REMMERT: Indie music, here we come

It amazes me sometimes that the large bulk of major taste-shifts in popular music come from media other than CD, vinyl or MP3. Feb. 9, 1964 – the Beatles appear for the first time on U.S. television on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show,’ causing the quantum shift in American music (effectively creating pop). July 1965 – Bob Dylan performs ‘Maggie’s Farm’ with an electric guitar at the Newport Festival. Midnight, Aug. 1, 1981 – The Buggles’ ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ is the first music video shown on MTV – a day of infamy. The one I want to talk about is arguably just as important (not really, but still). Aug. 1, 2003 – Seth Cohen, and his ‘posterized’ room, popularizes indie music on the first episode of ‘The O.C.’

For those of you who hate ‘The O.C.,’ I can relate. Undoubtedly, the last season (and most of the third) was pretty bad television. But the first two seasons were pretty damn awesome (regardless of Mischa Barton’s complete lack of acting ability). Sandy was the coolest dad since Bob Saget, Summer was the hottest girl best friend ever and Kirsten was . . .’ well, I think you get it. But Seth, in all his comic-book-loving glory, was the man responsible for the meteoric rise of some of today’s household indie names. Death Cab for Cutie would be nowhere without that ‘Transatlanticism’ poster on Seth’s wall. He was the vessel through which FOX’s uber-hip producers filled a fairly traditional network soap drama with some of the best music in the business. Modest Mouse’s ‘Ocean Breathes Salty’ was the perfect oddball background music to the end of Jimmy and Marissa’s relationship. Rooney, The Killers, The Walkmen, Mates of State, Imogen Heap – hell, Phantom Planet’s entire career revolves around that otherwise transparent pop song about the Golden State. There’s not an uncool one in the bunch, and most of them owe at least 30 percent of their popularity to Seth Cohen, McG and some fictional place called The Bait Shop.

For those of you still in doubt, think about the world without ‘The O.C.’s’ music. Death Cab never breaks into the mainstream, meaning nobody ends up caring about the Postal Service; indie-electronica is relegated to a hobby of portly Seattle-ites. Because none of the indie bands that worship The Cure, Bowie or The Jesus and Mary Chain are cool, all those 80s watershed acts are determined to be ‘invaluable to music . . . but worthless to the modern pop music spectrum.” The Shins (thanks to Zach Braff) become the new Death Cab, which is just tragic. And in place of indie outlets like mtvU or the (astronomically worse) ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ soundtracks, we get more frat-rock. In this alternate universe, it’s actually possible that David Cook, David Archuleta and Daughtry will be considered some of the better artists in rock. Basically, 1984. Bummer. So the next time that episode about Seth finally getting laid comes on SoapNet at 3 in the afternoon, I suggest you tune in. It’ll be worth it – I promise.