“2004: The year indie rock broke”

Take a look back at a time when indie music was starting to feel a lot less “indie.” The first episode, “Champagne From a Paper Cup,” features interviews with Ben Gibbard and Nick Harmer of Death Cab for Cutie, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, and James Mercer of The Shins, giving the story a firsthand perspective of what it was like to be a music artist in a time when the music world itself changed around you. 

The podcast places the bands in a much larger technological and cultural transition. With the rise of iTunes and the iPod, online music blogs, and advertising, bands suddenly had revolutionary ways to reach larger audiences. What makes the episode especially engaging is its focus on the tension between independence and newfound visibility, the long standing indie rock question of whether commercial exposure meant selling out. 

The podcast captures the excitement and contradictions of a rapidly changing industry. Hearing the artists who were actually there talk about that period gives the story a personal feel, and it’s fun to revisit just how quickly these bands went from playing smaller rooms to becoming part of the wider music conversation. “2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke” offers an entertaining, insightful and nostalgic trip back to when the underground took on the mainstream.