"Generic Emo 101"

I've just finished a rough mix for a new track and I sent it to a friend. He promptly pointed out that I should be ashamed for rallying against 'generic emo' when I produce stuff like this.



It doesn't have vocals yet so I suppose it's difficult to truly assign labels to it.

The question of course this raises is that is it acceptable to make music which doesn't push any boundaries but sounds nice? (I'm not suggesting my song sounds nice but in a general sense)

Originality rarely seems to concern the average music listener. When I used to play in my old band we got relatively good receptions and played bigger and bigger gigs. However, as we started to play those bigger gigs we attracted attention from more scene-savvy reviewers who were quick to mention our complete imitation of other and better bands. They argued that what we did had been done before and better so whats the point in our band even existing? we were surplus to requirements, unnecessary background noise.

I'm not quite sure which side of the argument I sit.

The purist in me believes that music, like any art, should push boundaries and explore new territory. The listener in me can't see the problem with 'more of the same' if the same is good.