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83gigsof90semocore-blog · 5 years

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Bonus post: Everybody Hurts - Review

So the letter D is going along nicely, but before that I'm going to do something quite different, namely a book review.

My hope is that my pseudo-academic academic style will be complemented nicely by exploring what other people have written on the genre. I hope to do more of these eventually, but probably not at a too steady rate because I can be rather lazy when it comes to reading.

Everybody hurts is a book published in 2007 that was written by Leslie Simon, who at the time worked as an editor for Alternative Press and Trevor Kelly who worked as a staff writer, also for Alternative Press. The book is actually quite different from my blog in many respects. Aside from the obvious ones, it isn't specifically focused on 90's emo but instead on what in 2007 was considered contemporary emo. Also unlike my blog it's focused on emo culture (the cover says "an essential guide to emo culture") as opposed to just music.

Some background: The 4th wave, Real Emo and the death of Scene culture

Part of what makes this book interesting to me is that it's very much a product of its time. The story that it tells about the music and community surrounding it is incredibly different than what would have been told in the 90's and even more so today.

So, first some basics: Emo is a very broad term that at many points have meant different things. One popular way to categorize it is by splitting it into 4 (or 5) waves. We have the first wave which refers to the offshoot of hardcore-punk that is the origin of the genre. The second wave is much more influenced by indie, alt-rock and pop. It's much less overtly punky, depending on where you draw the line between first and second wave. The third wave (which corresponds to the time period when this book was written) consists to a large degree of pop-punk and poppy post-hardcore. This is the period of time in which emo music was the most commercially successful and emo culture was properly cemented in the public conciousness. Finally, we have the fourth wave also known as the "emo revival". Now, this is where things get interesting.

As the name implies, emo revival was a movement concerned with bringing back emo to an earlier stage, namely the second wave. As such, many people associated with the revival where to some degree self-concious about the way "their" genre was misinterpreted as being about something else, namely third wave emo. Emo culture at the time was often mocked and the more commercial emo music wasn't looked upon favourably in underground circles. Fourth wave wasn't just a re-embrace of the values of the second wave but a rejection of the third wave.

I should also mention that this isn't nearly as true as it used to be now that enough time has passed for people to be nostalgic sooner than derisive, although it's an assumption that is very much woven into contemporary emo culture.

The history of emo as told from a fourth wave perspective would generally look on the third wave as an embarrassing parenthesis that we'd be better of forgetting. Some people have even gone as far as referring to the bulk of the third wave as "fake emo", being emo in name only while failing to embrace the core values of the genre sufficiently to be considered part of it.

So, this is where this book comes in. Being written in 2007, instead of viewing third wave emo as a heretical misstep, it's treated as the logical conclusion of the genre.

Emo as an identity

Another contrast with modern-day emo culture is it's treatment of emo as almost more of an identity than a music genre. This is also very typical of the time period. I'm born in the mid 90's, and my first exposure to the word emo (as I remember it) was when I was perhaps 10 or so and a friend told me about "a group of mentally ill people who dress in black and self harm". Not even a mention of the music! From then on my pre-pubescent self was mostly exposed to Emo as an identity. Sure, they had a special type of music that they listened to, but it wasn't any more integral to their emo-ness than their fashion for example.

Fast forward to today and I would never unironically call myself or anyone else "an emo", and I don't think almost anyone else would either. The understanding of emo that you find by modern fans is of something that might have cultural connotations, but is ultimately a style of music at heart.

While the authors where a lot more familiar with what emo in general than my 10 year old self and also saw music as a more central part of it, it is very informed by the view of Emo as a broader identity and only a small part of the book is actually about music.

My impression

The book starts of with a foreword by Andy Greenwald, author of Nothing feels good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, And Emo, a book that I'm hoping to eventually cover on this blog.

Then we get to the first chapter, titled ideology. For a second I (foolishly) thought that it would be a Žižek-style examination of pop-culture or something, and got very exited. Reading a few words below, we get a faux dictionary definition of the word:

ide•ol•o•gy n a body of ideas and social needs that separates you from your parents, the pep squad, and Dave Matthews Band fans.

Žižek was never this snarky.

After appropriately adjusting my expectations, snark is a constant background noise in the book. It's sometimes funny, sometimes making fun of a target that deserves it, sometimes an excuse to not treat a subject seriously and sometimes something that has aged quite poorly (ableist slurs stand out like a sore thumb, something it generally didn't in 2007).

The book is divided in 9 chapters, discussing everything from emo ideology, emo fashion, emo literature to emo eating habits and oh right, actual emo music. I generally found that the book was quite well researched (although it is an entertainment book, so it's not exactly done with any academic rigor) and that the authors where happy on going in to detail on most of the subjects they brought up. The facts and anecdotes that make up every chapter are accompanied by either helpful advice ("Don't put on a band shirt right after buying it from the merch table, you'll look like an emo novice") or snarky commentary ("Let's say that a guy and his crush watched One Tree Hill a week earlier with a group of seven of their friends. Never mind that there where nine people in the room. In emo terms, this was a date.")

One section of the book is about emo blogs. Just for fun, let's see how my emo blog measures up:

[From the section "how to emo-fy your blog" [...] you're going to want to look over your text and ask yourself a series of questions before hitting the "submit" button and releasing your deepest, most intimate thoughts into the world. Those questions are as follows:

Does this read well?

Am I making my points in a clear and efficient way?

Did I use actual paragraphs?

Did I capitalize all the words that need capitalisation?

Is this what my life is actually like?

Ok, 5. doesn't really apply but for the others it seems like I'm doing fine. So far, so good.

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you should probably scrap your post and start over. Ideally, a good emo blog post should be over dramatic and a bit abstruse. You know the magnets you see on fridges that people sometimes assemble into bizarre phrases? That's what emo posts are supposed to look like

Well, fuck.

Chapter 6: Music - a review

While it can be anywhere from amusing to interesting to read about everything from proper show etiquette to Emo porn sites (yes, seriously), this being a music blog first and foremost I'm gonna give some extra attention to their taste in music.

They have a section titled "Essential Emo Records 101". So what does it consist of and what do I think of it?

Rites of Spring, S/T

Embrace, S/T

Sunny Day Real Estate, Diary

Jawbreaker, Dear You

Lifetime, Hello Bastards

Texas is the Reason, Do You Know Who You Are?

Weezer, Pinkerton

The Promise Ring, Nothing Feels Good

The Get Up Kids, Something To Write Home About

Jimmy Eat World, Clarity

So far, so good. Lifetime is almost never talked about these days, but Hello Bastards is still a solid record. Mineral, American Football and Cap'n Jazz are all absent, although American Football and Cap'n Jazz weren't very popular until a long time after they split, so it's not that strange I suppose. They would be impossible to not include had the list been written today though. All the bands are accompanied by some text. For the first two albums they snarkily remark that they're not so much good as important historically. I believe that this comes from viewing the history of as stepping stones to what it was when this book was written and not with an attempt to see emo as it was at the time which I think is disappointing although not very surprising.

Saves the Day, Through Being Cool

Glassjaw, Everything You Ever Wanted

At the Drive-in, Relationship of Command

Bright Eyes, Fever and Mirrors

Thursday, Full Collapse

Dashboard Confessional, The Places You Have Come To Fear the Most

Taking Back Sunday, Tell All Your Friends

The Used, S/T

The All-American Rejects, S/T

Brand New, Deja Entendu

Coheed and Cambria, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Yellowcard, Ocean Avenue

Hawthorne Heights, The Silence in Black and White

My Chemical Romance, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

Fall Out Boy, From Under the Cork Tree

Panic! At the Disco, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

There are a couple of albums that I personally don't really think qualify as emo even from a third wave point of view (although, maybe I'm just too poisoned by 4th wave elitism) namely Fevers and Mirrors, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 and A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. I do still think that at least the first two at least are quite good so it's more of a matter of being overly loose with the genre. Although, maybe it's worth interpreting this list as more "music that emo people like" rather than "emo music" in line with the rest of the book. I did honestly think that it would be a bit worse in terms of including "non-emo" music so I'm honestly positively surprised. The authors do in my opinion manage to escape with a good amount of emo cred.

One thing that I'm disappointed in is the complete absence of screamo music, although this is once again more disappointing than surprising really.

Final verdict

One helpful question to ask when reviewing any piece of media is "who is this for?". My impression is that it's mostly for people who are already immersed in Emo culture who are interested in laughing at themselves. It is a very silly subculture in many ways (particularly in 2007) and the authors poke fun of this many times. If you can take it in stride, this book might be a pleasant read. You might also learn some things that you have missed.

For people such as me who are trying to puzzle together what emo culture actually was like at the time I find that the snark gets in the way of actually learning things, and I wish that they had taken a slightly more serious approach. The book could also have done with a lot more interviews.

Ultimately I think this leaves the book with a quite narrow audience in the present day, but that's fine maybe. At the time it came out it was actually commenting on something culturally relevant and might have served as a decent primer to the subculture.

Today however, I think that I can only really recommend it to the unhealthily obsessed (like me) and the nostalgic.

#emo

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imaginemycroftholmes · 7 years

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Le Submission

Name: Olga

Nationality: German

Age (note that if you below 21 your scores may be lower until age of legality): 18

Personality Type: ENTP (according to the Meyer-Briggs personality test)

Level of Education: soon to be high-school-graduator with a Abitur

Best Subject: English and History

Worst Subject: Chemistry

Favorite Subject: Latin and History

5 Hobbies (if applicable): music (composing, piano, singing), occasional fencing and horseback riding, jogging/hiking, drawing

Favorite Genre of Music/Movies/Books:

Music –> Classical, Rock ‘n Roll, Rock, Indie, Irish Punk, Folk, sometimes Country. My taste of music depends of the quality of the song rather than its genres

Movies: –> Usually Adventure/Fantasy but I also enjoy Period Dramas and good vintage movies and Comedies

Books: –> Fantasy, Biographies

Last song you listened to on repeat: “Once upon a December” from Anastia

Last phrase you said to another living person: “She’s at the summerhouse.”

How many blankets do you sleep with: One

7 note worthy skills: I’m pretty eloquent (whether it be during conversations, presentations or just telling a decent story), Social, Intuitive, Passionate about everything I do and thing/people I care about and able to be convincing when I need to be, I see good in people and situations, You can always count on me developing a plan and sticking to it

7 noticeable sins: I can be lazy, Intuitive (sometimes it brings trouble with it), I act on emotions after repressing them for a long time, I can be tactless, I love life but I often need to remind myself that I do, Isolation myself when I actually should ask for help, when stepping on for people or standing up for those who don’t stand up for themselves I get myself into trouble

Allergies/impairments/illnesses: I’m allergic to horses (main reason why don’t go horseback riding as often as I used to as a kid), I’m also allergic to my favourite flower (sunflower)

Level of Intelligence on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being dumb, 2 being below average, 3 being average, 4 being above average and 5 being genius): 4

Level of Fitness on a scale of 1 to 5( 1 being obese, 2 being overweight, 3 being average, 4 being fit and 5 being skinny): ¾

Level of Attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being Anderson, 2 being below average, 3 being average, 4 being above average and 5 being Mycroft): Attractiveness is a very relative term. Some might say I’m and Anderson while others might think I’m above average.

Feline, canine or both: Canine

Confidence Level on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 being nonexistent, 2 low, 3 average, 4 above average and 5 Sherlock): I definitely carry myself with a Sherlock-like level of confidence

Position in the Family (oldest, youngest, middle): Youngest

Eye Color: Green (people question the colour because it tends to change depending on the weather or the colour of clothes or eye-makeup I am wearing)

Hair Color and Length: Brown, pretty long (now reaching the mid of my back) I want it to grow longer though

Height: 5'7”

Combat level on a scale 1 to 5 (1 being useless, 2 being somewhat capable, 3 being average, 4 being more than capable and 5 being expert): 3

Your normal dress: Usually it’s black jeans and some kind of t-shirt. I don’t care much for dressing up everyday so I wear men-shirts/t-shirts. I pair my outfit with leather boots (brown or black). If I decide to look rather presentable I throw on a dress that shows my shoulders and is tighter at the waist. When it’s getting colder I always wear long coats paired with a shawl.

How well you take rejection on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being temper tantrum, 2 being vindictive, 3 being average, 4 being can take it like a man, and 5 being like water off of a duck’s back): I take it like man. No need to throw a tantrum if nothing can be done about it. I will be upset though.

Languages known: My first language is Russian but I speak it with a little accent because I don’t roll the “R” because I grew up in Germany. German is my best language which I talk accent-free. I’m also fluent in English. I am currently teaching myself some French and Icelandic

Cleanliness of your bathroom on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being a crime scene, 2 being messy, 3 being average, 4 being pretty clean and 5 being perfectly spotless): It’s rather messy

How big is your circle of friends on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being nonexistent, 2 being very small, 3 being average, 4 being large, and 5 being a massive social network): I have one best friend I know I can always rely on. I know a lot of people who I consider to be my friends. I have no problems getting to know new people so I would say that I do have a large circle of friends.

How would you rate your mental health on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being very poor, 2 being poor, 3 being average, 4 being good, and 5 being prefect): 3. Highs and lows

Opinions on the current Holmes family members ( Siger Holmes, Violet Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and Eurus Holmes):

Sherlock can be a pain in the ass. He is very inconsiderate of other people’s feelings but we all know that he means well.

Eurus is a troubled child with a troubled mind. Her intelligence drover her to madness so she can’t be blamed for the things she does. However she is a dangerous person and should be kept locked away.

Siger Holmes is a precious and kind man who deserves to be loved by family and friends. I’m sure he was a great father. He seems to be very passive when it comes to communication between the family members though.

Violet Holmes is a strong woman that keeps everything and everyone together. She can be harsh when needed and, like every parent, often has high expectations in her children (especially in Mycroft). I do like her nevertheless.

Please bold the following below that applies toward your submission:

Friendship

Mentorship

Relationship

Partnership

The Question portion:

Please note that you do not have to submit the pictures within your submission (save the puzzle) but you must answer them honestly and do so without cheating.

The rectangle is devided into 3 equal pieces. Three angles lead up to the same point. Since the distance of the angles A and B and C always stays the same and angle C is the one that’s the clostest to the point where all the lines meet up A+B equals C.

July 16 4

I think it would be smarter not to shoot at someone at all because he hits his shot only 1/3 of the time. If he misses the shot he still has spare ones. Plus I’m thinking that this is a trick questions since it’s saying „where should you shoot first“ and not „who should you shoot first“

5+5+5+5 =/= 555

This text indicates that the man needs some kind of help from other people to get to the 10th floor. That means that something hinders him from doing so when he’s alone. He either has a germ phobia and can’t touch the buttons by himself (in the morning he is able to convince himself to do it because “new day, new start” or he is simply too short to reach the buttons in the elevator and can only reach the first seven ones.

I would set two switches. The possibility that both of them are OFF switches would allow me to determine which one is the ON one.

7) He brings her the ring himself.

8) Obviously 87

9) Nobody

10) He could build something from the wood to get on the other side of the fire where everything is already burnt down. That way the westwind would continue to blow and the fire would spread out but something that is burnt can’t be affected by fire another time so even if the wind would change Alexander would be safe.

11) C) –> It’s not being said whether Anne is married or not

12) 679

13) All of them are wrong?

14) I’m too bad at stochastic and an answer I know would be wrong is too embarrassing to give

15) Sally did it

16) Where does the English horn (Cor Anglais) come from? France

17) What is brass composed of? Copper and zinc

18) Who was the FIRST great artist that contributed to the Italian Renaissance? Michelangelo

19) 2

20) 12

21) 2

22) White and gold

Mycroft’s answer:

Dear Olga, it would seem that you’re a rather bright child for your age aren't you? It shows in your answers and the way you carry yourself when you write that reminds me of a younger, if not more pleasant, Sherlock that wouldn't go around bringing muck into the house or worse, hide it under my duvet. I find it rather rare that you can compose and play your own music, I think Sherlock started it was a turbulent period as he wanted to go faster than his instructors intended which lead to many pay outs for damaged property and emotional damages. I also see that you have some sympathies for my little sister which is understandable. Eurus is an exceptionally bright young woman working faster than the rest of us and I'm sure its killing her everyday that she can't seem to find anyone for whom she wants to be an equal (as we all know she pretty much snubbed me in favor of Sherlock-someone she could easily mold at her will.) Although I recognize her dangerous nature I still love my siblings-both of them, even if they have tried to kill me on more than one occasion. I have no doubts that under my mentorship you can only flourish more so than Sherlock did at your age with less of my pocket book going toward covering up any of your misgivings. I only ask that you take a bit more pride in tiding up your living space because one cannot function at 100% in chaos. Yes, I do know this for a fact because I have seen my baby brother go on a rampage at Baker street because he could not locate an article that would prove his intelligence and then proceeded to shoot the wall up again in agitation. As for your state of dress as long as you keep it professional looking I have no qualms. We can proceed at your earliest convenience.

Friendship: 7.7/10 Mentorship: 9/10

#Mycroft form 2.0 #submission #mycroft holmes

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