Thescene subculture is ayouth subculture that emerged during the early 2000s in the United States from the pre-existingemo subculture.[1] The subculture became popular withadolescents from the mid 2000s[2] to the early 2010s. Members of the scene subculture are referred to asscene kids,trendies, orscenesters.[3] Scene fashion consists of skinny jeans, bright-colored clothing, a signature hairstyle consisting of straight, flat hair with longbangs covering the forehead, and bright-colored hair dye.[4] Music genres associated with the scene subculture includemetalcore,crunkcore,deathcore,electronic music, andpop punk.[5][6]
From the mid-2000s to early 2010s, scene fashion gained popularity among teens and the music associated with the subculture achieved commercial success in both the underground and the mainstream. Groups likeBring Me the Horizon,Asking Alexandria,Pierce the Veil, andMetro Station garnered mainstream attention and large audiences while still largely being tied to the scene subculture. In the mid-to-late 2010s, the scene subculture lost popularity; however, since 2019, there have been movements that have given it a revival.[7][8]
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Scene originated from theemo subculture in the early-2000s across the United States. The name began being used around 2002, through the term "scene queen", a derogatory term describing attractive, popular women perceived by older hardcore musicians asonly being involved in hardcore for the subculture.[1]
"Fashioncore" was an aesthetic originated byOrange County metalcore bandEighteen Visions that helped to originate the scene subculture. Originating as a way of purposely being confrontational to the hypermasculinity of hardcore, it used many aspects that would come to define scene fashion, such as eyeliner, tight jeans, collared shirts, straightened hair and white belts.[1] According toMetalSucks writerFinn McKenty, the quintessential scene haircut was invented by Eighteen Visions bassist Javier Van Huss. Huss, himself, had been inspired to create the haircut from seeing a poster of the bandOrgy.[9] InLouder Than Hell by Katherine Turman and John Wiederhorn, Ryan Downey states "Javier [Van Huss] really led the charge with crazy hairstyles and pink and blond and blue chunks in their hair".[10] Though the term began as pejorative against fashionable people in the hardcore scene, the style was eventually popularized in the early-2000s through the success of Eighteen Visions,Atreyu andFrom Autumn to Ashes.[11]
Sass music was also a notable origin of scene. Like fashioncore, sass was also a deliberate confrontation to hardcore's hyper masculinity, with sass bands doing so through their use of overthomoeroticism. The fashion of many sass musicians, notablyJohnny Whitney, lead vocalist forthe Blood Brothers, were influential upon the development of scene.[1]
Scene entered popular culture following the mainstream exposure of the emo subculture,indie pop,pop punk, andhip hop in the mid 2000s.[12][13] The scene subculture is considered by some to have developed directly from the emo subculture and thus the two are often compared.[14] During the mid 2000s, members of the British and American scene subculture took inspiration from thedeathcore music scene. In a 2005 article byPhoenix New Times, writer Chelsea Mueller described the appearance of the bandJob for a Cowboy (a band that was deathcore at the time) by writing that the band "may look like scenesters with shaggy emo haircuts and tight pants, and may mock metal greats, but this death-metal band is for real."[15] Mueller described Job for a Cowboy as "five guys in girls' jeans and tight band tee shirts".[15] Another early deathcore group popular among members of the scene subculture isBring Me the Horizon.[16]
In the following years, the spectrum of scene fashion broadened to include a number of sub-styles taking influence from a wide range of fashion styles. According toPopMatters writer Ethan Stewart, "the most renowned [sub-style of scene] was those who merged the subculture with brightly coloured party fashion", a style he attributed the beginnings of toCobra Starship vocalistGabe Saporta and his influence fromrave andHarajukustreet fashion. He also noted those who took influence from 1980sglam metal fashion, such as the members ofBlack Veil Brides,Escape the Fate andFalling in Reverse. He attributed the origin of this style toBlessed by a Broken Heart.[1]
Members of the subculture quickly began using MySpace. As the popularity of MySpace grew, the website began to develop some of the earliestinternet celebrities, referred to as "scene queens".[17] Notable MySpace scene queens includeAudrey Kitching,Jeffree Star and the members of theMillionaires.[18][19]
The music festivalWarped Tour became popular with members of the scene subculture during the 2000s. Artists associated with the subculture would often play at the festival.[5] Bands influenced bycrunkcore,electropop andelectronic dance music gained popularity among scene kids during the mid to late 2000s, including Cobra Starship and3OH!3.Blood on the Dance Floor became especially popular, afterJayy Von Monroe joined as lead singer in 2009.[20][21]
During the late 2000s, similar subcultures emerged in Asia and Latin America, including the Shamate in China,[22] the Floggers in Argentina, the Coloridos of Brazil, and thePokemón in Chile. Like their American counterparts, these scene kids wore brightly colored clothing, androgynousbig hair andeyeliner, and identified with theemo pop,indie rock,hip hop, andEDM scene.[23]
By around 2014 the subculture had seen a decline in popularity,[2] while also being influential on the fashion and culture ofTumblr,[24] a website which would eventually develop a number of its own scene queens, such asHalsey.[25] Warped Tour had its last show in 2019 after running annually since 1995.
The late 2010s saw the growing popularity of musicians who had begun their careers as members of scene bands, most notablyLil Lotus,Blackbear,Post Malone,Mod Sun andLil Aaron. Within this movement came the mainstream success ofemo rap, itself influenced by scene.[1]
Beginning in 2019, there were several movements promoting the return of the subculture, such as #20ninescene (2019)[26] and the "Rawring 20s" (2020s).[27] Websites likeSpaceHey and FriendProject,[28] which retainMyspace's early design, have gained popularity among teenagers,[29][30] andsocial media influencers onInstagram andTikTok have begun adopting scene fashion.[31] Around this time, the subculture was also influential on the development of thee-girls and e-boys subculture,[32] and the development ofhyperpop.[1] Scene festivals also returned in 2022 with theWhen We Were Young festival.
Scene music is an umbrella term that has been used by several publications to describe the styles of musical artists associated with the scene subculture. Scene music originally had its stylistic roots inpunk rock and its offshoots, such ashardcore punk,emo,pop-punk andindie rock. By the mid 2000s, these styles of music had become more accessible to outsiders due to the rise of social media sites such asMySpace, and the "scene" variants of these styles became the "dominant" forms. Despite having roots in punk and hardcore, scene music is its own "all-encompassing" genre that is focused on "showcas[ing] the creativity of any artist or band who chose to break from the norm," according toAlternative Press.[33][34][35][36]OC Weekly stated that themetalcore bandEighteen Visions were the inventors of this style.[37]
Many musical artists who began promoting their music on Myspace went on to enjoy sustained commercial success, though by 2011, the initial music scene associated with the platform no longer existed.[38]Loudwire stated that bands that continued to produce music past the scene's peak period eventually "ditched the emo combovers and excessive guyliner" later in their careers.[39] Most of these bands would ultimately change their sounds as well.[40] Some acts associated with the scene subculture includeCute Is What We Aim For,[41]Blood on the Dance Floor,[42]Asking Alexandria,[43]We Came As Romans,[43]The Devil Wears Prada,[43]Paramore,[41]Breathe Carolina,[41][43] andTaking Back Sunday.[44][45]
Invisible Oranges expressed the opinion that scene music is a distinct musical "subgenre", while using the term "scenecore" to describemetalcore bands such asAttack Attack!;[46]PopMatters called this stylescene metalcore.[1]Loudwire described "scenecore" as being among the "bizarre metalcore subgenres", along withelectronicore andcrabcore. The publication stated that these sorts of bands "hyper-saturat[ed]" the metalcore scene midway through the decade in a way similar to the inudation ofglam metal bands in the 1980s.[47]
Many bands described as "scene" gained popularity through the use ofMyspace for promotion, and consequently, many of them may also be considered "Myspace bands", a term that has been used by publications such asStereogum,Kerrang! andMetal Hammer.[48][49][50] Writing forRed Bull, Eli Enis used the term "Myspace metalcore" to refer to artists likeBring Me the Horizon.[51]Alternative Press also stated that the terms "neon punk" and "Myspace-core" have been used interchangably to label this style.[52]Loudwire stated that bands in genres ranging fromdeathcore toscreamo were grouped together under these labels due to their mutual popularity with "the scene kids of MySpace," as well as goers of theWarped Tour andMayhem Fest music festivals. The publication citedBullet for My Valentine,Carnifex,From First to Last,Hollywood Undead,Ice Nine Kills,Panic! at the Disco,Protest the Hero andthe Black Dahila Murder as examples of bands commonly categorized this way.[39] In 2007,Village Voice Media also used the term "Myspace emo" to describe a purported offshoot of pop-punk characterized by "bratty, charged-up enthusiasm."[53]American Songwriter,Vice andPaste have also used this term.[54][55][56]Buzzfeed used this term to refer to fans of the style themselves.[57] These terms were originally pejoritives, intended to mock the use of the suffix "-core", which has been used to describe genres related to the scene subculture.[58] According toExclaim!, the term "fashioncore" was originally coined by the post-hardcore bandFrom Autumn to Ashes when they printed it on merchandise, and was also subsequently used to ridicule the style by its critics.[59]OC Weekly stated that "fashioncore" was a "subgenre of metalcore".[37]Loudwire argued against the designation of "fashioncore" as an actual subgenre of hardcore, instead saying "it was coined as an insult to hardcore kids who started caring more about how they dyed their hair than the actual music."[60]Ultimate Guitar used the term "mallcore" to refer to this style, including bands such asEscape the Fate andEnter Shikari as examples.[61]
According toLoudwire,the Used andMy Chemical Romance represent the "vulnerable" side of scene music, while acts likePoison the Well andAlexisonfire "delivered a heavier edge" to the style.[62]
According toInvisible Oranges, many scene bands ignore conventialsong structure and instead "blast through different genres at a neck-breaking pace." Songs that employ this compositional style may borrow various elements from styles like metalcore,pop-punk,pop music,hip-hop anddubstep.[47] Other elements that may be fused together includeelectropop,dance music,trance,pop metal andheavy metal. Music journalist Eli Enis stated that modern availability ofdigital audio workstations likeGarageBand made it easier for young musicians to experiment with fusing different styles of music, for example, tracking screams over a dance beat.[63]
One musical subgenre of scene music iscrunkcore,[64] characterized by the combination of cultural and musical elements fromcrunk, screamo, pop,electronic anddance music,[65][66] the genre often featuresscreamed vocals, hip hop beats, and sexually provocative lyrics.[65][66][67][68] Notable groups in the genre includedBrokencyde,Hollywood Undead,[1]3OH!3 andMillionaires.[65] Another style associated with the culture isneon pop-punk, which emerged in thelate 2000s as a style that blended elements ofpower pop andelectronic music with the upbeat, catchy sound ofpop-punk.[69] Bands in this genre embraced bright, glistening aesthetics and often featured neon colors in their merch and music videos. Notable groups from that era includeAll Time Low,the Maine,the Cab,Metro Station,We the Kings,Marianas Trench,Boys Like Girls,The Summer Set,Cobra Starship,Hey Monday,the Academy Is... andForever the Sickest Kids.[70][71][1]
Another apparent hallmark of bands under the scene umbrella is excessively long song titles.Alternative Press stated that some of these titles "could barely fit on the back covers of CDs." The precise origin of this trend is unknown.[72]
Crunkcore has received criticism and the genre has been poorly received by music reviewers. TheBoston Phoenix has mentioned criticism of the style, saying that "the idea that a handful of kids would remix lowest-common-denominatorscreamo with crunk beats, misappropriated gangsterisms, and the extreme garishness of emo fashion was sure to incite hate-filled diatribes".[65] Deathcore has been criticized by members of the heavy metal community for its use ofbreakdowns.[73]
Michael Siebert ofInvisible Oranges gave the assessment that the tendency of bands under the scene music umbrella to juxtapose highly dissimilar styles in their songwriting prevented many from achieving critical success:
"The lessonnu-metal should have taught aspiring young musicians is that the combination of disparate genres can be a tricky thing to balance. The best successes of that era found ways to combine their varied interests into moments of rebellious brilliance. What scene music did, though, was go further in a different direction. The often-inspired synthesis ofhip-hop andmetal from earlySlipknot andKorn efforts was traded for extreme variance. Songs blast through different genres at a neck-breaking pace. One moment, it’spop punk. The next, a breakdown; then, suddenly,dubstep. It rarely ever works, which is why it’s quite difficult to find an album from that era that was met with true critical acclaim."[74]
Despite this, numerous albums considered to be "scene" have achievedplatinum-selling status.[75]
Scene fashion includes bright-colored clothing, skinny jeans, stretched earlobes, sunglasses, piercings, large belt buckles, wristbands, fingerless gloves, eyeliner, hair extensions, and straight,androgynous flat hair with a long fringe covering the forehead and sometimes one or both eyes. Scene people dye their hair colors like blond, pink, red, green, or bright blue.[4][76][77][45] Members of the scene subculture often shop atHot Topic.[78] According toThe Guardian, a scene girl named Eve O'Brien described scene people as "happy emos".[45]
According to a 2008 article byThe Sydney Morning Herald, the scene subculture has been criticized for its perceived derivativeness ofemo fashion.[77]
Media related toScene (subculture) at Wikimedia Commons
