Indie Rock Songs I Liked When I Was 16 (And Still Like Now)

The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen

This is exactly the type of song that defines my music listening of this era. I couldn't name a single Afghan Whigs album besides Gentlemen, and I haven't heard a single friend bring them up in conversation since. But for some reason, at the time, my internet research had convinced me that this album was a must-have. Whether it was a Pitchfork review or an Amazon recommendation or the subject of a discussion topic on MuchMusic's Wedge message board, whoever recommended this album made it seem important; essential. I bought into it and, even if hindsight suggests Gentlemen wasn't so essential after all, I'm glad I did.


The Beta Band - Dry the Rain

Yeah, I heard it in High Fidelity like every other idiot. And I was a big enough sucker to even buy the album based on that High Fidelity scene. Don't care. Still a great song.


Badly Drawn Boy - The Shining

There was a girl in my grade 12 writer's craft class named Sonja who worked at the Music World in the mall near my house. Despite the fact that I'd spoken about 10 words to her ever, I thought she was the coolest and most attractive girl in the world. I hadn't learned to talk to my crushes by age 17. One night, when I was meeting a friend at the movie theatre in the mall, I arrived a little early and stopped by Music World. I bought the Badly Drawn Boy album The Hour of Bewilderbeast, making sure to get in Sonja's line when I did so. I guess I was hoping that she'd recognize me from class and suddenly realize, because of the album I was buying, that I was one cool dude. This didn't happen. We exchanged about another 10 words, and I proceeded on to the movie theatre. But now I forever remember that exchange when I listen to this album, and I guess I'm okay with that.


The Reindeer Section - Sting

Now, I might turn up my nose if someone tried to get me to listen to something by dubbing it "a Snow Patrol side project." Then? I didn't even know who Snow Patrol were, and I listened to this song over and over in blissful ignorance.


Pavement - Summer Babe (Winter Version)

One of the hardest adjustments to make when I transitioned from listening to exclusively radio rock to discovering the "indie" sound of the 90s was the jarring lack of production. Slanted and Enchanted sounds like it was recorded in someone's basement, and for a long time, I wasn't feeling most of the record because of it. But a song like "Summer Babe" was so catchy that, unusual production or not, it couldn't help but win me over. Years of music listening have made lo-fi sound considerably more "normal" to me, and "Summer Babe" sounds better than ever for it.