No street cred whatsoever

You got 1 out of 10 correct on your first attempt.
Poser alert! Better fill up your Netflix queue with recommended selections from their independent section and beg your local record shop clerk to clue you in on need-to-know bands and albums.

I just failed the Indie Scene quiz on CNN. I'm totally horrified. But not really. I failed because I refused to agree that The Clash is the only band that ever mattered, and because my ideal vacation doesn't involve being at the South by Southwest Festival, though that would be cool.

I'm so sick of the idea of "indie street cred." Because it seems like the only people who talk about it are teenagers who happen to like Death Cab for Cutie (hardly indie, I might point out) and snobby 20-somethings who drop the names of obscure bands not to rave about their love for them, but to make other people feel stupid and uncool. Here's the statement I hate: "I was listening to The Pork Chops the other day and....oh, you've never heard them? Oh." Here's the one I love: "Hey, check out this great band I heard. They're called The Pork Chops. Here's their latest. Where's your CD player?" Love the music because you love it. Share it with your friends. Don't love it because you think it makes you unusual and cool. I read this on someone's blog: "I'm listening to the new Maroon 5 (yeah, I just totally blew my indie street cred)." Who cares? What's wrong with liking Maroon 5?

At the risk of sounding like Dave Eggers (yes Barbara, I know you're going to jump on this), what it comes down to is this: Most bands were indie AT SOME POINT. And they were either good or bad at that point. And then they signed on to a major label. Does that make them no longer good? Do people with true indie street cred stop liking a certain band as soon as they sign? Because that's ridiculous. It's not selling out unless you start writing to please the label. Being a slave to the "indie street cred" identity is just as bad as being a slave to pop culture, isn't it?

I guess CNN was right. Because I love Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces of Me." And that totally RUINS my street cred. Even though I love Owen's "The Ghost of What Should've Been" more.