Because screamo bands that whine about girls dumping them can be feminists too guys!
I love how punk has changed and contorted into this stupid selfish thing. Hell, emotional hardcore is my life, been since I first caught Jimmy Eat World on tv in seventh grade, hell, my senior quote is a Saetia…
While Rafael definitely did a great job touching on issues of sexism, racism, and homophobia in society and punk alike, I’d like to touch on the musical aspect of the argument found here.
“Death to false emo. Death to false punk. Death to false screamo.”
I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this is positively ludicrous.
There is an unprecedented level of elitism found in the screamo/punk scene nowadays and, more often than not, it presents itself in arguments of who is “real screamo” and who isn’t. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to suggest that auto-tuned, breakdown-ridden, cash-cowing garbage like “Attack Attack” and “We Came as Romans” is anything close to “real screamo.” What I’m talking about is the fact that there is such an absurd degree of pretention within the screamo scene itself — it’s like some sort of fucked up civil war.
The internet is a great venue for putting your music out there. Times have changed since the days of Saetia, You and I, so on and so forth. Social media has developed in a way that almost caters specifically to musicians and it’s an open space of opportunity for getting your music into more ears than ever. Unsigned, independent acts can now find great success outside of their hometowns without even embarking on tour. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this at all…as a matter of fact, I’d say it’s one of the best things that has ever happened to DIY hardcore. Music is changing, evolving, moving alongside technology in a way that is awesome and sensible.
Now, simultaneously, this opens up an entirely new forum for opinion and criticism, both on the level of the band and the fan alike. Bands (like WWS, in this case) are able to put forth their opinions on society and other related issues on a wide-scale level — these thoughts are no longer confined to lyrics or microphones. Similarly, fans can take these opinions and agree or disagree, actively or passively, resulting in little bits of net-drama like we’re seeing now. (Granted, from what I’ve read of this conversation, a bit of playfulness and humor is always okay, but “naive bucket of fags?” Really?)
So, tl;dr, times have changed. Music is evolving. Technology is new and awesome. This is a great thing. (Save for the instances of bands progressing online on image alone, but that’s an entirely different rant and if they suck, they suck…it doesn’t affect me.)
Now, if music has evolved in the way it spreads, shouldn’t it evolve in the way it sounds? Not to say there is anything wrong with the classics, bands that most of us know and love. Those bands are influential for a reason. This is where the problem occurs in the screamo/punk mindset. Innovation is not only suppressed — in many cases, it’s frowned upon. If you’re not a hard-line, anarchist vegan playing octave chords at 800 BPM recorded on a tape deck, you’re not “DIY enough,” you’re not “punx enough,” you’re not “skramz enough.” I thought music was supposed to be evolving?
I don’t mean to downplay bands who take this style and make it their own. Some of my favorite bands really exemplify the sound I just described, but that’s not the issue. The issue is the second a band leaves this formula, they are often shunned for one reason or another. Not to “name drop,” but it just makes it easier. Bands like Pianos Become the Teeth, La Dispute, Touche Amore, and others that have seen quite a bit of distaste from the internet, which is fine, once again. Opinions are great and if you don’t like a band, it is your right to say so. The problem I have is hearing time and time again that they’re “false screamo” or “fake DIY” or one thing or another because they’ve found a bit more success than “xNietzsche’sVeganBBQWarriorsx” or whoever. I’m not some fanboy and I hardly think they’re reinventing the wheel, but I do enjoy their music and that’s all there is to it. Just because they play a different brand of screamo, post-hardcore, whatever you want to call it doesn’t mean they’re “fake” or who knows what. I mean, in direct reference to the post in question, WWS is hardly “false screamo.” That’s a baseless statement in terms of both sound and ethics.
I’m involved in screamo/post-hardcore/punk/emo/whatever because I enjoy it. I believe in playing music that I love and supporting music that I love. I embrace the sense of community found in this kind of music and the level of acceptance and tolerance found on so many levels and honestly, I love this music because it’s something that I believe exists to reject this inner-genre elitism and pretention. Punk may be about doing or saying whatever you want, but that can’t exist in a merely self-serving fashion. Just because you can say what you want doesn’t mean you should allow ignorance and intolerance to proliferate — on a personal and a musical level.
A band that screams isn’t any more punk than one that screams, a band that plays with distortion isn’t any more punk than one that plays through the clean channel, a band that has lo-fi recordings isn’t any more punk than one with high quality recordings, a band that has no following isn’t any more punk than one that has a huge following. Stop arguing about which band is more punk or less punk and quit caring and deciding who is or isn’t “false screamo.” Just play music for the love of music, but make damn sure you mean it.
