Tough Customer // Wire

Ghosty

Don’t you think it’s time that indie rock got its own radio station? Classic rock, oldies, top 40, etc. each get their own radio stations. As you flip through the dial, you know which of these stations you’ve landed on because each of these genres has a distinct sound, one that can be identified exclusive of song or artist. Likewise, as we’re fond of saying here at TC headquarters, indie rock at this point is as much a description of style as it is a declaration of sovereignty. While it may be broadly defined, in most cases you know it when you hear it (like pornography - yay!).

While out listening to music the other night, I was again reminded of the idea of indie rock as a simple genre description. The band (whom I’ve already forgotten) was just ok . You know the type - good enough not to offend, bad enough not to impress. I wasn’t that disappointed though, because they were just a band I was checking out based purely on speculation, which I do several times a week. I had dragged some friends along and, over drinks afterwards, they asked me what I thought. “Meh,” I shrugged, “it was just some indie rock.”

In this case I was using the generic indie rock label as an indictment, but it can also be an endorsement. It’s kind of like jazz. I sometimes like to put on a jazz station and let it dictate the soundtrack of, say, a late night drive or the first few hours of daylight before the coffee kicks in. Of course, I have my favorite songs and musicians, but it mostly serves as a pleasant sound, like waves crashing on a beach.

This is why we need an indie rock radio station - so we can have a simple FM depot for the specific songs as well as the general sound. If this station ever comes into existence, one the bands sure to go into heavy rotation is Ghosty from Lawrence, KS. In the two-and-a-half years they’ve been together, Ghosty has certainly recorded some stand-out tracks. Mostly though, they make a nice sound. Their new album Answers is the kind of record you could listen to three times in a row without it bothering you. And it’s a good thing too, because if indie rock radio turns out to be anything like the other stations, there will be a lot of repetition.

MP3: ‘Junior Grows Up’

MP3: ‘You Are A Big Screen’