What's American indie music like in other countries?

You can find more or less anything coming out on bigger/medium sized labels.
For what's worth, in Italy, until 3/4 years ago, any US band vaguely labelled as post-rock could sell a good amount of records. Now it's the punk funk turn. We're always a bit late with trends.

I heard Arab on Radar was HUGE in Italy.... true?

yes, but it all depends what you mean with "huge"...they're kind of popular in our indie headquarters, still consider that the indie market in Italy is ridicolously small. Selling 1000 copies could be define a success.

indie in australia: a way of life. or actually, ahem, i mean alt.

a handful of distributors bring in the "best", otherwise its r.e.m. or radiohead.

or its big bucks.

thankfully no one cares...aussie indie vs us indie take sides.

o wait is kompakt an indie?

oops sorry ghostly international

but jim or kit could answer better for "indie"

in australia: very easy to find. indie distribution is pretty good, esp in the big cities, plus lots of domino/matador/drag city/etc etc stuff is locally licensed making it a piece of piss to find..

see?

In Portugal, you can find US indie albums fairly easy. Matador Europe, Domino or City Slang have the rights for a whole lot of little US indie labels in Europe, and some other stuff is imported directly by some local distributors. Of course, one can always buy on the internet.... ;)

For what its worth, a recent playlist of a Spanish radio show about which I know very little, but they play our stuff sometimes:

CIELO LIQUIDO 01/11/2004

1.OWEN TROMANS: John's on the bridge (Electric new version)
2.LARGE MOUND: I'm being sued by the fire brigade (LP Go forth and amplify) (Scientific Laboratories)
3.PATTERN IS MOVEMENT: Albatross (LP The (Im)possibility of longing) (Noreaster failed industries)
4.AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB: Home (LP Love songs for patriots) (Merge records/Cooking Vinyl records)
5.ANDREW MORGAN: Plight of an exlile (LP Misadventures in radiology) (Broken Horse records)
6.POLAR: Butterflies (SG.Butterflies) (Polar)
7.BARK PSYCHOSIS: Burning the city (LP Codename: dustsucker) (Fire records)
8.BATS & MICE: Around what's done (EP A person carrying..) (Lovitt records)
9.BIFFY CLYRO: Strung to your ribcage (LP Infinity land) (Beggars Banquet)
10.THE ROOTS OF ORCHIS: A talon for the flywheel (LP Crooked ceilings) (Slowdance records)
11.RED BEE SOCIETY: The passing boy (SG.When we talk of horses) (Gantry records)
12.THE DEVOTED FEW: Your face burns a hole in my memory (LP Billboard noises) (Non Zero records)
13.DAVID GRUBBS: Knight errant (LP A guess at the riddle) (Drag City records)
14.DECAHEDRON: No carrier (LP Disconnection imminent) (Lovitt records)
15.THE NEW TRUST: I'm a sucker for backwards drums (EP We are fast-moving motherfuckers) (Slowdance records)
16.ENGINE DOWN: Rogue (LP Engine down) (Lookout records)
17.AMERICAN ALTITUDE: Miami (LP American Altitude) (Slack Tide records)
18.HAVERGAL: New innocent tyro allegory (LP Elettricita) (Secretly Canadian records)
19.LADY OF SPAIN: Pop song #1 (EP) (Lady of Spain)
20.SOUVARIS: Nothing of how to live… (LP I felt nothing at all) (Bearos records)
21.LIFE AFTER MODELLING: December 21st (SG) (Model One records)
22.THE ONCE OVER TWICE: Lies of our lives (LP Special moments to detonate themselves) (In at the deep end records)
23.DETWIIJE: Bee (LP Six is better than eight) (Detwiije)
24.THESE HANDS: Pleasantries for cash (SG. A history of combustion) (These hands)
25.KILLERS ON CAMERA: Tours (Demo)
26.THE NEW YEAR: Sinking ship (LP The end is near) (Touch & Go records)
27.WINDSOR FOR THE DERBY: We fight till death (LP We fight till death) (Secretly Canadian records)
28.THE ABSENT SOUND: Belly dances (LP Music to live and die to) (Tear gas recording tree)
29.AEREOGRAMME: Inkwell (LP Seclusion) (Undergroove records)
30.INCH BLUE: What the years have left behind (SG.Walking backwards) (Bearos records)
31.RED CARD: Picnic-M-Exit (LP But the day started great) (Red Card)
32.TARANTULA: Embedded in ice (EP Tarantula) (Tarantula)
33.THEE MORE SHALLOWS: House break (LP More deep cuts) (Monotreme records)
34.UP-C DOWN-C LEFT-C RIGHT-C ABC+ START: Don't be sad that I'm gone just be happy that I was here (LP The jangling dischords of our nation) (Up C Down C)
35.AHLEUCHATISTAS: Ecstasy combat boots (LP The same and the other) (Noreaster failed industries)
36.MARTIN FINKE: Smash and grab (LP Crown time) (Parallel music)

italy LOVES math rock.

"italy LOVES math rock"

how true. prog rock is in our blood.

hurting: pattern is movement is from philly. i find their #3 slot on that list highly disconcerting.

Adam Green = new David Hasselhoff
in Germany

new releases by "established" indie artists are fairly easy to find, but we're always pretty late concerning bands like Broken Social Scene (released in Germany in late 2004), Arcade Fire (pretty much unknown, no release), The Decemberists or Annie...

Maria, #3 is order of play on that day's show, not chart order.

Interesting though -- maybe the DJ has a Philly connection

no, it's because pattern is movement has the indie-post-math sound that goes over very well in spain.

I just know that, based on being in Canada, England, and Iceland.. there's no point in buying American label indie stuff there because it's always more expensive.. stuff that doesn't have any American distribution, however, is fair great game outside the U.S. (for obvious reasons.)

I found those Kevin Ayers reissues for cheaper in Canada than the U.S. ($16CAN vs. $19-$20US each), for example. However everything else on Matador, Drag City, etc. was ridiculously more expensive.

Tip to Americans going to England.. buy any interesting looking 60s and 70s R&B/Soul records that are $3 to $5. This stuff sells for 20 to 30 pounds in London.

You can't get the Flare album for love nor money.

(oops, I guess I misread the question.. sorry.)

hurting: thanks. i was a bit distressed at that one.