Category: Music Education

Behind the scenes of music creation

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Band/Artist Profile Blog Music Education

Dead Kennedys and Archetypal Punk Ethos

Art for "Kill the Poor" by Dead Kennedys

It was sometime in the winter when I heard Dead Kennedys for the first time. I was living in the passionless coastal town I’ve mentioned in posts before, friendless and freshly eighteen and so bored it hurt.

I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom with the screen door open, letting the cold winter air spill in.

My phone lay on the floor beside me, playing music from some strange YouTube ripoff app, the kind that you can’t find for free anymore after YouTube started its own subscription service.

I hadn’t yet surrendered myself to the trendy green music subscription that all the other cool teens had, so this was my only option. The app operated similarly to the company it was spoofing, only on a smaller scale that allowed for simultaneous watching and browsing.

I can’t remember what exactly I was doing at the time, only that I was letting the app cycle through random songs, not really listening, until a certain turn of phrase caught my attention:

We’re sorry, we hate to interrupt
But it’s against the law to jump off this bridge
You’ll just have to k– yourself somewhere else
A tourist might see you and we wouldn’t want that

Dead Kennedys, “Soup is Good Food”

Maybe it was the irreverence of the statement, but something about it struck me particularly hard. I immediately paused the song and restarted it, this time listening intently.

Up until that point, I didn’t know music could be that way: unabashed, unapologetic and unrestrained.

You Made a Good Meal

“Soup is Good Food” was not the first Dead Kennedys song I heard, but it was the first I really paid attention to.

“Jello Biafra – Dead Kennedys” uploaded by catharine_anderson to Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC-BY-SA 2.0

Released as part of the band’s 1985 album “Frankenchrist,” the song describes (quite blatantly) the plight of the working man in a post-industrial society.

Not only is the working man disposable, but society punishes him for resenting his condition, all the while remaining cheerily apathetic to his misery.

Depression, exhaustion and poor working conditions are socially acceptable in this dystopian society. In fact, this corrupt “system” is fueled by other disenfranchised and disposable workers.

We know how much you’d like to die
We joke about it on our coffee breaks
But we’re paid to force you to have a nice day
In the wonderful world we made just for you

Dead Kennedys, “Soup is Good Food”

This situation isn’t foreign to us. It’s a reality, perhaps even made worse by the innovations of the internet and artificial intelligence.

Killing the Industry

In my opinion, Dead Kennedys is one of the most archetypally punk bands to exist.

Formed in 1978 in San Francisco, Dead Kennedys debuted with their first recorded single, “California Über Alles,” the following year.

The song, a sardonic attack on California Gov. Jerry Brown, was succeeded by the release of “We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now” about President Ronald Reagan.

Both songs likened the two politicans — one a liberal, the other a staunch conservative — to fascist dictators, highlighting the invariable corruption of power when married to a politican’s ideals.

Cover for “Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death” by Dead Kennedys

While Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra eventually conceded that he was “off-base” with Gov. Brown, he levied criticisms regarding Brown’s apparent hesitance to “stand up to the rich people and the land owners who don’t think they should have to pay taxes for the public good.”

Biafra’s readiness to disparage any politican or public figure he felt deserved it, regardless of their political affiliation, colored the work of Dead Kennedys for the remainder of his career.

With the influence of Biafra, Dead Kennedys became a vital cultural force against the social and political climate of the 70s and 80s.

The band was also brazen in its condemnation of the music industry, illustrated with their track “MTV – Get Off the Air” in 1985.

How far will you go, how low will you stoop
To tranquilize our minds with your sugar-coated swill
You’ve turned rock and roll rebellion into Pat Boone sedation
Making sure nothing’s left to the imagination

Dead Kennedys, “MTV – Get Off the Air”

Biafra took great issue with MTV and other similar companies, which he saw as merely the extra limbs of a larger, hegemonic entity.

For Biafra, music was a tool of insurrection. Fame and wealth were unimportant; what Biafra really wanted was to rile the masses, radicalize the youth and make the people in power uncomfortable.

“Riling the masses” is not a new concept for punk, but Dead Kennedys did it arguably better than many others.

*cough cough* Sex Pistols *cough cough*

Final Thoughts

Listening to Dead Kennedys and reading transcripts of Jello Biafra’s spoken word poetry leads me to beg a very age-old question:

Is punk dead?

Counterculture eventually manifests its own type of conformity and stricture. Fashion becomes a uniform and community becomes exclusivity.

Looking at how self-proclaimed “punks” navigate online spaces (Machine Gun Kelly), it can be fairly easy to lose faith in the grassroots core of “punk.”

Photo by Evgeniy Smersh on Unsplash

But when I go to a punk show, I feel a lot different. There’s energy there, barely-restrained fervor that gives way to complete abandon as soon as the music starts.

There are people in studded battle jackets and crust pants, sure, but there are also kids in graphic tees and girls in dresses and fishnets. There are people standing at the edge of the pit and waving lost hats, glasses and wallets.

That’s what punk is to me: people who love wild music and hate the government crashing into each other in a whirlwind of cathartic kinesis.

So, punk isn’t dead. Not really. It just isn’t living on Instagram or Tiktok.

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Blog Music Education

What is Breakcore? A Genre Field Guide

Cover for "RePorpoised Phantasies" by Machine Girl

It’s undeniable that social media has heavily influenced music.

From the recontextualization of the industry through new marketing opportunities to the pervasion of the infamous “tiktok song” phenomenon, the way we consume music — and the way certain artists rise to mainstream popularity — owes itself largely in part to social media.

Such can be seen especially in the realm of alternative music, with once underground genres permeating into the broader subcultural consciousness.

“Atari Teenage Riot 2010”
This image was originally posted to Flickr by Libertinus, licensed CC-BY-SA 2.0

Of these genres, breakcore in particular stands out.

What is Breakcore?

A “normie” friend of mine once described breakcore as “electronic music for anime fans,” which is somewhat true in describing the genre’s contemporary sphere.

However, the “electronic anime” style many consider to be breakcore is actually far removed from the genre’s original sound.

Cover for “My So-Called Life” by Venetian Snares

Breakcore emerged in the 1990s as the “bastard hate child” of jungle, happy hardcore, gabba, speedcore, drum ‘n’ bass, techno, IDM, acid, ragga, electro, dub, country, industrial, noise, grindcore, classical music, hardcore, metal and punk.

This auditory hodgepodge arose in response to the rise of fascism — both figurative and literal — in mainstream society. The choppy, experimental and erratic styles of breakcore spat in the face of hegemonic consumerism, capitalism and white supremacy.

With no specific melodic style, the breakcore sound derives from a mixed bag of styles “cut and pasted” from different genres to produce elaborate beats.

Major players in the early breakcore scene included Sickboy, UndaCova and Venetian Snares.

2020s Revival

Since its inception, breakcore exists as a plastic organism. Constantly in metamorphosis, breakcore is directly influenced by the time in which it’s produced.

In sociologist Andrew Whelan’s article “Breakcore: Identity and Interaction on Peer-to-Peer,” he asserts that the breakcore genre’s development is fueled by online and peer-to-peer distribution.

Thus, contemporary breakcore possesses a distinctly “internetcore” style with influences from anime, video games and pop culture.

Modern breakcore engages with a distinctly online space, often mingling with aspects of glitchcore, vaporwave and other internet-born genres.

Cover for “WLFGRL” by Machine Girl

Growing from the digital hardcore scene of the 2010s, contemporary breakcore is not only built on sound but aesthetic.

With the rise of online “aesthetic culture” and the dissemination of the “alt” label in subcultural spaces, artists like Machine Girl and goreshit capitalize on the duality of sound and presentation.

Some critics argue that this quality undermines the genre’s originally anticonsumerist convictions, with breakcore songs reaching internet virality through apps like Tiktok and Instagram Reels.

Perhaps I will cover the “tiktok song” phenomenon in a future article.

Final Thoughts

While I don’t think it’s necessarily vital to understand the history of breakcore, I do think it’s sociologically valuable.

Much like language changes over time, so does music. And for a genre as malleable as breakcore, it can serve as a sort of time capsule for the era in which it’s made.

Something about that is extremely cool to me, even if it means the genre is moving farther away from its original purpose.

Additional Reading

Categories
Music Education

What is Darkwave? A Genre Field Guide

Photo by Andreea Popa on Unsplash

Goth music isn’t just one thing.

It’s a common misconception, especially for those ill-acquainted with alternative music. People like to slap the label “goth” on anything even tangentially dark or edgy, even when it’s far from what goth actually is.

And while I don’t consider myself a purist by any means, nor find myself particularly bothered by the misattribution of “goth” by subcultural outsiders, I do think it’s interesting to explore what separates “goth” from “non goth” in terms of music.

Goth, like many others, is a music-based subculture. While the distinctive stylistics of goths are widely-known — all-black clothing, dramatic eye makeup, back-combed hair and intricate accessories — the music that inspired these looks is not.

Photo by Nate Isaac on Unsplash

“Goth” actually encompasses multiple genres of music. Several major genres are goth rock, death rock, post-punk and darkwave.

This week, I’ll be focusing on defining darkwave and recommending some excellent darkwave artists.

The Sound

Darkwave music is melancholic and gloomy.

With heavily synth-based sounds and a slow to moderate tempo, darkwave tracks put a depressive spin on the ebullient tones of mainstream new wave while maintaining the high energy of post-punk music.

It’s quite literally a “dark” wave.

The Source

Darkwave emerged in the 1980s.

At the time of its development, “goth” referred exclusively to the realm of gothic rock. While contemporary circles generally accept darkwave as “goth,” the subculture of the 80s necessitated a distinction.

Photo by Bee Felten-Leidel on Unsplash

Thus, while darkwave artists drew inspiration from the same realm as gothic rock, their use of synths and strong new wave influence set them apart.

Darkwave rose as new wave’s shadowy counterpart, with lower pitches, slower tempos and a brooding atmosphere.

The Bands

The so-called “first generation” of darkwave consisted of artists who simply put a darker slant on new wave.

Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode and Soft Cell are some examples of this “first generation.”

Cover for “A Kiss in the Dreamhouse” by Siouxsie and the Banshees

As darkwave spread across the globe, it disseminated into various substyles such as ethereal wave, neoclassical darkwave and dark cabaret.

In the 90s, a second wave of darkwave artists emerged.

Artists from this period include Corpus Delicti, Lycia, Black Tape for a Blue Girl and The Frozen Autumn. Some of these bands drew inspiration from the otherworldly style of Cocteau Twins while others delved further into cultivating cold, deeply atmospheric sensations.

In the 2010s, bands like Drab Majesty, Boy Harsher, Void Vision and Kontravoid spearheaded another darkwave revival, building their respective sounds around the many substyles living under the darkwave umbrella.

Recommendations

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Music Education

The Rise of the Riot Grrrl Movement

Photo by Sam Moghadam Khamseh on Unsplash

I’ve discussed the exclusivity of alternative scenes before.

It seems an inevitability that a subculture hinging on nonconformity and countercultural stylistics and beliefs would eventually grow into something of a monolith itself. We’ve seen this in most alternative scenes, and I’ve specifically discussed its manifestation in the realms of the metal and goth scenes.

Punk is no exception. Though it constitutes one of my all-time favorite genres, I can’t ignore that both historical and contemporary punk spaces tend to be something of a “boy’s club.”

“The punk/riot grrrl band Bratmobile at The Charlotte in Leicester, England in 1994,” uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Greg Neate, licensed CC BY 2.0

Especially in the scene’s earliest iterations, misogynistic convictions abounded. The unhinged vigor and brazenly bellicose slant of the punk subculture seemed to preclude female involvement. Male anger was “cool” and “hardcore,” but female anger was rarely taken seriously.

Female-fronted punk bands, such as The Slits, faced significant difficulty in garnering the critial acclaim of their male-fronted counterparts during the 70s and 80s.

As frontwoman Ari Up said in an interview with Rolling Stone, being punk was “hard enough for the boys, but for the girls it was a witch hunt.”

It was becoming increasingly clear that the prospect of solidifying women-safe spaces in the punk scene was a punishing task. For groups like The Slits, existing in the punk scene meant existing in a constant battle against misogyny and patriarchy.

A Girl Riot

In the early 90s, a group of women from Olympia, Washington assembled to discuss the pervasion of sexism within their local punk scene.

The idea of the “Riot Girl” blossomed from these talks, with “girl” used to invoke the freedom of a child’s self-expression and “riot” to encompass the movement’s goal of lashing out against a patriarchal society.

While the original punk movement existed in opposition to the oppressive institutions of contemporary society, Riot Grrrl picked up the slack with staunch pro-trans, anti-racist and feminist credo.

“Bikini Kill performing live at Sylvester Park in Olympia, Washington on May 1, 1991,” uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by johnathancharles, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0

The Foundations

Riot Girls carved out their own subculture, producing original music and fanzines to disseminate and network their ideas within a distinct cultural space.

These zines discussed domestic violence, incest and rape and covered themes relating to sexuality and the exploration of identity in relation to femininity.

“Sleater Kinney,” uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by Pat Castaldo, licensed CC BY 2.0

Zines served to affirm women’s experiences, disseminate praxis and strengthen the unity of the movement.

Riot girl bands, such as Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and Sleater-Kinney radicalized the masses with evocative and irreverent performances that both centered and destigmatized the female body. Clothing and bodies and language became tools for orchestrating the “girl riot.”

The Significance

Riot grrl’s combination of fashion and performance became an art form in of itself, both a subversion and solidifier of conventions of femininity.

Feminism, a concept previously localized to feminist circles, was projected outwards in a staggering display.

Not only were the women in riot grrrl bands projecting their innermost struggles, desires and beliefs, but they did so in a way that empowered other women and girls.

I can still remember going to my first hardcore show and feeling smaller than I’d ever felt before, walled in on all sides by towering men who hardly seemed to recognize that I was even there.

I hated feeling that way, like I was in a place I shouldn’t be.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Evidently, the women behind the riot grrrl subculture felt the same way. The feeling of alienation that often comes with one’s womanhood, both in the hardcore scene and in general society, is an agony that never dulls.

Riot girls responded to this agony with boldness. No longer content with waiting, they made their own spaces in the scene and defended them with animalistic fervor.

They took their bodies, perpetually objectified and minimized by the male gaze, and created something dynamic and frightening and decidedly hardcore.

“Girl power,” a phrase often derided in contemporary circles for its hollow nature, was once the clarion call of the riot girls. Before its co-opting by mainstream pop artists, “girl power” really meant something. It meant seizing — literally or figuratively — what was owed.

It’s not really called “girl power” anymore, but it still exists.

I’ve seen it when girls at shows huddle together, pulling their friends out of the path of crowdkillers. I’ve seen it when female vocalists wail into the mic, their voices frayed with lifetimes of rage. I’ve felt it within myself at shows when I would shove aside men who invaded my personal space.

While some may argue that the “girl riot” ended when “girl power” lost its kick, I don’t think that’s true. I think the “girl riot” is ongoing, and in the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade, soon apt to reach a new intensity.

Additional Reading

  • Zine-Making as Feminist Pedagogy
  • Just a Girl? Rock Music, Feminism, and the Cultural Construction of Female Youth
  • Revolution Girl-Style Now!
Categories
Music Education

Living After Midnight: Rob Halford and the Necessity of Queering Heavy Metal

Photo by Juliette F on Unsplash

Judas Priest formed in Birmingham, England in 1969. In its early years, the band underwent numerous lineup changes.

In 1972, the band recruited Rob Halford as a vocalist. In May of the following year, Halford had his first show with Judas Priest at The Townhouse in Wellington.

Halford’s success would eventually earn him the title “Metal God” by his fans as Judas Priest moved on to become one of the most influential heavy metal groups of all time.

Drawing influence from Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Queen, Judas Priest distinguished itself with a unique musical and aesthetic style.

When imagining frontman Rob Halford, one may see him clad in leather, draped in chains and donning a muir cap.

Perhaps a testament to his distinct stylistics, many fans were unsurprised when Halford came out as gay in an MTV interview in 1998.

As Halford described, his choice to come out was “the greatest thing I could have done for myself,” and he only wished that he had chosen to do so sooner.

Cover for Judas Priest’s “British Steel”

What had stopped him?

As Halford explained, he feared the destruction of his identity and career. For much of his involvement with Judas Priest, he did not see a place for himself as a gay man within the metal scene.

And while the aftermath of Halford’s MTV interview demonstrated that Judas Priest’s success did not hinge upon its frontman’s sexuality, Halford’s story is an important staple in metal history.

Namely, it stands to affirm the necessity of representing queerness in metal.

Metal’s Issue with Queerness

While Judas Priest is far from what could be considered an iconic queer band, Halford’s openness with his sexuality is important.

In a subculture placing a heavy value on traditional masculinity, queerness often begets hostility.

While subcultures like the metal scene, the punk scene and others formed in part as countercultural movements, it’s undeniable that they themselves foster a sort of hegemony.

Cover for Judas Priest’s “Turbo”

These spaces are often saturated with specific demographics who, purposefully or not, exclude individuals existing outside of these spheres.

For queer people, the metal scene specifically can be particularly hostile. For a movement not rooted in leftist politics but rather anti-establishment ideology, this does not always mean that certain differences are tolerated.

The Veneration of Heterosexuality

Often, patriarchy and heteronormativity underscore the metal scene.

One notable example of this is in Peter Steele of Type O Negative’s song “I Like Goils.”

While Steele argued that the song was purely humorous and ironic, its homophobic themes were undeniable.

You can drool, beg me and hope
There’s no damn way I’m playing drop the soap
Ok,
I know I’m strange but I ain’t no q–
So take your rage and disappear
But I’m proud not to be PC

Cause

I like goils

Type O Negative, “I Like Goils”

In Steele’s song, he portrays homosexuality — and gay sex — as disgusting and strange.

His reference to “political correctness” smacks of classic boomerisms decrying inclusivity and progressive language.

While it’s fully possible given Steele’s track record that he was simply “being edgy,” this doesn’t excuse the harmful ideology his song presents, nor does it mean his audience is capable of critically receiving the alleged irony outlined in his song.

Edginess only works when everyone is in on it.

The Relevance

For much of Steele’s career, his persona hinged on his sexuality. Specifically, the ways in which he desired — and was desired by — women.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, and I’ll be the first to admit that I am a fan of most of Type O Negative’s discography.

I also don’t deign to imply that Peter Steele had any influence on Rob Halford of Judas Priest, or that the two men are somehow connected beyond their simple association within the genre of metal.

Rather, what I aim to focus on are how the dynamics surrounding Peter Steele are indicative of larger discourses that affect queer individuals, specifically queer men, within the metal community (we won’t get into how the metal scene treats women, lest this post become a multi-chapter dissertation).

Cover for Judas Priest’s “Ram it Down”

Queer men pose a subversion of archetypal male roles. In the often hypermasculine metal scene, male queerness can be seen as weakness, fragility or inadequate manhood.

The veneration of a very specific, often regressive ideal of masculinity makes the metal scene inaccessible — and perhaps dangerous — to many individuals.

This was likely a factor in Halford’s decision to be private about his sexuality for so long, the idea that there wasn’t a “place” for his identity in the metal subculture.

That is why recognizing Rob Halford’s sexuality is so important. To know that Halford, named “Metal God” by his fans, is happily married to another man solidifies a place for queerness in the scene.

Halford’s signature leather and studs, evocative of the style of “leather daddies” and emulated by millions of straight male fans of Judas Priest, blurs the hard-set line between heterosexuality and homosexuality.

The band’s continued success following Halford’s entrance from the closet demonstrates that identity cannot obfuscate talent and performance.

It brings us back to the roots of metal’s purpose as a force rallying against oppressive institutions and conformity.

Ultimately, a place where queerness deserves to exist.

Categories
Band/Artist Profile Music Education Playlists

Hot and Heavy: A Queercore Field Guide

Photo by Natalie Parham on Unsplash

Last week, we learned about the proliferation of queercore within the hardcore punk scene.

To briefly recap, queercore emerged as a subculture in the mid-1980s. It started from punk’s DIY scene, with purveyors of handmade magazines and other forms of media serving as the movement’s basis.

Queercore, also known as homocore, reflected the experiences of LGBT individuals in a society that was often hostile towards open displays of queerness.

“homocore block in 1994 chicago pride parade.” Image published to Wikimedia Commons by QZAP.org, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0

While I primarily focused on Limp Wrist’s influence on the scene, there are numerous other bands that defined the genre.

As we move farther into pride month, I encourage both members of the LGBT community and allies to reflect on the convictions outlined by the queercore scene.

To help with this, I’ve composed a short “field guide” of various tracks and artists — some punk, some not — classified under the “queercore” umbrella.

Pansy Division

This band has a classic summertime driving-down-the-road-with-the-windows-down style.

Closer to the sound of blink-182 than Limp Wrist, Pansy Division is edgy but light enough for casual listening. With upbeat guitar riffs and a sardonic lead vocalist, the band produces tracks to be enjoyed both ironically and in earnest.

Album cover for “More Lovin’ From Our Oven” by Pansy Divison

Based out of San Francisco, the band formed in 1991 and solidified itself as one of the only openly gay rock bands in the contemporary scene.

Touring with Green Day in 1994, Pansy Divison was one of the most commercially successful queercore bands to exist. The band’s pop-punk style and often-comical songs about queerness garnered significant acclaim.

Recommended Tracks

“Smells Like Queer Spirit” (Nirvana cover)

A flagrantly ironic cover of a Nirvana classic, this track cleverly queers one of the most well-known songs by one of the most gatekept bands. Play this track for your favorite straight white man and watch his blood pressure surge.

Against all odds, we appear
Grew up brainwashed,
But turned out queer
Bunsplitters, rugmunchers too
We screw just how we want to screw
Hello, hello, hello, homo

Pansy Division, “Smells Like Queer Spirit” (Nirvana cover)

“Fem in a Black Leather Jacket”

He looks as good in a skirt as he does in jeans
He is a most notorious queen
His personality, I’m not impressed
But I can’t wait to get him undressed

Pansy Division, “Fem in a Black Leather Jacket”

G.L.O.S.S. (Girls Living Outside Society’s S–)

Based in Olympia, Washington, G.L.O.S.S was an openly trans-feminist hardcore punk band.

Formed in 2014 and dissolved in 2016, the band’s existence was tragically brief. While G.L.O.S.S. had the opportunity to “make it big” with a $50,000 deal by Epitaph Records, the band ultimately decided to remain unaligned with a large corporation.

Shortly after turning down Epitaph’s deal, G.L.O.S.S. announced its breakup in an issue of the punk zine Maximum Rocknroll.

Cover for G.L.O.S.S. album “Trans Day of Revenge”

The band members explained that the growing “cult of personality” surrounding the group, as well as the obligations of touring and performing, were taking a toll on their mental and emotional health.

The band’s sound blended classic hardcore with trans-affirming themes to create raucous, angsty riffs striking back against heterosexual hegemony and anti-transness. Their songs are undeniably iconic.

Recommended Tracks

“G.L.O.S.S. (We’re From the Future)”

They told us we were girls
How we talk, dress, look, and cry
They told us we were girls
So we claimed our female lives
Now they tell us we aren’t girls
Our femininity doesn’t fit
We’re f– future girls living outside
Society’s s–!

G.L.O.S.S., “G.L.O.S.S. (We’re From the Future)”

“Lined Lips and Spiked Bats”

They told us to die, we chose to live
They told us to die, we chose to live
Straight America, you won’t ruin me
Sick American dream

G.L.O.S.S., “Lined Lips and Spiked Bats”

Los Crudos

As I mentioned in last week’s post, Limp Wrist’s predecessor was a Chicago-based band called Los Crudos.

Active from 1991 to 1998 and comprised of all Latin American members, Los Crudos helped to make a place for Latine punks in a predominately white subculture.

Album cover for “Doble LP Discografia” by Los Crudos

The band tackled themes related to imperialism, xenophobia and immigration. All songs were sung completely in Spanish.

In addition, they openly called out homophobia — the band’s lead vocalist, Martin Sorrondeguy, was openly gay — and thus Los Crudos solidified themselves as adjacent to the queercore movement.

Recommended Tracks

“Me Lo Paso Por El Culo”

“Hardcoregoismo”

“Asesinos”

The Butchies

With a career spanning between 1998 and 2005, The Butchies started in Durham, North Carolina as an all-female punk band.

Though their style was far from hardcore, they were a distinct force within the queercore movement.

Their songs were imbued with staunch political messages, focusing on themes relating to lesbianism, gay romance and misogyny.

Album cover for “Are We Not Femme?” by The Butchies

In a 1999 issue of The Advocate, singer-guitarist Kaia Wilson said of the band’s reputation for its leftist politics:

“I say, maybe it’s because we’re so openly hated every day, maybe because one in three teens who commits suicide is gay. I say that the people who come to our shows are glad that we are [political].”

Recommended Tracks

“Trouble”

Well it’s not supposed to bring you madness
And it’s not too far too cold forgiveness
When we hold to truths so false like bibles
Won’t you come and meet me here

The Butchies, “Trouble”

“The Galaxy is Gay”

Who are you anyway and how did you get inside
II heard you’re from the gay galaxy and now you’ve got to hide
Sure wish you would have gone here
Wish just the same you’d stay next year

The Butchies, “The Galaxy is Gay”
Categories
Music Education

Disco’s Revenge: The Birth of House Music

Photo by Marcela Laskoski on Unsplash

House music began in the underground clubs of 1980s-era Chicago.

Defined by its signature four-on-the-floor beat and classical tempo of 120 beats per minute, house served as the foundation for contemporary pop and dance music.

Despite house music’s significant cultural impact, its history is rarely addressed in discourse.

Not only was house music instrumental in the development of many contemporary music genres, but it was rooted in unequivocal Black queerness.

Photo by Sam van Bussel on Unsplash

The Death of Disco

Before house, there was disco.

Emerging in the 1970s, disco formed with influences from the LGBT community, Italian Americans, Hispanic and Latine Americans and Black Americans.

The genre was known for its four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pianos, synths and electric rhythm guitars.

Though its elevaton to the mainstream distanced the genre from its roots, disco’s inception was starkly countercultural: a response to the aggression (and subcultural hypermasculinity) of rock and the social stigma surrounding dance music.

Photo by Katie Bonilla on Unsplash

Derived from within marginalized communities, disco represented a richness in history and culture far removed from the straight white hegemony of the twentieth century.

Disco centered on vivid, unapologetic self-expression rooted in the era’s overarching sexual revolution. Groups like Earth Wind & Fire and Kool and the Gang emerged, bringing disco — and its message — to a broader audience.

However, such popularity also garnered enmity.

Disco Demolition Night, an event often marked as the death of disco, occured July 12, 1979 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.

During the event, originally marketed as a Major League Baseball promotion, a crate of disco records was blown up on the field. Chaos ensued as thousands of audience members rushed out after the explosion in a riot.

This brazen display of hatred for disco music riveted the nation, inflaming the stigma already surrounding the genre. In the years following the event, disco’s popularity nosedived.

The once-bustling scene faded into virtual obscurity.

The Birth of House

In the decade proceeding the death of disco, queer Black DJs in Chicago’s underground club scene began developing something new, something that expanded upon the danceability and expressivity of disco.

Photo by Joshua Fuller on Unsplash

Among these DJs was the openly-gay Frankie Knuckles, whose impact on the genre’s development earned him the moniker “Godfather of House.”

Knuckles defined himself in the scene by playing unique mixes, blending together tracks and experimenting with different sounds and speeds. He also pioneered the practice of adding a drum machine and reel-to-reel tape player to create new tracks.

In the background of Knuckles’ musical innovations, a darkness was brewing. In June 1981, the first cases of the illness now known as AIDS were identified in five young gay men in Los Angeles.

House as a Home

While some argue that Knuckles was not the founder of house (in fact, the source of the name “house” is even contested) as a genre, it’s undeniable that his passion for the craft helped transform house into an international phenomenon.

Like disco, house was born from the creative influences of queer people of color. Its vibrance reflected a desire for freedom, autonomy and actualization.

Photo by Simon Noh on Unsplash

Dance halls were unifying spaces in which patrons could exist without fear. They became sanctuaries for individuals cast out of their broader communities on the basis of their sexual and/or gender identities.

Additionally, house reflected a bold response to the “murder” of disco at the hands of (majority white and heterosexual) detractors.

House rose from disco’s ashes a stronger, more sensational being. And it still goes strong today.

Additional Reading

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Music Education

“You just think it looks cool.” Straight Edge and the Hardcore Punk Scene

Minor Threat album cover for First Two Seven Inches. A man sitting with his head on his arms in a stairwell.
Cover for "First Two Seven Inches" by Minor Threat

I love record stores.

There’s something unparalleled about walking into a brick-and-mortar shop and seeing rows upon rows of crates and shelves, the walls papered with posters and zine covers and collages. It’s the best kind of liminal space.

Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash, free to use under the Unsplash License

I went to a local record store last weekend for the first time in years. In fact, it was the first “real” record store I’d ever been to.

As I perused the crates, I was delighted to find a copy of Minor Threat’s 1981 EP, “First Two Seven Inches.”

The EP was a primary contributor to the soundtrack of my late teens. At the time, I lived in a beach town still recovering from the previous year’s hurricane.

A primier vacation spot for many middle-class families, the town fell to ruin in the off season. Homelessness, drug addiction and violent crime underscored the area’s stark wealth disparity.

The “clean” coastline was peppered with million-dollar beach homes and luxury condos. Ten miles inland, average citizens struggled to make ends meet amid a stifling job market.

Many turned to drugs and alcohol as a means of making life bearable. Among these individuals were friends, coworkers and bosses.

It was during this time that I became first acquainted with Minor Threat. The band’s jilting, ragged strains mirrored my own consternation with the building chaos in my inner circle.

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Music Education

Defining Midwest Emo

Cap'n Jazz singer singing into a crowd of fans shirtless.
Cap'n Jazz at a 2010 performance. Photo courtesy of Nicole Kibert, under Creative Commons License CC BY-ND 2.0

I heard people nitpick the definition of midwest emo long before I began listening to the twinkly, mathy indie-emo that most consider to be actual midwest emo.

For every pretentious boyfriend I’ve had who’s corrected me when I slipped up and put Mom Jeans into the midwest emo category, there are 100 other people on Reddit telling a well-meaning user that no, Joyce Manor is not real emo.

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Music Education

“Twin Fantasy (Mirror to Mirror)”: A Lesson in Production

Album cover of "Twin Fantasy" by Car seat Headrest

I’ve been listening back to Will Toledo’s original release of “Twin Fantasy” from 2011 as of late. I wanted to try to figure out why I keep coming back to this amateurish, messy project as opposed to its more polished re-release.

Where 2018’s “Twin Fantasy” (subtitled “Face to Face” for distinction) flows between its softer and more aggressive moments cleanly, there is often very little distinction between these tones on “Mirror to Mirror”. Toledo’s guitar work here is often frantic and uncertain. His backup guitar on tracks like “Beach Life-In-Death” plays like static noise for most of the song. His drumming is almost imperceptible under that static, and his voice often sinks into all the other instrumentation.

A Case Study

And yet, the older recording of “Beach Life-In-Death” is often the one I come back to. As a song that largely grapples with Toledo’s experiences as a young gay man (while homophobic rhetoric was still commonplace in the U.S.), that blurring of sounds seems to capture his anxieties on the matter better than the newer recording. In the last portion of the song, for instance, fragmented vocal clips attack listeners from all sides like they’re being yelled at. Even though the language becomes indecipherable, the stress from being attacked like that again and again accumulates through the song’s cutoff.

That portion of the song is replaced in the “Face to Face” version with a shorter, less human-sounding stutter. The replacement seems to reflect that Toledo has lost some of those fears from 2011. He’s dampened those voices attacking him as he’s matured.

When I listen to 2011’s “Beach Life-In-Death”, I can feel myself in the same position as Toledo was. As someone facing the onslaught of transphobic rhetoric throughout the U.S. now, I feel a stronger connection to his younger self dealing with people who despise him for a harmless part of his identity. Despite the song remaining mostly the same over 7 years, the message relayed to audiences changes with small tweaks in production.

Concluding Thoughts

Even though songs on “Mirror to Mirror” sound more shallow and low-quality, that essence also creates a better impression of what it’s like to be young, queer, and full of both anxieties and hope. The album feels like it was created purely out of self-expression and a need to put his voice out into the world.

“Face to Face”, meanwhile, reflects Toledo’s growth over the ears. He’s reinterpreting what his music used to be into something more confident. He’s no longer singing until his voice cracks, resulting in a lesser sense of urgency to get this music out into the world.

Just because you don’t have access to a studio or the best equipment in the world doesn’t mean you can’t make good music. That lower quality, though, will impact how your music is received. It might be childish, or it could have a youthful innocence and hope. It might sound cheap, or it could sound honest and unscathed by the need to profit off of your music.