At some point it dawned on me that a lot of the indierockers who brightened up my 1990s teenage years, had become 'lifers', choosing music as a career, dealing with the ups and downs of public interest in new product. Most of them didn't become rock 'n' roll millionaires, they're paying the bills. I started paying attention again to new records by some of my teenage faves, I guess as belated appreciation for doing really meaningful things (to me) back then. So if Sebadoh or Juliana Hatfield is doing a new record, I can at least pay it some attention (and pay the artist fairly). Some of it is product, but some of these artists are doing great work, so I'll keep listening.
And here are two examples:
Thurston Moore - Screen time
He may actually be a rock 'n' roll millionaire - possibly.
His last records ('Rock n roll consciousness', 'Spirit counsel', 'By the fire') are amazing, a real return to form after some years in the wilderness post-SY. This new instrumental record is a more modest affair, recorded solo (though some overdubs). Abstract sounds, nothing abrasive or wild, just exploring the non-tuneful possibilities of the guitar. A bit meditative. I'm not claiming any greatness, but it hangs in the air nicely, early morning or late in the evening.
https://thurstonmoore1.bandcamp.com/album/screen-time-2Guided by voices - Styles we paid for
We know what Robert Pollard does, and I can't keep track of every single record, but it's a comfortable place to drop in once in a while. He's got a pretty stable band configuration going, and they're doing quality craftmanship. There's no surprises, but I dig most of these additions to the songbook. 'Mr child', 'Crash at lake placebo', 'Electronic windows to nowhere' for instance.
I suspect at some point he started using software to automatically generate random song titles.
https://guidedbyvoices.bandcamp.com/album/styles-we-paid-for