An Indie Sleaze special! – up and down with the Strokes, Libertines and Arctic Monkeys episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 16, 2026 · 42 MIN

An Indie Sleaze special! – up and down with the Strokes, Libertines and Arctic Monkeys

from Word In Your Ear

“Good hair, good shoes, something to say” were the requirements of Indie Sleaze whose vanguard lit up the fading music press in the first decade of the 21st Century – acts like Franz Ferdinand, the Rakes, the Cribs, Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party. Janine Warren saw the Strokes in Camden in 2001 and life took a whole new direction. Her book ‘The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect’ looks back at old-school rock PR, unmanageable bands, and the summit and collapse of the last scene she thinks we’ll ever see. You’ll enjoy … … Morrissey at St George’s Hall, Blackburn … deejaying at Liquidation in Liverpool playing psychedelia and Northern Soul … the impossible task of being Pete Doherty’s PR: “like sand running through your fingers” … the day its editor realised the NME was doomed … the indie dilemma: wanting fame and publicity while appearing not to care … the rise of Arctic Monkeys, the first big digital success story … the financial crash, big label panic, illegal file-share and other woes of the 2010 music business … why rock scenes are a thing of the past … and the greatest Indie Sleaze record ever made. Order copies of ‘The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect: the Last Indie Music Scene 2000-2010’ here:https://www.roughtrade.com/product/janine-warren-foreword-by-alex-kapranos/the-world-was-a-mess-but-his-hair-was-perfect-the-last-indie-music-scene-2000-2010?algolia_query_id=5510672a106c0f77be3b364fe1f570ce&algolia_object_id=57550933459275&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 16, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

An Indie Sleaze special! – up and down with the Strokes, Libertines and Arctic Monkeys

0:00 42:02

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Word In Your Ear?

This episode is 42 minutes long.

When was this Word In Your Ear episode published?

This episode was published on September 16, 2026.

Can I download this Word In Your Ear episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!