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"Straight Edge": Music or Lifestyle? by Roman |
Music Community / Articles / "Straight Edge": Music or Lifestyle?
The Straight Edge or simply abbreviated the 'sXe' of 'sXe' is coined a subculture to represent a particular lifestyle. It advocates abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and recreational drug use-especially psychoactive and stimulant drug use. Some straight edger's also abstain from promiscuous sexual behavior and caffeine. Although straight edger's do not necessarily identify with a particular world view on social or political issues, many do subscribe to precepts associated with anarchism, vegetarianism–veganism, socialism, environmentalism, and the deep ecology movement.
The difference between vegetarianism and veganism is obvious, vegetarians claim to cut on meat, whereas vegans painstakingly struggle to rescue animals' lives. However, it's a musical trend that teenagers associate the 'sXe' with. In fact, development of the music trend was predetermined by a certain movement. The 'sXe' as a movement emerged alongside hardcore in the early 1980s. Those times parties chased a tendency to consume alcohol, smoke pot and cigarettes. This continued until Ian MacKaye introduced the new concept of the Straight Edge and organized it into a postulate, one couldn't dare to doubt. Not only had he explained all peculiarities of the newly invented style in detail, but also established the 'Minor Threat' band, the first one to promote the 'sXe'. A cross sign was suggested by Ian MacKaye to symbolize the trend. This sign was marked on wrists of underage as an instruction for bar staff not to sell spirits to them in night clubs. The Minor Threat boasts short existence in view of lethal malady of a band member. Their occasional rehearses followed by the band's break up.
The 'sXe' was later reintroduced by the 'Youth of Today' band. At time the trend experienced bitter despondency, in the late 1980s the style was deeply rooted into the European music scene. Still, no single band happens to completely follow the 'sXe's' philosophy, however, a number of them apply its ideas in their art.
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