This is my first post on the forum so, Hello Everyone!

This is a very interesting topic to me. Recently I have been researching modern music genres. Where they came from, and what influences they have. What makes something a certain genre or sound? I have decided that a true genre has a period and a style. It usually comes from a cultural need mixed with an innovation. When the cultural need is filled, or a new technological innovation is made, a new genre is born. A person who really enjoyed the older sound gets sad when things change. They say things like "why can't they just make *fill in the blank* like they used to." Well they can't, because the world has changed, and music changed with it. There is no going back. You can try to recreate a previous sound, but it will always be "retro." I am basically saying that genres have an "expiration date."

Exactly when a sound expires is unknown to me, but I am still researching. I think it's very closely related to that sound going "pop." If you look through history there is a cycle; first there is a totally new sound noone has heard before. It is creative, unique, and progressive. It is so good everyone wants it. Then they dumb it down, make it for everyone, and it becomes pop. All genres; jazz, folk, rock and roll, Soul, R&B, Rock, Hip Hop, etc. Have at one point been totally creative, and at another point dominated the "pop" sound.

But your question was about indie.

I agree with Jakob, "I'd say it has its roots in the DIY aspects of the punk-scene and the music that followed in its wake which was stuff like post-punk, No Wave, New Wave, post-hardcore, noise rock, 80's jangle or psych revival, college-rock/"alternative" etc.

That is the sound, and the culture I think of when I hear the word "indie." You say that these days the indie scene is mainstream. This makes me think that indie has made its way into the cycle of pop. It is sad, but it was inevitable. I think once a genre hits that point, there is no going back. Any new music that is created after it never sounds the same, and the good sub-genres of it deserve a new name.