edmund,
Actually, if one wants to
consider life experience, most people should NOT be
writing questions about Dexys or even Talking Heads in
quizbowl. Assuming most people in QB are traditional
college age students (note the qualifier), actually most
people should be writing 90s music questions. I think
people are afraid to do so because 1.) Since we all
listened to it, they are easier to personally remember
(when considering Top 40, not anything obscure).
2.)
I think that the indirect canon does attempt to
make people conform to certain eras.
As to the
original question, I think more established indie bands
could be asked, as long as there was enough buzz about
them so that when a new album comes out, the artist
gets a few blurbs in a popular music mag like NME or
Spin (ugh, or Rolling Stone. Remember folks, they
hated Zepplin.). This would require a bit of self
policing, but I would like to see something new, as well.