blinder's Journal: American Hardcore

my friend patrick sent me an email this morning about a new movie opening this fall. its called "american hardcore" released by sony classics.

i'm not sure how i feel about it yet. i mean, this documents the world i grew up in (i actually came in at the tail end of the scope of this movie, 1985). and yeah, all the noted luminaries are there (hank, ian, etc.) but, it kinda feels like the whole experience and that entire world is being co-opted. i guess its the timing.

when you have just about every other band calling themselves "emo" and then asked if they are influenced by rites of spring, you get a blank stare... and how hardcore now defines everything from metal to rap.

what i find especially remarkable, is how old keith morris looks now. sheesh.

one thing i found odd with the trailer was the glorification of the violence, and how it paints the violence as wide-spread. it wasn't. not even a little. you had pockets of stupidity, like orance county and la and in boston... but most scenes were just filled with kids needing some kind of release and found it at a hardcore show.

were shows violent? to an extent yes, but having spent a fair amount of my younger life at real hardcore shows, it was a healthy violence. no one was really hurt. have i ever walked out dinged up? sure of course, you accept that. scenes, back in the late 80's and early 90's were actually pretty good at policing themselves though (again with certain exceptions) and with the help of zines would pin-point problem areas.

but, in the end, it was always about the music. it was fast, loud and heavy. a common thread everyone could agree on.

we'll probably go see this, i'm sure it'll be showing in boston.

so the timing is right for a project?

[SolemnDragon]

*poke*

i sent you the outline before, you need it again?

Violence

[Otter]

were shows violent? to an extent yes, but having spent a fair amount of my younger life at real hardcore shows, it was a healthy violence. no one was really hurt. have i ever walked out dinged up? sure of course, you accept that. scenes, back in the late 80's and early 90's were actually pretty good at policing themselves though (again with certain exceptions) and with the help of zines would pin-point problem areas.

In my experience (mostly LA), where things got dangerous was when "alternative" started, in

Re:Violence

[Shadow Wrought]

Didn't GreenPeace issue a statement explicitely stating that violence against frat boys was not just condoned, but encouraged? ;-)

I've heard the term "Emo"

[rk]

for ten plus years and I still don't know what the fuck it is.

I guess I'm an old fart. Kids these days...

Re:I've heard the term "Emo"

[blinder]

emo is short for "emocore"
it was coined back in the late 1980's to describe a new form of hardcore that was emerging out of dc. the band, rites of spring is typically credited for having started the genre.

basically, *real* emocore is hardcore but with more melody, more personal lyrics and often is slower than typical hardcore.

what passes for emo these days makes me sick.

Re:I've heard the term "Emo"

[sielwolf]

Well consider that when most people describe Emo they say "Weezer" (even though Weezer is an alternative band or a post-post punk band at best). That's the thing about genres: no one uses them geneologically anymore (who you toured with, who you recorded with, what label you where on), it's all about gimmick and affect. Really, what passes for "Emo" for most people is probably best described as post-alternative: the late 90's happened and everyone was listening to some third generation band aping the Pi

we can always hope

[subgeek]

that they're focusing on the violence as a hook to get today's kids interested in listening to the story of something they don't remember. a lot of people have no interest in history. if it happened before they knew about it, it doesn't matter. they've got interviews in there with people who were the movement, so hopefully they were able to get a picture of what it was really like.