btw, chuck klosterman sucks

um, i don't "get" this whole "indie rock" thing. sure, some of my favorite bands/musicians are considered "indie rock," but still, i'm mystified over this appellation. for example, take this nme list of "indie anthems" via stereogum:

50 My Bloody Valentine - 'You Made Me Realise'
49 The Rapture - 'House Of Jealous Lovers'
48 Sonic Youth - 'Bull In The Heather'
47 The Libertines - 'Up The Bracket'
46 Dinosaur Jr - 'Freak Scene'
45 The La's - 'There She Goes'
44 The Stone Roses - 'Love Spreads'
43 Suede - 'Animal Nitrate'
42 The Cribs - 'Hey Scenesters'
41 Blur - 'Parklife'
40 Klaxons - 'Golden Skans'
39 Oasis - 'Champagne Supernova'
38 Pixies - 'Gigantic'
37 Kasabian - 'LSF'
36 Kaiser Chiefs - 'I Predict A Riot'
35 Pixies - 'Monkey Gone To Heaven'
34 Radiohead - 'Just'
33 The Killers - 'Mr Brightside'
32 The Stone Roses - 'Fool's Gold'
31 Oasis - 'Cigarettes & Alcohol'
30 Manic Street Preachers - 'A Design For Life'
29 Arcade Fire - 'Rebellion (Lies)'
28 Pavement - 'Cut Your Hair'
27 Oasis -' Wonderwall'
26 Radiohead - 'Creep'
25 Oasis - 'Supersonic'
24 Babyshambles - 'Fuck Forever'
23 The Gossip - 'Standing In The Way Of Control'
22 The Breeders - 'Cannonball'
21 The Smiths - 'Panic'
20 Joy Division - 'Transmission'
19 Joy Divison - 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'
18 The Verve - 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'
17 The Stone Roses - 'I Wanna Be Adored'
16 Franz Ferdinand - 'Take Me Out'
15 Blur - 'Song 2'
14 Oasis - 'Don't Look Back In Anger'
13 The Libertines - 'Can't Stand Me Now'
12 The Stone Roses - 'She Bangs The Drums'
11 The Smiths - 'This Charming Man'
10 Arctic Monkeys - 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor'
09 The Strokes - 'Last Nite'
08 The Stone Roses - 'I Am The Resurrection'
07 The Smiths - 'How Soon Is Now?'
06 The Libertines - 'Time For Heroes'
05 The Libertines - 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun'
04 The Smiths - 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'
03 Pulp - 'Common People'
02 Nirvana - 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
01 Oasis - 'Live Forever'

right off the bat, look at the bottom two entries: my bloody valentine at 50 + the rapture at 49. say what? my bloody valentine is amazing; the rapture is corn poo. this is yet another example of whack-ass music journalists desperately trying to look "cool" by ranking contemporary bands/musicians egregiously above more accomplished, older (and in some cases, defunct) acts. another example is rolling stone's list of the greatest guitarists of all time + jack white's rank in, like, the top 20. say what you want about eddie van halen (ranked at #70), but the guy's had an enormous effect on the guitar in rock music; if jack white has done anything to the guitar, it's making a cheesy brand of department-store guitars super trendy. and anyway, the fucking arctic monkeys? ranking higher than any smiths song? ranking higher than "this charming man?" are you out of your fucking mind? and how is oasis even on this list? how are they number one? why call this "indie rock" when it clearly isn't? i just don't get applying labels when the definition of said labels is cryptic at best, wrong at worst. hey, did you know that the best female pop vocal album eva is cannibal corpse's butchered at birth? totally is. because i want it to be + i don't need your fancy RULEZ.