During the infancy of 'indie', back when it was something that individual fans felt that they could 'be proud of', a Grammy nomination was met with astonishment and validation. However, in the post-Arcade-Fire-wins-the-night-and-validates-indie era, it seems like random ass indie bands will get nominated every year, and no1 really cares, and we all already know that 'indie went mainstream'. Gonna be a weird era, but we will still see the same tweets/half-assed 'thought pieces' about 'what indie means' & other gimmicky over-analysis of 'the most coveted prize in American music.'

The most stunning development of the night is Skrillex's five nominations. He is just behind Kanye West and Adele who each have six noms. Skrillex is the first electronic artist put into the Best New Artist category, so he is basically a 'legitimate trailblazer' even if James Blake tries to discredit him because his brand of dubstep is too aggressive. Bon Iver also got some Sympathy Noms, and Foster the Ppl are riding their Pumped Up Kickswaves to another awards show, then we get to see if they 'last' or 'fade away' as one of the 2010s best one-hit-wonders.

Here is a breakdown of indie, electro, mindie, bubble gum indie, cool dad, dubstep, dance_house, chillwave, and other relevant alt genres/humans who were nominated 4 Grammys. (View a complete list of every nomination here.)

The 'Biggest' News

Best New Artist

• The Band Perry
• Bon Iver
• J. Cole
• Nicki Minaj
• Skrillex

OMG Skrilly and Bon Iver in the same category?
But isn't Bon Iver a middle aged man from the Midwest? Isn't he an old ass artist who has been around 4 a while? Guess it doesn't matter. Bon Iver was also nominated for 'Record of the Year' and 'Song of the Year', but just because he is a cool dad indie band like the Arcade Fire, don't expect that b0ring a$$ album to 'actually win.' I think this is the beginning of a default 'mainstream indie band' nomination for most of the big awards. It is symbolic/sympathetic.

It seems like the surprise Arcade Fire moment of the show would be Skrillex winning. There is always a bad feeling that Nicki Minaj's big ass will waddle up to accept the award, but as long as she is slippin us some nip, we'll be alright.

!!! Continue Reading this post !!

Skrillex

Alternative Celebrity, DJ

Skrillex is a popular dubstep DJ who is arguably the #1 alt DJ in the world.

Lists: indie hunks, Producers, electro, dubstep

Read more>>>>

Bon Iver

Alternative Celebrity

Bon Iver is a bearded man from a Midwestern forest who sounds like Bruce Hornsby and once collab-ed with Kanye West.

Lists: indie hunks, beards

Read more>>>>

For a while, I have been joking about the quest for a position called 'The Prince of Dubstep.' An ongoing battle for supremacy between artists like Skrillex, Deadmau5, Jamie xx, Burial, and James Blake, who are basically some of 'the most famous' dubsteppers in different realms of the genre. Usually, I would include James Blake in the conversation even though I always figured that his music 'wasn't really dubstep', but it was just funny that he considered to be a member of the genre. Always seemed more like a conceptual soft rocker to me. I figured it was just the indiesphere mislabeling something, just because labels are effective writing tools to appeal to ppl who don't really listen to music.

James Blake 'made indie shockwaves' yesterday in an interview with The Phoenix. He basically said that Americans ruined dubstep by taking it to inauthentic raver-bro markets.

The things that drew me to dubstep in the first place weren't necessarily the kind of testosterone-driven environments that you got from say, late jungle or some of the drum 'n' bass stuff that was happening after that. I think the dubstep that has come over to the US, and certain producers — who I can't even be bothered naming — have definitely hit upon a sort of frat-boy market where there's this macho-ism being reflected in the sounds and the way the music makes you feel. And to me, that is a million miles away from where dubstep started. It's a million miles away from the ethos of it. It's been influenced so much by electro and rave, into who can make the dirtiest, filthiest bass sound, almost like a pissing competition, and that's not really necessary. And I just think that largely that is not going to appeal to women. I find that whole side of things to be pretty frustrating, because that is a direct misrepresentation of the sound as far as I'm concerned.

James Blake dropped a massive, Anti-American bomb.

James Blake is above American dubstep.

James Blake hates Americans.

James Blake thinks dubstep can be lumped into the 'North American Scum'-wave demographic [via Deadmau5 being from Canada].

James Blake hates dubstreamers.

James Blake doesn't like his drop TOO dirty.

I am not really even very familiar with the genre of dubstep, and I am not a dubstep historian. I just remember there used to be some mysterious bro in a hoodie who every one creamed their pants over then dubstep became a bit more 'prevalent.' Like any genre other than chillwave, we argue about the history, influences, and try to project some sort of 'optimal trajectory' for the genre. Like we are some sort of watchdog and historical preservation society. However, there is something 'troubling' about James Blake's statement. I applaud him for 'saying something with balls', which is something that the majority of artists avoid ever doing and just 'try to sound cool and quirky' in interviews, but I feel like his statement perfectly embodies the white man's indiesphere's problem with dubstep.

Has the indiecentric mindset's rejection of Dubstep culture exposed the impending obsolescence of the indieblogosphere?

Indie is facing a harsh reality. Many of our most beloved indie bands have evolved into 'what they are going to be.' They will not take many risks in the future, and their lack of innovation is likely to leave us pretty disinterested in their product. There aren't that many great personalities in indie, and the way we perceive modern indie bands as 'artists' actually works against them. It feels like every modern indie band is expected to 'play by our rules', debuting their albums on boring NPR streams, existing to us in the context of familiar widgets and strategic brand alignments.

The newest 'buzzworthy' indie bands are just decent replicas of who they think they are supposed to be, replicating the same tactics of the old indie guard. Are you really that excited about the next Animal Collective album?

As we enter our alt-middle ages, we are at a crossroads. Do we want to go fall asleep at a Bon Iver or James Blake concert, or do we want to watch people who are younger than us have the same kind of fun that we used to have at a dubstep concert? Immersing yourself in dubmericana culture makes you wonder if the same joy and excitement that we once felt for music might have been just as impersonal and contrived.

What does the old guard white man's indiesphere even 'value' in the music that they honor as 'authentic'? Why has American dubstep been deemed as 'inauthentic'? Is it the people who enjoy the music? Has music tastemaking just become a classist exercise?

What are you afraid of, authentic indie blog? No longer 'being cool'? No longer controlling the ability to tastemake future generations? Become the same stale voices that we thought we had avoided becoming 5-10 years ago? Has indie 'peaked'?

James Blake claims that American dubstep is too crunchy, too wompwomp, too contrived, too bro-y, too testosterone-y, too ravey. It is 'just a pissing contest' 2 impress simpletons who are not 'students of dubstep.' Every genre of music eventually becomes a pissing contest. You can call it 'evolving' or 'the corruption of the genre.' You can call it 'attempting to make music that people enjoy/relate to', or you can call it 'manipulating the masses.' Ambition = Success = Marketing = Pissing.

I pee every day, competing for relevancy. My stream is long, thick. My prostate does not interfere with my ability to pee a consistent stream...yet.

It is also important to talk openly about the quick rise of dubstep DJ culture and the resentment and jealousy that it can inspire from buzzbands. Face it. You're an indie artist driving around Middle America in a van, and your best business model is taking handouts from megabrands. You're not going to make too much money this tour. The critics are on your ass. Some ass hole blog makes fun of you weekly. You wonder if 'being alt famous' is even worth it. Should you just get your master's degree and a decent job? Will you ever be the Arcade Fire? Do you even want that?

Then you see a popular DJ making more than you make in one night because they sold out a massive venue to people twirling glowsticks. You say the music sucks. You say their fans are less authentic than your fans. You say they have 'corrupted' something pure for the sake of money, success, fame & glamour. They see Deadmau5 headlining Coachella and wonder if the indie infrastructure could even get them there in a rewarding/fulfilling way. Maybe the jealousy isn't that simple, but it's a natural extension of human nature.

How did Skrillex reach Bono/Coldplay-level resentment levels so quickly?

I have more questions than answers.

Indie Buzzbands can question the talent & authenticity of dubsteppers. Dubsteppers can question the talent of indie buzzbands. Right now, the majority of 'genuine enthusiasm and excitement' is in the dubstep genre. Maybe it's 'youth', 'simpletons who just want to dance' or something else that James Blake hates.

Why is the indiesphere so afraid of American dubstep?
Are we in the middle of the Electro Vs. Indie War?
WTF is dubstep?
Do we really care abt the authentic preservation of genres, or is that an 'old timer's mindset'?
Why is the modern indie media resentful/negligent of these new markets when 'rap'/'hip hop' is deemed relevant/authentic/worth covering?
Did James Blake just 'bastardize' the sounds of Michael McDonald, Stevie Winwood, and Rick Astley?
Did James Blake 'speak the truth' or should he 'shut his goddamned pie hole'?
Should he be 'effing deported' from North America?
Why do we buzz the bands that we do?
Do indie blogs h8 any band that isn't created on their terms?

There was potentially a lot of truth to what James Blake said. But if you agree, maybe you should initiate a musicstential crisis relatively soon. As caught up as we can be in preserving the indieblog ideology on a day-to-day basis, the general conclusion that we always come to is, 'Let's not think about context. Let's think about how this music makes us feel.' Dubstep is making a lot of people feel something.

American Dubstep/ElectroRaveCore/Branded_House is here.
It is more popular than the Best-New-Music-wave bands.

What's so wrong with dubstream?

Is h8ing dubstep 'classist'?
Is indie already dead?
Have u been 2 a rave/dubstep concert? How did it make u feel?
Does the buzz drought just mean the indie model 'ate itself' and there is nothing left?
How obsolete is the once buzzworthy indie blogosphere?
Are indie music blogs just facilitators of sponsored experiences?

#TeamAmericanDubstep #Dubmericana

James Blake

Alternative Celebrity, Buzzband

James Blake is a solo buzzband from London. Some call him 'the prince of dubstep.'

Lists: dubstep, British, 2k11 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

Skrillex

Alternative Celebrity, DJ

Skrillex is a popular dubstep DJ who is arguably the #1 alt DJ in the world.

Lists: indie hunks, Producers, electro, dubstep

Read more>>>>

deadmau5

Buzzband, DJ

Deadmau5 is one of the top DJs in the world who is taking dubstep 2 the mainstream.

Lists: dubstep, electro, masked DJs

Read more>>>>

Yall.. I didn't watch the Grammys cuz I'd rather just read reactions to it on the internet, then pretend that I watched it/was there/I am connected to the modern world. Seemed like a real celebration of things that are kinda mainstream but letting more alt artists in2 the show. Some of my favourite bands like MIA, Radiohead, and the Jonas Bros were on display. Maybe next year I'll be invited?

Question 1) When an alt artist wins a grammy, I feel
a) validated
b) like I accomplished something
c) a lil bit sad that I am losing a part of me
d) pissed off about my fave band selling out
e) just wanna 'get buzzed' and dance to bloghaus + ironic pop

Question 2) M.I.A. is

a) just a meme
b) pregant
c) should have stayed home
d) trying too hard 2 reach out 2 mainstream audiences
e) just taking care of herself/her career

Question 3: Deadmau5 will be remembered as

a) a zany masked DJ
b) just some weirdo at the Grammys
c) "what is that bro doing at our show?" -Taylor Swift
d) being responsible for bringing 'masked djs' to the mainstream
e) just a meme on the day after award shows

Question 4: This is a picture of

a) the coldplays
b) a band that steals songs
c) the writers of the rock album + song of the year
d) bros who need to retire their gimmick
e) Cool dads searching for meaning

Question 5: These bros are chilling at

a) the Grammys
b) A Cool Dad convention
c) A Kidz Health convention
d) A McDonalds playgrond
e) A liberal arts professor conference

Question 6: When I see this single, I think it is

a) Just another bloghouse mp3
b) just another crappy mp3 posted by a lame entrylevel blog on the hypemachine looking to get hits
c) worth a Grammy
d) the best Remix of all time
e) other

Question 7: Kanye West won a grammy for

a) Best frollet
b) Best blogger of the year
c) Worst black person of the year in America
d) JackOfAllTrades/Renaissance Man of the year
e) Best guy who sounds like a robot on his albums

Question 8: Who wore it better?

a) the broad on the left
b) the broad on the right
(this is a test 2 see if ur a racist)

Question 9: The Lonely Island Bros are

a) going to win a Grammy in 2k10
b) a gimmick for bros
c) comedy for bros
d) glorified bro Weird Al bullshit
e) really funnie
f) really progressive
g) going to make the Flight of the Conchords obsolete for bros
h) something for people who smoke weed and watch dvds/ funnie youtube vids

Question 10: This bro won a Grammy for

a) best assault of a broad
b) best knuckle sandwich 2 a broad's face
c) Best job of 'putting a woman in her place'
d) Most likely 2 be the next OJ Simpson
e) Future Ike TurnerBro
f) Strongest Pimp Hand
g) Artist of the Millennium who Hits Women
h) Bro Who is above the law
i) bro who is above society's norms

Question 11: Daft Punk won some Grammy because

a) they deserve it for this live album thingy
b) there are too many Awards categories
c) people only heard of them after Kanye West cobranded with them for that meaningful duet about becoming stronger on the inside

Question 12: Christian Bale won a grammy for

a) being Heath Ledger's BFF
b) being in Batman
c) becoming a viral meme on audio
d) pretending 'to get angry' as a marketing gimmick for the new Terminator film so that Entertainment Magazines will profile him as being 'complex' and 'deep' and 'really into his craft'
e) he sang a lot in Newsies

Question 13: The name of this band is

a) 3 Tweens and a Blind Black Man
b) Blind, Black, and Musical: The Band
c) Searching for Our Sexuality thru the blindness
d) Bro Circle Jerk in a room with a blindman
e) Guy Who Should be able to see + need Talent Managers who protect their brands a lil bit better
f) The Grammys: Where Legends go to Make Bad Decisions
g) Steve WonderBro
h) Tweens Who Might be GheyBros

Question 14: This band in this picture is

a) the Spice Girls
b) Paramore
c) Blink 182
d) Girls Aloud
e) The Pussy Cat Dolls
f) Aqua
g) Jen Aniston and the Skanky McSkankBroads
h) Chris Brown's "Pimp Hand"

Can't believe I missed the Grammys. Feel really 'out of the loop.' Just want to connect 2 'pop culture' since it is kind of the fabric of society that relates us all.

Kinda feel like this picture represents the state of modern music.
In this picture is everything that we want.
We want bloggable content with stars who attract viewers by saying zany things and being progressive enough to blurb about.

Did yall hear M.I.A. is pregnant?
Are yall excited about how twitter gives u such direct and instant access 2 ur fave celebs while they are at a meaningful event like the Grammys?

[via diplo's drunken memes during the Grammys blogspottwitter]