ALL EMO IS LOCAL: Five Scenes That Developed Organically A reflection on America’s emo capitals by Liz Pelly for the Boston Phoenix’s February 10th Emo Issue Part 1 of 6
Remember the years before blog-rock, when scenes and sounds developed geographically? Although emo was one of the first musical movements inherently indebted to social networking sites (Myspace and LiveJournal were critical in propagating its introverted culture), it was also one of the last subcultures also to have on-the-ground brick-and-mortar infrastructure in specific towns. The emo epidemic grew out of post-hardcore DC in the ’80s, ultimately spreading throughout the country, with the Midwest and Omaha getting hit particularly hard. Ultimately, though, “suburb” is synonymous with “troubled teen soul,” so it’s natural that Long Island and Jersey ‘burbs became definitive emo capitals by the early aughts. [Read more.]
my head feels better without facebook. but it is proving difficult to work in writing/media/etc without having facebook for fact-checking and event info. it feels weird to write any article and then not blast it out on facebook. how will people know i have my radio show tomorrow? part of me feels like “ugh, fuck, facebook is a prison for journalists” and then part of me feels like … “hey … first world problems . . “
on an optimistic note, being sober at shows and stuff isn’t a big deal. i feel like i am getting better sleep and waking up actually feeling rested. i will probably be back on facebook before i am back on alcohol. weird.
my itunes is permanently on the setting where it plays one song on repeat. its the only way i can listen to music. last week it was ‘the punk singer’ by julie ruin, then it was ‘i wish i was him’ by kathleen hanna, yesterday it was the ‘waiting room’ cover by slingshot dakota. today its this, “give out” by sharon van etten. (i’m biting my lip / as confidence is speaking to me / i loosen my grip … in my way / i say / you’re the reason why i’ll move to the city / or why i’ll need to leave.) i’ve been listening to music this way for about four years, i think. i feel bad for my friends/roommates sometimes because it is probably really annoying. i just get sort of obsessed with songs for 1-2 days. sometimes it lasts longer.
a few weeks ago i decided to not consume any alcohol for the month of february. today i decided to ‘really’ make this a ‘month of detox’ and i deactivated my facebook account. these both felt like natural steps towards feeling clear-headed. i will probably miss event invites for a bunch of stuff but maybe it will be for the better. i’m not sure how i will go about getting a FB event up for a show i booked for feb. 26th but i guess i will figure it out.
“I am what is called a sex-positive feminist. Or maybe a radical feminist, or, wait–this one’s cool: an anarcha-feminist! Which is to say that I don’t give a f— about your labels, I just want to hear the true voices of women self-expressing–smart ones, stupid ones, ugly ones, beautiful ones, good ones, bad ones, fat ones, thin ones, all of it–until the profound silence that has resounded throughout history is filled with a healthy chorus coming from our side of the aisle.”
— Liz Phair on “Why Lana Del Rey Scares Rock’s Boys Club,” in this weekend’s Wall Street JournalSpeakeasy column (via sarahspy)
Echoes/Ephemera is my weekly show on WZBC 90.3 FM. I play mostly demos and home-recordings, and some other self-released lo-fi tracks. It airs every thursday from 6-7 pm. This is what I played today:
6:00pm Thee Oh Sees “Can You See (Demo)” from Zork’s Tape Bruise Demo’s (Castle Face 2009) 6:03pm Toro Y Moi “Dead Pontoon” from June 2009 (2012) 6:06pm Night Manager “Do I” from //////// (self 2011) 6:09pm Life Size Maps “It’s Leaking” from Magnifier (self 2011) 6:12pm Pet Milk “Christian Soliciters” from Ladyfest Boston comp 6:14pm Shimmering Stars “I’m Gonna Try (Demo)” from 2010 demos (self) 6:19pm Shoppers “I” from Silver Years (self 2011) 6:22pm Modern Hut “Wrong” single (2011) 6:24pm Parasol “Read Instead” from Crush Season (self 2011) 6:26pm Web Dating “Can’T Get Enough of You” from Lovin You, Freakin Easy (2011) 6:30pm Pale Yellow “Panel of Experts” from demo (2011) 6:33pm Nord Express “Promise (demo)” from Slumberland Records the first 20 years 6:35pm Little Spoon “slumber” from slumber/truss demos (self 2011) 6:38pm Mutual Benefit “Auburn Epitaths” from The Cowboy’s Prayer (Kassette Klub 2011) 6:44pm Twin Sister “Peach (instrumental demo)” Single (2010) 6:47pm Potty Mouth “Dog Song” from Bad Bad (Demo) (self 2011) 6:51pm P.S. ELIOT “Entendre” from The Bike Wreck Demo (self 2008) 6:53pm Heaven’s Gate “POGO” single (2011) 6:55pm Julie Ruin “The Punk Singer” from Julie Ruin Single (Kill Rock Stars 1998) 7:00pm Saara from You can be a Wesley “I got it real bad” single (2012)
The archive is available to download for 2 weeks here.
seriously, i have no words. but for the rest of my life i want to imagine new ways of loving the mysterious world and gorgeous folks around us, and maybe that’s something you want to do as well.
Tiny Waves’ mini-documentary, titled ‘The Search for FMLY’ and filmed through the events of FMLY Fest and other CA adventures.
I just love what both these groups of people are bringing together and you really get a better understanding of what FMLY has to offer through this; I recommend playing the video above.
This rules. Every time I read/watch something related to FMLY, I think, “these kids are having political/cultural conversations that don’t happen enough surrounding independent/underground/experimental/DIY/whateverthefuckyouwannacall it music culture.” I feel in punk culture, people are cool with talking about social politics/materialism/etc, but in this other vaguer sphere, a lot of people think they don’t need to address these things because they are ‘a given.’ But that approach is too basic and doesn’t really help anyone. I feel like, at a time where a lot of ‘independent’ musicians don’t think it is cool or necessary to have outright complex/radical political conversations, FMLY sort of rips a little hole in that and creates this important intersection of rad politics and d.i.y./experimental music. “Shout outs to the people who are against the commodification and objectification of people, craft, culture ideas … Thank you to anyone to anyone who has ever taken the time to go to anything that is not advertised by TV, radio, or a magazine.” Can more people please say things like this all of the time? Even as a media creator I can appreciate that sense of skepticism. A++
![ALL EMO IS LOCAL: Five Scenes That Developed OrganicallyA reflection on America’s emo capitals by Liz Pelly for the Boston Phoenix’s February 10th Emo IssuePart 1 of 6Remember the years before blog-rock, when scenes and sounds developed geographically? Although emo was one of the first musical movements inherently indebted to social networking sites (Myspace and LiveJournal were critical in propagating its introverted culture), it was also one of the last subcultures also to have on-the-ground brick-and-mortar infrastructure in specific towns. The emo epidemic grew out of post-hardcore DC in the ’80s, ultimately spreading throughout the country, with the Midwest and Omaha getting hit particularly hard. Ultimately, though, “suburb” is synonymous with “troubled teen soul,” so it’s natural that Long Island and Jersey ‘burbs became definitive emo capitals by the early aughts. [Read more.]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz46ftoYxf1qzc9vko1_r1_400.jpg)
