Scenesters Options

[*Kathleen*]

What's your definition and opinion of 'em? Just curious.

[*mipadi*]

This place absolutely reeks of teen angst.

As for scenesters, I've always looked at them as people who are down with the music scene--or like to think they are, anyway. They typically go to shows, follow the latest "anti-trends", and often try to highlight their "geekiness" and/or social awkwardness.

Alright, I guess that was a bit of a biased opinion. I mean, there are some okay scenesters, but I think, for the most part, they are people who are following a trend--or, as I noted, an anti-trend.

Does that make them bad? Does that make them sheep? No to the first question; sort of to the second. I guess I'll try to be one of the few who hasn't totally busted on the poor scenesters and try to defend them a bit. Most scenesters are middle school or high school students. Middle- and high school students are all trying to fit in somewhere; there are very few who are content to be anti-social and live on the fringe of their peers' society. Some try to fit in with the high-class "preppy" kids (for lack of a better term), some with the athletes, some with the drug users. There are a lot of kids who are marginalized in the society of middle- and high school, kids who don't really have a place--not a fun position to be in. So it seems that a lot of them have found idols to follow in punk- and alternative-rock bands, have found ways to highlight their nerdiness or bookishness or intelligence, and more importantly, have found others who are like them. Unfortunately, over time, they have developed a certain elitism about themselves, just as the "preps" or the athletes have a certain elitism, too.

As far as the straight edge discussion goes, I am neither for nor against it. Yes, I guess today's straight edge is a bastardization of Ian McKaye's vision (and let's remember than McKaye never intended for it to become a large movement, or even a movement at all), but I don't think it's all bad. It takes a lot of guts, especially in middle- and high school, to take a stand and say, "I'm not going to drink, or smoke, or do drugs, or engage in promiscuous sexual activities," and I applaud anyone who does that, even if they have to apply a label to themselves to do it. Sure, I guess it would be better if someone could just take those stands and not have to advertise it (because, let's be honest, in high school, even I got sick of whiny teenagers saying, "I'm straight edge, I don't drink or smoke or f**k") but hey, if you're going to call yourself straight edge--and really adhere to the straight edge values--more power to you.