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FAQ

How did you decide who influenced who?

I grew up in this amazing era of music, and ran indie discos for many years, so I know it pretty intimately. When deciding who influenced who, I took into account both artistic influence (band X was inspired by the music of band Y) and commercial influence (band X wouldn't have got signed if band Y hadn't already been huge). Ultimately this is a topic that could be argued about forever, but if you have strong opinions then feel free to email me.

How did you decide who gets to be a "Key Influence"?

This was a subjective decision rewarding bands who either influenced a few other key bands, or who influenced a lot of smaller bands.

You forgot to include my favourite band!

There are two reasons why your favourite band might not be in here. The first is that I might have decided it didn't quite fit into the web of influences. Coldplay, for example, are absolutely a mid-00s indie band, but they didn't really give or take influence from anyone else here. The other reason is that I might have forgotten about them. In either case you should check if they're already in the 00s indie band database, and add them if they're not.

Is the y-axis sorted?

Kind of. More guitar-y bands are generally at the top, and more synth-y bands are at the bottom. But not always, because I had to break it in a few places to get the lines to flow nicely.

Why do some of the bands not have any influences?

Either because their influences date from before the 00s, or because I couldn't get the lines to meet up in a way that looked good.

Is Amy Winehouse influenced by the future?

Yes and no. Her biggest hit was a cover of a Zutons song, so it felt weird not to draw a line of influence there.

Why is this map so anglocentric?

Because I'm British, and my perceptions of this scene come from that perspective. Feel free to submit bands that were huge in other countries to the 00s indie band database.

What software did you use to make this?

I used Sketch, and curved all the lines manually. It took ages.

Can I buy this as a poster?

Yes. Read the big text just above the FAQ.

Is there anyone you want to thank for helping out with this?

Why, yes actually - thanks for asking. This couldn't have happened without the help of Jack Thomson, Phil Grech, Silvia Hüttner, Alan Harper, Filip Hnízdo, Darren Garrett, Eden Brackenbury, Jason Forrest, Robert Janezic, Alan Wilson, Joe Zoller, Shveta Aneja, Ben Childs, Andreia Ribeiro, my colleagues at Information is Beautiful, and everyone who's ever come to one of my indie discos.

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- Duncan Geere, May 2019