CFA: '00s Alternative and Philosophy: Every Thought in Its Right Place

Call for Abstracts!

’00s Alternative and Philosophy: Every Thought in its Right Place

Edited by Joshua Heter and Richard Greene

For a follow-up to ’90s Alternative and Philosophy: Modern Rock Meditations, abstracts are sought for a collection of essays to be published with Wallace & Jacobs Press on any philosophical topic related to alternative rock in the 2000s (i.e., 2000 through 2009), including but limited to subgenres such as post-punk (revival), garage rock, emo, (pop-)punk, nu metal, post-grunge, indie rock, indie folk (i.e., stomp clap hey music), synth pop, etc. Potential contributors may want to examine previous volumes from Heter and Greene: Punk Rock and Philosophy: Research and Destroy (2022), Post-Punk and Philosophy: Rip it Up and Think Again (2024), and the aforementioned ’90s Alternative and Philosophy: Modern Rock Meditations (2026). Abstracts (with an approximate length of 100 – 500 words) and eventual essays (with an approximate length of 3,000 – 3,500 words) should be written for an educated but non-specialized audience. Potential topics include, but are not limited to…

- Why do we listen to such sad emo songs?

- What exactly is “indie” music? Is it the type of thing that can be defined?

- How did the rise of the iPod and MP3s change fandom and the listening experience? Was it for the worse or for the better (or was it neutral)?

- Much of the garage rock in the ’00s was stripped down and simple (e.g., The White Stripes, Modest Mouse, The Strokes). Does that make it a lesser art form?

- Is it morally wrong to listen to (e.g., pop punk and nu metal) songs with misogynistic lyrics?

- How should we think about music protesting the Bush administration/war in Iraq (e.g., by Green Day, Radiohead, NOFX, etc.)? Did it do any good?

- Can screamo be beautiful? Or does screamo challenge the idea that art is always aimed at beauty?

- How should we think about “alternative rock” in the 2000s, when the genre had been mainstream for a decade?

- Is “What really matters is what you like, not what you are like” (Rob’s life philosophy from High Fidelity) at all, in any way, defensible?

- Is it ethically problematic to consume the art (e.g., the alt-rock music) of artists we know have done bad things?

- What does it mean to “sell out”? Is selling out inherently bad?

- Why does everyone hate Nickelback (and do they deserve the scorn)?

- Why do so many people hate Coldplay (and do they deserve the scorn)?

- Can heavy metal be alternative? Where are the boundaries of the genre?

- What is authenticity, and does it make for better music?

- What are the moral implications of using file-sharing services to download MP3s (e.g., Napster, LimeWire, Kazaa)?

- What are Millennial values and how is that reflected in (or by) the music of the ’00s?

- What would prominent philosophers from history think about alternative rock in the ’00s (and everything that came with it)?

- Did feminism take a step back in ’00s alternative rock?

- Why did the supergroups of the ’00s (e.g., Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, Them Crooked Vultures, The Bens) fail to make a cultural impact (or did they)?

- What led to the resurgence of (indie) folk acts (e.g., Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) in the ’00s? Are these bands really alternative?

- Did the post-punk revival of the ’00s honor or appropriate the bands that came before it?

- Was the rise of Coachella a bad thing for music (or music festivals)?

- Was the ’00s the last great decade for rock music (alternative otherwise)? Why?

- Some have classified the ’00s as the last (culturally homogenized) decade. Is that true? Is it a bad thing?

- What exactly is a hipster, and should I be concerned if I am one?

- A number of punk bands entered their 3rd (or 4th) decade in the 2000s. Can punk in middle age (and beyond) still have the same force, or is punk a young person’s game? What does punk’s longevity say about it?

… and many more!

Contributor Guidelines:

Mail abstracts (and any questions) to: [email protected]

            1. Abstracts should be between 100 and 500 words.

            2. Potential contributors must include a resume/CV for each author/coauthor.

            3. Initial submissions should be made by e-mail as either a Word doc. or a PDF.

            4. Deadlines:

                        Abstracts due by November 16, 2026

                        First drafts due by March 1, 2027

                        Final drafts due by May 4, 2027

                        (Early submissions are encouraged and welcomed!)