My Chicago Music Scene Fad

Senior year of high school was the beginning of a brand new music phase. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my "Mac DeMarco era."

The "Mac Demarco era" was an infamous Chicago music scene trend that I was sucked DEEPLY into. This culture was stocked full of thrifted clothes, vinyl record collections, visiting venues, and being effortlessly mysterious. Music is what defined me, and what represented the concept of being "angsty."

When I began dating a musician, my usual music preferences began to dramatically shift. That screamo rock was no match for the sophisticated music of Led Zeppelin cover bands, Ty Segall, or The 13th Floor Elevators. These genres of new bands included a mix of indie, psych rock, garage rock, alternative, and so forth.

For example, here is a festival I would've died to attend:

If I wanted to be "cool and different", I figured that I needed to listen to the most obscure bands I could find.

Fitting into the music lovers of my partner's friend group was way more difficult than I thought it would be. At the time, I only liked bands that they weren't interested in. Upon this horrible realization, I held their opinions to SUCH a high standard when it came to music quality. Developing shame at my old playlists, I knew I had to tweak my previous tastes. Thus, I became a lover of all things psychedelic, indie, and shoe-gaze.

Changing myself, all for the sake of music, is a lesson I have learned from and grown out of. Yet, having this hyper-angst phase was a pretty distinct part of my life. I got to learn about new bands, sounds, and the way music was initially produced. While it was cool at the time, it unraveled quickly.

Now don't get me wrong, the music was extremely invigorating, interesting, and awesome to get into! Yet, my reasons for actually liking it weren't very genuine. I always wanted to fit into that unique crowd of music, but never felt like I was fully immersed.

My brain had to be a beacon of knowledge 24/7. Especially, when it came to music theory, The Grateful Dead, and what was considered "good music." I spent many weekends at Thalia Hall, Metro, and so many other venues in order to connect with the Chicago music scene! After learning about the importance of guitar pedals, the hottest new band members, and DIY house shows...I was convinced that my music needed to expand.

Between 2015-2016, I tucked the memories of Warped Tour bands into my back pocket all for the angst of psychedelic rock.

Unfortunately, I also took a nosedive into fixing the little parts of myself that I thought would be "turned down" by this subculture.

I tried my best to change my appearance to be more "white looking" amongst a predominately white male setting. To no one's surprise, this facade couldn't last. Years down the line, I finally became the true version of myself during college as I grew confident in my actual interests.

However, experiencing this odd point in my life showed me that I didn't need to change in the first place! There was no one-size fits all image for typical rock music fans, and I could be whatever aligned best with my personality.

Luckily, this particular fad only stuck around for that beginning period of college. But it was extremely impactful during that time because I believed it was my only source of "coolness" against society. I developed a strong desire for those local psychedelic rock bands, Pitchfork music festival reviews, and wearing black leather jackets. Of course, I needed to be scouring record stores all over Chicago for albums that my friends hadn't heard of.

Yeah...you get the point.

Overall, psychedelic rock shows in Chicago boomed in 2015 but died around 2017. It was a shortlived fad, but full of zany memories for it's hayday.

Now that this trend is over and done with, let me take you on a journey through the bands I disocovered, screamed over, and treasured!

(Well, for a year or two, that is 😂)

Records for the Readers 🎧🎼🎸

1. Oddments- King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

• This song was titled "Hot Wax." The trippy visuals, strange art, and awesome musical elements is what pulled me into this band! I got into King Gizzard because of this music video.
• Record store day was the first time I decided to buy a King Gizzard album. I felt like I was the coolest person around with my tote bang and vinyl inside.

2. Floating Coffin- Thee Oh Sees

• John Dwyer, lead singer of TOS, gave an incredible performance during the shows I witnessed in Chicago. This band was one of the first psych rock bands I was interested in.
• Listening to this song, titled "Toe Cutter Thumb Buster", made me feel so cool on the train. I was energized, refreshed, and ready to head to class in 2016!

3. Innerspeaker- Tame Impala

• This song, "Runway Houses City Clouds", was an old favorite of mine featuring the vocal talents of Kevin Parker. Tame Impala was a classic in the summer of 2015, and it made me feel like I was learning more about music.
• The pedal arrangement of Kevin Parker will always cease to amaze me, as his songs "break the rules" in that delivery of sound. His earlier work is simply astounding!

The Playlist💽