Joelle Min

TIME GOAL: 30 min

START TIME: 12:28

END TIME: 1:20

READING LOG #: 3

BEFORE READING
Write the following information down in this order.
Title of Article: Return of the Loneliest Boys in Town

Based on the title alone, what do you know about the subject matter?
Due to the fact that the book has been based on music and artistic expression, I can infer that the ‘boys’
are possibly from a boyband. The title implies a return back to their hometown.

Write down your predictions: What will this article cover?

This article will cover a boyband’s return to their roots and their lonely journey to fame.
Make a list for each.
External Distractions (What is physically distracting you?):
- Music
- Messy table
- Friends
Internal Distractions (What thoughts are interfering with your concentration?):
- Too much coffee
- Other homework
DURING READING

Practice annotations using these methods. Check the boxes to confirm which methods you’ve practiced.
● ✓ Circle words that are new to you, and that you do not understand.

● ✓ Write the main idea of each paragraph next to it in the margins. Try to use one word or a short
phrase to summarize these points.
● ✓ Highlight passages that demonstrate ethos (yellow), pathos (pink), logos (green).

Complete the following chart, indicating words/ pop culture references you had to Google during your
reading. Hit the TAB button if you run out of room.
 Words/Pop Culture What do they mean?
References
Fueled by Ramen American record label owned by Warner
Music Group and distributed by Elektra
Records.
Cute is What We Aim For Cute Is What We Aim For is an American
rock band from Buffalo, New York. The
band formed in 2005, and have since
released two albums: The Same Old Blood
Rush with a New Touch and Rotation.

AFTER READING

Answer the following questions using complete sentences in your composition notebook using intext
citations for each question.
Example of an in-text citation, or quotation sandwich: In one instance, Abdurraqib discusses his own
experience and states, “...” (Abdurraqib 82).

1. What is the speaker’s motivation for writing this piece? Who is their target audience? Explain how
you know by including an in-text citation, or evidence from the text. (8 complete sentences +)

The speaker’s motivation for writing this essay is to reevaluate the depth of heartbreak and the culture of
emo music that grew within the United States. The author focuses on the intensity of women berating
sentiment that has grown within the concert scene, and how his perception of violence has allowed him to
question the meaning behind the music. For example, the author explains that “In emo, particularly during
its heyday of attractive frontmen who fancied themselves poets, the misogyny was seen more as process
than problem” (Abdurraqib 49). By explaining the coping mechanisms of heartbreak, the attitude of the
bands are understood yet their audience inflames the message’s harm. The target audience is a warning to
music lovers, in that the aging of music matters in what you support. The essay stresses the importance of
young listeners to be aware of the extremity of violence within emo culture. In one instance, the author
explains his experience by stating that, “I felt like I was exiting my current body and watching myself
from through my younger eyes, wondering if this is what it was always going to come to” (Abdurraqib
50). By comparing the transformation of emo music to the author’s growth into a man, there is a clear
distinction of the wrong turn that the lyrics have taken, diverging from the growing maturity of the author.
2. What rhetorical appeals did the author employ to make for a compelling argument? Provide citations
for each example of ethos, pathos, and logos. (8 complete sentences +)

The author employed all three of the rhetorical appeals in order to build a compelling argument. To
employ ethos or credibility, the author explains his experience with mid-2000 emo bands stating that, “I
sang along to ‘Curse of Curves’ at enough house parties in 2006 to make the record a worthwhile
purchase in the sea of emo albums that flooded the summer of 2006, but were forgotten by
winter” (Abdurraqib 48). Credibility is achieved through an understanding of the author’s background in
music and his ability to understand the trends of music. To employ pathos or emotional appeal, the
explained that “watching the show feels like being a senior in college and going back to hang out in the
high school parking lot (Abdurraqib 49). The emotional appeal of almost embarrassment and increased
maturity helps the reader feel a sense of responsibility to the increased violence within the concert. To
employ logos or a logical appeal, the author explains the Brock Turner rape case and the band’s response
“thanking people for educating [them] on the topic of rape culture before taking the stage to sing a song
about a young girl, drinking so much that the men around her just can’t help themselves” (Abdurraqib
50). The author creates a very logical analysis of hypocrisy by the band, allowing the reader to understand
the content versus intention of the music within the current political climate. Thus, these three appeals
create a cohesive argument about the devolution of emo music within an increasingly polarized
environment.

3. Although you may disagree with the argument, or the issue the speaker presents, pretend that you
agree with them, and describe the qualities of the argument that you found most compelling. Be sure to
use direct in-text citations, or evidence to justify your argument. (8 complete sentences +)

The author creates a compelling argument about how emo music has created a toxic culture that promotes
violent behavior towards women, devolving in its value as the author’s maturity evolves. The essay
focuses on how the themes of heartbreak that is deeply rooted in emo music have spread its berating
influence to growing audiences. The author explains the toxic aging of Cute Is What We Aim For by
explaining that with “all of its members either in their 30s or late 20s, standing on a stage and
weaponizing decade-old bitterness doesn’t exactly echo to the corner of nostalgia that I thought it
would” (Abdurraqib 49). The author artfully explains the transformation of the author’s perception,
slowly becoming more aware of the prevalence of content targeted against women. To continue, he builds
an understanding of the band’s initial intentions by deciphering the reason for the toxicity being “the
difference between trying to chip away at the emotional debt one has accrued versus piling on top of
it” (Abdurraqib 49). Through the dichotomy of heartbreak and vengeance, the author’s argument
describes the experience of heartbreak that is collectively understood and how it can be contorted into
harmful rhetoric. In essence, the exploitation of heartbreak within emo concerts is a platform that spews
aggressive lyrics demeaning women. The argument compels the reader to rethink the artists they support
and questions the underlying roots of emo culture.

4. Although you may agree with the speaker’s stance on the issue, write a counterargument
explaining why you disagree. Again, you will need to use direct evidence to make your case(8 complete
sentences +)

The author creates an argument about how emo music has created a toxic culture that promotes violent
behavior towards women, devolving in its value as the author’s maturity evolves. However, the author’s
hyperfocus on one example is not representative of an entire genre, not accounting for the nuances that
music contains. For instance, the author states that the problem begins “when men don’t age beyond the
adolescent heartbroken temper tantrums that we all have before we learn better and start to know
better” (Abdurraqib 49). Through this, the essay focuses on how emo boybands can improve by not using
their platform to spread hateful lyrics, yet does not mention the minority of female artists. By providing
only male-focused solutions, the author fails to uplift the voices of numerous powerful women in emo
music. This sentiment continues as the author converses with a fellow concertgoer who states that, “‘I got
a wife and daughter now, This ain’t like it was when we were young, is it?”’ (Abdurraqib 50). Without
including female narratives, the fellow concertgoer only reflects on his action of engaging with toxic
music when he has a wife or daughter. Even if it is not one’s wife or daughter, the perpetuation of
violence against women is not a shift of culture but a culture of hate.