Page Text: Elliott Smith - No Name #2 (from Roman Candle)
Elliott Smith - Tomorrow Tomorrow
Indie Singer-Songwriters In The 2000s
Like most indie music, things got truly weird in the 2000s. That decade also delivers some of the best, boldest, most striking, ambitious music of the genre, of all time.
The beginning of Sufjan Stevens' States series are some of the most iconic, distinctive sounds of that decade. They're some of the best of this century, showcasing what is possible when you blend art and authenticity. Stevens is actually able to make songs about Superman, Casimir Pulaski Day, train workers, gold miners, and widows sound hip and emotional. It's a neat trick, coming off as both precious and genuinely moving in a way that Wes Anderson hasn't been able to pull off since his earliest films.
Joanna Newsom is one of the other main faces and forces of 2000s, showcasing what's possible with the genre while still staying true to its roots. Like many of the other artists we've mentioned, Joanna Newsom faces the future while remaining rooted in the past. It brings to mind classic luminaries like Vashti Bunyan, whom the freak folk movement Joanna Newson was a part of, alongside contemporaries like CocoRosie or Devandra Banhart.
Like much of the 2000s genre, Newsom's music can be polarizing. Some find it the next coming of Joni Mitchell while others find it unbearably cloying, more likely to give you diabetes than epiphanes. Either way, it's a necessary stethoscope to detect the pulse of 2000s indie music and culture.
Best Of The 2000s:
Sufjan Stevens - Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
Sufjan Stevens - Decatur
Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
Sufjan Stevens - For All The Widows In Paradise
Joanna Newsom - The Bean and the Sprout
Bon Iver - Flume
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Artists Of The 2010s
Like most indie music in the 2010s, artists went every direction all at once in the second decade of the 21st Century. On one hand, we have great examples of classic, stripped-down, lyrically-driven music. Some of the best female indie singers like Laura Marling or Angel Olsen didn't seek to reinvent the wheel, instead focusing on strong songwriting, solid musicianship, and heartfelt lyrics, sometimes fleshed out with interesting arrangements or atmospheric production. Others would just update '60s fare with millennial themes like Father John Misty, sounding like Harry Nilsson for a world of celebrity politicians and influencers.
Artists like Mitski illustrate that the artists in this lane don't need to limit themselves to overly-earnest acoustic ballads made by straight white people. She brings a real sincerity to a world of bubblegum garage punk, like The Vivian Girls being fronted by Karen Carpenter.
Frankie Cosmos is another artist blending a unique style and worldview with a punk-style minimalism. It's equal parts cute, fun, and weird and very, very much herself. It also shows how the future of indie singer-songwriter music is wide open, falling somewhere between indie rock proper, punk rock, and other non-rock music.
Best Of The 2010s:
Laura Marling - Take The Night Off
Laura Marling - I Was An Eagle
Laura Marling - Master Hunter
Mitski - Once More To See You
Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
Father John Misty - When You Are Smiling And Astride Me
Sun Kil Moon - Carissa
Josephine Foster - No One's Calling Your Name
Aldous Harding - Fixture