#cis men will be like “this band is so cool and hardcore” and then just show me a picture of a man i'd make my wife

[lords-of-mayhem]

"Black metal is hardcore" and then it's a bunch of dudes that look like this ☠️

[hey-have-you-heard]

Hey have you heard these 50 songs from 2019

I really enjoyed this last year so going to give it another go for ‘19. I put quite a lot of thought into what actually a ‘song of the year’ for me when I was first constructing and then heavily editing the playlist that came to be my Top 50 of 2019. I think the most important thing is that above all it’s a track that I’m glad exists, sometimes this is because of the songwriting or composition, sometimes the performance, sometimes the lyrical importance and sometimes just because it sparks joy.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6bFJOjL8b8Zc2s5r1oJbsk?si=UJdqSXOTR3SQ8D3IwcmV2g

Explanations for each tracks inclusion below the fold…

100 gecs - 800db cloud 100 gecs channel a mix of Crystal Castles and Sleigh Bells with a Death Grips level appreciation for noise. It’s an absolute rush and that outro is just absurd.

Natalie Evans - Always Be Natalie Evans soft melody and sing song vocals are sublimely sweet on this heartfelt track of lost love, longing and nostalgia.

Petrol Girls - Big Mouth “If you fight back or disagree you’re the one with the fucking problem” this hits home, hard. Big Mouth is a rallying cry to speak out against oppression and discrimination, to raise you’re voice and be heard, not to be controlled.

Charli XCX ft. Lizzo - Blame it on your Love Charli has a midas touch when it comes to pop, combine that with Lizzo who has just about been the most fun thing in music this year and you’ve got a 10/10 banger.

Poppy - BLOODMONEY Poppy’s music just keeps going further down the rabbit hole. Originally playing with blending elements of nu-metal with bubblegum pop, she now seems to have transcended genre altogether to create whatever BLOODMONEY is, it’s absolutely ridiculous and I love it.

Body Hound - Bloom Get on that GROOVE! So proggy it hurts, this track from Body Hound is a technical wonderland of metamorphosing rhythms, gargantuan riffs, and just the tastiest of chord progressions.

Can the Sub_Bass speak - Algiers Word of warning, this is not an easy listen. A freefall tumble through genre and tone accompanies a stream of consciousness monologue full of racism, prejudice and political and artistic critique.

Elohim - Buckets Buckets is an onslaught of trap influences, emotional outbursts and aggressive distortion. I’m a big fan of this sound.

VUKOVI - C.L.A.U.D.I.A I know very little about VUKOVI as a band, but that riff is absolutely massive and this track has been a constant throughout my year on that basis alone.

Show Me The Body - Camp Orchestra Apparently more hardcore bands should use Banjos, because this is a damn good sound. Slowly building from a single bass line this track builds into a powerful demolishing force.

clipping. - Club Down Having thoroughly proven themselves able to do afro-futurist scifi on the Hugo nominated Splendor and Misery, clipping. now turn their considerable talents to horror core and unsurprisingly nail it. Daveed’s flows are tight as ever as he brings to life a decaying city backed by tortured screams.

Dream Nails - Corporate Realness YOU ARE NOT YOUR JOB. WORK IS NOT YOUR LIFE. YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU MUST DO IN ORDER TO SURVIVE. Dream Nails are great and exactly what we need right now.

ControlTop - Covert Contracts This track positively bristles with an anxious energy. A fitting sound for the subject of the information overload we find ourselves locked into everyday.

Cherry Glazerr - Daddi There’s an icy coolness to ‘Daddi’, a disconnected sarcasm that falls away to reveal the anger and torment in the chorus, it’s a masterful bit of emotional storytelling through musical tone.

The Physics House Band - Death Sequence I Listening to Physics House latest release, the Death Sequence EP feels like a physical journey. This opener is a perfect example of this, as you’re plunged straight into a heady and disorienting mix of rhythms and counter-melody’s, the Sax guiding you through the turbulence until you land in a placid midsection, before that bass riff drags you forward through rhythmic breakdowns into an absolutely absurd brain melting saxophony and then it just keeps on going from there…

Witching Waves - Disintegration I saw WW back in the early summer, they were a bassist down so it was just a guitar and drums duo. They started with this track and it was one of the most pure punk things I’ve experienced, drummer/vocalist Emma Wigham bashing the absolute shit out of her kit . A great no-nonsense lo-fi banger.

Lingua Ignota - DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR Another, not particularly easy listen here. DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR is a dark and angry brooding track, building in intensity to release the primal rage, fear and horror of the abused. Its deeply chilling and instantly arresting. This track and the entire CALIGULA album stands as an absolute must listen.

Carly Rae Jepsen ft. Electric Guest - Feels Right I love the instrumentation on this one, those chunky piano chords and screaming guitar lift the track out and make it the highlight of an already great album to me.

Orla Gartland - Figure it out Dialing back the intensity slightly, Orla chronicles the frustrations of having to deal with someone in your life who you’re done with. The choruses burst forth in beautifully fuzzy explosions of noise. That vocal flair at the start of the final chorus is chef kiss.

Battles - Fort Greene Park Battles are at their best when they keep things simple. This is evident on 2019′s Juicy B Crypts which features some incredibly cluttered moments, but this just makes Fort Greene Park stand out all the more. A delightfully spacious piece of math rock, from some of the best in the business.

Dogleg - Fox Boy howdy, do I love me some midwest emo. Catharsis in musical form, it just makes me want to mosh my troubles away like I’m 16 again.

Tørsö - Grab A Shovel Tørsö go hard, I can appreciate that. An absolutely brutal track about the destructive power of depression and self-loathing.

“Pijn & Conjurer playing Curse These Metal Hands” - High Spirits “We were like, are we Pijn and Conjurer, or are we Curse These Metal Hands? I think we’ve settled with ‘we are Pijn and Conjurer playing Curse These Metal Hands’ …whatever that means!“ what it means is one of the most joyously triumphant pieces of metal music I’ve ever heard. Some of the guitar lines in this absolutely soar.

Lizzo - Juice Lizzo has won 2019, her message of self love, acceptance and body positivity has won her both critical and cultural acclaim and permeates her music in a way that makes it impossible to not love.

COLOSSAL SQUID, AK Patterson - Kick Punch Colossal Squid is the name given to Three Trapped Tigers drummer, Adam Betts’ experimental project. After a solo album of percussive wizardry Betts has now teamed with vocalist AK Patterson to give us something else entirely.

Evan Greer - Liberty Is A Statue Evan Greer uses the a folk punk sound to deliver an essay on the damaging influences of cis-normativity and social inequality. Of course I like this one.

Taylor Swift - Lover I wasn’t on board with this song for a fair while, but then I kept listening to it and kept coming back to it because of a roughly 50 second section which ties the track and the whole album together. Yeah, this is on here purely for the bridge, which is just beautiful.

Dodie - Monster Monster is an incredibly well written and delivered study on how perception changes with resentment and it makes me cry.

The Y Axes - Moon Moon is a delightfully dreamy piece of pop that glitters with infectious melodies, it’s lyrics a blissful embracing of cosmic nihilism, need I say more?

Ezra Furman - My Teeth Hurt My teeth hurt is a song about tooth ache, about that pain you carry with you everywhere and can’t get rid of, that ruins your days and and is one hell of a mood. Yeah it’s about gender dysphoria.

Nervus - No Nations Speaking of things being a mood, this track hits the nail squarely on the head.

Cultdreams - Not My Generation "Everyone ignores me Unless I’m on a stage talking Because they put me on a pedestal And pretend I’m just performing“ Lucinda Livingstone calls out the misogyny in our culture with a singular ferocity.

Lil Nas X - Old Town Road If there’s one song that’s dominated 2019 this is it right here. Who ever had the idea of putting that NIN Ghosts sample to a trap beat and cowboying over the top of it is an absolute genius.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Planet B It’s impossible to predict where King Gizzard’s sonic influences are going to take them next I doubt even they know half the time. Whatever they turn their hand to though they do it as if they mastered the sound decades ago Planet B is an all out thrash track with a strong environmental message.

Kesha - Rich, White, Straight Men Okay, I’m about to compare Kesha to John Lennon here but HEAR ME OUT… As ‘Imagine’ asked us to consider a world without conflict or capitalism, Kesha now posits that we should tear up our conceptions of our society based on its formation by a privileged group and imagine what kind of utopia could be built if we gave the underprivileged and minority groups a say.

Allie X - Rings A Bell The chorus here sounds like it could have been off Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, and I’m all about that sound. Combined with Allie X’s dreamlike vocals make this a certified bop.

Poly-Math - Sensors in Everything Sensors in Everything is a beast of a track spanning over 14 minutes of absurdly dense prog. Having recently enlisted keyboardist Josh Gesner. Polymath make use of the new sounds and textures available to them, at times imitating a sort of Hammond sound not unlike John Lord to the chaotic maelstrom of noise.

Calva Louise - Sleeper Big hooks on this one. Sleeper has a confident swagger to it’s sound which stands apart for the bands previous work. It’s an absolutely huge track.

Slipknot - Solway Firth Slipknot didn’t disappoint after the tease of 2018′s “All Out Life”, following up with an album which blended old and new aspects of their sound to create one of their best to date. Solway Firth is a perfect example of this matching the punishing heaviness of Iowa with the melody driven sound of All Hope Is Gone.

Clt Drp - Speak To My Seeing Clt Drp perform live was one of my highlights of the year. The filthy guitar tones, powerhouse vocals tight as heck drumming and the _grooves. _Absolutely like nothing else I’ve seen. Just an incredible band that deserve so much more recognition.

Black Country, New Road - Sunglasses Black Country, New Road released two tracks this year and now I just want more. Dense wordy lyricism plays off against ever evolving instrumentation to present a raw cut of emotional storytelling.

Her Name Is Calla - Swan Her Name Is Calla are a band that have always been on the edge of my radar, my Dad is very fond of them and saw them live a couple of years ago, but never went back to relisten to any of their stuff, then they started an album with this. I was sold instantly.

black midi - Talking Heads Talking Heads (the band) are an obvious inspiration on this track. Both David Byrne’s vocal style and the Talking Heads penchant for sharp angular melodies are on show here. But given an extra ounce of chaos through Black Midi’s delivery.

Amanda Palmer - The Ride The ride is ten minutes of bundling up all your fears and anxieties of where we are and where we’re going and just, accepting them as part of the ride. Written off the back of a prompt from Amanda asking her fans what they were afraid of right now.

Kim Petras - There Will Be Blood Okay, let’s have some out of season spookiness. Love the squelchy synths on this, there’s a huge amount of energy on this track and with it’s commitment to the horror conceit it makes for a super fun bop.

Kate Nash - Trash Kate Nash’s sound is like bathing pure nostalgia,here she spins the toxic-relationship narrative central to her work to deliver a bigger story about humanity’s, quite literally toxic relationship to our planet.

American Football & Hayley Williams - Uncomfortably Numb The other side of the “midwest emo” coin. A melancholic song built on a soft bed of arpeggiated chords and clean harmonics, Uncomfortably Numb is a heartbreaking track of losing everything and of cycles persisting thorugh generations. Employing the clever metatextual trick of referencing Pink Floyd’s comfortably Numb to mirror the generational similarities.

Glenn Branca - Velvet and Pearls Disclaimer, Glenn Branca was a musical hero of mine, his approach to music and composition being solely responsible for influence a vast number of my favourite bands. Released posthumously, Velvet and Pearls is taken from a live performance by Branca’s ensemble and perfectly captures the sense of sonic disorientation, conjuring aural illusions through an assault of intricately crafted noise. It’s an exhilarating piece that should be played as loud as humanly possible.

Brutus - War The raw emotional strength of Stefanie Manneart’s vocals instantly made me pay attention when I first heard this track. Then the song exploded into a barrage of riffs and breakneck drumming.

Valiant Vermin - Warm Coke Another slice of throwback pop, Valiant Vermin proved with “Online Lover” how much of an ear she has for pop and has proven it once again with Warm Coke. Is a real good bop.

———

Welp there it is, 50(+1) songs, I had to limit myself to one track per artist in the main 50 because according to Spotify I listened to [checks notes] 1082 new artists this year. There are a small handful of tracks I wanted to highlight from the same artists though as they offer something quite different to the tracks in the playlists, so here they are quickly with 3 word descriptions.

Petrol Girls - Skye (dead dog, sad) Amanda Palmer - Voicemail for Jill (Talk about abortion) Ezra Furman - I Wanna be Your Girlfriend (Trans Torch Song) Battles ft Jon Anderson & Prairie WWWW - Sugar Foot (Batshit Prog Insanity) Poppy - Choke (Dark Minimalist Pop) Show Me The Body - Forks and Knives (Anxious nightmare punk) Lingua Ignota - CALIGULA (the whole album.)

———

Closing Statement

Cultdreams - Statement

There has been a shadow over the entertainment industry the latter half of this decade. Whether film, music, TV or video games, the late 2010′s are filled with stories of people coming forward to bravely tell their stories about being abused and manipulated by men in positions of power. The #metoo movement as it’s come to be known has been a powerful force in giving marginalised people a voice and the ability to call out oppressors and in starting the groundwork to root out the misogyny in the seats of power, but this is a battle far from won.

While there are thousands of stories out there I want to focus on one in particular.

In 2016 a number of women spoke out about various forms of abuse by a well-known musician in the punk scene. It’s now over three years later and this group of women are in the midst of a long fought claim of defamation from this musician. If this case goes through it sets a precedent for silencing marginalised voices in the industry. They have been fighting for so long and with no legal aid available for the case they have had to finance their defense from their own pockets.

This is where Solidarity Not Silence comes in. Solidarity not silence is a crowdfunding effort to help take the case to trial without the women bankrupting themselves entirely so that they don’t have to give in to this mans demands.  You can read more about Solidarity not Silence and make a donation (if you feel so inclined) here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/solidaritynotsilence/

You can also follow them on twitter here https://twitter.com/solnotsilence

[livefrompittsburgh]

Happy House / Garbitch / YGSLRHSTFUT

11.22.19 // Los Angeles 

This post is a little late and a little unconventional for this blog. 

For starters, I was far from home. I had found myself in Burbank for an animation convention and managed to make my way to LA to check out the local punk scene. 

And the LA punks did NOT let me down in the slightest. 

My getting into the venue was interesting. The Smell’s entrance is in an ally which I didn’t know about until 10 minutes after I was standing in front of the very back of the place waiting for doors to open. Rookie mistake I bet. 

The show was a lot more than just the bands too. The first person to take the stage was Braxton. He talked about his time in the punk and metal scene as a black man and all of the racism that he faced and still faces. It’s a very important perspective to keep in mind. Punk is hailed as something inclusive and has had many incredible and iconic black musicians to rise to popularity in the scene, however a majority of punk and metal is still incredibly white. It was a lot to think about, especially coming from a scene myself where I’m mainly surrounded by white men. I was lucky enough to talk to Braxton too before I left, he was super down to earth and chill and I hightly recommend his hardcore band, Shred Bundy.

The next act was the first band up, Happy House. To my absolute delight, the mosh pit started almost instantly (Braxton actually shoved me right into the pit getting everything started. What a dude.). Happy House went hard as hell and made my heart so happy that someone so cute with cherries in their hair can get up on stage and absolutely fuck it up. Not that appearances matter, but I’m still so used to mediocre 30+ year old white guys it was so refreshing to see someone of that caliber up there.

The next speaker was J, a non binary Asian sex worker. They were giving tips on how to stay safe in the world of online sex work as well as how to get started. A big conversation was what sites to go on for work, how to protect your identity, and most of all make sure you’re getting paid right for your services. Another big point they made was how much less work/retweets you will get a someone who’s non-white with a different body type in the industry. 

The next band up was Garbitch. They brought it all to the stage. The head vocalist had a pink dildo on them at the beginning of their set and I just knew it was gonna be magical. They threw out plastic pig masks into the crowd and encouraged us to wear and destroy them to our hearts content as they sang a song about beating up cops. There were also a lot of teens present in the audience. The vocalist called them out, happy that their message is reaching and influencing the younger generation. One of the teens even asked me and some others to help her crowd surf. Near the end of their set, in the spirit of the classic riot grrrl movement, Garbitch made a call for all non-binary and trans people to come to the front. It was in that second that I felt truly a part of something. I felt seen for who I was, despite no one there knowing me. Garbitch is not only an incredible queercore band, they represent a community and a call to action. They make trans people feel safe and free to let out their emotions and frustrations in that pit. 

Then there was the fashion show. I was stunned. I was spoiled rotten. A mother fucking fashion show. They had brought in a local fashion designer, Audey Thunders (who is on Etsy), to showcase her newest works. The models came in all shapes, sizes, colors, and genders. The clothes were made out of old 90′s bedsheets turned into outfits. There were even some available for sale after the show. Unfortunately I didn’t get any of the clothes but I did snag a cool studded choker made from zippers. 

Last but most definitely not least was You Guys Suck Like Real Hard Shut The Fuck Up Thanks (or YGSLRHSTFUT for short). You Guys Suck had a way of commanding attention from the audience. They let everyone know that they would be heard and we would listen to every word. The very first song was called Fat, Black, and Trans which was a testament to the lead vocalist. She sat in the chair the whole time but that didn’t diminish the power of the set. You don’t have to thrash everywhere about the stage to be a punk. She talked and sang about everything. About her blackness, her transness, her homelessness. She told us all how LA is funneling more money into police than into taking care of the exceedingly large homeless population. The overall message and sound of You Guys Suck was the most powerful and impactful I’ve ever heard. Their final song had us chant along with them names of black women unjustly murdered by the hands of police. The loud and just fury of every single person in that room was so fucking powerful. Everyone was sent out with a call to action to combat the injustice that runs rampant in our streets killing our black population. 

There was one more act that night that I only caught a small glimpse of, a burlesque dancer. Unfortunately I had to dip because it was late and I had to catch an Uber back to Burbank. Had I stayed longer, I know I would have nothing but good things to say.

That night was hands down the best punk show I had ever been to. It opened my eyes and showed me that punk isn’t just white. Punk isn’t straight, or cis. Punk is so much more than the stuff that lies on the surface of the scene. That night I got to be a part of something. I got to be around people who are making an impact and causing change in the scene. I hope that some day I get to see anyone from that night again. I encourage every single person out there to check out these bands if you have the means. 

And to anyone who may have read this the whole way through: I love you. Thank you. 

[the-queer-look]

Nothing Rhymes With David

Name: David James Age: 30 Location: Wollongong Occupation: freelance music journalist/podcaster Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Gender: Cis Male

Without the hair and the beard I look like Augustus Gloop in Wonka’s chocolate factory, so as soon as I was able, I started growing all this out. I haven’t had a hair cut in eight years, and the beard really does it for me, so I’m set like this. Of course now I’m getting grey streaks and thats a whole thing to deal with, but I’m thirty, I can just deal with that. I have well over a hundred band shirts, five pairs of shoes, and three pairs of pants, so some variation of this is what you’ll see on me from day to day, just a constant rotation of band and wrestling shirts. Like Kevin Smith said “If you’re fat, you wear black, and you wear layers.” and he was right. I’ve never gone for his jorts, but I respect his dedication to the craft. Over time they seemed to get wider and wider until it got real distracting. Kevin Smith has as many and varied hockey jerseys as I have band shirts, and I respect that hustle.

I realised I was bisexual when I was fifteen, it was the video for “Make Damn Sure” by “Taking Back Sunday” and I remember Adam Lazzara being cute as hell. At first I thought that I thought he was just really cool and I wanted to be like him, but I then realised “Oh no this is more of an infatuation sort of thing like when I was watching Angeline Jolie or whatever” and I just sort of put two and two together and realised that there must be a thing for that. Basically when I find out something new about myself I just add it to the list of things I know about me; Like realising that I was a bit straight edge, once I had the words to describe it, it just became a part of who I was. Having the words to be able to describe myself like that is very comforting y’know? Like I was diagnosed with Aspergers’ as a kid, but didn’t get told about it until I was a teen, and finding out just made a lot of things make sense. There was no change in the way I presented myself, I was fifteen, Mum mum bought my clothes for me!

I don’t know what being queer means to me, I’ve never felt that I really fit in with all that. You know when you’re a kid and see those signs saying “you must be this tall to ride?” I feel like when I look at queer stuff that if I want to be involved I’m going to see a sign saying “you must be this queer to enter” and I don’t know if I’d measure up. I just feel like I’m caught in the middle, and I’m just not cool enough or queer enough to be included in those conversations. Being queer is as much a part of my life as being right handed or left handed, its one part of the puzzle that makes up me.

I don’t think that anyone in my community, and in my scene knew any any trans people before Laura Jane Grace. To the best of my knowledge that had never happened in such a public way in the modern punk or hardcore scene. There were a few gay people - we were kids when Rob Haldford came out and he was in his mid forties when he finally came out in 1998, long after people had stopped caring about Judas Priest, and frankly that’s what brought them back into the mainstream. So there was a few queer people in the heavy music scene, but Laura Jane Grace was the first time that we learnt about trans people and transitioning, and learning about proper pronouns, and seeing it all happen very publicly. It was a huge thing to see, and the closest we’d come to was fictionalised stuff like Hedwig and the Angry Inch, or the Crying Game or something, we’d never seen it be so real and so open. They weren’t the first trans punk person, but they were the first big name performer in the punk scene to do this. On a smaller scale? there’s a musician from Newcastle called Rachel Maria Cox who came out as Non Binary a few years ago, and we’d never heard of that stuff. I grew up in Nowra, I didn’t know about this stuff, I didn’t meet another openly queer person until I was nineteen and came up to Sydney for a show, and even then in terms of people who weren’t Cis I wouldn’t be able to tell you shit. To find out what non binary was, and what transitioning was, it was incredible for me. That opened up a whole spectrum where people were way more comfortable explaining who they were, and no I have a whole load of non binary friends. That dialogue has become so much more open, and I attribute that to people like Rachel, and Laura who really blazed the trail really.

I feel like we need more positivity for larger men. When it comes to a positive role model for a fat guy like me I get… DJ Khaled? No thanks really. There aren’t really any fat, queer dude that you can look to and see as an aesthetic role model. Which is a problem inherent to queer society as well, is this big push of these gorgeous, slimmer people. As much as there’s this push for body positivity, especially for women, I so rarely see larger men being held up as positive examples of queer masculine aesthetic.

you can follow David on:

davidjamesyoung.com

Podcasts:

all my friends are in bar bands hottest 100s & 1000s The big show show show

David’s band

“Nothing Rhymes with David”

Instagram:

@DJYWrites @notforprintpods @XNRWD @hottest100s

full interview on facebook

follow us on instagram

please contact us if you would like to be involved

[liberal-brainwashing-blog]

“Alternative” Culture & The Extent of Rebellion

Living in the SF Bay Area, specifically Oakland, there are a lot of people who are extremely similar to me. Dressing the same, having the same interests, listening to the same music, doing similar activities, and so on and so forth. If one would walk into Dolores Park in San Francisco, you will find plenty of people who look extremely similar. Similarly black clothes wearing, septum ring having, doc martin wearing, weed smoking, tattoo getting, feminism loving people. Now, let me make myself absolutely clear, nothing is wrong with enjoying these things whatsoever. I am very much happy to like the things I like, do the things I do, and believe the things I believe (with willingness to change). Specifically in the SF Bay Area, many people are in a similar boat as I, but some are not. In fact, some people are very uninterested in being in some way a part of such a subculture. I am not speaking about tech workers & fraternity members, I am speaking of the very same My Bloody Valentine loving individuals who belong to such a subculture. 

When discussing this subculture, I will speak of what I know of, and that specifically is, white cisgendered individuals. I recognize that, intersectionally, different identified people definitely experience these cultures differently. While there may be some queer POC may have a similar mindset as previously mentioned, I will not attempt to prove such an argument because, frankly, I am speaking from my experience and my experience is white cis straight male. Luckily for me, many other people within such the subculture to which I exist are of similar composition. 

Part 1: The “Alternative” Culture

Enough description, words are hard to read enough as they are. Here are some wonderful photos that well describe the subculture I am speaking of. 

(Above: A picture of George (middle) and Kerry (right) of the metal band Deafheaven) 

Just a couple of metal loving, hardcore enjoying, binge drinking, pot loving, black wearing, hip dudes. Many white men look like this within the SF Bay Area’s “alternative” culture, even me! 

(Above: Some lovely person with many tattoos, short hair, and a lovely top.) 

Similarly, many white cis women within such an SF Bay Area subculture look fairly similar to this. 

(Above: Some members of the post-hardcore band Tigers Jaw. Don’t they look different?). 

Just a couple of white men, and white woman, looking nice and cool. 

To be honest, I like the way these people look. Furthermore, I would probably be friends with them as people. A very specific aesthetic choice of this subculture is the easiest way to identify its existence, an aesthetic I quite enjoy. I have no issue with these people, the way they dress, their tastes, and other such things (although I am not aware of their politics). What I find fascinating, is that there are people who belong to this subculture, wildly and fully, and still find themselves striving to exist in a culture that is even more contrary to popular culture. There are two things we can observe from this phenomenon to which we will discuss now. 

Part 2: Popular Alternatives 

The scale to which this alternative culture has grown within the SF Bay Area that I cannot even walk outside without seeing one person wearing black, a cool dress or top, or tattoos. People participate in alternative culture because, well for one it looks cool right, and second, there is an appeal of being a part of something other than the majority. However, it would appear that this subculture is no longer as subversive as it once was. Its growth has become that of, by observed by some, at odds with popular culture. This vast growth of the subculture seems to take away from its previous exclusivity and rebellion. Some people want to be different from any form of popular culture so bad that they are willing to try and deviate themselves from this subculture. 

Part 3: Futile Expression

 However, this kind of hyper individual person goes from tattoo to the next in trying to be so different from alternative cultures. These attempts are clearly futile and amount to an even stronger conforming to alternative subcultures. To this person, there is really only one way to rebel. However, this rebellion, inherently, places them in a rebellious culture. This person is attempting to flee the utter inevitability that others will do the same, and the complete hyper individualism they are seeking is truly non existent. This is the same kind of ideology utilized by far right republicans. Thinking they are not a part of a culture, a society, living solely on their own property, by their will, by themselves. This idea is not only unrealistic, but it is also dangerous, as we have seen by actions of such politicians who hold such ideologies. People, individuals, convene to groups. It is almost inescapable.

Part 4: I Love Communities 

People get together, make communities, and just as so, cultures. As wonderful as this is, a community bent on individuality starts to fail and become confused when its ideology moves to extremes. Just as so, when a community is built upon the grounds of rebellion, there seems to be some people who resent the people around them. Of course, most people are not like this, but some are. And just as so, these hyper rebellious then become something they probably strove to divide from in the first place, conservatives.  

[licerecommends]

Music Recs by Gabe

Album: Son de los Diablos [2018] Artists: Dengue Dengue Dengue Review: Psychedelic electronic noise over traditional Latin American rhythms. Acoustic percussion heavy. Worth checking out other albums. Favorite Tracks: Tags: World; Afro-Latinx ; Rhythm ; House ; Electronic ; Drum and Bass

Album: Rio Arriba Artists: Chancha Via Circuito Review:  Great collabs on this album as well as their own work. Ambient south American, heavy percussive with electric overtones sometimes. Low key and rhythmic. Their other albums are great too. Definitely a unique fusion that is both heady and body-hypnotic. Favorite Tracks: Tags: Electronic ; Bass; Latin ; World ; Cumbia ; Dub ; House ; Fusion

Album: Only the Sun is Full of Gold Artists: Cankun Review: Really great, smooth album full of heady noise, uplifting riffs, more accessible jams and experimental longform tangents. Great flow from one track to the next, no words, fairly ambient and downtempo but some tracks do pick up with a decent beat. Favorite Tracks: Words, Trezz, Cuts Tags: Psychedelic ; Rock ; Experimental ; Electronic ; Abstract ; Funk ; House ; Tropical ; Ambient ; French Other: Reminds me of a more mellow boards of canada and or bitchin bajas

Album: Khun Narin’s Electric Phin Band Artists: Khun Narin Review: Great album! Psychedelic Thai street performers with influences from Thai wedding music to Western rock. Just one of the best jam albums ever, songs last forever and are great for focusing. Really unique sound Favorite Tracks: Tags: World ; Thai ; Psychedelic ; Rock ; Fusion ; Jam ; Progressive ; Traditional Other:

Album: Amajovi Jovi Artists: Sandy B Review: A great Kwaito album (a distinctly South African genre, born of the townships. Can be related to American hip hop or rap but has a distinctive rhythm). Definitely groovy and pretty chill, strong rhythmic drives. I don’t know if I’d call it either singing or rapping, rhythmic talking? Very good either way. Favorite Tracks: Amivoji Jovi (title track) Tags: World ; Africa ; South Africa ; Kwaito ; R & B ; Soul ; Drums n Bass ; Traditional Other:

Album: SAB SE PURANI BAB Artists: SAICOBAB Review: wEird as shit. Haha. A fusion between Japanese and Indian traditional music with some more modern experimental and electronic notions. This album makes me feel like I’m experiencing a crazed or psychotic frenzy. High energy, lots of female shrieking and random vocal noises. Definitely interesting. Favorite Tracks: AWAWAW Tags: World ; India ; Japan ; Experimental ; Vocal ; Female ; Traditional Other:

Album: Synthesize the Soul : Astro-Atlantic Hypnotica from the Cape Verde Islands 1973-1998 Artists: Compilation (Various) Review: Great, great high energy album with a lot of varied voices and styles. This is the ultimate dance party music, but I mean dance dance, traditional grooves spanish style dancin’ (not rave dancin’). Well I had no idea where the Cape Verde Islands were, but they’re off the East coast of Africa, and were a colony of Portugal for a while. You can definitely hear that, the music is a creole of that distinctive spanish (portuguese) beat, tempo, and style, but also the unique Afro sound of their particular islands. I like this album because it features a lot of artists that I would also recommend looking up, because they have all put out their own work that is just great. Favorite Tracks: Danca Danca t’Manche (sorry can’t do those fancy symbols on here) Tags: Compilation ; World ; Africa ; Spain ; Latin ; Dance ; Traditional ; Swing Other:

Album: Black Trash, White House Artists: Guayaba Review: Damn. Guayaba fucking kills it. She is hardcore like no one else I’ve listened to, she makes me want to start a revolution by killing cis white men asap. Lyrics are really powerful and just has a great heavy rhythm. She’s Afro-Latinx, Queer, fat, and says as much in her tracks. GO OFF Favorite Tracks: Tags: World; African-American ; Latin ; Experimental ; Hip-hop; Rap ; Queer Other: saw her in seattle  she was amazing

Album: Afro-Beat Airways: Ghana & Togo 1974-1978 Artists: Various (Compilation) Review: Another amazing album that was a difficult find but seems to have this sort of cult following. They recently repressed it as vinyl so it’s been showing up in various DJ mixes which is pretty cool. The album itself is super varied, we’ve got some slower traditional tracks, some upbeat grooves, and so many instruments I can’t even begin to name them all. Tons of vocal talent, the vibe of the album is generally pretty melodic and upbeat. Again, would recommend looking up any of the individual artists bc a lot have put out their own music/been in bands that are good stuff! Favorite Tracks: Tags: World ; Africa ; Funk ; Traditional ; Soul ; Folk ; Afrobeat Other:

Album: Inversions, Prender el Alma Artists: Nicola Cruz Review: Ecuadorian music that is an interesting blend of the siku, a traditional andean wind instrument, electronic rhythm, and spiritual (ancestral) Latin american sounds. I’ve never heard anything quite like this. In doing research, he’s actually played boiler room and been a leader in this contemporary resurgence in Ecuador/Latin America, where they’re honoring and continuing music traditions while blending in really unique and globally-accessible electronic elements. All the tracks are just delicious I would love to see him live. Favorite Tracks: Folha de Jurema Tags: World; Electronic ; Traditional ; Fusion ; Dance ; Techno ; Latin ; Africa Other: see also - Chancha Via Circuito

-------- so if it has a tag "traditional" it is on the more acoustic side of the spectrum, and if it has the tag "electronic" then its... ya electronic haha . less likely to have acoustic elements.you can control f for tags if you want a specific continent (africa, latin america, etc)