Hi, my name is Manel and I live in Barcelona. I did an interview with Chris
from The Gloria Record for my own fanzine, here�s what he said about that
goddamn word, "emocore". It�s revealing that a band like his� doesn�t wanna
hear about that.
-Do you feel identified with the term "emocore"? Do �ou
think there�s a
certain relation between The Gloria Record and
whatever the
Heartattack-Flipside -etc..is?
I don't feel any personal identification with that
term. I'm sure a lot of people associated Mineral with
that, but it was always just rock to us. I don't think
The Gloria Record has any realtion whatsoever to
Heartattack or Flipside or any of that.
-Have you heard the Pop Unknown record? Are you into
Deep Elm releases?
I've only heard it once in the background at a party.
I haven't really had a chance to sit down with it.
I've seen them live several times though. I really
like the newer stuff I've heard them play at more
recent shows. I must tell you though, I'm not very
impressed with Deep Elm. I wish I could believe that
the whole Emo Diaries series was a joke, but alas I am
sure it is not. It just makes me sad for them and for
the bands that choose to work with them. There is no
need for record labels to constantly label and
pigeonhole themselves and their own artists. It may
seem like smart marketing now, but in the future I
think it will come back to haunt them.
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I personally think it�s a waste of time trying to pigeonhole music in
categories. It reminds me of what happened with the term "grunge": Bush,
Silverfish, Alice in chains, Smashing pumpkins and other crappy bands used
to feel confortable with the word "grunge", while others like Mudhoney,
Seawed and even Nirvana did not.
The same goes for "Brit pop".
I don�t make music, but if I did, I wouldn�t be able to simplify my songs
saying "Oh, yeah, I think we�re emo". That�s what Spin, Melody Maker and so
on would like: create a new fashion, a new "music", something for the kids
to feel identified with. "I wanna be part of a generation. Here�s something
called "emo", I�m in! Now I�m something ELSE, not just me" And then the
companies would make money, just putting an advert that says "emo band" on
the cover of their records (though I think Deep Elm works that way in an
indie level). There will always be people that look for bands while others
look for "fashion". I�m wondering if we are not helping those fuckers to
create an "emo bussiness" by even thinking of it.
I�ve always been looking for things that help me feel free, and "emo" is
definitely not one of them.
