'00s Indie Rock

In the new millennium, a new breed of literate rock artists is taking punk's D.I.Y. stance to heart and working outside the music-biz box. Whether the band slots — neatly or awkwardly — into new rave, Thamesbeat, art rock, electro rock, garage rock revival, or post post-punk pigeon holes, the ethic is fiercely independent. These cuts offer a provocative slice of today's scene. Begin with the big guns: the Arctic Monkeys and the Libertines. Continue your contemporary indie odyssey in Next Steps.

Indie rock '00s-style is an attitude more than a simply defined sound. The guitars might be dipped in vintage garage, or the voices might be artfully gruff or sweetly ethereal, but the artist always remains true to his or her vision. Here are more examples of rock's most independent talents. "Ring a Ding Ding" by Brakes (formerly British Sea Power) is 1:40 of blissful brevity, while the Editors brandish a jagged, cynical blade on "Blood". The march of the skinny jeans continues in Deep Cuts.

Throughout all of the music industry's recent shape-shifting changes, the small-but-agile indie rock creatures have been thriving. Odd eggs of creativity are breaking open in remote corners of the musical jungle. We've tracked down exotic, obscure indie rock specimens for your enjoyment. Art and wit unite in the music of Art Brut, while the piano-thumping energy of Air Traffic's "Never Even Told Me Her Name" signals the push towards a glorious rock future.

The 21st century indie rock scene is a bazaar (sometimes bizarre) of mixed-and-matched sounds, drawing upon four decades of pop-rock history for parts and accessories. Electronic beats, folk melodies, and punk guitars coexist — sometimes in the same band, sometimes in the same song. The underground yields its most adventurous sounds in these samples of indie rock, double-nought style. Our indie rock animals include the Arctic Monkeys and the Pigeon Detectives; the K club numbers Klaxons, Kasabian, the Kaiser Chiefs, and the Kooks among its members; and, for want of another random grouping, all the bands here are united under the banner of quality.