In the past few weeks, much has been made by people I keep in touch with via social media about an "emo revival." This came from when Stereogum posted a helpful guide called "12 Bands to Know From the Emo Revival" and was widely read and discussed. I didn't take issue with the "revival" tag, but certain writer friends of mine did, and they made their voices heard via Facebook posts and tweets. (Things got to the point where Dan Ozzi wrote this for Noisey called "There's No Emo Revival, You Just Stopped Paying Attention.")
It's taken me a long time to understand that there will always be people who think genres disappear and reappear. I accept it and don't begrudge people who think that way. It's like those who said, "Hey, disco is making a comeback" in the '90s, while others were adamant that it never went away. There are plenty of people who seek far and wide for what they want, but more people just want what's easy to access. As in, instead of spending hours searching blogs or streaming services for exactly what they want, they go with what a friend posts on Facebook or what's on a commercial.
There's no wrong or right way to find new music; we all have our ways to finding it. If it looks like a certain genre has left a relevant spotlight due to lack of popular interest or declining concert attendance or record sales, it's understandable if the tides turn down the line. If you have your ear very close to the ground, no genre completely goes away.
I held out hope while I wrote my book that a younger generation would take to Rites of Spring or Braid instead of Fall Out Boy, and that happened. Only now are we seeing the fruits of this. That's why I couldn't help pass up the chance to contribute to a list of Top 20 Emo Albums for the LA Weekly West Coast Sound blog (20-11, 10-1). If somebody wants to know more about the roots of this "revival," I'm more than happy to help. Be it the context of when Dear You or Clarity came out, it's all important to telling the ongoing story.
And yes, this is an ongoing story. Whether it's underground or mainstream.
It's taken me a long time to understand that there will always be people who think genres disappear and reappear. I accept it and don't begrudge people who think that way. It's like those who said, "Hey, disco is making a comeback" in the '90s, while others were adamant that it never went away. There are plenty of people who seek far and wide for what they want, but more people just want what's easy to access. As in, instead of spending hours searching blogs or streaming services for exactly what they want, they go with what a friend posts on Facebook or what's on a commercial.
There's no wrong or right way to find new music; we all have our ways to finding it. If it looks like a certain genre has left a relevant spotlight due to lack of popular interest or declining concert attendance or record sales, it's understandable if the tides turn down the line. If you have your ear very close to the ground, no genre completely goes away.
I held out hope while I wrote my book that a younger generation would take to Rites of Spring or Braid instead of Fall Out Boy, and that happened. Only now are we seeing the fruits of this. That's why I couldn't help pass up the chance to contribute to a list of Top 20 Emo Albums for the LA Weekly West Coast Sound blog (20-11, 10-1). If somebody wants to know more about the roots of this "revival," I'm more than happy to help. Be it the context of when Dear You or Clarity came out, it's all important to telling the ongoing story.
And yes, this is an ongoing story. Whether it's underground or mainstream.
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