The Powerful Influence of the Music Scene

Cue scene, you’re at a typical pop-punk concert, a genre consisting of bands like The Maine, All Time Low, Blink 182 and many others.  The band takes the stage, most members wearing v-necks, skinny jeans, plaid button-ups or brands such as Glamour Kills.  Now look at the crowd, this seems to be the typical ‘uniform’ of the fans as well as the band.  Whatever your relationship, music has a powerful influence over the people that choose to have it in their lives, more of an influence then we want to believe, but if we take a step back and examine our culture, the influence on the fashion styles of today is clearly evident.

Bands in this scene don’t fit into one category when it comes to age or appearance.  From older to younger bands, it’s easy to see that they all tend to wear the same type of clothes whether it be onstage or off.  But this music genre doesn’t just affect the concertgoers who engulf themselves in it, but also the extreme sports that link themselves to music.

BMX riders and skateboarders are another social group that has been affected by the music genre they associate with.  Bam Margera used to wear the clothes typical of the older pop-punk scene, but has now changed his appearance to accommodate the changing trends of the music and skateboarding industry.

Blink 182 circa 2010

Blink 182 circa 1997

Take a look at many of the pop-punk bands a few years ago.  With the changing times their appearances have changed as well to include the clothes we now see very predominately in our society.  From high school to adulthood, we continue to see v-necks, skinny jeans and a growing population of other clothes that are most popular onstage.  It is hard to understand why the fashion scene has changed so much over the years, but the appearance of our culture has followed the change in the appearance of this increasingly popular pop-punk music scene.  

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The Powerful Influence of the Music Scene

            

The Maine [Phoenix, AZ]
National Touring Band.

Victory by Revenge [Howard County, MD]
Predominantly local band.

      







        V-necks, skinny jeans, plaid, specific brands, they’re all a growing trend in the fashion of all generations, regardless of their age or gender.  The 1960’s were a time when tight jeans were okay for both guys and girls, but with the change in the popular music of the time, came those clothes that were acceptable for each gender.  Skinny jeans and v-necks weren’t okay for guys, but with the increasing popularity of the pop-punk music scene, came a new acceptable trend for males of our culture.

            Cue scene, you’re at a typical ‘pop-punk’ concert, a genre consisting of bands such as The Maine, All Time Low, We the Kings, Blink 182, as well as many others.  The band takes the stage, most of them wearing the clothing mentioned above, but when you look at the crowd, it seems to be the typical ‘uniform’ of them as well.  Music has a powerful influence over the people that choose to have it in their lives.  Whether you’re starting a band and look up to bands already in the scene, or if you’re a fan, you tend to want to be like those bands in most aspects.

            Take a look at the clothes of our culture; from high school to adulthood, you continue to see v-necks, skinny jeans and a growing population of plaid button-ups and certain brands that popular bands wear, such as Glamour Kills and Snake & Suits.  No one knows why these trends have come back full force, but with the growing scene of the pop-punk genre, it without a doubt has something to do with it.  The growing number of boys in bands wearing skinny jeans has made it acceptable for ‘normal’ boys to wear, and even though everyone judges, in their heads there is no reason that it is not an okay thing for them to wear.  Music has more of an influence on our lives then we want to believe, but if you take a step back and examine our culture, you can clearly see the influence on the fashion styles of today.

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"Where words fail, music speaks" - Hans Christian Andersen

Text is something comprised of a series of marks or sounds inscribed or arranged on some surface that creates a meaning for a specific group, person or audience.  Something that makes no sense to you could make perfect sense to someone else.  When I think of reading, I don’t just think of books or poetry, I think of another form of literature, lyrics.  Music has been a huge staple in my life since a young age, and even though I only thought it was catchy at age 13, those lyrics still showed some emotion.  There are lyrics for every type of emotion, whatever mood I’m feeling, I have something I can listen to that will give me a solace from life; Something Corporate when I’m feeling down, Ke$ha when I want to dance, and that random playlist when I’m mad at the world.  While using your imagination is generally a good thing, for me it gives a false sense of reality.  Music allows for that creativity without the torment of it never coming true, if you listen to the right music that is.  When you go to a concert, you don’t have to imagine the emotion, or create your own world.  You’re thrown into the best possible experience you could ask for, the writer singing his words to you while putting on the best show possible.  Music has given me the chance to make new friends and create many new memories in my life, something books haven’t given me.

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This may not be real life, but it's my life.

My name’s Amanda Moore, I’m 20 years young and from Millersville, Maryland.  I’m in my 3^rd year at UMBC and spent the first 2 years planning for something I no longer have any interest in.  I grew up in a single parent household, attending the public schools of Anne Arundel County and have spent the past 4 years working at Fieldstone Animal Inn.  I’ve been a pescatarian for the past 6.5 years and have constantly put up with ridicule for these actions.  I’m constantly looking for concerts to go to because the thrills of watching your favorite band perform live is something that can’t be replicated and I also have a passion for concert photography.  I’ve learned that you can’t be afraid of judgment because it’s a major part of our society; you just need to be yourself and live your life the way you want too.

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<- That is an example of my concert photography.