Radio-friendly rock is treated a lot like the Midwest. Everybody’s from there, but nobody wants to visit.
“Oh, it’s so bland.”
“It was so much better when we were kids.”
We forget that when we were younger, we reveled in these things: radio pop’s over-the-top hooks and Indiana snow drifts.
Halocene are a good reminder. Their pop punk-shaded The Secret EP will not change your life. But it might remind you of hiding under the covers with your Walkman (CD or tape, your choice) and listening to the radio far past lights-out.
It’s all here: cute female singer, songs about teenage heartache, self-censoring (“don’t really give a shhhh…”) and haircuts that I can only assume are cool. Hell, their next show is at a mall (August 7th, Tucson Mall). Halocene are a band for teens and pre-teens. And you know what? There’s not a damn thing wrong with that.
Arguments I have heard against this genre of music:
“Kids shouldn’t listen to that crap. We should give them something more fulfilling to listen to.”
Uh huh. ‘Cause that’s what 13-year-olds need. Fulfillment. Pretty sure that until I was 16, Aerosmith was about the most complex music I enjoyed. I doubt I’m alone in the silliness of the music I jammed out to as a kid. Shall we raise our kids on Morrissey’s bitching? Or Radiohead’s apocalyptic visions? Let them have their fun.
Halocene’s music is all about that fun. Epiphanies are unlikely in the crowds at their shows, but screaming fans? That I can see.
Some folks claim, “I listened to way better music when I was young.”
One of two things is happening here. Either a) No you didn’t. You remember the music fondly, because you grew up on it. I still kinda smile when I hear Dishwalla’s one hit. Doesn’t mean it isn’t crap. Or b) You had an older brother/sister you wanted to impress, so you stole their CDs when they weren’t looking. Good for you. Now apologize to your sister. Stealing is wrong.
One day, there will be some 30-somethings that smile when they hear Halocene. Long after their asses get hairy and their tramp stamps start to stretch, The Secret’s “junior high dance” rock will bring them a moment of nostalgia (while they zoom towards the robot factory in their hover cars).
