Car subs - good for anything besides rap?

[korme]

I listen to my share of rap, but alternative/emo/screamo/rock is much more common for my car stereo.

anyone like dangarion or mckerney have any advice? would 12" subs be a waste of money?

[sovereignstar]

Define emo. Now be careful.

[MikeVic]

I'm actually wondering the same thing myself... if I listen to a lot of guitar stuff, some trance, some rap, some other stuff... is it worth it to buy an amp and subs?

[sovereignstar]

I honestly thought the only reason to get subs was to ensure that you could make eye contact with other drivers at stoplights and with anyone walking on sidewalks.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

WHAT??? PLEASE SPEAK UP... I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE GUY OUT IN THE STREET WHO'S BLASTING CULTURE CLUB!!!

[Pyser]

Define emo. Now be careful.

It's long, so many will skip it. But makes me laugh:





So you want to start an emo band? Follow these steps, and you are sure to be an emo superstar.

First you will need a band name. With this, you have several options.

1) Make it long and pretentious and abstract. Names like "and we cried
beneath the wintery wisp of summer's sadness" or "nearer we were to the cusp of forever" are good choices.

2) Start your band name with a verb or adverb. Something like "Reaching For
Never" or "Slowly We Stumbled" or "Drowning Toward Eternity."

3) Throw a day of the week into your band name. Maybe "Teardrops Till
Monday." "Sobbing For Tuesday." "Wednesday We Wept."

4) Use a girl's name in your band name. "The Loretta Capsule." "The Jennifer
Dilemma." "The Cynthia Secret." "Sobbing For Sandra."

5) Better yet, combine any or all of the above. "and you will know us on
friday as we weep for catherine in yesterday's shadows." "grasping for
gretchen with wednesday's tears." "tiny backpack of tuesday's sniffles for
kelly's stars."

Now you need to work on your image, because your image is the most important thing about you, and it takes very much work to pull it off correctly, even though the goal is to look like it didn't take any work at all. You will want to perfect the technique I like to refer to as "Conformity through non-conformity." In other words, your goal is to show that you're different by looking like everyone else.

First of all, the hair. Remember the bad haircuts some of the poorer kids in the '80s had, that didn't match up, with bits and pieces sticking up all
over the place from a bad home haircut? That's considered "good hair" now.
Grab some scissors. Hack at your hair. Don't even look in the mirror. Close
your eyes, grab random chunks, and start cutting, with the dullest scissors
you can find. Bangs are mandatory. Either cut them unevenly, or grow them
out a little bit so you can sidesweep them like a bad combover on a 1950's
science teacher. Dye it black.

Glasses. You have two choices. Thick rimmed and black ala Buddy Holly, or
narrow and vintage looking, the ugliest frames you can find. You don't want
to look good, remember. The goal is to make yourself look as aesthetically
unpleasing as possible. Even if you don't wear glasses, start.

Shirt. Again, you have two choices. Buy your shirts at a thrift store, or
buy new shirts that look like thrift store shirts, and lie. These shirts
should be at least 2 sizes too small for you. They also should have random
slogans on them. "Bob's Towing Service." "Ohio Area Boy Scout Camp."
"Adironack Kayak Trip, Summer 1989." "I Bought This Shirt At Steve's House
Of Ice Cream."

Bonus points for anything suggesting childhood. "Denver Day Camp."
"Sunnydale Parks and Playground." "Edmonton Lincoln Log Convention." You
want to appear as child-like as possible, even though you are in your
mid-'20s, because childhood is cute.

Even more bonus points for anything having to do with past, currently uncool
pop culture, preferably from the '80s. Its uncoolness makes it cool. "New
Kids On The Block." "Ghostbusters." Hairband shirts are also good.
"Warrant." "Poison." "Def Leppard." It doesn't matter if you've ever heard
these bands. You don't need to. You're not supposed to actually like them.
They're just campy to wear because they're from the '80s, and you are a
modern hipster and therefore find it kitschy and funny.

Pants. Should be tight and too short on you. Shorten the pantlegs if you
need to. They should ride several inches up your calf. You want to wear
Dickies if you can find them. Dickies are the official emo pants. Don't
question it, just go with it. And always, always wear them with a white
belt.

Shoes. Grubby old sneakers will suffice. If your hair is good enough, no one
will be looking at your feet anyway.

Backpack. You should always wear one. It should be covered with patches of
bands, the more obscure the better. Preferably ones no one else has heard
of, which will make you seem more knowledgeable and hip than everyone else.
Make up band names and silkscreen your own patches if you have to.

Your backpack should also contain books you have no intention of ever
reading. These books should be by classic authors, the older the book the
better. Poetry from the 1800s. The Collective Works of H.R. Mencken. The
Portable Dryden. You get the point. A little French or existentialist
philosophy never hurt anyone to carry around, either. You should also always
have a notebook on hand for scrawling down your sad laments at your turmoil
of trudging through an uncaring and uncool world. A world full of bad hair.

Body modification. This is imperative. If you are not into tattoos and
piercings, now is the time to start. You want to begin by stretching your
earlobes. You want at least to be able to wear 00 gauge plugs in them. Each
gauge larger you stretch your earlobes by wins you another 2 scenester
points, so stretch away.

You will also need star tattoos. This is essential, and should be done in
pairs. Preferably on your wrists, but you can also get them on your feet,
ankles, the backs of your calves, your back, your chest, your arms,
anywhere. The important point is that you have at least 2 stars on you.
After that, you can branch out and get other tattoos, but the stars come
first. Make sure to have stars in some of your other designs as well, if not all of them. Stars are emo. Stars are cool.

The above fashion rules apply to both boys and girls. If you are a boy, your girlfriend should look exactly like you do. If you are a girl, your
boyfriend should look exactly like you do. But if someone must look more
feminine, it should be the boy.

So now you've got your name and you've got your look. Now it's time to write some songs.

Think back to childhood again. Think back to that girl who sat behind you in Mrs. McElroy's 3rd grade class. You know, the one who broke your heart
because she wouldn't ride the seesaw with you during recess. Write a song
about her. Musically, this, as well as all your other songs, should follow a formula. It should start out slow and melodic, with lots of intricate guitar work. Think the Smiths. It's okay if you're not good enough to play like the Smiths. That would ruin it anyway.

Sing softly and sadly. But you don't want to sound too much like a p-u-ssy, so make it heavy during the chorus, and either start shrieking and screaming,
or have another band member shriek and scream in the background while you
sing softly and sadly. This not only reaffirms your manhood, but also shows
"emotion." It shows the hurt and betrayal and frustration and heartache
you've endured these long and painful years because of her. This heavy part
should also almost sound metal, but remember, you aren't metal. You have
better fashion than that.

Now for the lyrical content. Your song should not rhyme, first of all.
Rhyming is outdated and therefore uncool. And use the most abstract and big
words you can think of. If you can't think of any, reach into your backpack
and pull out a book. Steal some words from it. Don't worry, it's acceptable
to open one of your books for this purpose. You're not actually reading it,
so you're still okay.

Now think of that girl. She crushed you, didn't she. But don't say "You
crushed me." Say something like "In unfathomable turmoil I bemoan the latent state of my apathy as my heart freezes with anguished neglect." Got it?
Let's try writing that song now.

you smile stars

by throwing back my head on thursday as we softly sob for melissa

Betrayal bequeathed beneath the sky.
Solemnly I wait for winter's unrest.
My heart freezes sadly as underlying waves
Of torrential pain engulf my repose.

(scream here)
Why!
Why!
You don't love me.
Why!
Why!
You don't listen.
I abdicate my sense of self for you.
I wake and wallow in dreams of azure.
My eternity bequeaths no closure.

The stars are soft tonight.
They seductively entone your visage.
I wrap my hands around my ache
And sing to ears bereft.


Barren I am. Devoid of forever.
Incantations of nonsensical latitude.
Your star fell. I touched it.
It burned my hands.
You burned my heart.
I drown in vacant tears of nostalgia.

Why!
Why!
You don't love me.
Why!
Why!
You don't listen.
I abdicate my sense of self for you.
I wake and wallow in dreams of azure.
My eternity bequeaths no closure.

Sadly I close this curtain.
My thoughts unravel in iridescent ubiquity.
Shielded from the coldness by my hollow heart.
Unrequited my epithet.
Cascade in shards of silver.
Sinking to the whisper of goodbye.
Why.


Looks like you've got it down. See you on tour with Further Seems Forever.

[timmynausea]

Unfortunately, due to years riding in the car with my brother, I have a lot of experience with this. Most rock sounds bad through subs. Horrible. Hate it. Especially anything that isn't a major label release with expensive production. Just don't do it.
One time I was with a friend who was looking at speakers and this douche salesman was trying to tell us that all music sounds better with gigantic subwoofers, so we had him stick in a minor threat cd. It sounded like ass, but he insisted it sounded better anyway.

[JeeberD]

RATM sounds badass through subs... :)

I miss Rage, yes I do. :(

[henry296]

Nothing too big that I can hear the bass in my car when you are behind me at a stop sign.

[MikeVic]

RATM sounds badass through subs... :)

I miss Rage, yes I do. :(

:D

[Cringer]

Signing Emo (by MC Lars)
(featuring Hearts that Hate)

Once upon a time, in the city of Los Angeles...
"Marty, Marty listen to me. Bring me something the kids will cry for.
Get out there, and get us stoked!"

Meet Marty, major label A&R scout, forty years old, gut hanginh out.
Red Ferrari, Marty livinh in L.A. bumps another line to get through the day.
Dumped by his girl, he paid for her liposuction,
His friends call him "Money", in his introduction.
And Marty knows nothing but claims to know it all,
Lose the flat screen TV if he drops the ball.
YouÕre as good as your last hit, find the next big thing.
If he doesn't bring the bling, his cell phone won't ring.
What's the trend, what's new? What's a label scout to do? Office life, Marty 11:32.
The label pres. calls and yells, "Sign more emo!"
How about screamo? "If it sells, sign Nemo,"
"We're down 2%, and BMG knows,
My Daughter likes Dashboard, so get me one of those!"
He checks AP.net, the Scout and more,
yelling band names to his assistant through the door.
The kids like this, who cares if it's great?
So he signs a band called Hearts that Hate.

"Marty... we've got a hit."

CHORUS
Cry tonight. My hands around your hands.
I won't let you die tonight.
Cry tonight. My heart's in your hands.
I won't let you...

Hearts that Hate, Marty goes to their show, up in the club and here we go.
Marty sees a girl in a Simple Plan shirt with a Senses Fail boy, thatÕll never work.
He finds his label friends in the corner they huddle,
An emo cattle auction, they penetrate the bubble.
They talk about Victory and signing TBS,
Dissing the same bands they just tried to impress.
So the lights go down, the crowd starts to scream,
Hearts that Hate have hit the scene.
Blake on vocals, and lead guitar,
He does a backflip, "Look how different we are!"
They show up at the studio to record it,
A TRL, Billboard Modern Rock hit.
They auto-tune Blake, but he can't tell.
He says, "I've got perfect pitch, damn I sing well."
ProTools, Logic, cut, copy, paste, quantized solos and quantized bass.
Signed, sealed, deliver and sent, across the U.S. and the single went...

REPEAT CHORUS

Momentum builds, but it all caves in.
Industrial comes back, the pres. needs a NIN.
Marty finds a new band called "Fetal Coil"
And Hearts that Hate try to keep their fans loyal.
They re-work their sound for album number two,
As "Machines of Hate," but their career is through.
They break up and work pushing mops and brooms,
Blake gives guitar lessons in his living room.
Blake gives guitar lessons in his living room,
Blake gives guitar lessons in his living room.

"Can you teach me track five Mr. Blake?"
"Hey, I wrote that song and it goes like this!"

REPEAT CHORUS

[DanGarion]

I just found this.

I personally am a fan of Infinity Kappas, but I only have a 8 in my truck, it works well.

[DaddyTorgo]

i had a pair of 12's in my trunk and they were absolutely killer for rock. Not in my trunk anymore (new car) but I still have them and can't wait to get them put into this one. The pair of them used to make the rearview mirror lose all tension and go completely slack, and all the windows shake. And this with the stereo volume at ~60 and the subwoofer volume at never more than 3/4. Damn good time! So in conclusion yeah, a 12 would be nice.