Dedsayakai

The new album by indie band Arcade Fire is currently No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. Music critic Ben Sisario writes about those who say this band, “the current standard-bearer for do-it-yourself musical virtue,” has “sold out.” What do you think? What does it mean to be “indie”? Should artists in general do whatever they have to do to survive in today’s economy, whether it’s making lucrative deals with Amazon or selling their songs for use on commercials?

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In “A Hit Record, and an Indie-Rock Identity Crisis,” Ben Sisario writes:

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IN January 1992, Nirvana’s “Nevermind” replaced Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” as No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, and the S-word began to fly, from critics, old fans and anyone else whose favorite underground band had been scrubbed and neutered on its way to the top: “sellout.”
It’s a damaging slur for any group whose values are forged in indie rock’s anticommercial cocoon, implying loss of principles and abandonment of a faithful base. But whenever the single-digit altitudes of the chart are in sight, it becomes an unavoidable risk.

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So when Arcade Fire, the Canadian band that is the current standard-bearer for do-it-yourself musical virtue, hit No. 1 last week with its album “The Suburbs” — replacing Eminem’s “Recovery” — there was bound to be an outburst. Critics, old fans and various naysayers worried about the significance of the triumph, and questioned the D.I.Y.-ness of marketing efforts like a weeklong $3.99 deal at Amazon.com and paid promotion on Twitter. “ ‘Corporate indie,’ anyone?” wrote one tattooed fan.

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Not everyone was a hater, of course; plenty of supporters, including other bands on Arcade Fire’s American record label, Merge, sent their 140-character congratulations. But just as Nirvana’s success prompted fans to wonder whether so-called alternative music had any meaning once it became culturally dominant, Arcade Fire’s No. 1 has raised questions about what it means to be indie.

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Students: Describe for us what you see as “selling out” artistically. What artists, from any discipline, would fit your definition? Do you think it’s possible for musicians, writers, dancers, photographers, painters or any other kind of artist to survive in today’s economy without selling out in some way? Why or why not?

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