this more personal mix presents a lot of my favorite bands from the mid-00s, when i was in a big indie rock phase, as well as classics and more modern entries in that category.
full tracklist (expand to view)
I recently had the strange experience of encountering lithium as a mood stabilizer in my personal life. I almost couldn't believe it--that's the stuff Nirvana wrote a song about! I was already in a bit of mood to listen to this kinda music so I took the opportunity to make a mix of these kinds of dark, moody rock songs that are a great comfort to me when I feel down. I included some of my all time favorite bands from the 90s, like Radiohead and The Smashing Pumpkins.
A lot of the Japanese indie acts featured on this mix I found during the mid-2000s, when I was part of a chatroom focused on J-indie music. With a free sharing culture came a discovery of many fantastic bands I never would've known otherwise, such as The Back Horn (possibly my favorite Japanese band ever!), Nico Touches the Walls, HIGH VOLTAGE, Paper Bag Lunchbox, and more. A lot of these acts went on to do big things, but I often already knew about them thanks to this chatroom--shoutout JIR!
I've also included many tracks from acts that I found more recently in the same vein, often on Youtube: acts like UNISON SQUARE GARDEN, NOMELON NOLEMON, Eve, and Brian the Sun. Eve in particular really stands out to me as someone who has grown from the early days of Vocaloid tracks, into one of the best singer-songwriters active today. And his special brand of animated music videos, which always uses similar themes and motifs, although they are usually not directly connected, has gotten massive amounts of attention!
Finally, I have to give a special mention to the opening track of this mix, from a one-man band in Korea--this release, "After the Magic" really blew me away with its more dynamic and ambitious approach to shoegaze. "Arrival" is my favorite track right now, but the whole release is a must-listen in my opinion. (h/t Hunter van Brocklin!)
Hope you enjoy this mix, which is quite different from what I usually do! Back to digifu next time :)