The alternative and hardcore scene (explained)

The start + origins:

Although it’s almost impossible to determine exactly how and when it all started, the first known movement to be considered ‘alternative’ would have been the flappers movement in 1920s America. Flappers were seen as havinf an alternative lifestyle as they believed in challenging societal norms such as sex before marriage, drinking, smoking, driving and dancing. At the time, these things were considered ‘extreme’ and did not fit in with societies expectations, especially for women. 

Flappers also had their own fashion statements. Typical Flapper fashion included short loose fitting dresses, bold and heavy makeup, bobbed hair and tight shorts. They used their appearance and fashion choices to display their views and show their rebellion against authority. Many flappers also bonded their chests or underwent extreme weight loss as this body image strayed from what was considered appealing at the time. 

The flapper lifestyle was also closely linked to jazz music as it allowed them to express themselves through dancing and performance. 

After the 1920s, many more alternative lifestyles developed with the same or similar ideas to Flappers. Some examples of this include the Bear Generation of the 1950s. This emerged primarily in the USA and was characterised by unconventional writing styles, exploration of alternative political viewpoints and rejecting mainstream American values. The Beat Generation was made up of artists and writers who went against the conformity and materialism of society after WWII. 

A second example would be mod culture. (1950s-1960s) Mod culture emerged in the UK and originated from the edit for individuality.  Mod fashion consisted of sharp haircuts, tailored suits, mini skirts and bold accessories. The roots of music associated with mod culture were in modern Jazz, R&B, Soul and Blubeat.

The start of the hardcore scene: 

Subcultures such as Punk and Goth rose in the mid 1970s. These alternative subcultures challenged mainstream norms through their unmistakable fashion, music and political ideologies. Designers such as Vivienne Westwood are widely known for the popularisation of punk fashion. (although it’s debatable on whether she was actually punk or not) Westwood was very influential to the pink scene in London with her provocative designs, portrayal of anti establishment through fashion and her association with the sex pistols. 

Punk fashion is characterised by DIY as many punks at the time either couldn’t afford to or didn’t want to buy from large brands. Key elements also include unique hairstyles, such as mowhawks, and shock value pieces. 

Punk music is made up of key aspects such as short songs, fast or aggressive sound, simple chord structures and often political lyrics. This style of music created a rejection towards mainstream rock. 

There are several different genres of punk music, some examples of this are horror punk, hardcore punk and later on, pop punk. 

Another music genre that stems from punk is riot grrrl. This is the more female dominated part of fhr subculture and includes bands such as Bikini Kill, Jack Off Jill, Bratmobile and Skinned Teen. 

The goth subculture also originated in the 70s, particularly in the UK. Goth culture can be identified through dark, atmospheric music and a distinctive, often extreme, visual aesthetic. 

Goth music includes bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus and The Cure. 

There are many different sub styles of gothic fashion such such as Trad Goth, Cyber Goth, Military Goth, Gothic Lolita and many more. Goth fashion also had a DIY approach, similar to its punk roots.

When it comes to political views, Goths held leftist ideologies and believe in having the right to freely express yourself in any way. This may differ from punk as punks typically held extreme leftist or anarchist views. 

Metal Music:

Metal music originated in the early 70s and developed as a sub genre of rock music. It takes influences from psychedelic rock and acid rock. Some of the different sub genres of metal include death metal, black metal, thrash metal, industrial, glam metal and many more. Many other genres such as Emo, Grunge and some fusion genres are also influenced by metal and metalcore.

Post punk:

In the 1980s-1990s, the rise of several alternative subcultures began. These included Grunge, Phychobilly, Hip Hop, Emo and the start of rave culture. 

These subculture also often held the original views as goth and punk, with a DIY and anti capitalist approach to their style. 

These subcultures also stemmed from the alternative music genres that developed after the 70s punk scene. 

Grunge took inspiration from hardcore punk, glam rock and classic rock. Some examples of Grunge bands are Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. 

Rave culture and the popularisation of electronic dance music also influenced the ride in cyber fashion, well known for neon colours, synthetic materials and futuristic aesthetics. 

Hip Hop had its own roots in previous years but significantly increased in popularity in the 90s and even developed its own sub cultural elements. It also had an influence on Mcbling and Scene fashion later on. 

The first elements of emo music began in the mid 80s with the band Rites Of Spring, who were considered the first emo band, however they rejected the title at the time.

The 2000s scene: 

The term “Emo” or “emocore” is short for ‘emotional hardcore’. The genre is heavily influenced by metal and punk from the 80s-90s but gained even more popularity in the early 2000s thanks to the rise of MySpace. 

There are several different genres of emo music and different styles from different eras. 

The main three waves of emo music are what most people will immediately think of when they think of the genre. 

The origins of emo started with the ‘first wave’ these were bands such as Rites Of Spring, Embrace, Dag Nasty, Moss Icon and many others. During this time, ‘Emo’ was still a new term and was often used as an insult, therefore many of these bands did not associate themselves with the genre. 

After this, a new second wave of emo music emerged, this music was often slower or calmer but still incorporated the same emotional themes and lyrics as the first wave. Second wave emo bands would include The Get Up kids, Sunny Day Real Estate, American Football etc. 

Next was the third wave. This includes bands such as Tuesday, Finch, The Used, Hawthorne Heights and more. 

During the popularisation of Emo music was also the popularisation of Pop Punk. Pop Punk sometimes crossed over into 3rd wave emo (for example, My Chemical Romance’s first album would be considered third wave emo, however, their others would lean closer to pop punk or alternative rock) 

Pop Punk bands such as Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco were extremely popular during this time although they were heavily criticised by many Emotional hardcore fans for being too mainstream. 

Emo also has many of its own sub genres that helped to popularise the scene such as Midwest Emo and Screamo (that also has even more sub genres e.g. sasscore) 

And now we have what would be called the fourth wave of emo l, which are more modern bands that fit within the genre. Some people may consider this to be the “emo revival” 

“Scene Queen” was an insulting term given to young women and girls who took part in the metalcore scene of the early 2000s. They were given the name due to their colourful or theatrical fashion choices which lead old school punks and metal fans to believe that they cared more about the clothes than listening to the music. 

Scene is not necessarily tied down to just one music genre but is made up of several different fusion genres such as crunkcore or deathcore. Fashion is also extremely important to the scene subculture however I will go into much more detail about this in a separate blog.

As for the clothes associated with the Emo and Scene subculture, this was called ‘fashioncore’ it took influences from Punk and mall goth fashion and can often be recognised by studded belts, band T shirts, skinny jeans and styled hair with a deep side fringe (probably the most recognisable aspect of this style)

From me: 

Hey!! I wrote this a while ago because the history of alternative subcultures is my current hyperfixation and a few people on tumblr said they would be interested if I turned it into a blog so here we are! :))

I’ve sort of simplified it a bit just so that I can get this posted quicker and like I said, I will go into much more detail on Fashioncore and Scene fashion in a later blog post. I’d also like so say that I’m just a teenager with wayyyy too much time on his hands and I’m  not a writer in the slightest so I apologise if I’ve repeated any phrases or if my sentences aren’t perfect T_T

Anyways I hope the people who wanted to read it enjoyed it and I hope that anyone who just wants to learn about alternative subcultures feels like this has helped!