The Jean Goes to College – Part 2

I wouldn’t say I was lonely during my early college years- but I was definitely a loner. I spent a lot of time listening to indie rock alone in my bedroom or in my car delivering pizza (my job). For me, indie rock was pure, non-commercial, and genuine and I really liked that. It provided me with catharsis, introspection, and was the perfect background noise to whatever I was doing (including writing a novel).

Sebadoh

Lyrically, indie rock was less direct than punk and it gave me space to think and feel. I think I related to indie rock artists and what they were doing musically because we were from the same generation, had similar backgrounds, and were going through the same things. They were my heroes.

Hüsker Dü

My indie rock phase took place during the early '90s- before Google, Facebook, and easy access to anything with the click of a mouse. Back then if you wanted to acquire indie music then you had to work for it and take whatever you could find in small record shops and fanzines or from what was being shared between friends. It was a fun and mysterious time.

Dinosaur Jr.

Unlike their rock, metal, and new wave contemporaries, most American indie rockers had no expectations of ever gaining mainstream acceptance. Even after the commercial success of Nirvana, most big name indie rockers continued playing, touring, and recording just below mainstream music's radar and they seemed quite content (and healthy) remaining big fish in a small pond. The ability to make a living from their art was definitely a dream come true for these artists- and they deserved it.

Jawbreaker briefly toured with Nirvana in 1993 (I had the same shirt)

My passion for indie rock began to wane during my last year of college when I finally came out of my shell and became a much more outgoing person. I started listening to other kinds of music- funk, disco, oldies- and my indie rock collection pretty much stops in the mid '90s. I will always associate indie rock with a very formative and necessary time in my life, and even now I can hear what originally drew me to the music: it rocks. Here are some more of my favorite indie rock songs and artists from my hard living college (and pizza delivery) days. Enjoy!

Jawbreaker (I saw them play live- twice!)

01. The Replacements – “Left of the Dial” (1985)
02. Superchunk – “Brand New Love” (1991)
03. Dinosaur Jr. – “Just Like Heaven” (1989)
04. The Replacements – “Hold My Life” (1985)
05. Violent Femmes – “Amercian Music” (1991)
06. Hüsker Dü – “Eight Miles High” (1984)
07. Superchunk – “Cool” (1991)
08. Dinosaur Jr. – “The Lung” (1987)
09. Jawbreaker – “Kiss the Bottle” (1991)
10. Pavement – “Here” (1992)
11. Pavement – “Summer Babe (Winter Version)” (1992)
12. Sebadoh – “Gimme Indie Rock” (1991)
13. Violent Femmes – “Used to Be” (1991)
14. Pixies – “Motorway to Roswell” (1991)
15. Pavement – “Range Life” (1994)
16. Mac McCaughan – “Happy New Year (Prince Can’t Die Again)” (2016)
17. Jawbreaker – “Boxcar” (1995)
18. Jawbreaker – “Want” (1990)
19. Jawbreaker – “Fine Day” (1990)
20. Jets to Brazil – “Sweet Avenue” (1998)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify... 

Recommended Links:

Our Band Could Be Your Life

Pavement – “Cut Your Hair”

Pavement – “Range Life”

Pavement – “Shady Lane”