“Extinction is what happens when we close the gates” - true of hardcore and of empires.
I’ve tried to take a less cynical view of gatekeeping lately.
I think gatekeeping is a manifestation of the same kinds of fear that leads people to hardcore in the first place. If we don’t belong in the wider world, we find places we do (Jerry’s Kids come to mind here). Hardcore can be something sacred. It makes sense when people think it’s both right and necessary to protect it.
If we see culture as a finite or zero sum game then it needs to be protected. If we embrace that the tent can be opened to include anyone and that we still can find our home in it, we can feel confident in sharing it.
" If anything, finding out about My Chemical Romance at a suburban Hot Topic and then somehow reverse-engineering that discovery into becoming the singer of one of the most abrasive and visceral hardcore bands of your generation is a far more impressive feat of determination than showing up to your fourth-grade class and having your teacher hand you a Kraut tape. "
I did laugh out loud at this, and I appreciated your earlier essay on emo as an identifier and the complex feelings that accompany it still. I think hardcore, like most things with a somewhat rigid sense if identity, has a hard time differentiating the difference between a death and a change-In the same way the kids scene had a hard time imagining lives as adults.
Can I get an amen. My intro is more like your "banal" entry. Hardcore came to my town through kids from DBD and CFA but they werent my age. I was the product of hand me down dubbed tapes of early DC, NY, LA and midwest masterpieces from 3 or 6 years later. But it stuck and it got me to CBs to see Murphys Law and Supertouch (the hometown heroes). My older sister going to art school in 82 and being able to play her Ramones tape in first grade on Fridays when our awesome teacher Ms. Dalessio would let us bring favorite records on Fridays in 77 primed the pump. But it took 9 more years before I fully took the hardcore punk rock plunge. The origin story can be boing but not the journey
I found hardcore because it was all I had in my area. In Memphis and Little Rock in the early 2000s we were getting so many hardcore bands compared to anything else, and as I worked for a venue, I found myself listening to so much, I fell in love. Years ago, I used to say "oh I dont love hardcore, I just listened cause its all I had" but that was never true. Sure there were some groups that didn't resonate with me, but there were so many hardcore groups that I still feel in my core, today, and I seek out new hardcore, now.
We all come to it in our own way. Some of us come through a gate, or over a fence, or bust through a wall--the people who are providing the barriers are there to keep the assholes out, only. And to let the newcomers in.
I love thinking back on musical origin stories like this. I'm from the DC area but didn't have cool older friends yet to show me the ropes of the scene. It was fall of 1997 - I had just turned 14 and was a freshman in high school. A sophomore on the cross country team named Alex introduced me to Snapcase and a senior named Andrew in one of my classes introduced me to vegan straightedge, DC hardcore, and youth crew (I still have his band's 7").
I don’t want to force a comparison here but I was reading about the evolutionary biologists team of Stephen Gould and Niles elredge. They created the concept of “punctuated equilibrium” to explain evolution. But what I find fascinating about Niles Elredge was his two main passions was evolution and the evolution of musical instruments especially the cornet which was a predecessor to the trumpet. He has over 500 cornets in his personal collection.
Here is an excerpt from a profile about him in the nytimes from 2004: “Scientist at work- Niles elredge March 9th 2004
Nytimes
“ since cornets are stamped with serial numbers these trees can also be crossed checked against manufacturing dates. This is an extremely useful feature. Dr. Eldredge said noting, “trilobites(organisms that existed 300 millions years ago) don’t come with serial numbers,”
“Extinction is what happens when we close the gates” - true of hardcore and of empires.
I’ve tried to take a less cynical view of gatekeeping lately.
I think gatekeeping is a manifestation of the same kinds of fear that leads people to hardcore in the first place. If we don’t belong in the wider world, we find places we do (Jerry’s Kids come to mind here). Hardcore can be something sacred. It makes sense when people think it’s both right and necessary to protect it.
If we see culture as a finite or zero sum game then it needs to be protected. If we embrace that the tent can be opened to include anyone and that we still can find our home in it, we can feel confident in sharing it.
" If anything, finding out about My Chemical Romance at a suburban Hot Topic and then somehow reverse-engineering that discovery into becoming the singer of one of the most abrasive and visceral hardcore bands of your generation is a far more impressive feat of determination than showing up to your fourth-grade class and having your teacher hand you a Kraut tape. "
I did laugh out loud at this, and I appreciated your earlier essay on emo as an identifier and the complex feelings that accompany it still. I think hardcore, like most things with a somewhat rigid sense if identity, has a hard time differentiating the difference between a death and a change-In the same way the kids scene had a hard time imagining lives as adults.
Can I get an amen. My intro is more like your "banal" entry. Hardcore came to my town through kids from DBD and CFA but they werent my age. I was the product of hand me down dubbed tapes of early DC, NY, LA and midwest masterpieces from 3 or 6 years later. But it stuck and it got me to CBs to see Murphys Law and Supertouch (the hometown heroes). My older sister going to art school in 82 and being able to play her Ramones tape in first grade on Fridays when our awesome teacher Ms. Dalessio would let us bring favorite records on Fridays in 77 primed the pump. But it took 9 more years before I fully took the hardcore punk rock plunge. The origin story can be boing but not the journey
I found hardcore because it was all I had in my area. In Memphis and Little Rock in the early 2000s we were getting so many hardcore bands compared to anything else, and as I worked for a venue, I found myself listening to so much, I fell in love. Years ago, I used to say "oh I dont love hardcore, I just listened cause its all I had" but that was never true. Sure there were some groups that didn't resonate with me, but there were so many hardcore groups that I still feel in my core, today, and I seek out new hardcore, now.
We all come to it in our own way. Some of us come through a gate, or over a fence, or bust through a wall--the people who are providing the barriers are there to keep the assholes out, only. And to let the newcomers in.
I love thinking back on musical origin stories like this. I'm from the DC area but didn't have cool older friends yet to show me the ropes of the scene. It was fall of 1997 - I had just turned 14 and was a freshman in high school. A sophomore on the cross country team named Alex introduced me to Snapcase and a senior named Andrew in one of my classes introduced me to vegan straightedge, DC hardcore, and youth crew (I still have his band's 7").
It really is like the Island of Misfit Toys!
I don’t want to force a comparison here but I was reading about the evolutionary biologists team of Stephen Gould and Niles elredge. They created the concept of “punctuated equilibrium” to explain evolution. But what I find fascinating about Niles Elredge was his two main passions was evolution and the evolution of musical instruments especially the cornet which was a predecessor to the trumpet. He has over 500 cornets in his personal collection.
Here is an excerpt from a profile about him in the nytimes from 2004: “Scientist at work- Niles elredge March 9th 2004
Nytimes
“ since cornets are stamped with serial numbers these trees can also be crossed checked against manufacturing dates. This is an extremely useful feature. Dr. Eldredge said noting, “trilobites(organisms that existed 300 millions years ago) don’t come with serial numbers,”
At least hXc records come up with serial numbers.