Make America Emo (But Not Again – Let’s Redefine It and Avoid the Misogyny and Hegemonic Masculinity of Its Past, Please and Thank You)

I wrote this piece for a paper in my Women’s Studies class. I absolutely loved the class, and learned so much about myself and the world around me. The final assignment was to write a 5–6 page paper on a contemporary feminist studies problem/topic of our choosing, and to create a plan for a practical feminist studies intervention into popular culture. 

Yep, 5 Seconds of Summer is moving along

With their crunchy guitars, gang vocals, skinny jeans, and just-naughty-enough lyrics, 5 Seconds of Summer (or 5SOS for short) peaked at #24 on the Hot 100 charts back in 2014 with their breakout single, “She Looks So Perfect.” The four Australian teens had gained mainstream attention after establishing an internet presence with YouTube covers and then being invited to open for One Direction on their international Take Me Home tour in 2013. However, while amassing an army of teen pop fans, the band also garnered attention within the alternative scene. 

“I was busy thinking ’bout boys…”

“I was busy thinking ’bout boys,” is the very first line of Charli XCX’s new single, “Boys,” but do not be misled — this song and its accompanying video are much more than a simple melodic musing on dashing young gentlemen. Released on July 26th, the new single from the British singer and songwriter mocks gender stereotypes common in pop music while demonstrating how in-control Charli is of her own artistry and success.

Begging for “Attention”

Charlie Puth has been turning out pop hits like “See You Again,” “One Call Away,” and “We Don’t Talk Anymore” since he broke into the Top 40 world two years ago. His latest single, “Attention,” has been a slow-burner (being released on April 21st and only now peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at the 45 position), but it DEFINITELY has the potential to rise to the top of the charts and — dare I say it — be a “Song of the Summer” contender, as much as this narrative now annoys me (more on that later). The isolation of various instruments help shape the story Puth is trying to tell, and it becomes clear upon multiple close listens that there are fascinating intricacies contributing to the complex emotions behind this song.

Miike Snow’s “Genghis Khan”

Jackalope Recordings Limited, (c) 2016

Last summer, this song seemed to be everywhere. It was constantly played on my local mainstream alternative radio station, Live 105, and I swear I heard it in commercials and in the supermarket. It may have not been THE song of the summer, but it was definitely a contender in the alt-rock world, and it was definitely always stuck in my head. The question is: what makes it so good? Let’s dive in.

CallMeKarizma’s “Emo”

CallMeKarizma LLC, (c) 2017

Minnesotan rapper and singer Morgan Francis Parriott, more widely known by his stage name CallMeKarizma (or Riz for short), dropped his latest self-released EP Emo on February 24th, and it is a beautiful but heartbreaking piece of art with influences from indie, alternative, and hip-hop music. The songs are catchy, and the lyrics are painstakingly relatable, acting as a sort of catharsis that allows the listener to lament his or her imperfections and alienation, which ultimately leads us to realize that we are in fact far from being alone in the misery of our mistakes.

Blogger Recognition Award

Thank you so so much to Shani’s Ideas for nominating me — it means so much to me to know that people are reading this blog and liking what they see. Check out her awesome blog, it’s clean, creative, and full of amazing music recommendations!

Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu

Lovely, Little, Lonely; 8123 (c) 2017

The Maine hail from Tempe, Arizona, and their emotional new single “Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu” is pure bliss. Released on March 3, this is the second single from the band’s upcoming record Lovely, Little, Lonely, which is due out April 7. In this song, lead singer John O’Callaghan lets out how he can never find the words to describe his feelings for someone he loves, and the result is three minutes and twenty-three seconds of utter euphoria. This song is supposed to represent an instant of revelation, and it does exactly that in a way that makes you want to relive the magic of this wondrous moment over and over and over again.

All Time Low’s “Dirty Laundry”

Featured image taken from All Time Low’s “Dirty Laundry” video. Fueled By Ramen (c) 2017.

On Friday, All Time Low released their first single since Future Hearts, and it definitely signals a new direction for the band. It has been ten years since the release of their debut album So Wrong, It’s Right, which featured scene staple “Dear Maria, Count Me In,” and a lot has changed; after originally signing to Hopeless Records, switching to Interscope for Dirty Work in 2011, and returning to Hopeless, they have now moved to Fueled By Ramen. The single “Dirty Laundry” is indicative of this change, but its experimental yet emotional nature indicates that this is a positive and exciting new direction.

Waterparks’ Double Dare

Double Dare, Equal Vision Records (c) 2016

Pop-punk: it’s a bit of a contradiction in and of itself. Pop music is made for the masses, while punk music rejects the mainstream and conformity, yet the genre of pop-punk exists and has indeed developed over time. The most recent wave of mainstream pop-punk occurred in the early- to mid-2000s with bands like Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, Paramore, All Time Low, and even blink-182 and Green Day. Some of these bands were also influenced by emo, and their popularity helped to define this new kind of pop-punk. However, it was ultimately a trend that oversaturated the market and died out by the late-2000s. The pop-punk community never ceased to exist, and there are still plenty of exciting bands, but everybody is still waiting for (or trying to be) the group to bring the genre back into the spotlight, and Waterparks could very well be that group.Their debut from Equal Vision Records, Double Dare, is one of my three favorite albums of 2016; its diversity makes it accessible to a wide audience, and the band’s clever wordplay is always entertaining, often disarming, and actually definitive of the idea of “punk.”