You Can Play These Songs Without Indie Cred

Welcome to Route1's Indie Week!
This week, we will delve into the world of indie. Whatever that means.
Part of the problem with proclaiming yourself a fan of "indie" music is defining the word "indie."
In the strictest sense of the word, indie means independent. An indie band, by this definition, is a band that records for an independent record label.
Muddying the picture is the fact that many supposedly indie record labels operate under complicated marketing and distribution deals with larger, decidedly non-indie labels. It makes it more difficult to identify a "true" indie band.
A broader definition of "indie" suggests an underground band or a musical style somehow outside the mainstream.
Under this definition, a music fan could gauge the "indieness" of a band by examining their mass popularity -- no matter if their style of music had evolved or not.
Which brings us to today's (pictured) case in point -- Death Cab for Cutie.
Ben Gibbard and co. have not altered their musical style much since their late-90's origins in Bellingham, Wash. The band produce a melodic pop sound and Gibbard pens intelligent lyrics.
However, since their 1998 debut "Something About Airplanes," Death Cab's indie credibility has plummeted inversely with their growing mainstream popularity.
First the band's songs, then the band itself, appeared on the television series "The O.C." It is difficult to remain underground or outside the mainstream when you appear on a television series.
Mounting evidence of Death Cab's sinking indie cred comes in the form of record reviews on the notoriously cranky Pitchfork Web site -- self-styled arbiters of hip and too-cool-to-be-trendy.
Here are Death Cab's album reviews (out of 10) on Pitchfork...
1. "Something About Airplanes," Elsinor record label, 1998 -- 8.6
2. "We Have The Facts and We're Voting Yes," Barsuk record label, 2000 -- 7.5
3. "The Photo Album," Barsuk, 2001 -- 7.1
4. "You Can Play These Songs With Chords," Barsuk, 2002 -- 6.4
5. "Transatlanticism," Barsuk, 2003 -- 6.1
The irony of the ratings is that Death Cab's sound has not changed greatly since "Something About Airplanes," yet the critical backlash would suggest fears of a sell-out. Indeed, "You Can Play These Songs With Chords" was a compilation of earlier material.
Within the past year, Death Cab cast off all indie pretensions, it would seem, by signing with Atlantic Records, one of the biggest record labels in the world.
Gibbard and the gang will probably play the same sort of music that buoyed them during their "indie" label years, but don't expect an end to the backlash from the hipsters. The next rating from Pitchfork might be miniscule.
The Death Cab for Cutie case study suggests defining "indie" might be the toughest current challenge in music.