wanted it because it seemed accessible. Mac was not making music with this big unlimited budget.

[@gpsaintdenis]

Mac is a Freemason ….

[@kyoshu5962]

Mac demarco isn't indie he is jizz jazz

[@sergescardigno]

based

[@rams6702]

based

[@acidbabyblue7519]

Is Ariel pink 0.2 with quality

[@kyoshu5962]

@@acidbabyblue7519 no

[@bombjelly5795]

@@acidbabyblue7519 he’s rush the capital man

[@DefinitelyNotYourDad]

He didn't kill it, he perfected it.

[@JesusGomez-ob2qt]

Let's not overblow him to unrealistic proportions now lmaoo

[@tomblaze2]

But in 2022 - where is Mac Demarco ? Why is he not releasing new music !?

[@conradrayner6317]

He didn’t kill or perfect it. He simplified it. The current climate of popular music embraces that

[@eleganteaura]

I produce write and record everything on my own only using a mic and I phone

[@acidbabyblue7519]

Yep

[@samgould8567]

Mac’s sound was a breath of fresh air in the early 2010s when the scene was dominated by folk-influenced sound, which itself was a breath of fresh air in the early 2000s when the scene was dominated by a different sound represented by bands like Built to Spill. Roughly speaking, Mac’s music represents a decade of indie and I don’t see a problem with that. I expect the 2020s to be dominated by a different sound like every decade of indie that came before.

[@SisterSanMiguel]

Ew i remember the folk era that just wouldn’t die

[@CalebRazzleberry]

2020s will be hyperpop :/ unfortunately

[@acidbabyblue7519]

Pero el "sonido" de Mac demarco ya lo habia hecho la banda Real Estate con su álbum "Days" (2011) ... Pero tienes razón, incluso en el album "Days" aún se sienten los tintes de folk

[@asceticsatan]

the post-rock goth-rock sound is gaining a lot of popularity lately. it's now imo the sound of most indie bands and I'm surprised and happy when I find an indie band that sounds very uniquely THEM; like Julie, Pill Friends, and The Drums

[@SimonRobeyns]

it was dominated by this return to folk music but with whimsical vocals and dumb lyrics compared to the hey-days in 60-70's. It was horrible indeed, glad to see it finally kind of died down this trend

[@zan3zan344]

I was actually talking to a friend about this a few days ago! I think Mac DeMarco is definitely an important artist and has inspired countless indie artists. You can literally hear his influence in every indie rock song out there. Of course, I think the indie rock genre has a lot of offer, but I also think that more people need to put their own spin on the DeMarco-eque sound.

[@sergescardigno]

well-said!

[@nathanieledwards3302]

I don't know about "EVERY" indie artist. But most every indie artist that goes for that shimmering non distorted guitar based pop music

[@jacolynparker]

Can you prove that the inspiration was Mac demarco? You say this like hes a pioneer, i have been hearing different versions of Mac demarco for my entirety my time in the diy Chicago scene, and when i mean i have been i mean i still do and there are many of them, and there always have been. And i am not a kid, or even a young adult anymore sadly, im 30 and an audio engineer, musician and have been playing here for more than ten years now. I feel like the main reason Mac demarco is a drag for many indie musicians together about themselves is because a lot of us dont actually understand what made him so special to get the amount of recognition he has. I mean he is talented for sure but i can name so many artists with less of a following that have a comparable but cooler sound off the top of my head. And for those of us who are women it feels kinda like just another regular guy doing regular indie guy stuff getting way too much respect for putting forward like 1/4 of the effort we have to to even get anyone to take us seriously.

[@wesleyheitz8359]

@@jacolynparker Are there super underrated artists that need more respect? Yes. Is there a bias against women in music? Yes. All of this said, Mac is an incredible artists. He is obviously one of the best artists to hit the mainstream in the last 10 years. Don't take out your frustrations with the music industry on one guy who makes great music.

[@jacolynparker]

@@wesleyheitz8359 the issue Wes is that I very much disagree with everything you just said about him, which is why i wrote this comment. also, as a woman in music, who do i take my frustration out on then, that is suitable to your standards? Is a youtube comment going to kill Mac Demarco and strip the world of his music for life? Am i doing some grave injustice to this man by having a semi agreed upon opinion about his music that differs from yours? No, none of that. So yeah, i will probably continue to say what i think where i see fit in the youtube comment universe and next time you try to argue with a stranger online you should try actually responding to what was said, and then next time i can actually respond back with a thought out reply instead of being snarky in response to your snark.

[@watchthedopethrone]

The “Mac DeMarco Sound” is heavily indebted to Johnny Marr’s guitar work on The Smiths, so I’d say by and large the “indie” sound predates Mac.

[@matthewfbridges]

Johnny Marr is jesus.

[@henrywallace7996]

Of course it does...if indie no longer means British independent guitar music from the 80s, then it means nothing at all.

[@acidbabyblue7519]

The return of Durutti colum is all indie of 10's

[@johnvicaireiii5537]

It started with the beatles.

[@matthewfbridges]

@@johnvicaireiii5537 and just as much the byrds. no johnny marr without the byrds.

[@isabellehaim]

I think it has less to do with his specific sound, but the advent of streaming -- this has definitely led to heavy commercialization of the "genre." Spotify now puts artists on huge corporate labels on their "indie" playlists. If anything, Mac has helped the genre with his own indie label Captured Tracks.

[@sergescardigno]

streaming most definitely played a role - I would say that plays into that accessibility aspect I mentioned

[@CalebRazzleberry]

“”””””””””indie””””””””””

[@antoniofontan3934]

just to be clear, Captured Tracks is not Mac DeMarco's label

[@undonesweater9112]

@@antoniofontan3934 fr lol i’m surprised no one has said anything yet. captured tracks is not macs own label people he was just signed to it

[@chofo2130]

I like his music, because it reminds of hispanic rock from back in the 80s, with that reverb and chorus in the guitar, like in soda stereo or in hombres g for an example.

[@rams6702]

exactly, the reverbed chorus tone isnt just all in indie, bachata guitarists from the dominican republic do that too

[@acidbabyblue7519]

Listen the return of Durutti column

[@lipstick6637]

@@acidbabyblue7519 great album

[@CharleysZenZone]

Shiiii no wonder I like him so much. Bloody nostalgia

[@Fran-nk8ed]

Yes, his guitars sound like the ones in the post dictatorship rock of South America, although I doubt he heard any of it.

[@lawnshark025]

indie is such a malleable term that you can kinda just go down the lineage and ask the same question over time, like did mac demarco kill indie for a british 2000s kid who listened to kasabian, did kasabian kill indie for a 2000s american hipster dude who loves arcade fire, did arcade fire kill indie for a 90s lo-fi dude who loves pavement, did pavement kill indie for an 80s college rock dude who loves meat puppets, etc. i know the point of the video was not to be a history lesson but i think it would be interesting to see what older indie fans perspective is on this kinda thing. dope video homie

[@el1632]

youve just put what i was thinking into words

[@zackoroworks]

I actually respect everything he did for the genre because he really pioneered that sound coming back in 2013 and put a dent in culture at the time - I mean even the whole dad hat, vintage shirt look, jeans look out of nowhere in the middle of a time when everything was streetwear. But his music was intimate, authentic, simple... It's really just every other group that came after him from like 2014-now is what I like to call - 'Snoozewave'. Basically watered down mac/ chillwave but with real instruments and lacking any real human energy. Just kinda stale airless music that doesnt stand for much imo. I always thought he was such an innovator tho, If I was him and heard 400 groups copy my sound I would have probably would have made a full punk album or something lmao

[@JesusGomez-ob2qt]

The sound he did wasn't new he never really innovated anything it's just he was one of the artists with that sound to get lucky and make it mainstream obviously by effect creating a trend

[@josegimenez892]

I think another big and important factor that doesn't get talked about enough is that Mac actually has good understanding of music, tone and concepts most people can grasp, he really understands music and the way he composed reveals a deep understanding of every instrument and how to layer everything together. Is not just him making anything he has care for his craft despite his limitations

[@marxelox7]

Loved your video, from time to time i think about this. Mac DeMarco has been my favourite artist on spotify since the day i started hearing his music more than 10 years ago and i always gravitate back to him. It's clear the influence and presence that he left on the music industry, its just like a dart hitting 100. I do agree that he "killed" that much the music that it made his work to be a simil to a lot of music for a lot of people out there, like the bedroom pop thats dropped on that category. Subscribed and looking forward to more videos.

[@kennylikesmusic]

this is such a well made video i could never put in this much effort

[@nedtheproducer5777]

Mac created his own sound and was put into a sub genre of music that isn’t the same as his at all.

[@aaron4757]

Couldn’t have said it better

[@twoinabush100]

You put it into words and I thank you

[@sergescardigno]

thank YOU

[@Fran-nk8ed]

I am 30, so my idea of indi is much more linked to The Strokes and the White stripes, or to "garage rock" in general. From my point of view, Mac refreshed the idea of garage, making it less rock, more pop, and a more honest branch in general. When Mac came out, the author of this video was the age I was when the Strokes and White stripes were fresh, so it is very interesting to see how age plays into how we understand the term indi.

[@chinmeysway]

Maybe. I relate it to the 70s mellow soft rock boring safe stuff (but not as memorable) that came out when I was 1.

[@elguaripolo686]

damn, great video!

[@oldmanthompson7875]

I don't think Mac Demarco was the first person to pose this problem. Indie's long been disconnected from independent music e.g., the UK Indie bands from the mid 2000s were all picked up by major labels, whereas genuinely independent bands like Black Flag/Minor Threat would never be considered "indie"

[@kurisupikurimu1866]

Punk was indie before it was trendy

[@acidbabyblue7519]

Indie san Francisco 2009 - Girls, Christopher owens

[@psyche234]

Anything could be considered indie

[@hwek8771]

Mac has such a relateble style that every other guy tries to copy it and then they figure out how to do jangly/bedroom pop guitar licks and there you go. However the problem for me is that most of the "macdemarcomania" bands fail to capture his chaotic natural energy, especially during live prefomances and you end up with a bunch of okay but slightly uninspired low energy music. Now we need new exiting thing to spice it up!

[@adamlindeman5738]

Yeah you described it perfectly. We need goddamn energy and passion. Even though I'm not a huge fan of Car Seat Headrest, I'd love to see more bands that go in that direction in terms of anthem, experimental rock, instead of lazy beats over a distorted guitar. Then again, I think music is in a bit of an existential crisis at the moment.

[@ElderScrollsAssassin]

when those rare talented artists come onto the scene in any genre, and turn everyone's thoughts of that genre straight to their name, it's inevitable that other artists will take to that sound and try to replicate it within their own talent, or unconsciously gravitate to that sound through their writing process. same happened for many of the greats, Mac is now one of them, and isn't limited to Indie.

[@8teenOfficial]

I'm happy that you now have 11k subs!

[@sergescardigno]

thank you!

[@Majorbrawl]

suprisingly amazing quality of editing for such a small channel, though i dont agree with the title, i do like your effort, and in depth analysis of these things

[@sergescardigno]

appreciate it! titles help a small channel grow, hoping you find quality/fun/entertainment behind them :)

[@yogreenboi]

Damn, serge now i feel inspired to make a song out of my kitchen equipment 😅 Awesome video as always ;)

[@sergescardigno]

do it! haha thanks man

[@aidanmahoney]

When I first saw the thumbnail I swear i saw Gus Johnson lmfao

[@sergescardigno]

HAH I could see it

[@hayleyb467]

ooooh I love this! so much food for thought!! yum :)

[@bobo7918]

Indie rock tried to kill the metal but they failed as they were stricken to the ground.

[@hayleyb467]

lol

[@shadez123]

No?

[@gustavo8340]

me when im delusional

[@Patrick-id9uq]

Explain how

[@kennethmurray3452]

This is a tenacious D quote ~

[@SeaHorseGypsy]

This has opened my eyes. Thank you.

[@TheDrCor]

I feel like this entire video could have been about Anton Newcombe and the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

[@aphexmid6241]

I call this the urban outfitters effect. DIY culture was made popular by mac demarco and tyler the creator's flower boy and it spawned a whole wave of bedroom pop copycats like CUCO, Gus Dapperton, Still Woozy, and pretty much any another shoegaze dream pop sounding artist that are featured on spotifys pollen playlist and in any urban outfitters you walk in. Source: started college in 2015 and witnessed the culture shift in the art kid scene.

[@MinorKeyProductions]

Word. I remember listening to Makeout Videotape in high school after accidentally stumbling upon the band camp. Just blew me away with how fuzzy and beautiful it was. Fast forward 11-12 years and everyone is obsessed with the style

[@player-ic9yj]

love to see the pinegrove on ur indie mix g

[@sergescardigno]

thanks g they're in this actual video as well, pulled a command s clip

[@mituscustoms7796]

His songwriting is what shines the most. His lyrics are so simple but perfect.

[@Zergito]

Funny enough I’ve been listening to a lot of indie this year, even more than when I was in high school. But the indie I listen to now is just stuff from the 80s and 90s. Something about indie rock from those decades just feel so fresh and original, compared to indie rock now. I remember listening to Mac back in like 2013 when I was a Junior in high school and something about it sounded refreshing even though he wasn’t really doing anything new. Nowadays, his sound feels so stale to me now especially on his latest album. Wasn’t bad, but he never changed or evolved so it just feels stale. The only indie artist I like now (yet I still haven’t heard her new record yet😟) is Mitski. I tried other new indie artists but can’t seem to listen to them as much as I do Pavement, The Clean, The Cleaners from Venus, Royal Trux, The Vaselines, Pixies, The Breeders, Sebadoh, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Built To Spill, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Guided by Voices, PJ Harvey etc.

[@hebertomedinasousa4724]

You should try Jack Stauber

[@bryanalmanza9296]

Pixies for life

[@henrywallace7996]

What about The Field Mice, Felt, or Orange Juice?

[@henrywallace7996]

Also The House of Love

[@oropendola01]

The Clean!

[@OsirisT]

It's definitely an interesting concept, I mean whenever a genre is at its absolute peak there tends to be an era defining artist who we can associate it too (In most cases, obviously there's other bands/artists who built upon their respected genre but it's usually one of those who perfects it to the point where they are cemented into it). I like to call them Genre Sweethearts. Grunge had Nirvana, Disco has Been Gees, Metal has Metallica and so on and so on give or take.

[@TheJfluffy]

'Indie' is such a weird label/genre name. Is it called that because of *the approach* in making the music or is it *the sound* of the music? I get confused about this from time to time

[@afxtwinreverb]

I think indie was some marketing for the 2000 because the alt rock tag was already over used and didnt fit quite well. Something for the white alt kids that were weird enough but could afford living in cool places like New York or London, designer clothes, etc.

[@israelbloom6313]

Actually great video

[@punk1398]

OMG THIS VID IS SOOO INTENSE

[@dingleberryjones09]

“indie” is just too vast and vague of a genre description now, though most people relate it to a more sorrowful sound mixed with lofi and peculiar sounds nowadays.

[@alexdandanalex]

It's interesting to consider if an individual becoming synonymous with the tropes of a genre will result in the "death" of that genre. I put "death" in quotations because the issue isn't the genre disappearing entirely, it's just becoming trite. Old news. Mac's music certainly influenced the ethos of independent music and I can see how that made most new indie sound monotonous; however, music becoming trite is what spurs change in that given genre. Too much of a good thing leads to stagnation, which then leads to a new good thing. I think Mac's utter domination of the "indie" sound will lead (and has led) artists to pursue new sonic profiles either as a reaction to, or as a development of Mac's legacy.

[@Alanviberson]

I think Mac was at the end of a certain indie era and kinda the intro intro to the new school.. early 2010s indie was a different scene all together. It was much artistic in my opinion than now, and I think macs break in character from the traditional hipster at that point shook the whole scene up and they didn’t want to accept him. I remember seeing him play at pitchfork fest in 2013 and there were so many people in the crowd talking shit about him. I don’t think he killed indie but I think he just happened to pop up at the end of an era

[@crystalskylight9327]

I'm a fan of his music, I've never thought this much into it, but I enjoy what I hear.

[@MayhemJack]

Before Mac DeMarco, I just thought that the "indy" genre was whatever John Williams was doing.

[@elsinverguenzavonsnobiii3203]

Mac calls his style as "jizz-jazz"

[@flynnhendry]

A couple hundred bucks worth of a equipment is quite an underestimation. Dude has been stacked with expensive vintage gear since before salad days. I think the whole budget thing misleads people aspiring to sound like mac because some of his stand out production methods involve tape machines which are expensive to run and hard to use, synths like the juno-60 and prophet 5 which set you back like 4k each, and the roland space echo which he uses on like every song and is also pricey. Great video though.

[@sergescardigno]

Mmm yea but you have to remember that stuff was acquired before there was a vintage/80s craze like there is now, so prices aren’t what they were - we’re talkin 10 years ago. He wasn’t using anything that was crazy out of reach for most people, I think he was just ahead of the curve in knowing what he liked and what he wanted to spend. But you have a point that I could be a little off in that maybe he crossed into the thousands. Either way thanks for watchin!

[@flynnhendry]

@@sergescardigno You do make a good point in saying that he in part could be responsible for the price hike in said items but even if he did indeed get most of his gear at a decent price, gear adds up so quickly because you just can't record arrangements like that without a bunch of recording equipment.

[@brown9671]

@@sergescardigno I mean I wasn’t trying to buy vintage gear but in music the older it gets it doesn’t make it cheaper over time, think about some expensive ass guitars, they’re like 68’ fenders or whatever, and a brand new one is only like 600. Point is, he had some expensive gear even at the time. Who’s really going cheap is someone like Steve lacy, bro records on his phone with garage band. He is indie and sounds nothing like mac.

[@flynnhendry]

@@brown9671 Steve Lacy is defs a better example but I still think that whole garageband concept he talks about should be taken with a grain of salt. He is defs paying someone to at least mix or master some of his music to get it sounding radio friendly. Back to Mac, I actually read somewhere that a lot of the gear he acquired, especially early on, was given to him and he goes out of his way to say he was lucky to get all of it.

[@flynnhendry]

Also, can't forget to mention that Lacy's main guitar was a rickenbacker which is hella pricey

[@kidsarecheese9198]

loved the pinegrove cameo

[@lucaserojas]

Also Mac DeMarco's sound is pretty much everything Conan Mockasin had been doing years before him.

[@CamMojave]

To me you described Mac’s sound at the beginning, I knew it wasn’t Indie because only Mac makes me feel that way.

[@blueblousedesigns]

The indie music I used to listen to in the 2000's is called "Garage Rock"

[@TylerMcConnell]

I’m a 35-year-old huge fan of indie, and today is the first I’ve ever heard of Mac D.

[@radandpaisley]

Mac Demarco reminds me of 80's/90's Dream Pop brought into and juxtaposed into the modern scene of Indie.

[@Dielawn69]

He def has a dream pop style but his songwriting falls way more inline with 70's artists IMO

[@ConsciousSharing]

although this is true that most modern indie almost feels restricted to Mac DeMarco's sound, it is important to recognise the influences of earlier bands such as Pink Floyd, the smiths, velvet underground and even blur and how their lyrics and unique, amature sound is echoed in Mac's and other modern indepent aritsts' music.

[@getitgetitgoin]

there is so many different styles of indie music that aren't like mac lol. artists like tonstartssbandht, ging, and matty/matthew tavares are all amazing and what i think are the 3 most truly unique artists to be making music at the moment

[@getitgetitgoin]

"indie" is just a blanket term for the diy, and the diy scene is killing it !

[@ManuelGonzalez-uy1fl]

Killer video! I came in wanting to disagree soo bad for whatever reason, but the more i watched the more your argument made sense to me, i forgot who made a video entitled “did paul McCartney make the first successful indie album?” Or something like that and it focused on his album RAM following the beatles’ breakup, and I think back on how I would be like ‘what, there is absolutely no chorus in that album, how could it be considered indie? Then i learned what indie really meant and how it’s become another sound instead of an idea, very interesting.

[@lennon1482]

indie was the 80s 90s british guitar band scene signed to independent (indie) labels ,there was even an indie chart, have you cowboys adopted the term or something?

[@Zappappappappa]

I remember when "indie" just meant a group/artist was either signed to an independent record label or independently released their own music and not a genre by itself. So many "indie" bands are signed to major labels or their conglomerate of subsidiaries that the term itself is a bit silly to me at least.

[@GodsNode]

IDK I was just so sad to see that man's spirit broken after the pandemic and him not being able to tour. Man, he was on the break of something dark. Hopefully he gets better!

[@jwashfield]

I don’t think he has had enough success to be the face of any genre. So he definitely didn’t ruin any genre. Granted, almost every music genre is a niche these days, but most music listeners have not heard of this guy.

[@jesusvillegas5693]

So many different types of indie dude. I just like music😭.

[@rhodosu7937]

I think that styles within indie will adapt and change as time goes on and newer artists start to kick off and really develop their own sound, liek you mentioned the influence that demarco has had on the indie music scene isn’t anything particularly new

[@PhatLvis]

When Indie music (and the term itself) rose to prominence, in the 1990s, the designation "Indie" denoted music by bands on independent record labels - music which tended largely to be of a certain type, and the term soon became shorthand for any music belonging to a subset of the Alternative genre, somewhat interchangeable with College Radio music, regardless of the size or power of the band's label. The term did impart a certain connotation of DIY ethics/aesthetics, but it definitely referred to record labels. Also - genre-wise - the term still indicates Alt-rock. Thanks to technological advancements and the widespread impact of computers and the internet (alongside the death of recorded music as a commodity), there happens to be a profusion of bedroom musicians releasing self-produced music at present - across all genres. But Indie still means Indie Rock - basically, any music which traces its sound/aesthetic to groups like the Pixies (who, of course, have their own predecessors/influences).

[@smokestacksband]

So yeah indie music isn’t a sound description initially, but the idea that “if everyone is trying to do it this way, do we really need to have this word to describe this style” (not your exact words obviously) undermines the idea that there are genres of music that completely stands outside this Mac kinda sound. Metal music, underground rap, country, punk and more has roots in being made independently and can be still. It doesn’t need to be a genre, but a classification. Yeah maybe we should use terms like post punk, or bedroom pop, like you said. You know if I want to watch a movie, I wouldn’t just put in “indie” into the search bar. I might say “horror” and then indie describes the production style. More of a category then a genre. Great video man, great points made.

[@BinShayor]

What about currents?

[@drewwhitney2593]

As time goes on, any genre name will be cemented into a decade of history and soon people will associate that decade with that genre name. Ex. Disco and late 70’s, psych rock and late 60’s, grunge and 90’s, etc… And within each decade and genre name, lies a few key people that are mainly remembered for that genre. EX: The Clash and Punk Rock, The Beatles and British Invasion, and Talking Heads and New Wave. The “indie” genre has been around for awhile and perhaps it’s era might be ending and we will start to transition into a possible “post indie” era of genre. Mac Demarco just so happens to be one of the genre defining people who will associate to the genre just as we associate the artists I listed above to their genres. Music progresses, and genres will always end around the time they start changing too far from what it started as.

[@luislozano6332]

He did not kill indie. He is just one the most influencial indie artists of the 2010's but every age has one. Some other thing will come eventually. Any thoughts on who or what?

[@olof-palme]

I think the band "Tunnan & Moroten" will grow immensely this decade

[@t0tesrept1l1an4ever]

No, it's just that no one just came up with their own ideas after he blew up

[@DavidStarrUSA]

As long as a company stands in the way of real musicians, a company feeding/forcing sugar coated safe music on the masses, then *Indie Music* will never die. 💯💫❤️

[@hectoreguiarte5253]

i was thinking about it the other day and i’d consider him our generation’s Lou Reed, just honest music really

[@antin_ovel]

Im thinkin people will use the words which relate to their understanding of the concept their discussing. Mac's a big indie artist and will come to mind for many with mention of indie. Indie music has exploded with easier access to both the means to create it as well as the means to present it. Im also thinking this plays into Mac's success but nevertheless, he's got an appealing personality as an artist and kicks ass as a songwriter. I think his limitations may have steered him towards the sound we all know and love. Maybe less is more. I'm digging the discussion you're bringing to the table man. In response to the title of the video, he didn't. He strengthened the attention towards the indie culture for sure and now it's up to artists to differentiate themselves while being captivating.

[@sergescardigno]

lovin the discussion you're bringin here! it's true, this conversation about mac is definitely perspective-based, this was just a perspective I feel like a good amount of people shared. imo he did not kill indie, he captured what it was all about all along, and got cemented as a great. now, you're right, it's up to the next gen

[@bananerna2601]

I did the exact same kind of music back in 2008 but Mac did it so much better.

[@JLG629]

You could take the same exact DIY approach that Mac did and come up with a completely unique and individual sound. The problem is too many people try to copy Mac. I still think there’s plenty of room for new ‘indie’ music, people just need to be creative and open to anything, (like Mac was) but they want to be just like Mac straight away, mimic his sound, and call it “indie.” But that’s not really what indie music is.

[@federalagent9950]

Agreed. I think the real problem is a lack of originality. We as musicians all want to mimic our influences and think we came up with something revolutionary lol. I have recently been listening to incredibly diverse music and it really is helping with my creativity.

[@fotoautomatmusic]

Completely agree. Growing up in the 90s Indie was just DIY - that encompasses so many sounds from riot girl and grunge to more jangly British bands, even alot of later big label bands like Pulp and Belle and Sebastian were just indie but record labels found them all. The Demarco thing is just a sound everyone is trying to throw around in the post naughties era and now, rather then try something completely different. Those bands are just well, fairly dull. There is still room for originality and sometimes it creeps through. Everything is very DIY and accessible now so everyone. an try things but it also means theres awash of stuff out there more then there used to be and its more forgettable. I liked quality over quantity in some ways back int he 90s/00si gotta admit.

[@afxtwinreverb]

This happens also with EBM/post punk, some really cool stuff but mostly its the same boring joy division copy fail band or an uninspiring bass line arpeggio of a mono synth.

[@francisturney2938]

People have been asking questions like this for decades, but it's kinda of a short-sighted perspective. Indie is not simply independent music the same way Antifa are not simply people who are against fascisism (because that would include nearly everyone if you poll them), often words are more than the sum of their parts. Indie IS defined by a certain sound, it's basically soft rock/pop with folk-punk lyricism, often with psychedelic influence and occasionally with grunge/noise rock elements. There is actually another genre DIY rock which perhaps more accurately portrays the asthetic your talking about. Lou Reed is really the one who invented indie and punk sort of at the same, although Bob Dylan sort of paved the way for non-traditionally talented singers to hit it big. When I think of modern Indie, Mac DeMarco is just a small part of it, sure people copy him, but there are other giants in the genre who don't sound anything like that. I'd put Phoebe Bridgers way above Mac in terms of talent, creativity, and pushing the genre forward but Mitski, Soccer Mommy, Clario, Lianne La Havas, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are all putting Indie music out there which is completly different than Mac and so it's just kinda silly to focus on people copying him as the center of the indie world

[@henrywallace7996]

The only true indie is independent British guitar pop from the 80s.

[@danv1324]

I wonder if Tonetta was a massive influence for him. His voice sounds exactly like Tonetta

[@violenthell]

Another point is Demarco's use of the Chorus pedal, the chorus fell out of fashion since the 80s until Mac Demarco basically popularized it again, leading the beginnings of the 2010s and current obsession with the 80s/90s aesthetic / sonic sensibility. Which pinnacled with the release of the first season of Stranger things But to be fair I was not into Mac Demarco, and naturally got really into the Smiths/the cure when I was 16, but I always listened to forms of post punk growing up unintentionally. But Spotify has a bigger influence on this than anything

[@carlthepackilike]

He uses a vibrato pedal, he says it in an interview. But I’ve heard he now uses a boss waza craft ce-2 pedal

[@kumsy7170]

To find the origins of indie rock is kinda hard because true origins would be garage bands or whatever. I guess when artist starting getting their own equipment. Like Paul with Ram On i would consider pretty indie. Julian Cope in the 80s- be session home made its pretty indie.. maybe even consider bands like olivia tremor contro, sea and the cake, the shins, from the 90's and even dr dog on early 2000s. Theres just a lot more people with easier way to grab gear and make music.

[@eleganteaura]

I produce write and record everything on my own only using a mic and I phone

[@mthom0516]

You forgot, though, the bossa nova chords. He’s the only one who uses those chords in rock context

[@pepsicann1168]

My ex lived and breathed Mac demarco. He’s so nostalgic to listen to now. I want to be more into his music because it’s good but damn hearing that shit takes me back to war times. In another life I guess

[@sergescardigno]

damn, felt this

[@schwabzy]

I definitely feel indie has always changed to sound like whatever artist is in vogue at the time, not just demarco

[@henrywallace7996]

Indie was over by 1988 or so with the arrival of baggy. Sarah and twee kept the spirit alive for a few more years though.

[@bamboo___]

I literally don't understand why people hate indie music and listeners so much. like I just listen to what I like, and you can liek what you like, don't make it deep.

[@TheHappys]

He brought it to the mainstream

[@miguelmolins]

"Indie" is really just a particular kind of vibe. The Strokes and Arcade Fire always did completely different things but they were considered Indie and they certainly weren't DIY. What they had in common were influences. There's no doubt they all listened to The Velvet Underground. I'm from the generation that saw the emergence of wonderful bands like Deerhunter, Animal Collective and Ariel Pink and I also saw how something that promised so much came to nothing. Gradually indie was devoured by its own snobbery and today we have thousands of "indie" bands that think they are too cool to say anything or be enthusiastic about anything. That attitude only looked good on Lou Reed (well, actually he did know how to say a thing or two) and maybe The Strokes on his first album. Mac Demarco and Ariel Pink were the last really good, original things that indie left behind. Today "Indie" is just a confusing Spotify playlist full of boring bands. We must look forward (or backward, who cares, there is too much already).

[@andyscott5277]

First "Indie" album was Paul McCartney’s Ram.

[@PhatLvis]

When Indie music (and the term itself) rose to prominence, in the 1990s, the designation "Indie" denoted music by bands on independent record labels - music which tended largely to be of a certain type, and the term soon became shorthand for any music belonging to a subset of the Alternative genre, somewhat interchangeable with College Radio music, regardless of the size or prominence of the band's label. The term did impart a certain connotation of DIY ethics/aesthetics, but it definitely referred to record labels. Also - genre-wise - the term still indicates Alt-rock. Thanks to technological advancements and the widespread impact of computers and the internet (alongside the death of recorded music as a commodity), there happens to be a profusion of bedroom musicians releasing self-produced music at present - across all genres. But Indie still means Indie Rock - basically, any music which traces its sound/aesthetic to groups like the Pixies (who, of course, have their own predecessors/influences).

[@user-uo4ys6lb4v]

mac is vetted. the niche for good gear and good songs still lives on, it’s just a little buried, and that my friends is underground.

[@thomasrobinson9148]

the term indie works better as a prefix (indie rock, indie pop, indie punk, etcetera). it more describes the origin of the music than the sound

[@sergescardigno]

I think you might mean prefix, but I like this approach I agree

[@thomasrobinson9148]

@@sergescardigno I did mean prefix and I will be editing my comment to hide my shame

[@sergescardigno]

@@thomasrobinson9148 no shame homie we all make mistakes ❤️

[@InAtlasAtLast]

He also happens to make badass guitar solos, but those aren’t the most common thing in modern indie

[@saturninkepa4915]

I don't get it. Is it about intentional suckage? ..because that is what MD sounds like to me.

[@dougthealligator]

“Indie” has referred to a sound rather than the context of music since the early 90s at least.

[@sergescardigno]

what does indie sound like to you? the word itself is short for “independent”, so I’m genuinely curious

[@cameronstephen9253]

Interesting take

[@lloydthomas4836]

look in post punk for more authentic artists imo, especially the uk and ireland scenes iykyk

[@violenthell]

This video should be 20-30 minutes, as there is way more to the effect Mac Demarco had on music and culture that has stagnated things. I'm 25, but I was 18 so many "indie kids" dressed like Mac Demarco, but Mac demarco actually got his style from the skate culture, he popularized this style

[@nickmalkemus5898]

99% of my Spotify recommends are walmart Mac Demarcos and Tame Impalas putting immense effort into sounding like they're not trying

[@Zappappappappa]

Most importantand influential artists/bands that every single "indie" band should be thankful for is the Pixies and Pavement.

[@philosophyjones]

DIY lives on, 'Indie' be damned

[@Pantherboss-ue6ue]

Hes a good song writer

[@DavidStarrUSA]

*DavidStarrUSA Paradise*

[@bobo7918]

Jizz Jazz for LYFE.

[@JENewJazzPerspective1]

It wasn’t a couple hundred dollars in equipment definetly more even at the start because just a dx7 costs a few hundred dollars

[@sergescardigno]

see the pinned comment

[@JENewJazzPerspective1]

@@sergescardigno yeah I guess it’s just the saltiness of us kids who can’t buy a Juno for 500$ market is different now a days and they never make anything like they used to

[@DeadpoolX9]

My problem with it is that it destroyed the kinda experimental DIY aesthetic that makes indie indie for me but I'm also mostly partial to the fuzz garage era of indie along with the more experimental sides of indie. So to codify it essentially destroys what makes it beautiful. I've maintained that indie is actually very lazy as a label and what we describe as indie can be better described with other terms such as jangle or synthpop

[@di4352]

I don't think he killed independent sound, I think we're just lazily drifting towards music that we relate to. I love Mac's music, it has a lot of heart, but I always need to feel challenged as a listener, that means picking up new things to listen to and stuff I may not even hear otherwise.