EPISODE V: JUDGE ME BY MY SIZE? DO YOU?
My past 4 blogs have been about the same thing over and over. I don’t regret doing them but this time around I feel like I should be blogging about something other than anything geeky related, something different. So I was on my iPod today listening to my everyday music, and then my fifth blog post came to mind. Why not blog about the kind of music I listen to, the kind of music nobody likes, yes, post hardcore music.

I’ll be blogging about post hardcore music, you know when you turn on the radio and you listen to th---, oh wait, they don’t play post hardcore music in the radio. Why? Because it’s the kind of music that has requires no talent and has no melody. The kind of music where the lead vocalist screams nonsense on the mic. The kind of music where its so underground that they don’t even play on the radio. The kind of music where the guitarist plays the same notes over and over again. The kind of music that’s the crappiest genre out there.
But I’m here to prove you wrong.
Post hardcore music is great, actually, its freaking amazing. You would think that its just noise at first listen, but when you put a lot of personal research into the lyrics, the album artwork, the band name, and the song names, it can get really moving and things start to get serious and intense. I got my younger brother and my other friends into this kind of music, and I’ll try to get you readers to reconsider too.
We hear the song and right after 20 seconds in we change it, we change it because the guy is screaming like he’s being murdered. First off all, screaming takes talent, just like playing the guitar or learning how to sing. Its not like you just scream into a mic and that’s it, there’s more to it and there’s an actual technique.
Speaking of vocals, that brings me to my next segment, the song names and lyrics. And no, not all of it is “emo” (stop saying that lol, its gone and its dead). Personally, this is my favorite parts in screamo music. Not all of their songs include screaming, there’s singing too. However, bands get really, really, really deep and creative in this. A perfect example of this is a song called “You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic” by a band called A Day To Remember. I want you to hear the song as you read further. I’ve linked the song below.
You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic - A Day To Remember
Luckily, A Day To Remember is fronted by a great vocalist that can actually sing, so you can bear through this one easier. The song opens up one guitar, with a heavy rift, you also get that feeling where your anticipating a scream any minute. “He’s gonna scream any minute, I know it” The first verse is this:
I’m a mess
that’s the best way to describe it
Having no time to myself is the only way I could fight it
When I’m alone, its like im staring right into a mirror.
Don’t know the person inside it and that’s never been any clearer
Now tell me, HOW THE **** CAN YOU GET LYRICS LIKE THAT INTO A SONG LIKE THIS? Its amazing, its deep, and its gets even better.
I miss your family and I miss all our friends,
If you had it to do over would you do it again?
Cause I would
This meant something more to me
There’s a whole in my heart where you used to be.
Ouch, take a wild guess to where this song is going. You’ve probably figured out the song meaning now, but what about the song title? You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic? No, he’s not referring to heads or tails, he’s talking about a video game characters. The writer of this song is trying to relate his relationship with his girlfriend or wife with the characters of Sonic and Tails. Like I mentioned earlier in my blog, it would take a lot personal research to grasp the full meaning of the song.
What I really like about the albums in hardcore music, is the fact that they don’t have their faces in the front cover. We walk into music stores in HMV and we see Justin Bieber’s face in the front cover of his latest album, I found that most of the mainstream artists do that. But with underground hardcore music, these covers have meaning. Here’s an example, take a look below and guess. Remember to keep in mind the artwork, and remember to look at the band name and album name.
OMG IT’S A TERRORIST ATTACK. Okay, now look at the track listing.
1. House of The Anubis
2. Epiphany
3. The Wretched
4. Consider It Mutual
5. 2012
6. Dream Catcher
7. Like Father Like Son
8. Battle Royale
9. You’re All I See
10. We Know Who You Are
De-ceive
1. (of a person) Cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain personal advantage.
2. (of a thing) Give a mistaken impression.
What do you think? At first glance, we see a faceless man holding a ski mask. Right off the bat we tell ourselves that this is evil music. But think again, its not. The concept of this album is about deceiving. First off, the tracklisting. Every single song in this album is about deceiving, something that isn't true. 2012? We Know Who You Are? Ok what about the album cover? We see a faceless man with a ski mask. Judging by his attire, we can tell that he works for some mafia organized crime stuff. And look at his stance too, as if he's obeying someone more powerful than him. But what does that have to do with deceiving? Well first of all, your hiding your face when you comit crimes, your hiding your true identity. Thats just my interpretation of all this.
Finally, my last section will be about screamo music itself. What this kind music does great is that its really fast paced music, music that gets you pumped and energetic. At live shows, bands really get the crowed going, its boring if your that one person hanging out in all the way in the back, with your arm leaning on the fence and your bobing your head to the beat, its boring. Your supposed to get in there and get all pumped and energetic!
I’ll also add that nowadays, there are many different types of hardcore music. There’s just the standard one with a five piece band. But then there’s bands that combine both hardcore elements and then electronica/techno thing, a great example that combines these two is a band called Attack Attack!
Smokahontas by Attack Attack!
That’s not the only one, there’s also bands that combine the hardcore yells and instruments, but also has a lead singer’s that come from a soul/ R&B background. This song combines them all, its great and you should definitely give it a listen. Actually, give the whole song a listen, cause around halfway through is something that I found very suprising. I found this band really creative, it combines all of what I mentioned. Amazing, real singing, different but good screams, fast guitars, and a rapper.
Spooks by Dance Gavin Dance
Another good thing about hardcore bands that play live, is that some bands tend to add an "intro" or "opening" song to their live set, that then flows into the next song. Most of these songs last to about under a minute. Here's a good example of that:
A Milli - Of Mice & Men
I could go on about the different types all day but I have one final one to show you. Since hardcore music is really fast paced, energetic music, there’s always going to be that ONE song by EVERY SINGLE hardcore band that is a short, but sweet, song. They last over 2 minutes or under 2 minutes or even over a minute. Here are some good examples.
Wonderland - I See Stars
To wrap things up, next time you hear screamo on the internet, give it a listen and think twice before pausing the song. Yeah okay sure, its noise, but there’s meaning, keep in mind that saying "don't judge a book by its cover". Post hardcore music is energetic, its supposed to be fun. At the ancient dark days, screamo music was about cutting your wrists and BS like that, that’s all out of the way and hopefully gone forever. Like I said, this kind of music is about getting you pumped up. Also, this kind of music has lyrics that have intense, deep meanings, metaphors in every sentence. Keep in mind, the lyrics, album cover, song titles,and what they really mean? I hope this blog post made you appreciate my favorite kind of music.