In 2002, four Wilmslow High School students — Adam Hann, Matty Healy, George Daniel and Ross Macdonald — formed a four-piece in Manchester, England and named themselves "The 1975," inspired by a scribbled...
Juan Fabricio Córdoba López, thrilled yet calm, takes a deep breath as he counts his band, New Wave Kill, into the performance as worn-down prison inmates stare listlessly at the wall. “In the beginning, they were quite cold, you could sense there was a big barrier between us and the inmates. But as soon as we finished our first song, they were super excited. It was like giving a slice of life to the inmates. [...] When they started to get up from their chairs, it was exhilarating because we didn't expect anything to happen. [...] It was weird and cool,” Córdoba said.
In December 2023, a Youtube duo known for their vast music content under the channel name NEOPUNKFM coined the phrase “zoomergaze”. This helped to categorically manage a specific style of the countless present-day artists generally shoehorned into the umbrella term of “alternative rock”. Alternative and indie music have encountered a sudden rise in mainstream media under the subjective direction of the pandemic. However, zoomergaze music has been around for years. The genre is mostly considered by enjoyers as revival grunge sometimes mixed in with hyperpop, and the hidden antecedents of this new style deserve their acknowledgement as the kings and queens of an even dreamier, grungier, and more innovative era. And of course, experimental music is nothing without the concept of cult bands.
We often associate periods of our lives with different musical artists. Particularly, we form parasocial relationships with band members that last our entire lives. As the seasons change, you connect specific musicians to core memories and emotional moments and build strong personal preferences. So let us dive into the experiences of Daegu International School’s teachers and their all-time favorite bands.
Last winter, my friend and I traveled up to Seoul for a live show of a band I had never heard of, Wave to Earth. Tickets remained unsold until the day of the concert due to their low profile. We easily acquired seats near the stage without much competition, and after coming back from the show, I co-wrote a review with my friend, which you can read here.