The first book I read is a compilation of interviews from the forefront artists of the post punk and hardcore movement. Called "The Anti-Matter Anthology" by Norman Brannon, it delves into the private lives of the musical artists experiencing the new wave.
What I realized is that many artists didn't realize what they were creating, they just created. The listeners felt the music and understood. For this reason is why it took off as much as it did. Bands such as Jawbox, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Quicksand stand out as the most popular and really shaped the modern day music effected by the past. Many of these artists wanted to bring their feelings to life in a new, unheard of way. A way that was unique, and at the same time reminiscent of the hardcore roots only years before.
One of the most influential pieces I got from this book is the fact that this music was made for the writer to cope, and that the sound expelled from this is what the music came to be. Most all artists agreed that the music they wrote brought the purpose of music back, away from the mainstream ideas and beliefs. In the words of Zack de la Rocha, "I think hardcore is stripped of mainstream music and the bullshit involved with it...[post hardcore] is stripped down to its purest form."
The music created, to the artist, was the physical form of their own feelings. A way to communicate these emotions, which all who listened understood.
I really love your post and I've noticed that some of the information we've come across in our research has a lot of similarities! It seems like the idea of musicians "just creating" music is starting to be a common thing within specific genres, and I feel like it definitely adds to the emotion behind the sound. I think it would be really cool if you could figure out a way to work the whole emotional/coping aspect of the music into your paper!
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