Dear indie rock,

I’m glad that you’ve figured out your Korg pads, keyboards and drum machines. It’s cool that you’ve realized there is no reason you can’t yelp through the instrumental parts of your songs. It’s sounds great, it really does.

But next year I want you to think about one thing: guitars.

I want you to bring guitars up in the mix. That part of the song where you don’t have any lyrics? That’s a perfect time to destroy my face with guitars. I know that you have a Marshall amp in your closet that you bought in middle school but put away because solos are for schlock rock. Go get it.

It’s time to bring your amps back out. It’s time to turn them back up.

Drummers? You need a minimum of 15 pieces. Keyboard player? Perhaps a solo album. Bass player? I’d better feel it in my chest. Horn sections? Fine, but you’d better know what you’re doing. Most importantly, turn the amps back up.

I’m tired of nodding along or standing near the edges of the crowd while you experiment with dancier sounds. Give me something that will make me pump my fists in the air. It should be loud. It should be distorted. People should avoid standing in front of the speakers.

Yours,
Ted Roden