I dont think theyre selling out at all lol, Im just saying a lot of people probably think so just because theyre so popular. Everything they do is the same way that they have done it since their inception. They still do DIY tours, havent transferred over to a better label etc. I actually saw As The Roots Undo in my local best buy which was very surprising to me. I think that the lyrics of CTTS arent overly pretentious or anything at all. I praise them for having an intellectual tone while still having heartfelt parts, like in the nervous light of sunday. I think CTTS is still heartfelt but theyre a classic example of "showing and not telling."

I am amazed at how popular orchid was during the end of their career, mainly just looking at youtube videos of their shows. Orchid gets boring for me sometimes, and then other times I need to listen to them haha. Same thing with Saetia. IMHO, I agree with you crowquill on orchid getting a lot of hype in the emo/hardcore scene for no reason, it doesnt seem like any bands really capture any of Orchid's sound, it seems like they just name drop Orchid as an influence since they were a prime mover in the emo/hardcore scene. Orchid seems to be just a part of that scene and was a popular band that opened a door to other lesser known emo/hardcore bands to their fans. I guess that is a reason for them being influential after all haha. Time to go to work, laters.

Word.
Also, that was a very good review of Portrait.

Circle Takes The Square aren't sellouts or anything like that, they're very popular because they're very good, and they were in the right place at the right time. Bands like Portrait circa 1996 who were arguably "better" than Circle Takes The Square just didn't have everything going for them at the right time.

My only problem with CTTS is exactly what cassius said. On top of that, they would probably be the biggest band (even more than Ampere) to say "We don't associate ourselves with emo or screamo, we are a combination of metal and punk rock, through and through". This is so ironic just because their sound is probably 100X more "emo" than Ampere, and you know Drew listens to a ****load of bands like City of Caterpillar, Saetia, and Pg. 99; their influence on the band is obvious. That pretense alone is infuriating.

You can't blame them for not wanting to be associated with the labels emo and screamo, though.

I think they knew they were going to blow up huge, so they distanced themselves from the term "emo", just so kids wouldn't confuse them with bands like Taking Back Sunday.
Based on this you could blame them for not having enough courage to stand up and have enough integrity to defend a scene that their band was fundamentally created from.

It's a losing battle to try and do that though. It's time better spent making good music so that kids can say, "I like Circle Takes the Square because they're good', rather than, "I likes CTTS cuz tey R reelz emoz dood!"

True.
Did you conduct that interview with them?

Well, I'm pretty sure it's the fact they just reject genre terms, as many bands and fans have done in the past (and people continue to now). Some bands, especially a lot of the modern day screamo bands, have finally accepted it, or have no beef with calling their music either "emo" or "screamo"

Guy, from Rites Of Spring, and Ian MacKaye, of legendary Minor Threat and future emo-project Embrace, have both refused the coin term and critized it. They both thought they were playing punk rock, and magazines begin to term these certain D.C. bands "emocore" as a way to help identify their bands/approach with ease. At the time, their bands, along with many others (Gray Matter, Beefeater, One Last Wish, etc) basically WERE playing punk rock. They basically just took one step back from the aggressive hardcore punk wave that exploded in the early 80s and added very small and different elements (for some bands, the smallest difference from an "emocore" band and a "punk rock" band was the lyrics).

As time moves on, emocore/emo/hardcore emo bands began to further and further away from their signature fast and simple power chord and hit the snare and highhats a lot formula. Bands began to incoroporate different writing styles, octave chords, different song structures, low to high dynamics (and vice versa), twinkley guitars, and many more additions over time.

Yet these bands continue to simply associate themselves with their roots. Maybe it's due to the fact they're still just branching off from Punk Rock, or maybe it's the fact they still share the same ol' punk rock and D.I.Y. and political ideologies. Hell, maybe one band can admit they just hate being labeled as "emo/screamo" when all these other trendy fake bands are tagged that as well...

(a lot of bands sticking with their punk rock roots can include pg. 99 (pageninetynine) who really helped spread the word of punk rock and even used the what is now the infamous Kurt Cobain quote at the beginning of document #8. Others are Welcome The Plague Year, Orchid, etc. and apperarantly C.T.T.S.)

Other bands who really stick with their punk rock roots of having D.I.Y. ethics and having more than plenty political minded lyrics, but have also accepted the term "screamo" One major example is Cease Upon The Capitol.

No. I got in a car accident on the way there. I'm doing a phone interview in a week or two with them though.

I want to know how to play octave chords
:D

I'm sorry man.