Your comments about how indie rock is not really “rock” are interesting. I’ve been giving some thought to what that genre has meant over time, and it’s a difficult trajectory to trace. For example, I tend to tell indie rock’s story as the evolution of punk into New Wave (Elvis Costello, Talking Heads), then ’80′s college rock (The Smiths, R.E.M.), then hushed, introspective material (Belle & Sebastian, Elliott Smith), and now something more baroque (Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens). Most of that music featured guitars, but none of it was capital-’R’ ROCK. So, to me, indie rock was never about “rocking out,” and the subdued Garden State generation seems like a logical progression: more The Beatles and less The Rolling Stones. However, you could just as easily trace the evolution from punk through harder-edged bands like Husker Du and The Replacements, the Pixies and Sonic Youth, … And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead and TV on the Radio. All those bands could just as easily be labeled “indie rock.” In the past two years, I feel those two branches of the indie rock tree have strongly diverted, so that when fans of the former sing the praises of Joanna Newsom and fans of the latter favor The Hold Steady, each side cannot fathom what the other sees in their New Favorite Band.

Keep up the good work.