The more interviews I read, the more I realize they must be a pain in the ass to hang out with. Artistry aside, this makes them less likable. If you remember high school, you'll recall that you always resented the kids that took themselves too seriously, regularly pontificating (a word they would use) about their art, their passion, their drive and their music video with the Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque. It's like, dudes, chill out. You're eighteen. Go illustrate a comic book or something.
(In case you're wondering, yes, that last sentence does include a link to info on Gerard Way's forthcoming comic The Umbrella Academy.) His main point is that there is an emo generation gap, that the trailblazers of emo, pushing 30, have very little in common with the 16-year-olds just now discovering it.
The wide divide between Panic! supporters and My Chem enthusiasts indicates that emo bands now come in two varieties: Bands that make us want to feel like we're eighteen again, and bands that remind us that being eighteen actually sucked really hard.
Then we chatted about the piece:
Nicole: But it's true, there is a gap, and that's probably a good indicator of why the nudge-wink schtick doesn't work on older folks. We already know that being eighteen and knowing everything there is to know is a falsehood and impossibility, and a new crop of kids can't convince us otherwise. It makes me wonder what these bands will think of their early work down the road.
Sarah: I think they'll still quite like it. The winking is new. The winking is from a culture completely different than the one that existed when Static Prevails and even Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge came out. This is a world now where emo is the thing. The most popular girl at school listens to emo. Hell, The OC embraced emo. Lindsay effing Lohan is going to Panic shows. It's a completely different world for them. Their music isn't like that because they're young, it's because this is how they grew up. Does that make sense? They're never going to turn out an album like Bleed American or The Devil and God. They'll probably churn out a copy The Black Parade, but it will be about the perils of fame or something.
Nicole: Hmmm. I wonder if the winking is new in general or new in emo, specifically. Well, it definitely is the latter. The guys crying their eyes out about last goodbyes and kisses in The Juliana Theory weren't smirking about it after the recording stopped, that's for sure. I guess in the "reality" age, everything is sort of tongue-in-cheek because it has to be; you have to recognize and push your own irony in order for said irony to be appreciated. And then everyone wants to be in on it. Even the cheerleaders!
