So i’ve always thought horror movie samples at the beginning of metal songs are fucking hilarious/ perfectly fitting. Here’s the alien scene from Independence Day and Xenochrist.
‘all dressed up in black and grey
we know each other just the same
and every mile that sits between
won’t understand what it means
to have one look mean everything
and throw all caution to the sea’touche amore - face ghost
(via deathwishinc)
Algernon Cadwallader 6/18/11 @ Strangelight
As someone who has never really identified with a scene or label whether it be a jock, nerd, emo, metal head or whatever pigeonholing classification you can think of, I’m slowly immersing myself in something that i’m legitimately passionate about. The DIY music scene. DIY meaning do-it-yourself. This entails writing, playing and performing music for the sole purpose of enjoying it independently as an art form, not something to get “big” over. The values are rooted in punk and hardcore music but can apply to other genres like emo, math rock and drone etc.
The passion and drive of bands i have encountered in this scene are unparalleled to any other music scene. You wouldn’t see Justin Beiber selling his own t-shirts at a concert would you? Ugh, I’m not one to throw around the word “mainstream” or “hipster” because i feel like they are very bastardizing words. The whole aesthetic appeal that goes along with the scene calls for more personal shows, everyone crowded around bands with no stage, in a basement, while everyone is shouting all the words to all the songs. There is a very low douche bag factor as well. All the bands are very unassuming and easy to talk to. The culture is ridiculously rewarding. Over the past year being apart of the scene, chatting with bands via last.fm forums and facebook, setting up shows for touring bands in chicago, and going to multiple shows a week, i felt like i had a home.
This home in particular, was the DIY venue, Strangelight. Yeah, it’s named after the Fugazi song wannafightaboutit? It can be found off the California stop on the blue line. When you walk into the venue, it’s literally a kitchen and the playing space is downstairs. It’s owned by the local band, Cloud Mouth. I’ve had some ridiculously rad times there. I remember the first time I stumbled upon this privilege of a venue was when La Dispute played there last year. I was so inspired by that show, I knew it was something worth supporting. It clearly had a greater appeal than all the local bands from my town playing awful fucking music. As of this month, I got the fuck out of my home town where i wasting away attending community college. Now am living in the city going to UIC. This would’ve given me such a better opportunity to be apart of the scene. Don’t get it confused though, that was not why i moved. School takes priority, always. But just like everything, Strangelight had to come to an end. John Harmon and the rest of the dudes in Cloud Mouth have chose to break up and put strangelight behind them. No angst, no drama, just a time to move on and seek other opportunities life has to offer.
Initially, I was gutted. But at the same time i feel like i don’t have the right to be. Sure I go to shows regularly there, yet I don’t seem to be apart of the close-knit friends that all the bands tend to be apart of. I’ve met tons of awesome guys and gals (yeah I’m talking to you Football Etc.) going to these shows, supporting the music and making shows happen. So i guess you could say i am just getting my footing. Just as I got my pumas (what’s a matter you don’t like pumas?) situated into place, the rug had been pulled from underneath me. Doesn’t matter though, I’m standing my ground. There are a ton of great DIY spaces around chicago like the moving castle, treasure town and such that i’ve had the pleasure to be apart of. So i guess i’ll have to suck it up and make shit happen.
I’ve been toying around with the idea of starting up a mathy-screamo band with some other dudes in the area. Bottom line, there is nothing that has made me feel more alive than being in cramped basements surrounded by strangers lifting me up to the ceiling, embracing me, singing along together and constantly grinning. I’d take elbows to the head, permanent hearing damage and then some one hundred times over if it meant being apart of something that’s this honest and passionate. So with the end of strangelight comes not a tear-fest worth the genre naming of emo but something that i can look back on as initial inspiration. These guys were doing shit right.
-Brandon
