Positive hardcore (sometimes shortened to posicore or posi-core) is a branch of the
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
music scene, that is socially aware, or focuses on values, such as being inclusive, community-oriented, and anti-violent. The genre was created as a backlash to the violence and negativity in the
straight edge
Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...
scene.
History
Since the term was coined in the 1980s, it has been applied to a divergent group of musical styles and bands including
7 Seconds,
[Ensminger, 2011, p. 162] Youth of Today
Youth of Today is an American hardcore punk band, initially active from 1985 to 1990 before reforming in 2010. The band played a major role in establishing the "Youth Crew" subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies o ...
,
Good Clean Fun, and
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...
. Early positive hardcore bands in the 1980s and 1990s sang about social issues such as the treatment of the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
community by the hardcore punk scene
[ as well as non-violence and scene unity. These were topics that the hardliners rejected. In the late 2000s through the 2010s there has been a renaissance in the genre. Instead of being a backlash against hardline, the renaissance comes from a backlash against the (2010s) dominant ]metalcore
Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...
bands in the scene.[Reyes, 2008, p. 114]
Notes
References and Bibliography
* Ensminger, D. A. (2011). Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generation. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
* Haenfler, R. (2006). Straight edge: Clean-living youth, hardcore punk, and social change. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press.
* Kuhn, G. (2010). Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics. Oakland: PM Press.
* Martin, T. (2011). Like Rats is an unlikely opener. Accessed from ''Northern Star'' http://northernstar.info/dekalb_scene/article_edf0bc0a-63dd-11e0-bf9c-001a4bcf6878.html
* Reyes, I. (2008). Sound, technology, and interpretation in subcultures of heavy music production. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. (AAT 3322362)
* Wood, R. T. (2006). Straight Edge Youth: The Complexity and Contradictions of a Subculture. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
Hardcore punk genres
Straight edge
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