It has been suggested that Landfill indie be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2011.

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include indie pop, grunge, jangle pop, C86, and lo-fi, among others. Originally used to describe record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US, and then Britpop bands in the UK, broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground and less testosterone-driven perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, a number of indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

Characteristics[link]

Indie rock, derived from "independent", describes the small and relatively low-budget labels on which it is released and the do-it-yourself attitude of the bands and artists involved. Although distribution deals are often struck with major corporate companies, these labels and the bands they host have attempted to retain their autonomy, leaving them free to explore sounds, emotions and subjects of limited appeal to large, mainstream audiences.^[1] The influences and styles of the artists has been extremely diverse, including punk, psychedelia, rock and country.^[2] The terms alternative rock and indie rock were used interchangeably in the 1980s, but after many alternative bands followed Nirvana into the mainstream in the early 1990s it began to be used to distinguish those bands, working in a variety of styles, that did not pursue or achieve commercial success.^[1]

Allmusic identifies indie rock as including a number of styles that are: "too sensitive and melancholy; too soft and delicate; too dreamy and hypnotic; too personal and intimately revealing in its lyrics; too low-fidelity and low-budget in its production; too angular in its melodies and riffs; too raw, skronky and abrasive, wrapped in too many sheets of Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr./Pixies/Jesus & Mary Chain-style guitar noise; too oblique and fractured in its song structures; too influenced by experimental or otherwise unpopular musical styles." Linked by an ethos more than a musical approach, the indie rock movement encompassed a wide range of styles, from hard-edged, grunge-influenced bands, through do-it-yourself experimental bands like Pavement, to punk-folk singers such as Ani DiFranco.^[3] Many countries have developed an extensive local indie scene, flourishing with bands with enough popularity to survive inside the respective country, but virtually unknown outside them.^[4]

Indie rock has been identified as a reaction against the "macho" culture that developed in alternative rock in the aftermath of Nirvana's success.^[1] It has been noted that indie rock has a relatively high proportion of female artists compared with preceding rock genres, a tendency exemplified by the development of the feminist-informed Riot Grrrl music of acts like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, 7 Year Bitch, Team Dresch and Huggy Bear.^[5]

History[link]

Origins: 1980s[link]

College rock and noise rock[link]

The Jesus and Mary Chain performing in California in 2007

In the mid-1980s, the term "indie" began to be used to describe the music produced on post-punk labels rather than the labels themselves.^[2] The indie rock scene in the US was prefigured by the college rock^[6] that dominated college radio playlists, which included key bands like R.E.M. from the US and The Smiths from the UK.^[7] These bands rejected the dominant synthpop of the early 1980s,^[8][9] and helped inspire guitar-based jangle pop; other important bands in the genre included 10,000 Maniacs and the dB's from the US, and The Housemartins and The La's from the UK. In the United States, the term was particularly associated with the abrasive, distortion-heavy sounds of the Pixies, Hüsker Dü, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr., and The Replacements.^[7] The most abrasive and discordant outgrowth of punk was noise rock, which emphasised loud distorted electric guitars bands and powerful drums, and was pioneered by bands including Sonic Youth, Swans, Big Black and Butthole Surfers.^[10] A number of prominent indie rock record labels were founded during the 1980s. These include Washington, DC's Dischord Records in 1980, Seattle's Sub Pop Records in 1986^[11] and New York City's Matador Records and Durham, North Carolina's Merge Records in 1989. Chicago's Touch and Go Records was founded as a fanzine in 1979 and began to release records during the 1980s.^[12]

Indie pop[link]

In the United Kingdom the C86 cassette, a 1986 NME compilation featuring Primal Scream, The Pastels, The Wedding Present and other bands, was a document of the UK indie scene at the start of 1986. It gave its name to the indie pop scene that followed, which was a major influence on the development of the British indie scene as a whole.^[13][14] Major precursors of indie pop included Postcard bands Josef K and Orange Juice, and significant labels included Creation, Subway and Glass.^[15] The Jesus and Mary Chain's sound combined the Velvet Underground's "melancholy noise" with Beach Boys pop melodies and Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" production,^[16][17] while New Order emerged from the demise of post-punk band Joy Division and experimented with techno and house music.^[18] The Mary Chain, along with Dinosaur Jr, indie pop and the dream pop of Cocteau Twins, were the formative influences for the shoegazing movement of the late 1980s. Named for the band members' tendency to stare at their feet and guitar effects pedals onstage rather than interact with the audience, acts like My Bloody Valentine, and later Slowdive and Ride created a loud "wash of sound" that obscured vocals and melodies with long, droning riffs, distortion, and feedback.^[19] The other major movement at the end of the 1980s was the drug-fuelled Madchester scene. Based around The Haçienda, a nightclub in Manchester owned by New Order and Factory Records, Madchester bands such as Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses mixed acid house dance rhythms, Northern soul and funk with melodic guitar pop.^[20]

Development: 1990s[link]

Alternative enters the mainstream[link]

Pavement singer/guitarist Stephen Malkmus

The 1990s brought major changes to the alternative rock scene. Grunge bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains broke into the mainstream, achieving commercial chart success and widespread exposure.^[1] Punk revival bands like Green Day and The Offspring also became popular and were grouped under the "alternative" umbrella.^[3] Similarly, in the United Kingdom Britpop saw bands like Blur and Oasis emerge into the mainstream, abandoning the regional, small-scale and political elements of the 1980s indie scene.^[21] As a result of these changes the term "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning and began to refer to the new, commercially lighter form of music that was now achieving mainstream success. The term "indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained dedicated to their independent status.^[1] Ryan Moore has argued that in the wake of the appropriation of alternative rock by the corporate music industry that what became known as indie rock increasingly turned to the past to produce forms of "retro" rock that drew on garage rock, rockabilly, blues, country and swing.^[22]

Diversification[link]

By the end of the 1990s indie rock developed a number of sub-genres and related styles. Following indie pop these included lo-fi, noise pop, emo, sadcore, post-rock, space rock and math rock.^[1] lo-fi eschewed polished recording techniques for a D.I.Y. ethos and was spearheaded by Beck, Sebadoh and Pavement,^[3] who were joined by eclectic folk and rock acts of the Elephant 6 collective, including Neutral Milk Hotel, Elf Power and of Montreal.^[23] The work of Talk Talk and Slint helped inspire post-rock (an experimental style influenced by jazz and electronic music, pioneered by Bark Psychosis and taken up by acts such as Tortoise, Stereolab, and Laika),^[24][25] as well as leading to more dense and complex, guitar-based math rock, developed by acts like Polvo and Chavez.^[26] Space rock looked back to progressive roots, with drone-heavy and minimalist acts like Spacemen 3 in the 1980s, Spectrum and Spiritualized, and later groups including Flying Saucer Attack, Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Quickspace.^[27] In contrast, sadcore emphasized pain and suffering through melodic use of acoustic and electronic instrumentation in the music of bands like American Music Club and Red House Painters,^[28] while the revival of Baroque pop reacted against lo-fi and experimental music by placing an emphasis on melody and classical instrumentation, with artists like Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian and Rufus Wainwright.^[29] The emo movement, which had grown out of the hardcore punk scene in the 1980s with bands like Fugazi and Rites of Spring, gained popularity as the 1990s progressed. Elliott, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Promise Ring, The Get Up Kids and others brought a more melodic sound to the genre.^[30][31] Weezer's Pinkerton (1996) introduced the genre to a wider and more mainstream audience.^[32]

Mainstream success: 2000s–present[link]

In the 2000s, the changing music industry, the decline in record sales, the growth of new digital technology and increased use of the Internet as a tool for music promotion allowed a new wave of indie rock bands to achieve mainstream success.^[33] This new commercial breakthrough and the widespread use of the term "indie" to other forms of popular culture, led a number of commentators to suggest that indie rock had ceased to be a meaningful term.^[34][35][36]

During the decade the term which previously in the United States had very limited usage "became the label of choice for Americans – and an even greater worldwide audience – to talk about modern rock and pop music". Wendy Fonarow, an anthropology professor and author of the book Empire of Dirt: The Aesthetics and Rituals of British Indie Culture, asserts that this change occurred because at the turn of the century American bands began to be influenced by British indie music and the Internet, which made British music publications and online music websites such as Pitchfork Media immediately available to readers.^[37]

Garage rock/post-punk revival[link]

The Strokes on stage in 2005

In the early 2000s, a new group of bands that played a stripped-down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock emerged into the mainstream. They were variously characterised as part of a garage rock, New Wave or post-punk revival.^{[38][39][40][41]} Because the bands came from across the globe, cited diverse influences (from traditional blues, through New Wave to grunge), and adopted differing styles of dress, their unity as a genre has been disputed.^[42] There had been attempts to revive garage rock and elements of punk in the 1980s and 1990s and by 2000 scenes had grown up in several countries.^[43] The Detroit rock scene included The Von Bondies, Electric Six, The Dirtbombs and The Detroit Cobras^[44] and that of New York Radio 4, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Rapture.^[45] Elsewhere, the Oblivians from Memphis,^[46] Billy Childish and The Buff Medways from Britain,^[47] The (International) Noise Conspiracy from Sweden,^[48] and The 5.6.7.8's from Japan,^[49] enjoyed underground, regional or national success.

The commercial breakthrough from these scenes was led by four bands: The Strokes, who emerged from the New York club scene with their début album Is This It (2001); The White Stripes, from Detroit, with their third album White Blood Cells (2001); The Hives from Sweden, after their compilation album Your New Favourite Band (2001); and The Vines from Australia with Highly Evolved (2002).^[50] They were christened the "The" bands by the media, and dubbed "The saviours of rock 'n' roll", leading to accusations of hype.^[51] A second wave of bands that managed to gain international recognition as a result of the movement included The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Modest Mouse, The Killers, Interpol and Kings of Leon from the US.^[52] From the UK were The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Editors,^[53] The Fratellis, Placebo, Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs and The Kooks.^[54] Arctic Monkeys were the most prominent act to owe their initial commercial success to the use of Internet social networking.^[55] Also successful were Jet from Australia,^[56] and The Datsuns and The D4 from New Zealand.^[57]

Emo[link]

Emo also broke into mainstream culture in the early 2000s, with the platinum-selling success of Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American (2001) and Dashboard Confessional's The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most (2003).^[58] The new emo had a much more mainstream sound than in the 1990s and a far greater appeal amongst adolescents than its earlier incarnations.^[58] At the same time, use of the term "emo" expanded beyond the musical genre, becoming associated with fashion, a hairstyle and any music that expressed emotion.^[59] The term "emo" has been applied by critics and journalists to a variety of artists, including multi-platinum acts such as Fall Out Boy^[60] and My Chemical Romance^[61] and disparate groups such as Paramore^[60] and Panic at the Disco,^[62] even when they reject the label.

"Indie Pop"[link]

Arcade Fire at Rock en Seine in 2007

Existing indie bands that were now able to enter the mainstream included more musically and emotionally complex bands^[63] including Modest Mouse (whose 2004 album Good News for People Who Love Bad News reached the US top 40 and was nominated for a Grammy Award), Bright Eyes (who in 2004 had two singles at the top of the Billboard magazine Hot 100 Single Sales)^[64] and Death Cab for Cutie (whose 2005 album Plans debuted at number four in the US, remaining on the Billboard charts for nearly one year and achieving platinum status and a Grammy nomination).^[65] By the end of the decade the proliferation of indie bands was being referred to as "indie landfill",^[66] a description coined by Andrew Harrison of The Word magazine,^[67] and the dominance of pop and other forms of music over guitar-based indie was leading to predictions of the end of indie rock. However, there continued to be commercial successes like Kasabian's West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (2009), which reached number one in the UK.^[68] In 2010, Canadian band Arcade Fire's album The Suburbs reached number one on the Billboard charts in the United States and the official chart in the United Kingdom, winning a Grammy for Album of The Year.^[69]

Indie electronic[link]

Indie electronic, which had begun in the early 1990s with bands like Stereolab and Disco Inferno, took off in the new millennium as digital technology developed, with acts including Broadcast from the UK, Justice from France, Lali Puna from Germany and The Postal Service, and Ratatat and BOBBY^[70] from the US, mixing a variety of indie sounds with electronic music, largely produced on small independent labels.^[71][72] In Britain the combination of indie with dance-punk was dubbed new rave in publicity for Angular's Klaxons and the term was picked up and applied by the NME to bands^[73] including Trash Fashion,^[74] New Young Pony Club,^[75] Hadouken!, Late of the Pier, Test Icicles^[76] and Shitdisco,^[73] forming a scene with a similar visual aesthetic to earlier rave music.^[73][77]

See also[link]

• Independent music
• Underground music
• Indie music scene
• List of indie rock musicians

Notes[link]

Paul Banks
Paul Banks, Roskilde Festival 2005
Background information
Birth name	Paul Julian Banks
Also known as	Julian Plenti DJ Fancypants
Born	(1978-05-03) 3 May 1978 (age 34) Essex, England
Genres	Indie rock, alternative rock
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Capitol, EMI, Matador
Associated acts	Interpol Julian Plenti[1]
Website	Interpol official Julian Plenti official
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Custom Fender Jaguar Gibson Flying V Gibson ES-175

Paul Julian Banks (born 3 May 1978) is an English American musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and guitarist of the rock band Interpol. He is also a solo artist under the name Julian Plenti. As a singer, Banks' voice lies in the baritone range.

Early life[link]

Banks was born in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England. His family left England when he was three years old, moving to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and then to Spain where he attended the American School of Madrid.^[2] His father was later transferred to Mexico, where Banks finished high school at the American School Foundation.^[3] There he attended the American School Foundation, where he was involved in theatre productions, and played the lead role in the musical South Pacific.^{[citation needed]} He speaks fluent Spanish with a Castilian and Mexican accent.

After high school, Banks attended New York University where he studied English and Comparative Literature,^[4] and after graduating, he worked at magazines such as Gotham and Interview.^{[citation needed]} Banks later took a job in data entry,^[5] and then in a café,^[6] in order to devote more of his time to music. Banks was inspired to become a musician by the group Nirvana.^[7]

In contrast to Interpol's smooth and melancholic sound Paul Banks has been a fan of hip hop music since he was in seventh grade.^[8] He has worked as a hip-hop DJ, under the pseudonym DJ Fancypants.^[8]

Interpol[link]

Banks joined the band in the Summer of 1997 when he ran into Daniel Kessler, whom he had met on a study abroad program in Paris. When first asked to join Interpol, Banks initially refused, but after listening to the type of music they were writing, Banks joined.

Banks' voice, singing style and lyrics have been strongly compared to, most notably, Ian Curtis of Joy Division. A journalist from NME magazine even staged a joke at one of Interpol's concerts, trying to summon the spirit of Ian Curtis with a ouija board and make him say that Banks owed him.^[9] But Banks protests that the comparison merely forces influences onto the band in an effort to describe their music style. He has also stated that he does not try to emulate his greatest influences because he thinks he cannot live up to them ("I would never try to sing like Frank Black or Kurt Cobain because you just can't do it").^[10]

Solo project[link]

Banks released a solo album under the name Julian Plenti on August 4, 2009 entitled Julian Plenti Is... Skyscraper. Banks claims to have multiple solo projects and monikers in mind. He intends to release a five song EP entitled Julian Plenti Lives..., on June 22, 2012.^[11][12][13]

• Julian Plenti Is... Skyscraper (2009)

Instruments[link]

During Interpol's early years Banks typically played a black Les Paul Custom guitar. He then started using a Fender Jaguar and a Gibson Flying V (for a time with the word "breasts" spelled out in white tape on it ^[14][15]) for songs from Our Love to Admire and his Les Paul for songs from Antics and Turn on the Bright Lights, although some songs like "Obstacle 1" were played with Banks' Fender Jaguar because of the impracticality of switching and songs like "Mammoth" were used by his Les Paul for the same reason. Paul Banks did use his Fender Jaguar as his primary guitar for the end leg of the Our Love to Admire tour and was also seen using a Gibson ES-135 for songs such as "Not Even Jail", but since the 2010 tour leg, he has not been since using the Jaguar or Gibson ES-135 and has only been since using his traditional Les Paul, though the Flying V can be seen in the music video for Barricade with the tape no longer present. His Gibson ES-135 however, was his primary guitar during his live performances as his alter-ego Julian Plenti.

His pedalboard includes:

• BOSS TU-2
• Z.Vex Super Duper 2 in 1
• EHX Micro POG
• MXR Micro Amp
• MXR Bass Octave Deluxe
• Way Huge Swollen Pickle
• Ibanez TS9DX
• BOSS DN-2
• 2 MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay (one set at higher repeats)

His pedalboard on the Julian Plenti tour:

• BOSS TU-2
• Way Huge Aqua-Puss
• BOSS DN-2
• EHX POG 2
• Blackstar HT Dual Tube Distortion
• MXR Carbon Copy

Since Antics (2004) he uses two Fender Pro Reverb amplifiers.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interpol
• Julian Plenti
• Julian Plenti on Vimeo

Jonathan Coulton
Background information
Born	(1970-12-01) December 1, 1970 (age 41)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York City
Genres	Folk rock, power pop, indie rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, banjo, ukulele, zendrum, tenori-on
Years active	2003–present
Associated acts	Paul and Storm Kristen Shirts John Hodgman Molly Lewis Ellen McLain Ze Frank RiffTrax They Might Be Giants
Website	http://www.jonathancoulton.com/

Jonathan Coulton (born December 1, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans. Among his most popular songs are "Code Monkey", "Re: Your Brains", "Still Alive" and "Want You Gone".

A former computer programmer employed at Cluen, a New York City software company^[1], and self-described geek, Coulton tends to write quirky, witty lyrics about science fiction and technology: a man who thinks in simian terms, a mad scientist who falls in love with one of his captives, and the dangers of bacteria. Rare topical songs include 2005's "W's Duty", which sampled President George W. Bush, and 2006's "Tom Cruise Crazy". Most of Coulton's recordings feature his singing over guitar, bass, and drums; some also feature the various other instruments Coulton plays, including accordion, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and glockenspiel.^[2]

Coulton graduated in 1993 from Yale, where he was a member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs^[3] and the Yale Spizzwinks(?). He is now the Contributing Troubadour at Popular Science magazine, whose September 2005 issue was accompanied by a five-song set by him called Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms.^[4] He was also the Musical Director for The Little Gray Book Lectures.^[5]

Career[link]

Coulton's best-known works include his light-acoustic cover of the Sir Mix-a-Lot hit song "Baby Got Back" and original pieces such as "Code Monkey", which was featured on Slashdot^[6] on April 23, 2006 and linked from the webcomic Penny Arcade.^[7] It was also the theme song for an animated show on G4 called Code Monkeys.

His work has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered. Good Morning Silicon Valley featured a link to a video set to his song "Re: Your Brains".

Coulton accompanied John Hodgman on his "700 Hobo Names" promotional track for Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise as the guitarist (he was credited as "Jonathan William Coulton, the Colchester Kid"). Coulton also can be heard throughout the audiobook version of the same book, playing the theme song to the book, playing incidental music, and bantering with Hodgman, who reads the audio version of his work. Hodgman has also mentioned Coulton on The Daily Show: a Jonathan Coulton of Colchester, Connecticut, was Hodgman's pick to win an essay contest on overpowering Iraqi resistance to American invasion.^[8] Coulton wrote and performed "the winning entry", a song about dropping snakes from airplanes. Coulton appeared on the tour for Hodgman's second book, More Information Than You Require.

Coulton composed the title music for the show Mystery Diagnosis, and also has contributed other songs under "The Little Gray Book Lectures", a series of audio releases from John Hodgman.

Coulton, Paul and Storm, and Molly Lewis performing at Dragon*Con 2011

In 2006, Coulton began touring with comedy-duo Paul and Storm. At their first few shows, Coulton opened the concerts, but soon after his rise to fame, he was headlining.

Coulton wrote and performed a song titled "Still Alive" for the ending credits of Valve's 2007 video game Portal, with vocals by Ellen McLain. On April 1, 2008, Harmonix made this track available as free downloadable content for the game Rock Band.^[9] A version with Coulton's vocals was also included on the Orange Box Original Soundtrack,^[10] in addition to the one heard at the end of the game. "Still Alive" has also made an appearance as an easter egg in Left 4 Dead 2.^[11] The song has been called "the most influential game music".^[12] In 2011, Coulton followed up the success of "Still Alive" with a new song at the end of Portal 2, "Want You Gone".

A DVD & CD of a concert performed February 22, 2008, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, entitled Best. Concert. Ever. was released in 2009. At the concert, Coulton played the aforementioned song "Still Alive" on its Rock Band version, along with guest "musicians" and geek/celebrities Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann and Veronica Belmont.^[13]

Coulton opened for They Might Be Giants for a few shows of their March 2010 tour.^[14] He toured with them again in February 2012.

Coulton had been working on his follow-up to the Thing a Week albums, tentatively titled The Aftermath. It has since been stated that the title is merely an umbrella term to classify non-album tracks released after Thing a Week. On May 25, 2010, Coulton said on his official site that he would be working on a new album, to be produced by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants,^[15] and for the first time ever with a full band, including Marty Beller of They Might Be Giants,^[16] in a professional recording studio. The resulting album: Artificial Heart, was released on September 2, 2011.

In May 2011, Coulton was interviewed on NPR's popular economics-related program Planet Money. He disclosed that he makes about $500,000 a year from his music despite lacking a record label contact. He expressed gratitude towards his fans for his surprise success, the degree of which he called "absurd". In a broader discussion of whether or not the internet is good for musicians, Coulton answered in the affirmative, while journalist Frannie Kelley described him as a "fluke" such as the Snuggie.^[17] Coulton posted a tongue-in-cheek response on his blog about the comparison, saying "to which I say: snarkity snark snark!"^[18]

Licensing[link]

Coulton releases his songs under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license, allowing others to use them in their own noncommercial works. As a result, a number of music videos have been created using his songs, including such machinima as the ILL Clan's video for "Code Monkey" and a kinetic typography video for the song "Shop Vac".^[19]

Thing a Week[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (August 2011)

From September 16, 2005, to September 30, 2006, Coulton ran "Thing a Week", during which he recorded 52 musical pieces in an effort to push his creative envelope via a "forced-march approach to writing and recording"; to prove to himself that he could produce creative output to a deadline; and to see whether a professional artist could use the Internet and Creative Commons to support himself. Early indications are that the experiment succeeded in generating a large number of high quality songs, boosting sales of music downloads, expanding Coulton's public presence, and enlarging his fan base. The success of the financial objective is more difficult to judge, but Coulton was quoted in a September 2006 interview as stating that "in some parts of the country, I'd be making a decent living".^[20] In a February 25, 2008, interview with This Week in Tech, he stated that he made more money in 2007 than he did in his last year of working as a programmer, 40% of it from digital downloads and 40% from merchandise and performances.^[21]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Smoking Monkey (2003)
• Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow (2004)
• Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms (2005)
• Thing a Week One (2006)
• Thing a Week Two (2006)
• Thing a Week Three (2006)
• Thing a Week Four (2006)
• Artificial Heart (2011)

Compilations[link]

• JoCo Looks Back (2008)
• Best. Concert. Ever. (Live album - 2009)

Other releases[link]

• Other Experiments (Rarities Collection) (2005)
• Unplugged (Live on Second Life) (2006)
• The Orange Box Original Soundtrack (2007)
  • 1. "Still Alive" (Sung by Ellen McLain)
  • 19. "Still Alive" (Sung by Jonathan Coulton)
• The Aftermath (2009)
• Portal 2 Soundtrack: Songs to Test By - Volume 3 (2011)
  • 13. "Want You Gone" (Sung by Ellen McLain)

Most of Coulton's songs are published on his website as MP3 and FLAC downloads. Some of them are free, and none of them are subject to digital rights management. All of his original songs fall under the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 License. "Still Alive" and "Want You Gone" are the only exceptions to this, as Coulton assigned all rights for the songs to Valve. Along with "Still Alive," Coulton's song "Re: Your Brains" appears in jukeboxes in Left 4 Dead 2. "Want You Gone" also features in the end credits of Portal 2. All three of these games were designed by Valve.^[22]

Other versions and covers[link]

Pianist Louis Durra recorded an instrumental trio version of "Code Monkey" released on "Mad World EP" and "Arrogant Doormats" (2011).

NES Rock Band I Fight Dragons covered "The Future Soon" on their "IFD Super Secret Exclusives" EP (2009).

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jonathan Coulton

• Official website
• Jonathan Coulton on Myspace
• Jonathan Coulton on Twitter
• Jonathan Coulton at the Internet Movie Database
• Jonathan Coulton at the Open Directory Project
• Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog, a profile of Jonathan Coulton in the New York Times Magazine dated May 13, 2007.