Indie Pretensions

I like Indie music. But I don't like all the pretensions that can surround it. To me, there's a sense of in-groupness -- you're in or you're out. I'm definitely out. Laugh as you may, but I just learned that Joan as a Policewoman is a group. There is a new digital magazine called Blurt, which covers the Indie music scene. There are two things noteworthy about Blurt: (1) it is defining what a digital magazine should be and (2) it includes a massive number of CD reviews. As a digital magazine, Blurt does it right. In addition to Features, there is a News section which it appears will be updated between issues. There is a Video section which I presume will collect engaging clips and interviews in a YouTube-ish format. Currently, there's an interview with a couple of members of the Black Keys about their experience recording at the Beatles' Abbey Road Studios. The interview effectively demonstrates the stupidity of the musicians being interviewed -- although I suspect avid Black Keys fans will take umbrage (assuming they know what umbrage means). But the video section could be very cool. The potential is there. The Reviews are great for those of us not cool enough to know what's cool. The rating system used in the reviews is pointless, since ratings reflect the reviewer. The Blurt Out Loud forum helps define what a digital magazine can do better than print. And the Shop section -- once it's up and running -- will be where I presume I'm supposed to buy my Blurt t-shirt and coffee mug. If they're smart -- and I'm guessing they are -- it will have links to the Indie labels where we can buy CDs and downloads directly from them.