Rock ≠ Conformity?

Freaky Friday is not particularly one of my favorite Disney movies, but when I watched it again last night on DVD, I couldn’t help admiring it for “treating rock music with respect.” Like School of Rock, it frequently references “classic” examples of rock, while the music that Anna Coleman’s band plays is reminiscent of punk in its root form.

I am the kind of music lover who listens to whatever is on the radio. Having been born in 1988, my musical experience began in the early 90’s, when I enjoyed Michael Learns to Rock and some Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, and Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, boy bands such as the Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, 5ive and Boyzone, and female singer-songwriters like Alanis Morissette, Natalie Imbruglia and Chantal Kreviazuk.

Let’s not forget the Disney movies—I am a huge Disney girl. As a child, I watched the fairy tales, Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, The Nightmare Before Christmas (if you count that as Disney), The Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan, Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (Tarzan was good, but I look at it as the weak link in the chain of Disney classics, because it was in the milieu that spawned non-musical animated features, cheesy Disney Channel Original Movies and poor and unnecessary sequels.)

Given this background, I am positively embarrassed to say that although I am a fan of rock music, I haven’t listened to the bands that “decent” rock fans uphold as the true rockers. Although I respect that the Stone Temple Pilots, The Ramones, Black Sabbath, Radiohead, Kiss, Queen, AC/DC or Marilyn Manson are among those that are hailed as the epitome of rock, I haven’t listened to them. Nirvana, Aerosmith and Bon Jovi are among the few bands that I have listened to. Growing up, the closest I have been to rock was through alternative bands like Garbage, Oasis and No Doubt, which is sometimes considered to be pop.

I am also ashamed to call myself a rock fan when I was among the millions of pubescent girls who screamed over boy bands during what I call the bubblegum boom in the late 90’s. But when Linkin Park came out in 2001, which was the decline of boy bands, I tried my ears with “nu rock,” which is the classification of bands like Incubus, POD and Staind. I loved these bands, and their angsty content inspired me to become a writer; Linkin Park is my favorite, because they managed to express anger without being dependent on swearwords.

To my surprise, nu rock is deplorable and inferior in the opinion of fans of the “classic” bands listed above. But at the time, I was not aware of such a hierarchy.

In the years that followed, pop rock became popular. Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton started the trend in rebellion against bubblegum pop, but Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson were the genre’s most celebrated by 2005.

Also around the time that Avril Lavigne came out, pop punk took the place of nu rock. Good Charlotte, Green Day and Simple Plan became fan favorites.

Evanescence came out of nowhere and became an instant success in 2003. It seemed to be one of a kind; ignorant music listeners called it gothic rock. But real Goths didn’t think so, so I respect their opinion and have since refused to call Evanescence gothic. Amy Lee wasn’t even a real Goth, after all; she just likes wearing dark clothes and black makeup.

As I have been in my childhood, I liked whatever was on the radio, so I listened to these bands and singers despite complaints from traditionalists, who called these musicians posers. I ignored those complaints: Avril Lavigne and her contemporaries are pop singers anyway; I looked at Good Charlotte, Blink-182, Green Day and Simple Plan’s music to be a new version of punk rather than a different kind of music labeled as punk, which is what traditionalists claim. Evanescence is only labeled by the media as goth, but they really aren’t.

I entered college, just as emo music became all the rage. Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At the Disco, Dashboard Confessional and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, among others came into the spotlight. At first, I thought this was a new wave of pop punk bands, but I discovered through some research that this is a different genre altogether. An offshoot of punk, emo is characterized by depressing lyrics, a combination of red and black clothes (not to be confused with the White Stripes, who wear red and white clothes), eyeliner (even on men), black- or red-framed eyeglasses (this fell out of trend within a year of its popularity) and sleek, overgrown bangs that cover one or both eyes. In the Internet, some people include some nu rock bands like Linkin Park and Staind in the label “emo,” as their lyrics are commonly angry, depressing, and repeatedly so.

I am not a fan of emo music (i.e. MCR, FOB, etc.), but I admit to listening to some of their songs. However, I am not one to actually buy their albums.

As you have probably figured out by now, I am pretty much a conformist. I got good grades in school, and never skipped classes on purpose. My academic performance is not my best, but only because I am lazy. I go to church and sing there, prompting me to be punctual and committed to attending Mass services. I am not what you would call a Jesus freak but I have significant knowledge of the Bible, Salvation History, and some Church doctrines; I get uncomfortable when I don’t get to go to Mass on my birthday or on Ash Wednesday. When it comes to religion, I am a devout Catholic, although I do not believe that Mary stayed a virgin after having Jesus, who I also believe married Mary Magdalene. Whoever this particular Magdalene was, she was most probably Mary of Magdala, not to be confused with the one who washed Jesus’s feet (that was Mary of Bethany); whether or not this Magdalene was the adulterer, I don’t quite know.

My conformity is the same with my taste in music, which makes me worry a bit. I listen to bands that are labeled inferior posers, and yet I admire “classic” rock bands without listening to them—am I hypocritical or just open-minded? I just don’t want traditionalists to shoot at me.