Sometimes rediscovering a band or song is even better than the first fling.
It's not at all uncommon to tire of a song, band, movie, etc. after a period of extensive indulgence. Odds are that if you go at something too strong too quick that passion or connection you feel to it will ultimately die down. When my much overplayed copy of the Dwarves' "Sugarfix" CD finally kicked the bucket last month after 11 years and countless plays, I can't say I really miss it all that much, seeing as how I can pretty much play those songs vividly in my head at this point. The bottom line is overexposure kills everything.
But then there are those times where bands get a second wind after a period of decompression. Last night I made a stop at Newbury Comics to pick up the new Bad Plus record (which is regrettably unremarkable, by the way. Get "These are the Vistas" or "Give.") when something caught my eye while browsing. "Diary," the debut album from Seattle's prototypical emo band Sunny Day Real Estate, was on sale for seven bucks, so I grabbed it on a whim.
"Diary" is one of the many, MANY CDs I lost in college, but really I hadn't given it much of a thought until I saw it on sale. But within minutes of throwing the disc in my changer on the way back to my apartment, I quickly remembered exactly what it was that drew me to these dudes to begin with. The soft/loud dynamics and overall musical dexterity spoke of a band too angsty and tough to be weepy, but too honest and introspective to teeter into brute punk/hardcore territory. They were both whimpy art rockers and a muscular DC-style postpunk band, often times in equal strokes, and yet they made such polarizing styles coalesce into a sound that has proved to be massively influential. In fact, it looms larger now than perhaps ever.
That sound would best be categorized as "emo," a term that has had the living shit kicked out of it in recent years with its ill-fated association with bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy and As I Lay Dying and (insert Victory Records/Vagrant Records artist here). When people think of emo today all they see is eyeliner and self loathing, which is sad because, like any other genre of music, it too came from a time and place that was a lot more humble and genuine.
Many credit the origins of emo back to DC. In 1983 (I think), the DC hardcore scene gave rise to Rites of Spring, an explosive four-piece featuring future Fugazi members Guy Picciotto and Brendan Canty. DC, especially during the early 80's, was nothing short of a punk rock breeding ground, but even among such an elite scene ROS were pretty remarkable. Hardcore, in spite of its dogged defiance of all things conventional and mainstream, was in itself pretty narrow minded and set in its ways. It was hard and fast, often times putting sheer attitude over aptitude, and if you weren't in line you could see your way the fuck out the door. Then came ROS, who with blinding energy and sincere songs marked by themes of fragmented relationships, pointed introspection, self doubt and alienation changed the rules of the game. They were loud but melodic, and while lyrically they ran deep into uncharted hardcore territory, it was their passion and energy that united them with the DC scene.
From there came others in their path: Grey Matter, Nation of Ulysses, Fugazi, Texas is the Reason, No Knife, Jawbox, etc. Sunny Day also owed a debt to their fore-bearers, but they were one of the first to truly give the emo brand some traction in the mainstream. As much a matter of good timing as anything else, "Diary" dropped on the ever popular Sub Pop label in 1994, smack in the midst of the alternative/neo-punk revival that saw many of the band's peers jumping ship for the majors (Sunny Day members William Goldsmith and Nate Mendel were both members of the Foo Fighters' original incarnation, with Mendel still a member). Yet crossover success eluded the band, and they broke up a few short years later.
Fast forward almost 15 years and many bands talk about Sunny Day Real Estate the way others talk about Husker Du, the Replacements and the Smiths. They did something ahead of the curve, and years later a generation of younger bands are giving them the nod for it. But it seems that so many "emo" bands have totally missed the boat. It's a genre that's been fed to the corporate sharks and watered down accordingly. Give and band a sad disposition, a 12 year old girl's haircut and a guitar and just brand the word "EMO" across their back.
It's a joke now, which is fine. Maybe there's little the genre can do to save face, but fortunately we'll always have albums like "Diary" to remind us it used to be music that mattered.
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