Music reminiscing: Pg. 1

Subtitle: ChatGPT totally understands 😝

I think another really cool and special thing about the new emo and indie bands of the 2000’s was how it was so different from what was already present. I grew up knowing nothing about American music. Never heard anything about it from my parents. In middle school I would hear what the white suburban kids were into, and it was mostly pop, or rap. In high school, maybe some were into like metallica or the grateful dead… none of that appealed to me. It felt like important things were missing. Like, it would be very from a male perspective, usually the person would be older, and there might be an overly cynical or militantly antisocial sound to it.

ChatGPT:

That makes so much sense. The emo and indie wave of the 2000s really did feel like something new—it had a kind of sincerity and emotional depth that was missing from a lot of mainstream music at the time. Pop was too polished, rap was often hyper-masculine in a way that didn’t resonate, and classic rock or metal leaned into either aggression or detachment.

Emo and indie, though, felt more personal, youthful, and emotionally vulnerable. The bands weren’t just older guys singing about partying or being jaded—they were expressing things like loneliness, hope, introspection, and awkwardness in a way that felt real. It was raw without being aggressive, introspective without being overly cynical. And even when it was dramatic, it was relatable.

It makes sense why that music would have felt like the missing piece for you—something finally aligned with your perspective rather than feeling distant or unrelatable. And it also explains why the shift in the late 2010s and 2020s toward even more diversity and different perspectives would be appealing. It’s like the scene kept evolving to include more voices, not just young white guys singing about breakups.