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10 Scene Points For The Loser?
By
Ady Lee
You’ve got a gig to go to tonight. Do you have everything?
Black or blue tight-fitting Diesel jeans. Check.
Tight Atticus pink on black logo skinny fit t-shirt (male or female). Check.
White belt with ridiculously large buckle. Check.
Black hoody with ‘à la mode’ band badges pinned all over it. Check.
Big thick black crosses on back of your hands. Check.
Toni & Guy haircut. Check.
Integrity and enjoyment of actual music….oh.....you can’t buy that can you?
The last 18 years have seen an explosion in the emo world. Kids everywhere are now proclaiming themselves to be so ‘emosexual’ and there seems to be a new emo/screamo/post-hardcore band coming out every day now. Wearing certain things ups your coolness now and it has nothing to do with the music scene it originated from. Putting aside the highly amusing idea of crying emotional kids all around the country wearing cardigans and writing in their diaries, I wonder how much good this phenomenon has done for our love for music and all the baggage that comes with it.
To be fair some of these new bands coming into public attention are very good indeed and they’ve been patiently biding their time playing to the underground and are only now coming to attention now that post-hardcore and emo has become fashionable. Bands such as Eighteen Visions (1995), Give Up The Ghost (formerly American Nightmare, 1999) and Coheed & Cambria (formerly Shabutie, 1995) have been knocking around for a few years and can only benefit more from the kind of interest being shown towards their genre.
“1. "Scene" is also used synonymously with subculture, particularly in reference to social groups based on music, fashion, or other types of hobbies.
2. Occasionally the word "scene" refers to a specific youth subculture noted for its elitism, taste for indie rock and obscure, experimental music genres as well as a distinct, impeccable fashion sense. Although closely related to emo, the scene is more worldly in music appreciation, more exclusive, and pays more for clothes. The scene is similar to the emo and straight-edge movements in personal style, but it can nevertheless be clearly distinguished as its own movement.
Many scenesters characterize themselves as such with: a-line haircuts, hair dyed black or partly black and partly bleached, tight clothing, thrift store accessories, Existentialist literature, thick-rimmed glasses and/or huge sunglasses, deliberate and calculated geekiness, membership to social networking web clients such as Friendster, interest in '80s pop culture, frequenting local shows, chain-smoking, etc.
The scene even has its own vocabulary to separate it from other subcultures; for instance, the term "scene points" refers to an imaginary system in which one is awarded points for every aspect of character that conforms to the stereotype of the scene.” (Wikipedia Encyclopedia)
The above is what appeared when I searched for the word ‘scene’ on an online encyclopedia. Do you fit into any of the criteria? What’s bizarre is the fact that this definition of ‘scene’ has appeared in an encyclopedia in the first place.
Worrying though is the amount of gig-goers you see these days that rock up to gigs and don’t seem to have a clue what’s going on. I remember the days when the only people who would stand at the back of small gigs were parents of young kids who’d accompany their children or sometimes some high-flying music industry people scoping new talent. Go to a gig now and you’ll be guaranteed to find a lot more people standing at the back because they’re too ‘scene’ to get involved with the music. I have no doubt that some of the people standing there really do enjoy listening to the music in a civil manner at the back but I’m also sure that there are the same amount of people who are only there at the back to be seen by everyone else. “Look at me I’m wearing all the right stuff, I come to the right gigs, I tick all the boxes, I fulfil all the criteria, aren’t I amazing?” Too ‘scene’ to throw yourself into the music experience? Rubbish. You’re wearing a t-shirt ten times too small for you that will split the moment you jump up and down and you don’t want to ruin your £100 trainers, £150 jeans and £70 Toni & Guy haircut. What’s always fun after gigs is to look at the rest of the audience and guess who has a DIY haircut and who paid a ridiculous amount of money to have their hair look messy. If you’re too ‘scene’ for something, let alone a gig, then in my view you have a major attitude problem and you shouldn’t be going to gigs in the first place.
There’s a new kind of music fan coming out the woodwork now. The fan that thinks they’re just as good if not better than the bands that they go to see. Go check out myspace.com and look at all the emo kids littering the internet. The problem with these cliques is that everyone becomes the same person. We’re losing our identity. Sure there’ll be fads and trends that everyone will follow. Maybe I’m just bitter that I’m seeing people copying the way I’ve dressed the last few years. But this trend isn’t only affecting the music we listen to.
Three years ago I remember when I bought my first (and only) Atticus shirt. They were a clothing company hardly known in this country. Occasionally you’d see someone from Blink 182 wearing a t-shirt in a music video. The company came up with fresh, original designs for their merchandise. Fast-forward to 2004 and you can go to gigs now and play ‘Spot the Atticus T-Shirt’. I wouldn’t have a problem with this if Atticus had maintained its integrity. But it hasn’t. It picked up on the fact that its clothing is now highly sought after in this nu-wave of ‘fashionXcore’. They scrapped the fresh designs and now seem content to just stick their logo on some merchandise knowing full well that it will sell like hot cakes. Ten years ago you’d see people walking around with big baggy jeans, long dank hair and a Nirvana hoody. Gone is the grunge look, which I never really liked……but back then did I really expect or want to see everyone dressing the way I do now? I think not.
An obvious way of getting money as a band is to get sponsorship. For the moment most bands seem to be dealing well with juggling their music and clothing sponsorships. It’s only natural that fans will want to adopt a look similar to their heroes. But please don’t copy them exactly! You’re no longer yourself when you’re doing things that aren’t you. Be original and mix other things with their look. Anything to make you stand out from the crowd. I’m fiercely secretive now of where I buy my clothing from so that everything I wear doesn’t just become run of the mill merchandise.
I have another problem with “sXe” or “straight-edge”. This is a disciplined way of living your life where the most extreme don’t drink, do drugs (this may involve not taking medicine too), smoke or indulge in casual sex. The history of sXe dates back to the mid-80s in New York where underage kids going to gigs had black crosses drawn on the backs of their hands so bar staff knew not to serve them alcohol. This symbol and ideology was adopted all around America and then the world. In essence a very good idea. But in reality a disaster. Kids treat sXe like an accessory now. Something to say to heighten your attractiveness. There are too many kids doing sXe because their favourite band is doing it too. That’s not why you should become edge. You should become edge because you want to. Not because someone tells you to.
I’m not going to change the way I dress or the music I listen to just because the masses have caught on too. That makes me as bad as them. Dress how you want to dress but make it YOU. At your next gig you go to throw yourself into it and open your eyes to everything a gig offers. There are fewer more liberating experiences than seeing a good band play good music live. Argue and discuss bands with your friends. If everyone says they’re amazing then question why. Don’t be afraid to go against the flow. dNt b lik OMGZ itz lik nu-musik evry1 luvs! Sometimes you’ll be in a minority but at least you’ll have thought about it and you know more about the music which is more than a lot of people listening to it know. Don’t be a sheep. So please next time you hear about some exciting new band by all means give them a try and if they’re good enjoy them. But please briefly consider whether you really, truly like them....or whether you only like them because everyone else does.
Originally Posted by ajay 
