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==Characteristics==
==Characteristics==
Screamo is trash.<ref name=ScreamoAM/> It uses typical rock instrumentation, but is notable for trash, chaotic trash, and [[screaming (music)|screaming vocals]]. The genre is "generally based in the aggressive side of the overarching trash."<ref name=ScreamoAM>[http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/screamo-d13459 Explore style: Screamo] at ''[[Allmusic]]'' Music Guide</ref> Primary characteristics of the genre are described by [[Allmusic]]:<ref name=ScreamoAM/>
Screamo is a particularly dissonant style of emo influenced by [[hardcore punk]].<ref name=ScreamoAM/> It uses typical rock instrumentation, but is notable for its brief compositions, chaotic execution, and [[screaming (music)|screaming vocals]]. The genre is "generally based in the aggressive side of the overarching punk-revival scene."<ref name=ScreamoAM>[http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/screamo-d13459 Explore style: Screamo] at ''[[Allmusic]]'' Music Guide</ref> Primary characteristics of the genre are described by [[Allmusic]]:<ref name=ScreamoAM/>
{{cquote|It came to be that the soft/loud dynamic of having either one or two singers who alternate between passionate singing and distraught shrieking that characterizes most screamo. These vocals are often layered or appear side-by-side amid aggressive, hard-hitting guitar licks used to trigger an exhaustive, emotional catharsis. Though the music is outwardly tough and powerful, the lyrics are usually of the introspective kind found in softer emo bands.}}
{{cquote|It came to be that the soft/loud dynamic of having either one or two singers who alternate between passionate singing and distraught shrieking that characterizes most screamo. These vocals are often layered or appear side-by-side amid aggressive, hard-hitting guitar licks used to trigger an exhaustive, emotional catharsis. Though the music is outwardly tough and powerful, the lyrics are usually of the introspective kind found in softer emo bands.}}
In addition to melodic transitions from heavy to soft styles, the genre is also characterized "by frequent shifts in tempo and dynamics and by tension-and-release catharses."<ref name=JohnNYT/> Screamed vocals are used "not consistently, but as a kind of crescendo element, a sonic weapon to be trotted out when the music and lyrics reach a particular emotional pitch."<ref name=JohnNYT/>
In addition to melodic transitions from heavy to soft styles, the genre is also characterized "by frequent shifts in tempo and dynamics and by tension-and-release catharses."<ref name=JohnNYT/> Screamed vocals are used "not consistently, but as a kind of crescendo element, a sonic weapon to be trotted out when the music and lyrics reach a particular emotional pitch."<ref name=JohnNYT/>


===Conceptual elements===
===Conceptual elements===
Many screamo bands in the 1990s saw themselves as trash, and as a reaction against the turn to the [[right wing|right]] embodied by California politicians, such as [[Roger Hedgecock]].<ref name="skatepunk.net"/> Some groups were also unusually theoretical in inspiration: Angel Hair cited [[surrealist]] writers [[Antonin Artaud]] and [[Georges Bataille]],<ref name=Heller/> and [[Orchid (band)|Orchid]] lyrically name-checked [[French new wave]] icon [[Anna Karina]] and [[critical theory]] originators [[the Frankfurt School]].<ref>Orchid, ''Dance Tonight, Revolution Tomorrow''. ''Allmusic Guide''. [{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r615293|pure_url=yes}}] Access date: June 17, 2008.</ref>
Many screamo bands in the 1990s saw themselves as implicitly political, and as a reaction against the turn to the [[right wing|right]] embodied by California politicians, such as [[Roger Hedgecock]].<ref name="skatepunk.net"/> Some groups were also unusually theoretical in inspiration: Angel Hair cited [[surrealist]] writers [[Antonin Artaud]] and [[Georges Bataille]],<ref name=Heller/> and [[Orchid (band)|Orchid]] lyrically name-checked [[French new wave]] icon [[Anna Karina]] and [[critical theory]] originators [[the Frankfurt School]].<ref>Orchid, ''Dance Tonight, Revolution Tomorrow''. ''Allmusic Guide''. [{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r615293|pure_url=yes}}] Access date: June 17, 2008.</ref>


==Origins and early history (1990s - early 2000s)==
==Origins and early history (1990s - early 2000s)==

Revision as of 07:04, 23 May 2011

Screamo
Stylistic originsEmo,[1] hardcore punk, post-hardcore[2]
Cultural originsEarly 1990s San Diego, New York
Typical instrumentsDrums, bass guitar, electric guitar, screamed vocals, vocals
Fusion genres
Crunkcore
Other topics
Powerviolence, post-rock, nintendocore

Screamo is a genre of rock music which evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s. The term "screamo" was initially applied to a more aggressive offshoot of emo that developed in San Diego in 1991, which used short songs that grafted "spastic intensity to willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics."[2]

Characteristics

Screamo is a particularly dissonant style of emo influenced by hardcore punk.[3] It uses typical rock instrumentation, but is notable for its brief compositions, chaotic execution, and screaming vocals. The genre is "generally based in the aggressive side of the overarching punk-revival scene."[3] Primary characteristics of the genre are described by Allmusic:[3]

It came to be that the soft/loud dynamic of having either one or two singers who alternate between passionate singing and distraught shrieking that characterizes most screamo. These vocals are often layered or appear side-by-side amid aggressive, hard-hitting guitar licks used to trigger an exhaustive, emotional catharsis. Though the music is outwardly tough and powerful, the lyrics are usually of the introspective kind found in softer emo bands.

In addition to melodic transitions from heavy to soft styles, the genre is also characterized "by frequent shifts in tempo and dynamics and by tension-and-release catharses."[4] Screamed vocals are used "not consistently, but as a kind of crescendo element, a sonic weapon to be trotted out when the music and lyrics reach a particular emotional pitch."[4]

Conceptual elements

Many screamo bands in the 1990s saw themselves as implicitly political, and as a reaction against the turn to the right embodied by California politicians, such as Roger Hedgecock.[5] Some groups were also unusually theoretical in inspiration: Angel Hair cited surrealist writers Antonin Artaud and Georges Bataille,[2] and Orchid lyrically name-checked French new wave icon Anna Karina and critical theory originators the Frankfurt School.[6]

Origins and early history (1990s - early 2000s)

The term screamo is applied to a music genre that began in 1991, in San Diego, at the Ché Café,[7] with groups such as Heroin, Antioch Arrow,[8] Angel Hair, Mohinder, Swing Kids, and Portraits of Past.[9] These groups were influenced by Washington D.C. post-hardcore (particularly Fugazi and Nation of Ulysses),[2] straight edge, the Chicago group Articles of Faith, hardcore punk band Die Kreuzen[10] and post-punk, such as Joy Division[11] and Bauhaus.[2]

Gravity Records[10][12] and Ebullition Records[9] released this more chaotic and expressive style of hardcore. The scene is noted for its distinctive fashion sense, inspired by mod culture.[5] Much as the term "emo" is, the term "screamo" has always been controversial in the scene.[2]

The innovations of the San Diego scene eventually spread elsewhere, such as to the Seattle group The Blood Brothers.[13] Many groups from the East Coast were influential in the continual development and reinvention of the style, including Orchid,[14][15] Circle Takes the Square, pg. 99, Hot Cross, Saetia,[16] Ampere,[17] and City of Caterpillar.[3]

Modern screamo (2000s - present)

Some bands that formed in the United States during the late 1990s and remained active throughout the 2000s, such as Thursday, Thrice, and Poison the Well made screamo much more popular. Many of these bands took influence from the likes of Refused and At the Drive-In.[3] By the mid-2000s, the over-saturation of the screamo scene caused many bands to purposefully expand past the genre’s trademarks and incorporate more experimental elements.[3] Other active American screamo acts include Comadre,[18] Off Minor, and Men As Trees.[19]

The contemporary DIY screamo scene is also particularly active in Europe, with bands such as Amanda Woodward,[20] Louise Cyphre,[21] La Quiete, and Raein all being prime examples of their scene.

Vagueness of the term "screamo"

Allmusic has noted that the term "screamo" can sometimes be vague, and that even bands that weren’t necessarily screamo would often use the style's characteristic guttural vocal style.[3] Derek Miller, guitarist for the post-hardcore band Poison the Well, claimed that the term screamo "describes a thousand different genres."[22] According to Jeff Mitchell of Iowa State Daily, "there is no set definition of what screamo sounds like but screaming over once deafeningly loud rocking noise and suddenly quiet, melodic guitar lines is a theme commonly affiliated with the genre."[23]

Juan Gabe, vocalist for the band Comadre, alleged that the term "has been kind of tainted in a way, especially in the States."[18] Jonathan Dee of The New York Times wrote that the term "tends to bring a scornful laugh from the bands themselves."[4] Bert McCracken, lead singer of The Used, stated that "screamo" is merely a term "for record companies to sell records and for record stores to categorize them."[24]

Influence on other styles

Some early screamo groups, including Orchid and Reversal of Man, tended to be much closer to grindcore than their forebears.[25] The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower incorporated the style into punk jazz.[26] Powerviolence-inflected screamo is sometimes referred to as "emo violence", a name half-jokingly proposed by In/Humanity.[27] Modern screamo acts have often incorporated post-rock in their music.[citation needed]

Some bands fuse electronic music with elements they borrow from screamo.[28][29] Crunkcore combines screamo with crunk hip hop and various electronic elements.[30] Nintendocore, a term coined by Horse the Band, refers to a video game music-influenced rock genre that takes some influence from screamo.[31]

See also

List of screamo bands

References

  1. ^ Interview with Justin Pearson, Skatepunk.net [1] Access date: June 13, 2008
  2. ^ a b c d e f Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". Denver Westword, June 20, 2002. [2] Access date: June 15, 2008
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Explore style: Screamo at Allmusic Music Guide
  4. ^ a b c Dee, Jonathan (June 29, 2003). "The Summer of Screamo". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Interview with Justin Pearson on Skatepunk.net, [3] Access date: June 13, 2008
  6. ^ Orchid, Dance Tonight, Revolution Tomorrow. Allmusic Guide. [4] Access date: June 17, 2008.
  7. ^ "A Day with the Locust", L.A. Weekly, September 18, 2003 [5] Access date: June 19, 2008
  8. ^ Local Cut, Q&A with Aaron Montaigne. [6] May 14, 2008. Access date: June 11, 2008.
  9. ^ a b Ebullition Catalog, Portraits of Past discography. [7] Access date: August 9, 2008.
  10. ^ a b "Blood Runs Deep: 23 A hat". Alternative Press. 2008-07-07. p. 126.
  11. ^ Swing Kids covered "Warsaw"; Justin Pearson discusses Joy Division's influence in an interview on Skatepunk.net, [8] Access date: June 13, 2008
  12. ^ Trevor Kelley, "California Screaming". Alternative Press 17 (2003), pp. 84-86.
  13. ^ Matt Schild, "Bleeding Hearts." Aversion.com. March 3, 2003. [9] Access date: June 15, 2008.
  14. ^ Anchors (December 27, 2005). "Review of Orchid's Totality". Retrieved June 16, 2008. Orchid always was, and always will be the quintessential screamo band of the late 90s, as they encompassed everything people like me love about the genre, and throw their own unique spin on it
  15. ^ Nick Catucci (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  16. ^ Ryan Buege (June 15, 2008). "Circle Takes the Square is in the Studio". Metal Injection. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  17. ^ Nick Greer (August 29, 2005). "Ampere review". Sputnik Music. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  18. ^ a b Jan, "Yellow is the new pink", 18-04-07
  19. ^ scenepointblank: Men as Trees - Weltschmerz
  20. ^ Kevin Jagernauth, PopMatters, November 29, 2004. [10] Access date: July 28, 2008.
  21. ^ "Altogether, our music certainly still is 'screamo'." - Sven, interview with Julien, "ShootMeAgain Webzine", 06-11-2006. [11]
  22. ^ http://www.jimdero.com/OtherWritings/OtherScreamoGW.htm
  23. ^ Mitchell, Jeff (July 26, 2001). "A Screamin' Scene". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  24. ^ Greenwald, Andy (21 November 2003). "Screamo 101". Entertainment Weekly (no. 738). Retrieved 2 August 2008. {{cite journal}}: |issue= has extra text (help)
  25. ^ "Another interesting sub-sub-genre was this strange crossover of first-generation emo and grind. Bands like Reversal of Man or Orchid may not have stood the test of time, but it was a pretty cool sound at the time and one that was pretty uniquely American." - Greg Pratt, "Altered States", "Grindcore Special", part 2, Terrorizer #181, March 2009, p. 43.
  26. ^ Joel Caris, Concert Review, Blogcritics Magazine, February 21, 2005. [12] Access date: June 17, 2008
  27. ^ Jason Thompson, Violent Resignation review, PopMatters. [13] Access date: June 17, 2008.
  28. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "I See Stars - Biography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  29. ^ Carino, Paula. "Common Dreads". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  30. ^ Gail, Leor (14 July 2009). "Scrunk happens: We're not fans, but the kids seem to like it". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  31. ^ Wright (2010-12-9). "Subgenre(s) of the Week: Nintendocore (feat. Holiday Pop)". The Quest. Retrieved 2011-3-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
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