Features

I really do love stereotypes. Not! The whole idea about someone wanting to become individual, then just ending up falling into a ‘scene’ makes me chuckle. But I'll admit, I was the biggest culprit for this.

Yes, my friends will all say that I was Emo, and they will not let me live it down. I don’t agree. Well, if I was it was only because of the fashion (and not the attitude,) which I admit now was god awful (how my mum let me out the house like that, I’ll never know.)

Assortment

This got me thinking about the groups today. The ‘collections’ of diverse people you see floating around. You’re probably thinking, “What is she yapping on about!” so, I’ll give you some examples of the kind of groups I’m talking about (just remember I am being stereotypical here!)

Everyone remembers the invasion of the Chav, with their tracksuits n Burberry and the Trendies draped in designer names, but now there’s more.

Does your tee reveal your music taste?

Emos and Scene Kids with their unisex skin tight trousers, Punks and their mohicans, Goths and..well… black. Metal-heads with their moshing, hardcore fans with band t-shirts, Rockabillies with anything 1950’s, and Indie lovers who try to be effortlessly cool and ‘rock n roll’.

Then there are the fashionistas who could be into well..any genre of music as long as they are on trend and look ‘good’, and usually shop in Topshop.

Musical Influences

Do they all follow ‘their’ style because of the music or bands they’re into? Or just because it’s ‘cool’ at that time and they’re reluctant to admit their real favourite genre of music, in fear of being laughed at? This especially applies to the younger generations who just want to be noticed!

Take the 2007 remake of the film, St Trinians for instance. I think the scene where the Head Girl introduces the different groups within the school sums up this whole idea of how society separates people, especially youngsters, each ‘scene’ thinking they’re better than the others and not wanting to be misrepresented, “I’m not a Goth, I’m an Emo!”

If you walk around the Town Centre there are a couple of specific ‘clans’ you are bound to stumble across. And in most cases with one guess you can pick what music they’re into (it’s like a little game to amuse yourself whilst you’re shopping.) However there are some that take you by surprise and really make you wonder.

No Labels, Please

Surprise was my reaction to some of the answers I ‘coaxed’ out of the people I found in Hanley. I say ‘coaxed’ because some were extremely hard to get answers out of. No-one and I mean no-one wanted to label themselves. To me that seems daft! Just because they don’t say it verbally, doesn’t mean that they‘re not showing it through how they look!

Ashley and Michael described their favourite genre of music as Hardcore and Old School Punk. Their favourite bands were The Ghost Inside and after some deliberation, Black Lips. The lads also produced the best quote of the day, which they were unsure about everyone knowing, but I’m using it anyways… “We’re Rock 'n' Roll. It’s not the way you look. It’s the way you live."

It’s not how you look, it's how you live

I also caught Amy and Julia busking with their guitar outside Boots. Julia revealed that her favourite genre of music was Symphonic Metal, with her favourite band being Within Temptation, which she instantly chose. She described her style as ‘dramatic, Gothic Victorian with glitter involved!' Amy’s style reflected her love of folk music and Damien Rice.

These four examples did show their love for a particular genre of music through their clothes. But others weren’t so clear. There was one lad called Daniel that was dressed as what I thought a pop punk/ hardcore kid would parade in, yet he revealed to my surprise that classical music was his forte.

What’s Next?

New categories are still emerging, with the release of Deathcore, a mixture of death metal and hardcore; Crunkcore, elements of screamo, hardcore and crunk hip hop; and then Emotronic, combining emo music with electro beats.

So keep your eyes peeled for the warriors of these tribes and make sure your tick them of your ‘spotted’ list, but as I’ve learnt you can’t judge a book by its cover (well, the majority you can!)