Post For People
Post For Dennis (and Simon and Henry)
I agree that the definition of emo has been twisted from its original meaning, and I am refering to the generalised definition of "emo" that is usually used these days; and yes, I would call Good Charlotte and Simple Plan emo, and yes, I hate both of them.
So the lyrics to My Chemical Romance.
"Your memory will carry on" is quite nice, apart from being (surprise surprise) about death, but that doesnt mean the song is generally uplifting! I mean:
He said, "Son when you grow up, would you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?
"He said "Will you defeat them, your demons, and all the non believers, the plans that they have made?"
Because one day I'll leave you,
A phantom to lead you in the summer,
To join the black parade."
I'm not ashamed, I'm gonna show my scar
Give a chair, for all the broken
Listen here, because it's to me
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I'm just a boy, who wants to sing this song
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I -- don't -- care
Is NOT uplifting. It's melodramatic. It's obsessed with an image of people beaten up by their circumstances, in a constant state of sorrow, struggling to live through each successive cycle of abuse - and its promoting it as a lifestyle. It's glorifying it. It's making it sound desirable to be beaten up and broken down - by using the words hero and saviour and associating them with living like this. (And I'm in no way saying that people overcome with grief and pain are not heroes - I GREATLY admire people who have been through hell on earth and come out the other end still alive! The things that some people have had to put up with are unimaginable to those of us who have never been struck by tragedy). But emo music (using the current loose definition) (more specifically My Chemical Romance) is helping turn it into a culture. A culture of artificial emotion and artificial feelings in white middle class 14 year olds - the majority of whom don't even know what real tragedy is - who are obsessed with being "broken" and "hurting" and "raw" because it's cool. And that's disgusting.
And as for emotion. It doesn't even have much of that! I mean, listen to Bad or With or Without You by U2. THAT'S emotion!! Compare them to Welcome to the Black Parade and you'll see how pathetic it is!
Post For Steve
aka "How An Icecap Melts"
It starts off with an icecap covering the ground like this:
The ice cap is a couple of kilometres high, and the sun is shining on it, trying to melt it. For most of the day for most of the year, the sun is high up in the sky, and so its rays are shining almost straight down onto the surface of the icecap, whereas they are shining at a much larger angle onto the side of the icecap. Like this:
Because the suns rays are at more of an angle shining against the side, they are less intense (the same reason that the sun is less intense in winter than in summer). This means they are transfering less heat to the sides of the icecap than to the top surface of it. Because the ice is being heated it will obviously slowly start melting, and because the ice is on average being heated more at the top surface, it will melt faster there. ("On average" because when the sun is lower - ie at sunrise and sunset there is more heating on the side than the the top - but the sunlight is weaker at these times so it doesnt have a big effect):
Because the meltwater is liquid, it is warmer than the ice around it, and because it is kept warmer by the sun, it will slowly start melting the ice around it, thus increasing the small pools into larger ones, and then into small lakes, and then into big ones, and so on. Also ice contains a lot of high stress "fault lines" in it, and as it heats up, it will begin to crack along these lines, thus weakening the entire structure:
Eventually, the lake will get massive, and the cracks will weaken the wall that is stopping it from pouring out, and the side will eventually collapse, causing the water to flood the land nearby:
So yeah, it does work. But it's only something that happens in massive ice-sheets. You could never leave an ice cube out in the sun and watch that happen to it, because the size of its top surface isn't ginormously bigger than the size of its edges.
I agree that the definition of emo has been twisted from its original meaning, and I am refering to the generalised definition of "emo" that is usually used these days; and yes, I would call Good Charlotte and Simple Plan emo, and yes, I hate both of them.
So the lyrics to My Chemical Romance.
"Your memory will carry on" is quite nice, apart from being (surprise surprise) about death, but that doesnt mean the song is generally uplifting! I mean:
He said, "Son when you grow up, would you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?
"He said "Will you defeat them, your demons, and all the non believers, the plans that they have made?"
Because one day I'll leave you,
A phantom to lead you in the summer,
To join the black parade."
I'm not ashamed, I'm gonna show my scar
Give a chair, for all the broken
Listen here, because it's to me
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I'm just a boy, who wants to sing this song
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I -- don't -- care
Is NOT uplifting. It's melodramatic. It's obsessed with an image of people beaten up by their circumstances, in a constant state of sorrow, struggling to live through each successive cycle of abuse - and its promoting it as a lifestyle. It's glorifying it. It's making it sound desirable to be beaten up and broken down - by using the words hero and saviour and associating them with living like this. (And I'm in no way saying that people overcome with grief and pain are not heroes - I GREATLY admire people who have been through hell on earth and come out the other end still alive! The things that some people have had to put up with are unimaginable to those of us who have never been struck by tragedy). But emo music (using the current loose definition) (more specifically My Chemical Romance) is helping turn it into a culture. A culture of artificial emotion and artificial feelings in white middle class 14 year olds - the majority of whom don't even know what real tragedy is - who are obsessed with being "broken" and "hurting" and "raw" because it's cool. And that's disgusting.
And as for emotion. It doesn't even have much of that! I mean, listen to Bad or With or Without You by U2. THAT'S emotion!! Compare them to Welcome to the Black Parade and you'll see how pathetic it is!
Post For Steve
aka "How An Icecap Melts"
It starts off with an icecap covering the ground like this:
The ice cap is a couple of kilometres high, and the sun is shining on it, trying to melt it. For most of the day for most of the year, the sun is high up in the sky, and so its rays are shining almost straight down onto the surface of the icecap, whereas they are shining at a much larger angle onto the side of the icecap. Like this:
Because the suns rays are at more of an angle shining against the side, they are less intense (the same reason that the sun is less intense in winter than in summer). This means they are transfering less heat to the sides of the icecap than to the top surface of it. Because the ice is being heated it will obviously slowly start melting, and because the ice is on average being heated more at the top surface, it will melt faster there. ("On average" because when the sun is lower - ie at sunrise and sunset there is more heating on the side than the the top - but the sunlight is weaker at these times so it doesnt have a big effect):
Because the meltwater is liquid, it is warmer than the ice around it, and because it is kept warmer by the sun, it will slowly start melting the ice around it, thus increasing the small pools into larger ones, and then into small lakes, and then into big ones, and so on. Also ice contains a lot of high stress "fault lines" in it, and as it heats up, it will begin to crack along these lines, thus weakening the entire structure:
Eventually, the lake will get massive, and the cracks will weaken the wall that is stopping it from pouring out, and the side will eventually collapse, causing the water to flood the land nearby:
So yeah, it does work. But it's only something that happens in massive ice-sheets. You could never leave an ice cube out in the sun and watch that happen to it, because the size of its top surface isn't ginormously bigger than the size of its edges.
posted by David | 3:16 pm
1 Comments:
Yeah David, I think you are right to some degree, I agree that MCR and other bands stylised in their manner definitely 'exaggerate' the effects of depression, etc.
But I will say though, that the reason emo has become popular is because there is obviously a connection between the message of the songs and what people are feeling. 'Welcome to My Life' grasped the root of this for particular 14-year old middle-class kids, although in a very blunt and over simplified manner. Furthermore, looking at the lyrics of 'Welcome to My Life', the song does not provide a positive overall message, in that:
1. It sets up the situation: Kid unhappy/being abused/whatever.
2. Complains about it. Song ends.
In other words, songs like this are 'whining' songs - they are what I deem to be the most crap and unworthy of any listening value.
However, in Black Parade and Famous Last Words, there is a subtle difference:
1. Sets up bad/depressive situation.
2. Talks about the pain.
But
3. Says that one should keep on living/keep fighting.
I don't think one can argue with me that the chorus is usually when the main 'message' of a song comes out - and in both MCR songs, (3) is clearly stated in the choruses.
So yeah, basically my own criteria for 'emo vs. not-emo' is whether or not a song actually says, 'Yes, keep wallowing in your pain and just cry about it' or a song says, 'Yes, we all feel pain, but you can get through it.'
This is why I believe there is a distinction between MCR and true 'emo' bands.
I think you are right in saying that their songs generally do glorify 'feeling pain' though. They also romanticises it. But isn't this what a lot of artists do with different emotions? (and for that matter, it connects one with the audience too?)
I can think of other songs/artists that have done this. Some examples include:
I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself (Elton John) - 'I'm getting bored
Being part of mankind
There's not a lot to do no more
This race is a waste of time'
Iris (Goo Goo Dolls) - 'And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am'
The main difference is that because MCR 'looks' emo, they are under more fire than other musicians exploring similar themes (albeit in a less 'in your face' way). Now obviously there is the question of quality of music as well, but I think that is independent of emo/non-emo, as while emo music may be lyrically crap, you could probably make an argument and just have an awesome composition sung to emo lyrics.
MCR openly deals with death as a theme and makes this a core part of their stylised appearance, but yeah, I don't think wearing lots of make up and black clothing makes you suicidal - it just looks bad and makes you unattractive.
A family member I know has been through the 'emo' mindset (with quite severe outcomes), and I can say that at least in their specific instance the suicidal thoughts/etc were not caused by music or other media, but rather by their own mindset to begin with and their thought patterns, so to speak.
In other words I believe there are certain 'types' of people who tend to dig themselves a hole and hide there - 'emo' music thus appeals more to these people. BUT it does not make people who would not otherwise cut themselves cut themselves. So yes, my argument is the same as the argument for violence in films - yes, violence in movies is bad, but it is not the reason why people go around shooting other kids.
Rather, there is a direct correlation between people who have murderous intentions and the kind of games/movies they tend to like, vs. them becoming murderous because of the games/movies they watch. The same would apply to music as well.
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