Adam Pfleider's Blog Entry

Solid read! I actually listened to that STF record last week and too found myself questioning how such an act and record could pass some many lines of acceptance and comments like "this is a great product" before reaching my inbox. I still don't know what exactly to make of it, but I have a theory that this area of music has simple hit a creative wall. After a decade of building from the early millennium years of Victory and Vagrant breaking giant modern emo, the angst turned to anger, the anger turned to breakdowns, the breakdowns turned to Emmure, and somewhere along the line a few kids in Ohio decided a synthesizer could set them apart. In the last 18 months dubstep slipped its way into the system as well, but there is no hiding the gimmick that comes with adding it to your album at this point. Even if there are diehard fans of that sound, its presence in the current alternative landscape, to me at least, just feels like a musical manifestation of what groups like Brokencyde or Skip The Foreplay do lyrically: Distract you from the lack of true technical skill and creativity.

Also, I think it boils down to two issues that have always been at the heart of this industry: The longing to promote music you believe in and the need to keep the lights on. If you're an alternative label the size of Epitaph or Fearless, you cannot turn a blind eye to the trends that are raking in ticket and album sales. Some are more guilty of giving in than others of course, but failed attempts to "cash in" on alternative trends has been a recurring instance since Epitaph introduce I Set My Friends On Fire just as the Myspace fire had begun to dim.

Great read, Adam.