Nineties hardcore gave us the peak of punk ideological movements and "the big message." But for some, admitting you hadn't figured things out yet was a far more radical—and meaningful—stance to take.
I never realized how great Snapcase was as a band until I listened to the “steps” ep when it came out in 1995. I saw them open-up for earth crisis at abc no Rio in 1993. I thought at the time there were good but not great. On an funny note the highlight of that show was when someone from bug out society shoved a leather sneaker in the singer of earth crisis’s face but I digress. What I distinctly remember from the first interview with snapcase in anti-matter was the phrase “the New York swindle” (in reference to nyc rents) in this current article I really like the line “cracking life’s code by 21” it reminds me of something Dan O’mahony said in an interview: “it is psychological damaging to play the rule of the moral standard bearer at such a young age” (which is quite accurate) well I can’t wait until Thursday.
"Snapcase is still very much one of the greatest hardcore bands of all time, and one of the reasons their work has persisted for this long is because they gave us hardcore meaning in the way that it ultimately counts most: They showed us instead of telling us."
Agreed! They were the Helmet of our small stages... heavy, precise, snare-driven and vague enough to be incredibly interesting!
Just let out an audible, "Fuck yes," at my desk when I read we're getting an interview with Daryl on Thursday. I always loved Snapcase more than my friends did in high school and you've perfectly captured what makes them so special.
1988. Small town Western America. Long bus ride. Box of tapes. Eventually dubbed for me and a friend by an older kid named Damon, who had moved into town from California. My 13-year-old introduction to Dead Kennedys, Black Flag and Violent Femmes. Years later saw Snapcase live. Just wanted to share with the universe.
It is so strange but I was just thinking about Hardline yesterday-something I have not thought about since I was in high school. I do have a 14 year old, so maybe that’s why. As a freshman in high school in 1990 living in suburban Long Island with overprotective parents, the only way for me to feed my obsessive love for hardcore was through the mail. For some reason I can’t recall my first hardcore record, but I do remember the album inserts and mailing away for anything and everything straight edge and vegan (clearly what I thought hardcore should be) that I could find. Anyway, I was thinking about the Hardline material I received at 14 that included directions for making bombs and what to do if you get arrested. Now, you have me also thinking about all of the Ebullition records I ordered, and reading those inserts. There were so many intensely righteous feelings at that age, and you once again have captured it perfectly.
Bottom line-I love Snapcase, and can’t wait for Thursday.
Snapcase was the first true hardcore band that made sense to me, and it’s probably because of the reasons you laid out here, even if I didn’t make sense of it then.
"And who could possibly know more about the world than a high school freshman with a new musical passion?"
Well, that hits just a *little* close to home. I never got into straight-edge or hardline, but MRR's politics did nestle into my brain for a few years. But the sentiments that have stayed with me have been the ones that were personal, emotional. And yeah, I wasn't wild about Snapcase at first, but something snapped into place for me on Progression. It was heavy, pummeling, but also spiky and angular Plus, they covered Devo, and that's just fucking cool.
'Sometimes, saying how you really feel can be infinitely harder than “taking a stand.”'
This hits home. This 90s era was when I got into hardcore. Bands with a message, like Ignite, Earth Crisis, Shelter, 108, Chokehold, Propagandhi, Bad Religion, Boy Sets Fire, and Four Walls Falling were the ones I connected with the most, though. Because I got into hardcore in the era of 3-5 minute speeches between songs that is something I really connected with a thought that's what hardcore was really about. So when I finally got around to fronting my own bands, of course the lyrics had to have some sort of political or social substance. That's what "real" hardcore was! (Of course, I loved plenty of bands that weren't taking stands, Snapcase being one of those.)
It wasn't until my 4th or 5th band where I really wanted to try writing lyrics that were not about any of that and I found it incredibly difficult. I wanted to write songs about nothing; I wanted to write songs in style of Burroughs; I wanted to write songs about fictional characters; I wanted to write about my emotions and my feelings; and that was all most definitely infinitely harder than “taking a stand.”
It wasn't until I was in my mid-30s when I came to the realization that my favorite bands and singers were the ones that could seamlessly go between songs with a message and songs about interpersonal relationships, or better yet include both in the same song (Good Riddance, Billy Bragg, Dillinger Four, Cock Sparrer, Avail, Fugazi, and so on).
"It felt as if hardcore had run out of room for personal experience. Ideology had become our reigning concern." What a wonderful read and a very comforting and relatable perspective of the shift.
I never realized how great Snapcase was as a band until I listened to the “steps” ep when it came out in 1995. I saw them open-up for earth crisis at abc no Rio in 1993. I thought at the time there were good but not great. On an funny note the highlight of that show was when someone from bug out society shoved a leather sneaker in the singer of earth crisis’s face but I digress. What I distinctly remember from the first interview with snapcase in anti-matter was the phrase “the New York swindle” (in reference to nyc rents) in this current article I really like the line “cracking life’s code by 21” it reminds me of something Dan O’mahony said in an interview: “it is psychological damaging to play the rule of the moral standard bearer at such a young age” (which is quite accurate) well I can’t wait until Thursday.
"Snapcase is still very much one of the greatest hardcore bands of all time, and one of the reasons their work has persisted for this long is because they gave us hardcore meaning in the way that it ultimately counts most: They showed us instead of telling us."
Agreed! They were the Helmet of our small stages... heavy, precise, snare-driven and vague enough to be incredibly interesting!
Thank you, I love the tape box analogy of wide range of music and soul for personal discovery.
Just let out an audible, "Fuck yes," at my desk when I read we're getting an interview with Daryl on Thursday. I always loved Snapcase more than my friends did in high school and you've perfectly captured what makes them so special.
1988. Small town Western America. Long bus ride. Box of tapes. Eventually dubbed for me and a friend by an older kid named Damon, who had moved into town from California. My 13-year-old introduction to Dead Kennedys, Black Flag and Violent Femmes. Years later saw Snapcase live. Just wanted to share with the universe.
Great read. Thanks for sharing.
It is so strange but I was just thinking about Hardline yesterday-something I have not thought about since I was in high school. I do have a 14 year old, so maybe that’s why. As a freshman in high school in 1990 living in suburban Long Island with overprotective parents, the only way for me to feed my obsessive love for hardcore was through the mail. For some reason I can’t recall my first hardcore record, but I do remember the album inserts and mailing away for anything and everything straight edge and vegan (clearly what I thought hardcore should be) that I could find. Anyway, I was thinking about the Hardline material I received at 14 that included directions for making bombs and what to do if you get arrested. Now, you have me also thinking about all of the Ebullition records I ordered, and reading those inserts. There were so many intensely righteous feelings at that age, and you once again have captured it perfectly.
Bottom line-I love Snapcase, and can’t wait for Thursday.
Time to dust off the soprano snare! Progression Through Unlearning was a pivotal album for me in 1997.
Snapcase was the first true hardcore band that made sense to me, and it’s probably because of the reasons you laid out here, even if I didn’t make sense of it then.
"And who could possibly know more about the world than a high school freshman with a new musical passion?"
Well, that hits just a *little* close to home. I never got into straight-edge or hardline, but MRR's politics did nestle into my brain for a few years. But the sentiments that have stayed with me have been the ones that were personal, emotional. And yeah, I wasn't wild about Snapcase at first, but something snapped into place for me on Progression. It was heavy, pummeling, but also spiky and angular Plus, they covered Devo, and that's just fucking cool.
'Sometimes, saying how you really feel can be infinitely harder than “taking a stand.”'
This hits home. This 90s era was when I got into hardcore. Bands with a message, like Ignite, Earth Crisis, Shelter, 108, Chokehold, Propagandhi, Bad Religion, Boy Sets Fire, and Four Walls Falling were the ones I connected with the most, though. Because I got into hardcore in the era of 3-5 minute speeches between songs that is something I really connected with a thought that's what hardcore was really about. So when I finally got around to fronting my own bands, of course the lyrics had to have some sort of political or social substance. That's what "real" hardcore was! (Of course, I loved plenty of bands that weren't taking stands, Snapcase being one of those.)
It wasn't until my 4th or 5th band where I really wanted to try writing lyrics that were not about any of that and I found it incredibly difficult. I wanted to write songs about nothing; I wanted to write songs in style of Burroughs; I wanted to write songs about fictional characters; I wanted to write about my emotions and my feelings; and that was all most definitely infinitely harder than “taking a stand.”
It wasn't until I was in my mid-30s when I came to the realization that my favorite bands and singers were the ones that could seamlessly go between songs with a message and songs about interpersonal relationships, or better yet include both in the same song (Good Riddance, Billy Bragg, Dillinger Four, Cock Sparrer, Avail, Fugazi, and so on).
"It felt as if hardcore had run out of room for personal experience. Ideology had become our reigning concern." What a wonderful read and a very comforting and relatable perspective of the shift.