Robyn Writes

Turning Japanese

There comes a moment (or several, if you’re like that) in everyone’s life when they turn around, go ‘oh shit!’ and finally realise that they’ve succumbed to something they swore they wouldn’t. Most times, this is an addiction or obsession. Like realising that you have to stop buying shoes because you have no money or space to keep them in any more. Like looking at the clock in the middle of a gaming session and realising you haven’t moved for eight hours. Like finding yourself covered in tattoos after you swore you’d only get ‘just one or two’. However, I think I’ve got something a bit more embarrassing than that. In my case… it’s an obsession with Japanese culture.

You just have to look all over the internet to see how shameful that can potentially be. Several satire sites on the internet tell the tale of the ‘weeaboo’ or ‘wapanese’ kids, who obsess over anime, call things ‘kawaii’ (potentially the only Japanese word they know) and import Pocky for ridiculous amounts of money. Those kids are, generally, scary. Some obsess beyond belief. Those are the kind that want to marry their favourite anime character or ‘bishie’. The kind that attempt to use any form of Japanese language they can, even if they know two or three words. And don’t forget the pictures. All over DeviantART, there’s bad fanart, creepy anthropomorphic cats, horrifically drawn doujinshi…

But, there are lots of cool elements to Japanese culture that say, ‘yes, you can overcome this initial fear, it’s not all a creepy world full of cat people and fat cosplayers!’ Because it really isn’t! I’ll be your virtual tour guide through some of this weird and wonderful world, but please, watch out for the tentacle rape hentai…

Anime
It makes sense to start at ‘A’, and cool thing number one? Anime. Anime is the Japanese word for animation, but most have taken this on to mean Japanese cartoons. For the most part, they’re more inventive, more wacky and a more central part of television than anywhere else. You’ve probably seen anime before, whether you like it or not. Virtually everyone in the Western world under twenty has watched Pokemon at some point in their lives, and can probably agree that it’s one part insane, three parts awesome (or lame, if you’re determined not to be a geek).


Pikachu – inspiring kids to paint their hamsters yellow since 1995

Dragonball Z started it all off for me, and I haven’t stopped since. The main problem is trying to get hold of it. Not all of the best anime is dubbed into English for the American market, and trying to find anime on television in the UK is like trying to find fightclubsandwich at a Less Than Jake gig. It’s an elusive beast. Luckily, there’s a lot of sites which host streaming anime videos and clips. You can watch the English dubs on some sites, or for the true Japanophile, there’s ‘subs’, where fangroups take the raw Japanese episode and subtitle it for the rest of the world. Personally, I prefer the subs, because the Japanese voices are generally much funnier in the comedy animes and English subs don’t get the same emotions coming through. It also gives me a chance to attempt to learn the hideously difficult Japanese language. Common phrases like WHYYYYYYY (doushite, if you were interested) and ‘but that means…’ (masaka) are now firmly embedded in my brain and I feel that if the opportunity to solve a mystery or fight supernatural forces arises with Japanese involved, I’m fully competent to handle the situation.

Recommended watching: Fullmetal Alchemist, Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club, D.Gray-Man, Death Note, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Samurai Champloo, Bleach, Gantz, Blood+. Essentially, anything that isn’t Naruto.

The bands
Japanese bands are odd, sometimes creepy, often fantastic. J-rock and J-pop have been the cornerstone of every Japanophile’s music collection, and this can encompass a massive range in style. Dir en Gray, for example, don’t know who they should be, and neither do UVERworld, with their insane rapping guy mixed with pop-punkish guitars. Either way, Japanese music has this lack of boundaries that the western world tends to have, leading to some weird and wonderful tracks. Also, the lead singer often looks like a woman. A strangely attractive woman.


Yes. Miyavi is a dude. You’re free to feel ashamed now, boys.

Even if you don’t know what they’re singing about, Japanese pop music tends to be happier than ours, their metal even more frenetic, and their fans are twice as loyal. Attractive singers and musicians, often known as ‘idols’, are elevated to almost god status. Many bands provided the basis for new fashion movements like Visual Kei (we’ll talk about that later), such as Malice Mizer and X Japan. And to sum up… Japanese fangirls are even more devoted than My Chemical Romance’s.

Recommended listening:

1) UVERworld – great pop-punk. These guys do a lot of anime themes, so their music is pretty accessible.

2) abingdon boys school – fantastic rock music. The guitar in this is just awesome. Possibly my favourite J-rock band.

3) Orange Range – really light hearted pop-punk which is great fun.

4) Miyavi – an essential. He’s weird, but wonderful.

5) Polysics – these ones are a little more well known over here. Again, just plain weird, but fantastic.

6) L’Arc-en-ciel – mostly famous for their involvement in the visual kei movement, but really good stuff. Their ‘alter ego’, P’unk-en-ciel is also awesome.

The games
It would be virtually impossible for me to comment on Japanese culture without mentioning the video game industry. Almost every successful video game franchise has originated from Japan, as well as three of the most successful video game consoles of all time – the Wii, the DS and the Playstation 2. The video game industry is a huge presence over there and you can find Nintendo stores, gaming merchandise and Wii Sports bars (you think I’m joking, but I’m really not) everywhere.

The Japanese are famous for pioneering a bunch of genres and showing everyone else how to do it right. RPGs (role playing games) are probably the best example of this. Squaresoft and Enix – now joined as Square Enix – created the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series respectively, two of the best selling franchises worldwide. The Final Fantasy series are definitely some of my favourite games ever, combining a compelling story with interesting gameplay, and really, were the first games to do so. Nothing excites me more than a girly, angsty protagonist with a vengeance kick and a badass limit break. Of course, Nintendo have created almost everything worth playing, and Mario is indeed the most recognisable video game character ever. Much like our browser title says, my mum loves playing Mario Kart, and I don’t think she’s the only one. The Wii and DS have revolutionised the way we play together – a ‘games’ night in my house used to consist of playing Cluedo; now, we gather round the TV and try to beat each other’s bowling scores on Wii Sports – and have made video gaming a worldwide hobby for all ages.

As well as the ‘blockbusters’, Japanese game companies have produced some really quirky ones. Some of these have far out gameplay, some have the strangest stories and others… well, others involve you
peeing into a toilet with your Wii remote. Perhaps the quirkiest game I’ve played in a long time is The World Ends With You, a DS game in which you, playing as Neku, have complete some pretty strange objectives in order to win your life back from the Reapers. It’s got a battle system only the Japanese could think of – using pins/badges to destroy ‘Noise’, monsters trying to erase you from the world. Oh, and buying outfits that suit the trends of Shibuya. For those wishing to expand their collection of geek, Eye of Judgement for PS3 is a must – use the Playstation Eye to enact a card battle on your screen. Odd? Yes. Fun? Definitely, if you like CCGs.

There’s not much more I can say about games without revealing my true and geeky colours, and there’s still a lot more to talk about on our strange mystery tour around the world of Japanese culture. However, be sure to watch out for games from Japanese publishers on your travels around your local video game store, because I can guarantee that most of the time, they’re definitely the better buy. I may be stating the obvious here, but…

Recommended series/games to play: Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, Mario, Pokemon, No More Heroes, Legend Of Zelda, Tekken, Mega Man, Metal Gear Solid, Onimusha, Kingdom Hearts.

The fashion

Ah… Japanese fashion. Japanese fashion is definitely more daring than Western fashion in a lot of respects, but then again, the girls and boys there can usually pull it off better than we ever could. Nevertheless, Japanese fashion has inspired plenty of fashion movements around the world and looks incredibly cool. Harajuku and Shibuya are the main fashion districts, and tons of Western designers have taken cues from these places. So, what are some types of Japanese fashion?

Perhaps the most important Japanese fashion movement is Visual Kei. Many argue that Visual Kei is a genre of music, and while it was pioneered by bands, those bands don’t always have the same sound, just the same look. Therefore, we’ll call it fashion. Visual Kei bands used their appearance in order to attract attention… and they really did get it. Visual Kei bands were usually all male, and androgyny is still an important part of Visual Kei. Defining features are over the top hairstyles, shocking use of makeup (lipstick in particular) and bright, colourful and flamboyant clothing.


This is the band Versailles. To be honest, those costumes are BADASS. Also, they’re all men.

Another notable Japanese fashion movement is lolita. Although the name sounds kind of creepy (Wikipedia it, trust me), lolita is truly an adorable trend and ties in closely with the goth movement. Typical features of lolita include black (and lots of it), frills, sweet little dresses and bows. It’s influenced by Victorian fashion… but far less conservative. There are many subdivisions of lolita, and if you want to learn more, I highly recommend LolitaFashion.org. But seriously… this style is cute.

And who could forget cosplay?! Cosplay is one of the stranger aspects of Japanese fashion, where Japanese kids (and otaku) dress up as their favourite anime/manga/video game character. This has spread throughout the world now and people do this at conventions all over. However, we’ll never be as successful at it as the Japanese. It takes a lot of effort to get cosplay right. Many enthusiasts make their own costumes. Lazy people like myself order them from specialist cosplay sites. Either way, it can be incredibly fun. This year, I plan on dressing up as Yuna from Final Fantasy X. Just think… it’s like Halloween come early! For some awesome Western cosplay pictures, check out American Cosplay Paradise. If it’s Japanese you’re after, then JapanForum has some of the best.

The manga

And finally, on our tour, we have manga. Manga is the Japanese equivalent of a comic book, and different mangas are usually printed in a weekly magazine such as Shonen Jump or Shojo Beat. Stories are then collected into tankobon, which is generally the format that we find them in. There are many different types of manga, but the main ones are shonen, which is for boys, and shojo, which is for girls. Typically, the hardcore action happens in shonen and all the magical fashon stuff happens in shojo. However, allow me to take you through a few key characters you might encounter throughout your manga travels (while recommending you some killer titles at the same time)!

1) The ‘magical girl’ – this is the kind of girl that we all want to be. One day, the ‘magical girl’ discovers she has magical powers, and usually, she must use these powers to save the world! These powers can include flight, magic through the use of cards, super strength and more. She’s often got a hidden identity, making her even more cool and mysterious, but she can have a sidekick on occasion. This character can be written in any way.

Notable magical girls – Chi from Chobits, Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura, Usagi from Sailor Moon

2) The bishounen or ‘bishie’ – an extremely attractive, almost feminine looking man. These are found all over the place in shojo manga and are usually the main love interest. They’re charming, intelligent, chivalrous and downright gorgeous. They’re often hip and cool too, with wicked fashion sense.

Notable bishounen – Tamaki Suou from Ouran High School Host Club, Yuki Sohma from Fruits Basket, Eiri Yuki from Gravitation

3) The ‘harem’ leader – Harem manga is usually comedic and involves a boy (or girl!) surrounded by beautiful men or women who are interested in them – not necessarily romantically. Usually, this character is awkward, oblivious, uncool, but also the point of major comedy. Harem manga is a lot of fun.

Notable harem leaders – Haruhi from Ouran High School Host Club, Keitaro Urashima from Love Hina, Tenchi from Tenchi Muyo

4) The ‘antihero’ – Much like in Western comics, the antihero is a big thing, particularly in shonen manga. Usually, these characters are stoic, abrasive and don’t see why it has to be them to save the world. To a lesser extent, these characters are seen in shojo manga as the ‘bad boy’ who doesn’t see why all the girls like him. However, towards the end of the series, their cold, hard exterior seems to crack as they find their true purpose.

Notable antiheroes – Kyo Sohma from Fruits Basket, Ichigo Kurasaki from Bleach, Ororon Gem Farrell from The Demon Ororon

5) The ‘pervert’ – The pervert can be found all over manga. They’re those cheeky little characters whose accusations and jokes go a little too far. You can usually find these guys sneaking a peek at the girls when they’re wearing something a little too revealing or groping a boob here and there. They usually get their asses kicked somehow, usually by the main girl character.

Notable perverts – Shigure Sohma from Fruits Basket, Hideki from Chobits, Roshi from Dragonball Z

Alas, it’s the end for our journey around the wonderful world of Japanese culture! This article has barely scratched the surface. There’s so much more out there, but hopefully, this will have given you a good idea of how awesome Japanese culture is. The more I look into it, the less I feel ashamed of a potentially geeky habit and the more obsessed I become. Sayonara!

PS: I’ve decided to include a glossary of some terms found within the article for further explanation:

CCG – collectible card game. Think Magic: The Gathering.

Hentai – anime porn. Yup.

Otaku – somebody obsessed with the geekier aspects of Japanese culture. And I mean obsessed.

Pocky – pretzel sticks with a delicious coating. Popular flavours are chocolate, strawberry, grape, banana and milk.

Doujinshi – self-published or fan manga.

Review: Jack’s Mannequin – The Glass Passenger


The Glass Passenger is the sophomore album from Jack’s Mannequin, the side project of Andrew McMahon from Something Corporate. Something Corporate have long been one of my favourite bands, and I was highly impressed by the first Jack’s Mannequin album, Everything In Transit. Whilst I enjoyed The Glass Passenger, it just didn’t work as well for me as its predecessor.

The album starts off quite well. I was expecting a more powerful opening, but Crashing starts the album off nicely. It opens with the beautiful piano we’ve come to expect of McMahon, and the opening lyric, ‘I want to hear some music’ is simple, but somewhat enticing. The next track, Spinning, is one of the best on the album, and has everything in it which Jack’s Mannequin do well – amazing piano, great guitar, fantastic lyrics and decent drumming. It’s a shame that Swim, the third track, is a bit of a let down. Jack’s Mannequin do slow songs well (proven later in the album by Annie, Use Your Telescope and Hammer And Strings), but this one just doesn’t grab me like it should. This is potentially the weakest song on the album, and even after a few listens, I just can’t get into it. The album does this a fair bit – it has some good songs, then a weaker one, then some more good ones, then another weaker one. Don’t let this put you off though – all of the songs are listenable and enjoyable, but it disrupts the feel of the album somewhat, and leaves you a little disappointed.

That said, there are some absolutely great songs on this album. The first single, The Resolution, is a wonderful song, with some beautiful strings included. In fact, if I was to put the album into my own running order, I would open with that one, because it just hits you right off, and has a great chorus. American Love, which is probably going to be the next single, is catchy as hell with some brilliant riffs in it. Again, this song has a massive chorus, which is something Jack’s Mannequin manage almost every time. Bloodshot sounds a lot like a Maroon 5 single, but with more punch and better lyrics. As I mentioned previously, Jack’s Mannequin do slow songs well, and Hammer and Strings is beautiful, and has fast become one of my favourite Jack’s Mannequin songs. The album also finishes on a stronger note than it begins. Caves is one of those all-piano songs that McMahon is famous for, and sounds sublime through iPod headphones.

However, there’s just something about the The Glass Passenger that doesn’t live up to its predecessor. It’s the lack of those quirks that Everything In Transit had. One thing that I loved about Everything In Transit was the experimentation; the different instruments used, the different tones of the songs. Everything on The Glass Passenger seems to blend together after a while. Some songs sound like Something Corporate 2.0 without the California vibe – it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it detracts from some of the better elements of the album.

The Glass Passenger is definitely worth a listen though. If you like soaring piano melodies and lyrics full of imagery and honesty, then you’ll enjoy it very much. It’s not quite the album I was expecting, but it’s still highly enjoyable, and I can’t help but smile when I’m listening.

3 out of 4 high fives.

The horrors of my iTunes playlist AKA I am afraid to pirate music these days

As I bought yet another shitty song from a shitty band off iTunes because I had a ridiculous craving to listen to it, I shook my head at myself and asked “why don’t I listen to it on Youtube or Spotify or their Myspace page?” And yet, I couldn’t stop myself from clicking that buy button. As I type, I am downloading Starstrukk by 3OH!3 and questioning that if I must buy bad music, why off iTunes where it’s 99p a song as opposed to 69p or even 29p on AmazonMP3. The answer is? I just can’t find it in me to pirate music any more. Even horribly bad but ridiculously catchy music.

My purchased playlist is something like a warzone. In one corner, I have AFI B-sides and Tom Gabel’s solo EP straining for dominance over the ‘naughties’ electropop revolution fronted by Lady Gaga and that ridiculous hair bow. Across the void, the Pokemon theme song bounces around trying to land a Razor Leaf attack right in Fugazi’s rhythm section as Ludacris sits back with his bitches and his hoes as he acts tough and shit. It’s bloody impossible. That’s not without mentioning the random songs that my sister requests and I can’t help but say yes because oh well, the government is paying for this right now. And the crown jewel of my collection? “Amazing Horse” by Weebl. You know the flash video, right? If not, here’s a link for your enjoyment and I warn you, it’s not safe for work. Believe it or not, I’ve listened to that song at least ten times from my iTunes library, and countless more from the video and on my iPod. But the question is, why can I not just pirate them? Or listen to them by other legal means without purchasing them?

As for piracy, I’ve been deterred ever since this blog post. I was on a particularly big Frank Turner kick at the time and stumbled across this blog… and then feelings of ‘oh shit’ ruminated throughout me. The poor lowly peons of the distribution floor didn’t deserve my disloyalty! So, unless it’s ridiculously priced and impossible to get within the UK (ie anything Japanese that isn’t Utada Hikaru or Polysics), I will buy EVERYTHING. Even if I don’t truly like it and I just need to listen to it to get it out of my head, I will buy it. That’s a bit over the top for the odd single, and I’ll admit, if it’s just the one song, I probably won’t buy it but instead, go to Last.FM or something similar. But then… there are those special songs. Not special as in phenomenal, but more like ‘special ed’ because I can’t get them out of my head unless I suddenly drop my IQ so much that my memory starts to go. This is usually because they’re overplayed on Starz or a similar low quality music channel that plays videos in awful resolution and has a chat bar at the bottom populated with the country’s youngest and dumbest. But unfortunately, they play most of my guilty pleasures, so the channel goes on and stays on for the idiotic comments at the bottom which after 10pm get a little risque and a lot more hilarious. Either way, much of my secret playlist ends up debuting on there and then permeates my skull and doesn’t leave until I hear the song over and over again in better quality, which is where iTunes comes in, with its lovely one click buy function and quick download. I can forget those songs after a couple of weeks but leave them to haunt my iTunes library for the rest of my lifetime. Get in.

Okay, so why not Spotify? I have Spotify, but never open it. Part of that is down to protest – when I first got Spotify, every band I searched came up with a big fat zero on the search counter. My music taste is clearly too obscure for the masses, but I was even confronted with this searching for Heatmiser, who had a release on Caroline, an imprint of EMI and would presumably be on there. Alas, Spotify and I are not to be. I also hate the adverts and refuse to pay £9.99 a month for premium membership, just because I wouldn’t mind being able to have a larger music library on my iPhone. The whole program feels so artificial as well… it’s just not the same as clutching a CD in your grubby mitts. Even MP3s are a part substitute with that, providing they have album art. Spotify even looks like an iTunes rip off, with similar layout settings and feel. Forgive me for my loyalty to Apple, but I’ll take silver over dark grey any day.

My main problem lies in the fact that I’m a collector. Call it excessively material if you will, but I like to collect things. Action figures, books, CDs, comics, Mickey Mouse memorabilia, Pokemon cards, snowglobes… the list goes on. By having the song in my library, I feel a certain sense of completeness that I wouldn’t with a simple Youtube listen. It also means I don’t have to watch bad videos with horribly scripted lyrics superimposed on the top. So, whether I like it or not, my purchased playlist will be plagued with bad electronica, random funk songs, internet phenomena and the odd Robbie Williams song because I can’t let go of the nineties. Maybe I will be graduating to AmazonMP3 at 29p a song after all.

I Hate Karl Lagerfeld by fightclubsandwich

At first, I found this article difficult to start. My focus would spiral madly away into this weird confessional bit about how fashion is kind of a difficult business to identify with, being composed as it is of a glut of giant moneyspinning corporations, the rules they make and the rules they follow, and then clusters of individuals and subcultures and the rules they make and the rules they follow. It all got rather horribly complicated, until it dawned on me that it didn’t have to, this is a simple enough topic so why would it need a complicated introduction?

I hate Karl Lagerfeld. You see? Simple!

All fashion journalists seem to think of Karl Lagerfeld – the current head of Chanel, for those who might not know, and hey why should you? – as some sort of eccentric German grandfather figure of the design world, like Dr Emmett Brown from Back To The Future but with less gadgetry and more shoes. In a hyper-serious industry like fashion, his quirkiness is the only injoke. This is perhaps the first reason that I do not like him. Nobody likes an injoke that they are not part of, and the callous broadcast of injokes to the lives of people who “weren’t there” and thus do not get it is teeth-clenchingly irritating. Here at TBO, for example, we have plenty of injokes amongst the staff, but we are aware that they are of no interest to the average reader who was not present for the joke’s birth. Consequently we keep our damn mouths shut.

My main problem is that after doing my research into this joke, I still don’t think he’s a good one. I refuse to enjoy or even tolerate his “quirky” quotations, which, to the sensible mind, are not so hilarious or witty as they are bratty, banal or just plain cruel. In terms of the latter, how about the suggestion that “fashion is the healthiest motivation for losing weight”? Or “Luxury is for the rich, not the nouveau riche.” The smugness that saturates such brush-offs is, in my opinion, unbearable. Uh, hello, when has it been okay to use a phrase like nouveau riche in a context devoid of sarcasm without getting punched in the mouth? Oh, there is a world outside of the fashion industry? Poor people live there? Oh how quaint! I don’t get how anyone could find such comments endearing. I am under no illusions; if I met Karl Lagerfeld under whatever circumstances, I have no doubt that he would be cruel and dismissive of “my kind” so why should I give him the time of day? Snobby people deserve the loathing of those they look down upon because it evens the playing field, they need to be reminded that hating others is not a mark of sophistication and superiority, that we can hate you back.

I suppose I also despise what Karl Lagerfeld represents, as a part of the fashion industry. I got kinda interested in clothes through my mother, who taught me to sew and knit, but it was only when I first attended university – leaving a school with a set uniform to wear every day – that I really started to see any practical application to any of it. “Oh wait, people actually wear clothes, in the real world. Oh no, all my fellow students dress really well!” Of course, by the time I reached university I was already stuck in my weird-geeky-stubborn-misfit-y niche, so I got interested in fashion with a pre-set distaste for authority. Maybe I’m just repulsed by the idea that Lagerfeld’s persona (rather than his actual merit as a designer) is enjoyed predominantly by those cliquey types who consider themselves “insiders”, in a way, with some kind of acute awareness of how the highest echelons of the industry works. This only gives feed to the idea – in paranoid brain like my own – that their joke, their common knowledge is a way of keeping us out. It’s a party to which only the people who care and the people who are in the know get an invite.

Lagerfeld seems to enjoy painting himself as some kind of pastiche of an authoritative figure. Is the whole point of his persona an indication that in the sprawling mess of the fast-moving fashion world, the idea of an iron fist to rule it all is absurd? Nah, I wouldn’t credit him with an actual sense of humour. I mean, come on:

“I built up my own reality. I created something I can cope with in life. I enjoy luxury and being the centre of my own intact world.”

Barf.

Ways To Deal With Those Fucking Hardcore Dancers by ninthandash

You know how it is. You’re at one of your first hardcore shows. Converge have just come on stage, and you’re pretty excited. The crowd are noisy, the music’s even noisier, and all in all it’s shaping up to be a good night. Then you start getting pushed back as a circle opens up. The singer’s screaming into a mic, and there’s about to be a breakdown in the music. All signs point to a pit — and hardcore pits are, without a doubt, some of the best and most extreme.

So you’re getting ready to jump in there, but some kids beat you to it. And instead of thrashing or slamdancing, they’re doing some other weird thing. They’re swinging their arms around wildly, in a circle, and doing something that looks like skanking but, well… it isn’t. It’s like some bastardized form. The hardcore veterans around you start scoffing and mocking them. And this? This is your first experience of a horrible thing called hardcore dancing.

It’s a stupid name, for a start. The terms hardcore and dancing together are antonymous. They’re not supposed to go together. Moshing is acceptable, and skanking is always good. But hardcore dancing isn’t. When it started, it was an expression of the music, just like anything else. But slowly, it’s become something different. Scenesters do it in order to look cool. It stops everyone else from having a good time. And they usually have little or no concern for the people around them. So what do you do? How do you stop this so-called ‘dancing’ from occurring?

Stage 1: Glaring.
This is more glaring in their general direction. It’s incredibly hard to catch someone’s eye when they’re windmilling about or, worse, attempting to two-step. In order to have more of an effect, sometimes the glaring is combined with hands on hips. If you can find enough space, that is.

Stage 2: Getting In The Way.
They can’t dance if there’s no room to dance, right? So you edge a little further towards them. Maybe dig an elbow into their ribs when they get too close, or stick a foot out in a hopeful attempt to trip them up. It doesn’t work, though. You’ll just get hit in the face by one of their flailing arms.

Stage 3: Verbal Harrassment.
All forms of subtlety gone, your patience is beginning to wear thin. It was bad enough during the support band, but they’re continuing into the headlining set. You hear a few cries of “FUCKIN’ SHITHEADS,” and “GET THE FUCK OUT.” Hardcore kids are never the most imaginative ones when it comes to insults, but for once you don’t hesitate in joining them. It’s not just dancing; it’s more than that. It’s personal.

Stage 4: All Out War.
It never usually goes past more than four stages. Hardcore is not synonymous with patience, and most hardcore kids are renowned for their short tempers. The dancers have had their warnings. They must be well aware that they’re annoying everyone else in the venue. And their friends have taken the shitty MySpace photos of them that they wanted. But they’re still continuing, so they’re asking for it. At this point, the other hardcore kids join the circle. Instead of dancing, they take over and turn it into a hardcore pit. Remember: it’s not truly over until all of the dancers have had a fist to the face. Otherwise, they’ll just never learn!

Required Watching:
Sick Of It All – Step Down.
A.F.I. – The Leaving Song Pt II.
A Day To Remember – The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle.
Hatebreed – I Will Be Heard.