We know that the year in which Indie-Rock was dominating the charts feels like it was just yesterday, but it was actually twenty years ago and you are officially old as fuck. Surely we’re not the only ones who have told you this, but you’ve wasted your life living in the past. It’s not an easy thing to hear, we know, but we can’t really blame you. 2003 was an incredible year for Indie bands named ‘The Something’ and our collective joint health. To celebrate the twentieth year of trying to figure out what the hell ‘Indie-Rock’ even means, we’ve compiled a list of fifteen of the genre’s finest albums that are doing the same.
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks “Pig Lib”
Stephen Malkmus’ second release after the dissolution of Pavement found the songwriter exploring his jammy side more than ever. After a near continuation of the aforementioned group’s signature sound on Malkmus’ first solo outing, ‘Pig Lib’ added a shitload more guitar solos, a new group of players to the fold, and expanded his repertoire into music your dad would probably like.
Death Cab For Cutie “Transatlanticism”
You probably remember this album as the soundtrack to the most devastating breakup of your life. Or maybe you were a dick and really related to songs like ‘Tiny Vessels,’ and ‘We Looked Like Giants.’ If it’s the latter, you were probably a monster and we hope you’ve had time to reflect since. Either way, in just five years this album will be old enough to rent itself a gray sub-compact and drive even further into your heart.
The Postal Service “Give Up”
Ben Gibbard wasn’t satisfied with releasing just one magnum opus in 2003, so he whipped this masterpiece together with assistance from Jimmy Tamborello and Jenny Lewis. What a fucking asshole. Chances are no other album in the history of music makes you as nostalgic for your college dorm room and all of the emotionally devastating things that occurred there as ‘Give Up’ does.
The White Stripes “Elephant”
This album was so wildly successful that Jack White can do pretty much whatever the fuck he wants to now. That’s either a great thing or a horrifyingly bad thing depending on your feelings about his later output. One thing’s for certain though, this album practically made his goofy hat budget infinite, subsequently giving us years of material.
The Strokes “Room on Fire”
Most overhyped bands drop the ball on their second record, but the Strokes are not your average indie darlings, or at least they weren’t at that time. ‘Room On Fire’ saw their star rapidly on the rise. A trend that would follow for at least one more album until they got sick of being perfect. Put this one on and reminisce about that time you scored 100% on ‘Reptilia’ in ‘Guitar Hero 3.’ You told everyone you did it on Expert, but Medium is just as impressive.
The Unicorns “Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?”
The Unicorns proved to be as elusive and legendary as the mythical creature that lended the band their name. You probably don’t remember this one because no great art is ever appreciated in its time and you didn’t have Spotify yet. However, if you’ve ever seen a Crayola commercial or a handful of indie films from the early 2000s, you’ve definitely heard the opening riff of ‘I Was Born (A Unicorn),’ though you likely thought it was Vampire Weekend.
The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow”
The unofficial soundtrack to the lives of sensitive Zach Braff fans, ‘Chutes Too Narrow’ was an instant classic the moment it was released. There is rarely an imperfect note on this one, and its influence continues to carry weight. Fans of James Mercer’s dulcet tones listen to this one instead of going to therapy to this day.
The Weakerthans “Reconstruction Site”
If you’re a pet owner and have ever been depressed, chances are you’ve wept to ‘A Plea From A Cat Named Virtue’ at least a thousand times. If not, perhaps you were endeared to the band out of a need for an even nerdier version of Propagandhi. However you cut it, considering the fact that John K. Samson and company’s excellent ‘Reconstruction Site’ has touched you in any way, it’s probably time to take your blood pressure medication.
The Kills “Keep On Your Mean Side”
Launched out of the Garage Rock Revival started by The White Stripes, the Kills were locked and loaded from the moment they hit the UK indie scene. Their debut album borrowed the simplicity from their contemparies while ingesting it with a drum machine and more psychedelic soundscapes. Please note, we cannot be held responsible for reigniting your smoking habit by reminding you of this one.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Fever to Tell”
In Green Day’s concert film, ‘Bullet In A Bible,’ a bit of B-roll features bassist Mike Dirnt performing a satiric version of ‘Maps.’ It was a charming moment, but we’re not buying his vitriol for even a second. ‘Maps’ is just one of twelve indisputable classics on this behemoth of a debut album. We apologize for probably reminding you of your college ex with this entry. Don’t call them, we doubt their number is the same.
Sufjan Stevens “Michigan”
The first installment of an ambitious project involving making an album about every state in America, ‘Michigan’ is so old that Sufjan probably thinks we’ve forgotten he still owes us 48 more. Guess what, fucker, we haven’t forgotten, and no, we don’t care how great this one or Illinois turned out to be. The clock is ticking, Stevens. You have 24 hours.
The Rapture “Echoes”
Back in 2003 when you could bust a move without busting a hip, the indie-dance-rock craze was in full bloom thanks to trailblazers like the Rapture. If you could walk into a room without hearing ‘House of Jealous Lovers’ in the early aughts, chances are you didn’t have cool enough friends, but we’re not here to judge you for that, you tasteless loser.
Cat Power “You Are Free”
Whittled down from sporadic sessions that produced 40 songs, Cat Power’s ‘You Are Free’ is a sparse and heady 56 minute listen that was rather ahead of its time. Cameos from Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl are practically unrecognizable in the moody haze that permeates this record. If you were overly concerned about looking niche and unique twenty years ago, chances are ‘He War’ was your MySpace profile song for a while, showing all of your Top 8 how free you truly were.
Kings of Leon “Youth and Young Manhood”
Believe it or not, before Kings of Leon were one of the blandest bands you have ever heard, they were dubbed as ‘the Southern Strokes.’ Their rough-edged guitar sound and retro leanings could have just as easily placed this album in ’73, and their debut is so good you can almost forget how fucking lame ‘Sex On Fire’ when it was released four years later.
The Decemberists “Her Majesty”
This album is so literate that we’d be surprised if your English professor didn’t burn this one on CDs for the entire class, which was another thing that happened twenty years ago. ‘Her Majesty’ kick-started the Decemberists’ long career of making you feel like an idiot for the entirety of each of their records, but deserves praise for propelling the equally insufferable indie-folk revolution.