Micro-post #122: A video about the lead-up to "Stomp Clap Hey" music (Trash Theory) and some attending articles about its debated return

I'll be upfront: I've been very much Team I Hate This when it comes to the genre now being called "Stomp Clap Hey." Not so much due to weird hipster-y disdain (though admittedly, that was some of the reason) but just the fact that it was Everywhere All The Time (like the gym, when you're trying to cool down and get ready for work...) when it first came out. Being married to someone who sort-of likes it has cooled my irritation but it does bring out a weird emotion whenever I hear it. The only thing close to achieving that is emo-pop punk from the 2000s.

That said, Trash Theory has an excellent video about why and how it exists in the first place. The thing about this video is that it both emphasizes and buries the genre in a way that makes it easier to understand that this wasn't some evil trick by record executives but a more organic confluence of different people hitting similar conclusions at once. Knowing this helps give a little more respect to these bluegrass/brass band-apeing weirdos. But just a little bit...

I was originally thinking about linking some of the albums but you can go find those in your own time - I'm still not convinced a lot of them are actually good. Some of the precursor ones are also over-recommended personally (ex. Neutral Milk Hotel's In an Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998), which I like but don't love), so the video can give you a better sense of what to look for if searching around for recommendations.

Also, when running a Google search on an actual definition, I found a whole lot of recently-written articles about the history and sudden re-emergence of the "Stomp Clap Hey" sound. Check those out if you've got the time: