In terms of the things you're describing feeling or whatever, I guess the way I've thought about it as someone even older than you is that guitar music is principally the interest of older people due to changes (elimination of?) in music education and trends pushing electronic dance music and hip hop as being contemporary. Makes sense that more people are going to take a pipeline of, I dunno, finding Anthony Fantano or reaction channels doing weird stuff in their 20s than they are being a teenager who hangs out (do teens really hang out still?) and tells all his friends or some younger kids they're around about some edgy shit.
I guess that would intrinsically make for more "scene tourists", but the sort of lifestyle one would lead to have "legitimacy in the hardcore scene" is also generally mutually exclusive to finding some sort of career, getting married, acquiring a permanent home, etc. There's nothing punk or youth crew about going to the office 5 days a week to work on app development or selling medical equipment. The reunion shows pack those folks in and then they don't come back for a local show because, well, are they even really welcome?
Very interesting comment. I never thought about the wane of guitar music in connection with school budget cuts but it makes sense. I also think that as we get further from the beginning of hardcore as a subculture we also need to accept that teenagers want to do their own thing and create their own movements. I know some teens still get real into jazz music but by and large, would you expect to find a large contingent of people under 25 at jazz shows? First wave hardcore is like 10-15 years older than some of the music they’re playing on classic rock stations at this point.
I also get your second point and do agree with it to some extent. The amount of energy I’ve put into hardcore has certainly impacted my ability to be a “functional” adult, and I’m not even in a touring band. On the other hand what really is “legitimacy” in the local scene? Is it booking shows, doing bands, writing zines, etc? I would agree it’s hard to do that with your whole chest and also fit the societal standard of adulthood. Although I think it’s also possible to attend a few local shows a month, just be a cool person, and make acquaintances/feel like you’re plugged in to what’s happening on a deeper level than someone who only sees the world through podcasts and tour package shows. I guess the whole point of this article is “what do I have to do in order to feel ‘legit’”, but if I think about someone who has adult responsibilities and I still see them at a smaller show every month or two, I personally respect it.
The idea of self compassion is something I’ve really been leaning into recently and a lot of that revolves around things like “talking to yourself the way you would talk to a close friend”. So it’s funny that I’m always gonna have thoughts about never being good enough, but if I see some mf with a wife and a mortgage pop out to more than one show every six months I’m slapping him on the back like “ayyy this mf grindin”.
I rag on people who tell me they "don't have time" for something like attending hardcore shows because of their jobs or kids. Not because I think they're posers, but just because I think the majority of people who say that are lying to themselves. If they were honest, they'd admit that they have simply deprioritized it for all the reasons lots of other people deprioritize subculture participation. I'm not mad if you put you don't go to a local show because you got home from work and you are mentally exhausted. I often skip stuff like that for that reason because frankly, there is no novelty to seeing live music for me and I'm sure that is why a lot of other people invariably age out of going to shows too. You could do the same thing you did at age 16 for the rest of your life, or you could do other shit. Most people eventually decide they'd like to do other shit.
I can't be worried about how I'm perceived by anyone at a venue or whatever. I have my own origin story, I saw a lot of shows and a lot of bands (basically everyone young me ever wanted to see) in a lot of venues in a lot of places. If someone wants to say I'm not with the shit anymore, you know, maybe I'm not. I'm also not in a place where participation in any scene defines me. As much as it sort of stings me from a position of pride knowing all the things I knew and believed in the past, I'm also like, "So what?"
In terms of the things you're describing feeling or whatever, I guess the way I've thought about it as someone even older than you is that guitar music is principally the interest of older people due to changes (elimination of?) in music education and trends pushing electronic dance music and hip hop as being contemporary. Makes sense that more people are going to take a pipeline of, I dunno, finding Anthony Fantano or reaction channels doing weird stuff in their 20s than they are being a teenager who hangs out (do teens really hang out still?) and tells all his friends or some younger kids they're around about some edgy shit.
I guess that would intrinsically make for more "scene tourists", but the sort of lifestyle one would lead to have "legitimacy in the hardcore scene" is also generally mutually exclusive to finding some sort of career, getting married, acquiring a permanent home, etc. There's nothing punk or youth crew about going to the office 5 days a week to work on app development or selling medical equipment. The reunion shows pack those folks in and then they don't come back for a local show because, well, are they even really welcome?
Very interesting comment. I never thought about the wane of guitar music in connection with school budget cuts but it makes sense. I also think that as we get further from the beginning of hardcore as a subculture we also need to accept that teenagers want to do their own thing and create their own movements. I know some teens still get real into jazz music but by and large, would you expect to find a large contingent of people under 25 at jazz shows? First wave hardcore is like 10-15 years older than some of the music they’re playing on classic rock stations at this point.
I also get your second point and do agree with it to some extent. The amount of energy I’ve put into hardcore has certainly impacted my ability to be a “functional” adult, and I’m not even in a touring band. On the other hand what really is “legitimacy” in the local scene? Is it booking shows, doing bands, writing zines, etc? I would agree it’s hard to do that with your whole chest and also fit the societal standard of adulthood. Although I think it’s also possible to attend a few local shows a month, just be a cool person, and make acquaintances/feel like you’re plugged in to what’s happening on a deeper level than someone who only sees the world through podcasts and tour package shows. I guess the whole point of this article is “what do I have to do in order to feel ‘legit’”, but if I think about someone who has adult responsibilities and I still see them at a smaller show every month or two, I personally respect it.
The idea of self compassion is something I’ve really been leaning into recently and a lot of that revolves around things like “talking to yourself the way you would talk to a close friend”. So it’s funny that I’m always gonna have thoughts about never being good enough, but if I see some mf with a wife and a mortgage pop out to more than one show every six months I’m slapping him on the back like “ayyy this mf grindin”.
I rag on people who tell me they "don't have time" for something like attending hardcore shows because of their jobs or kids. Not because I think they're posers, but just because I think the majority of people who say that are lying to themselves. If they were honest, they'd admit that they have simply deprioritized it for all the reasons lots of other people deprioritize subculture participation. I'm not mad if you put you don't go to a local show because you got home from work and you are mentally exhausted. I often skip stuff like that for that reason because frankly, there is no novelty to seeing live music for me and I'm sure that is why a lot of other people invariably age out of going to shows too. You could do the same thing you did at age 16 for the rest of your life, or you could do other shit. Most people eventually decide they'd like to do other shit.
I can't be worried about how I'm perceived by anyone at a venue or whatever. I have my own origin story, I saw a lot of shows and a lot of bands (basically everyone young me ever wanted to see) in a lot of venues in a lot of places. If someone wants to say I'm not with the shit anymore, you know, maybe I'm not. I'm also not in a place where participation in any scene defines me. As much as it sort of stings me from a position of pride knowing all the things I knew and believed in the past, I'm also like, "So what?"