A couple of recent events have led me to this conclusion…
Tasha came over to the house on Sunday afternoon (she had been at her Dad’s house). It was in the mid to high 90’s and we were currently under an EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING (actually, we’re STILL under an excessive heat warning). She was wearing jeans, a black, long-sleeve t-shirt, and then a black short sleeve t-shirt over the long-sleeve. Jeans and TWO shirts??? On a 90+ degree day???? We couldnt really get an answer out of her as to WHY she had chosen this outfit except that it wasn’t “that hot” to which we knew wasn’t legit. I’m confident that she thought the outfit was cool (and I would completely agree if it had been 70 degrees outside), and that fact alone was why she had chosen it. I’m also confident that I did something similar at that age, and was convinced that it was perfectly normal to dress like that, and that my parents were simply clueless.
Last night, I overheard Noelle and Tasha discussing some character in her (Tasha’s) Sims game who has a tattoo of the Misfit’s iconic skull. I asked her if she knew who the Misfits were. She didnt. Wow… One of the original punk bands in America; hugely influential on American punk in the early 80’s…. And while she thinks their logo is really cool, she has no idea about the band behind that icon. I was able to relate the band to her by explaining that the song Mother in Guitar Hero II that she likes is sung by the guy (Glen Danzig) who used to be the lead singer (and founder) of the Misfits. She didn’t seem impressed.
Last, Noelle and Tasha returned home from back-2-school clothes shopping. Tasha had gotten two pairs of jeans, one of which Noelle described as an “emo” cut, to which, I rolled my eyes, and thought “oh my gawd that’s ridiculous.” And right then, I knew I had reached a turning point in my life: I am now on the other side of the generational gap.
Now, dont get me wrong, I actually like most of the music side of emo. I grew up listening to Husker Du and Fugazi, both of which are credited for influencing the 1st and 2nd waves of emo, and enjoy many other “emo” bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, Piebald, At the Drive-in, Jawbox, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, The Early November, Mae, Further Seems Forever, The Used, From Autumn to Ashes, etc., etc, blah, blah, blah.
No, what I don’t like, nor get, is the style associated with “emo”. Specifically, the skin tight jeans (usually guys wearing girl jeans). How can any guy wear skin tight jeans? Especially in any place south of Canada? And how can you wear women’s low-cut jeans???? And the too tight tshirts. The hair styles can be a bit silly, but whatever. I cant talk about hair since the hairstyle I had in high school was pretty obnoxious.
Back to music, the only thing that bugs me about the music are some of the emo bands who claim they are punk. Sorry, you are not punk. You might have had punk influences, you might even like punk, and while the music you make in many instances is enjoyable, it is not punk. Oh, and Hot Topic is not Punk Rock.
So, there you have it…. I have officially crossed over to the same spot my parents were in when I looked at them and thought there’s no way they can understand me, they dont know what “cool” is, they are so clueless. <sighs>
And for a laugh, give this song a listen: Emo Kid