rolling emo/pop-punk/dogs on skateboards 2017

I might be erring on the side of optimism here but it reads like a cautious reaction/reflection as opposed to damage control (this is of course subject to change as facts emerge)

I suspect it's quite bad. The statement twists itself into knots trying to avoid saying what he did, which completely negates the apology and makes me suspect the worst.

It's so easy to nitpick these apologies, because they're inherently self-serving, but this one particularly left a foul taste in my mouth. He avoids saying "I did it," or even mentioning what "it" is. And he plays the "I'm trying to respect the privacy of the victim" card, which would be thoughtful if not for the two long paragraphs of superfluous identifying details about her, which do nothing except to justify how he might have "monumentally misread" the situation. Gross.

it's an extremely confusing statement

It's confusing by design, I think. I've seen quite a few people on Twitter who think he's apologizing for sleeping with consenting fans on the road and don't understand what the big deal is. That part of the apology is conversational catnip, but it's also beyond the scope of what he's been accused of and is apologizing for. It just blurs things and changes the conversation.

I'm inclined to agree with you Evan. It's either one of two things, what simon said, that it's just an overly cautious attempt to get ahead of the game of something possibly small, or it's intentionally obfuscating something much bigger. I feel like the latter comes across as more likely given how vague the apology is.

unfortunately from what i've heard (which is... just whispers at the moment, so i'm not in a position to clarify beyond this extremely vague post, but hopefully it can kinda... prepare people for what's going to happen next) this isn't good

fucking hell

Nobody's perfect and most publications are trying to cover this stuff sensitively, but I suspect music media is going to have to have a conversation with itself about how it's covered this story. Letting an abuser define the narrative is bad precedent—it makes the story not about the abuse, but about the abuser's soul-searching journey— and I suspect the widespread adoption of his "sexual coercion" terminology is going to look very embarrassing soon.

It's a tricky story to report, especially with what's on the record right now, but it's not the press's job to do P.R. for an abuser.

eh in this case i don’t think the press had much choice

I mean, this headline has been chilling on the front page of Pitchfork all afternoon: Pinegrove Cancel Tour After Accusation of Sexual Coercion Against Frontman Evan Stephens Hall

doesn't look great for him either way

if i said "i just hope this doesn't bury the next Pinegrove album forever" is that "haha funny/true" or HEY MAN NOT FUNNY! in this delicate time on the internet

imo you should keep that shit to yourself

xxp Lots of headlines frame the story around his apology, letting him get ahead of the narrative. EW's, for instance: "Pinegrove cancels tour after 'sexual coercion' accusation: 'I am so sorry,' singer says"

And this A.V. Club report is... just about as bad as it could be. This lead gushes with appreciation about him coming clean "as soon as they were brought to his attention," and frames the narrative around him coming to terms with what he did:

As more and more people get called out for inappropriate abusive behavior in their past, Pinegrove frontman Evan Stephens Hall has decided to issue a response to allegations of misconduct against him as soon as they were brought to his attention rather than wait until the backlash had begun to swell. In a post on the band’s Facebook page, Hall said that he has been accused of sexual coercion, saying that he now realizes he abused his power as a member of the band by partaking in “flirtatious” and “intimate” encounters with fans. “I’ve reached the conclusion now that that’s not ever appropriate,” Hall writes, “even if they initiate it. There will always be an unfair power dynamic at play in these situations and it’s not ok for me to ignore that.”

I get that these are weird circumstances, but we gotta do better than that.

evan literally the only information available is the apology

the av club report sucks, agreed

xxp fair enough, thx

new Glassjaw out next week. I like the single, sort of Deftonesy in the verse/chorus dynamic

i’ve never really liked glassjaw so i’m curious

tbh same, Worship and Tribute sounds cool but never did much for me in terms of the actual content

that new song sounds extremely cool though

It's more post-hardcore than emo but man this Flagland record is the craziest rock record I've heard in a long time, a big freewheeling shoestring opus. it seems beamed in from 2002 in the best way possible

https://flagland.bandcamp.com/album/two-brothers-and-a-ghost

I was listening to that just now! It was sounding kinda good - I think I turned it off during track 2 to check a few other things out, but you say it's worth hearing straight through?

I'm still only halfway through cause it's so fucking long - the vocalist is the weakpoint (as usual) but I'm digging the dynamism

not one but four literary quotes on the bandcamp page

this record sure is like, 1/5 terrible and 4/5ths good

lmao yes that's about right. if they get an actual producer for the next one I could see them making a real killer

I just get excited when bands get overambitious, it seems like everyone's making tidy, safe little records these days

Seconding the People Like You recommendation above. Sort of like American Football if vocals were provided by The Anniversary.

https://peoplelikeyoumusic.bandcamp.com/album/verse

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/04/young-and-dumb-inside

^^ i loved that

ok so i've heard the glassjaw (it's really weird) and now i can do this:

top emo/pop-punk albums 2017:

jeremy enigk: ghosts
manchester orchestra: a black mile to the surface
circa survive: the amulet
rainer maria: s/t
paramore: after laughter
glassjaw: material control
caracara: summer megalith
creeper: eternity, in your arms
racquet club: racquet club
front bottoms: going grey
oliver houston: whatever works
smidley: smidley
smith street band: more scared of you than you are of me
iron chic: you can't stay here
worriers: survival pop
sorority noise: you're not as ____ as you think

Yeah I think you got most of the really good ones there. Not a huge emo year for me personally, and uh certain things dampened my enthusiasm

teotfw?

more like bnsf

i don't really feel like having a conversation about it but basically a) it feels wrong to leave my favorite album off the list for non-musical reasons and b) hills seem like uncomfortable places to die so i'm trying to avoid that

mileages vary for all sorts of reasons but tbh I haven't been able to listen to Science Fiction since the details came out. And I tried.

i've def felt a little weird relistening to certain songs from deja entendu but the new one is still great imo but i know i'm unusual in my tolerance for consuming ethically questionable media. i don't judge anyone who has come to a different perspective for sure. i'm a little annoyed bc i feel like i'm going to end up censoring myself when balloting comes around but idk there are much worse problems in the world i can live w/ this one.

that’s cool. afaic after reading the accounts of the women involved i can’t fucking listen to it

I love your list. The few I haven't heard, I must check out.

paramore,creeper,front bottoms, oliver houston, smith street band, iron chic, worriers, sorority noise would all make my list.

Some days that Caracara LP is my favorite rock album of the year.

That Sorority Noise album is absolutely mammoth. And Rainer Maria... holy shit; the wow factor never went away with that one. Side A is flawless.

Would also add the Sinai Vessel album and Tall Friend and Club Night EPs to the pile. It's been a pretty sensational year, I think.

Have we talked about the katie Ellen record here? Because that would probably be on my list

no Oso Oso, Brad?

i never actually managed to listen to that album!

i've def felt a little weird relistening to certain songs from deja entendu but the new one is still great imo but i know i'm unusual in my tolerance for consuming ethically questionable media. i don't judge anyone who has come to a different perspective for sure. i'm a little annoyed bc i feel like i'm going to end up censoring myself when balloting comes around but idk there are much worse problems in the world i can live w/ this one.

― Mordy, Thursday, November 30, 2017 9:12 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Feeling this post. I'm annoyed too, not even with self-censorship, but with the fact that I got cheated. The new Brand New album was actually my first Brand New album: the emo-poll on here renewed my interest in the genre, and this came along, and I loved it to bits. Yada yada couple of months later and it's in tatters, because this fuckhead couldn't control himself.

Still think it's a great album, but no love lost in leaving it off the ballot. Not listened to it since I heard the news, but I'll be honest: it did feel like a rough and sudden break-up with something I held dear for a while. But as you say: there are bigger problems.

I loved the Katie Ellen record, simple but potent

yeah the Katie Ellen record is a total charmer

i thought chumped was only ok and i like katie ellen even less but i’m still sorta thrilled that record is resonating with ppl

just nice to see friends of friends making good

are earlier sorority noise albums good? i listened to a bit of one and it seemed to be lacking, something (the humour? the killer arrangements? his delivery was a little less dry maybe) that make 'you're not as _____ as you think' so good to me