I don't think the kids listen to punk or metal much anymore...

[AggravationOverdose]

I was in Bridgeport, Chicago this afternoon and what a trip. I lived there 2002-2010 and during that period seeing a hip person happened very rarely... like for real. You'd see an artist or punk or something and you'd be like, whoa! Rock Bottom Records, Bridgeport Coffee, and maybe a fleeting glimpse of a Morgan St. artist. Nowadays it is like shooting fish in a barrel... anyway, I saw punk shirts but they were all on old people- a 30 something lady with the Faith/Void image on a t-shirt advertising a book club and a 25 year-old guy wearing a The Kids t-shirt- do the math on that one. Most of the cool people seemed kind of old. A 20 something wearing a Negative Approach t shirt in 2017 is like rocking Benny Goodman in 1988.

Even the Lumpy/Coneheads types are aging... they seemed young like two years ago... and young fuckers aren't rocking and rolling, they love their pills and electronic shit... are punk and metal somethings that you get into in your mid 20s now? Both genres will persist, but the average age of a punk gig must be going way up. Right? Wrong?

I think kids- 20 and younger- think punk is silly old people stuff... and it is... but...

[vedicardi]

benny goodman rules

[nuggetsvolume1]

I talk to a bunch of people in their twenties, many of the hipster variety. None of them listen to or care about punk music. Electronic shit is huge, as is some indie rock stuff that all sort of sounds like Arcade Fire to me. Really aggressive rock music like punk or metal is not big. I will occasionally mention to people that I was in punk bands in the 90's: they always say "whoa". I can't figure out if that is a "whoa" as in "cool", or a "whoa" as in "you are an ancient artifact".

Most of the musician types are on some sort of electronic music trip. They aren't starting bands; they are downloading software and building home studios. Most of this is electronic stuff: a few people I know are making heavy punk/guitar stuff with drum machines.

Dating another human being for a year or more and starting a band with your friends is both a.) fulfilling and engaging and b.) a huge pain the ass. I think "the kids" have picked up on part B of the equation, which is why they aren't doing either.

Just my take on our times.

[kevin]

I have a god son, of sorts, who is sixteen and loves punk/hardcore. He lives in rural NEWI. All of his parental figures are also old school punks.

I think in most urban spaces young people are feeling various types of electronic music more, and it's not really very shocking to me, especially when taken in context of all the other changes that are happening in the younger generations. As someone who really loves electronic music, I've been pretty stoked on that, though it doesn't really translate into any dividends, it's not like there are a ton of young people going out to the kind of electronic events that I am interested in. Then again, that shouldn't be shocking either. As everything becomes more and more niche and tailor made online, of course people are going to be interested in very specific things and not as interested in a culture/scene that is "run" by people older than them.

[AggravationOverdose]

not as interested in a culture/scene that is "run" by people older than them.

These children need to learn to respect their elders and do as we did. The pinnacle of cool was late 80s/early 90s noise rock and I expect young people to act accordingly. They need to seriously study their Dope, Guns comps. Nothing they do will ever reach the glory of Guzzard, but if they would just set down their iphone for a second and listen to me they might learn a thing or two.

For real though most people suck- young or old- and then and now only a sliver of the kids are gonna be really into the cool stuff. I gotta feeling though that rock is becoming something that you start to dig as an early adult... kind of like how current 30-50 year olds got into country and blues as they got older, balder, slower, and suckier.

I think if you put it on a chart, the trend of young people into rock has been steadily decreasing, but there seems to have been a more acute drop off in the past few years.

It also seems like kids nowadays identify less as a member of a particular subculture. They feel no need to be loyal to a scene. Right?

[nuggetsvolume1]

"They feel no need to be loyal to a scene. Right?"

      I think the idea of a "scene", as we understood it as kids (your local Department of Punk Rockers) is probably dead. There used to be a well defined course of action a kid could take to start a punk band when I was young, and a group of insider local older folks that you needed to ass kiss to in order to get gigs. Club promoters, local record store owners, local record labels, etc.

     I think "scenes" now are just cliques, and a lot of it happens online. So like, you might have a really well defined group of Skype friends that you do group chats with, and people are loyal to that. And some people rise, and some people fall. And there is dating and drama, etc. Some of these people might not even live in the same state.

     I grew up in a small town with a small punk scene; I dunno if it was all that great. Whatever local yocal Misfit t-shirt wearer was going to be your new best friend until the end of high school (or until you moved). You didn't really have much say in who you were going to hang out with. Whoever was in the scene is who you walked around town with all day.

    I think more so nowdays people are rejecting whoever they live near in hopes of finding cooler people via the internet. Folks might not even live in the same state, let alone the same country.



     

     

[nuggetsvolume1]

I'll say another thing: I live in an undisclosed major metro area with over three million people. I constantly search the "Musicians" part of Craigslist just to see who is trying to start bands. Whenever I see anything remotely cool (say, a hardcore band looking for a bassist), it's always dudes in the 30's to 40's. I rarely see kids 18-21 looking to start bands.

Although you will find plenty of them in the "Casual Encounters" section looking for a blowjob.

[AggravationOverdose]

I think kids are doing a lot of things betterer than old farts, and it is great that you can be friends with someone on the other side of the world, but they are missing out on the cool kid that lives 3 blocks away, or the other side of town or whatever.

It is important to recognize that times change and a lot of what the kids are doing is cool even if old fuckers don't get it, but having said that small groups of people doing their thing whether it is music or art or whatever live and in person together should still be important.... and I'm sure it is.

Say what you want to about  jocks, they understand the importance of getting together and doing things.

[AggravationOverdose]

I'll say another thing: I live in an undisclosed major metro area with over three million people. I constantly search the "Musicians" part of Craigslist just to see who is trying to start bands. Whenever I see anything remotely cool (say, a hardcore band looking for a bassist), it's always dudes in the 30's to 40's. I rarely see kids 18-21 looking to start bands.

Although you will find plenty of them in the "Casual Encounters" section looking for a blowjob.

You live in Denver, right?

There is no way young people are doing "casual encounters" on CL with tindr and grindr and all the other hookup stuff. Those 18 y.o.s on Craiglist must be at least 30.

[kevin]

It is important to recognize that times change and a lot of what the kids are doing is cool even if old fuckers don't get it

I run into plenty of shit that doesn't do anything for me personally, or that makes me feel old, out of touch and out of place, but I begrudgingly respect, as young people are carve their own niche, even if I don't always "get" it. Then again, much of this is not intended for "us" to get, and I'd suggest that a lot of us aren't really wanted in those spaces anyway. That is something I can understand. Perhaps if history wasn't written by those of us who have taken advantage of our positions as gatekeepers things would be different, but the youth have woken up to the problematic ways that we've consistently passed down culture. See also: reasons why "rock 'n roll is dead."

One of the things I am most excited about being a parent, as annoying as dealing with modern youth culture can be as an "artist" of a certain age can be, is being exposed to things that I can not understand. I have a friend whose mother was super cool and was making me mixtapes of Replacements and Buzzcocks and had me watch Pink Flamingos with her when I was thirteen, but couldn't really wrap her head around Skinny Puppy. I am excited to potentially and hopefully hear what my child's generation's Skinny Puppy is.

[nuggetsvolume1]

I know a lot of the younger people I talk to are doing cool shit, even if it isn't starting the next Minor Threat. A girl I know is really good at drawing. Another one went to Film School, wants to make movies, and just got a job as an editor at a news station. One is writing a YA novel. Etc, yadda yadda bing.

I do also know a lot of 25 year old people who haven't dated much and just basically live on the internet. So I dunno how thrilling their youth will be to look back on when they are say, 38. But I guess that's the dark side of the internet.

[AggravationOverdose]

Are you suggesting that young people don't need olde people around telling them what is cool?

Who am I going to unload these Horny Genius and 27 Devils Joking lps on? Kids, ignore Kevin... Daddy Cool is TELLING you these things are worth at least $200.

For real though, it does seems like the kids (and by kids I mean KIDS- I can actually relate to a lot of 22 year olds) are breaking free of the shackles of nostalgia and retro. That said, kids, I know you're reading this forum- you gotta work hard and stick to it whatever you do. Welcome everybody. If you hear nothing I say, listen to THESE wise words:

https://youtu.be/5u-_M6eBcMk?t=2m9s

Who is the Skinny Pupper* of NOW? I dunno, but I hope it is a 15/10 Doggo...

that name always bugged me... Skinny Pupper*... like that Guzzard album with the goldfish covered in glue... will the kids of today understand my war on Guzzard and Mad Nanna? Hopefully we keep the good and jettison the shitty.

[ditmasduke]

around 2015 i was at work and this 21 year old gal who bartended at my place walks in my office while i'm listening to Siege, and she refers to it as "dad rock"

wasn't even the song with the sax, it was full speed Siege

granted when I was a young kid I thought Black Flag was cool and the Ramones were sell outs, but I mean I eventually grew out of that silliness by the time i was 21

[AggravationOverdose]

I do also know a lot of 25 year old people who haven't dated much and just basically live on the internet. So I dunno how thrilling their youth will be to look back on when they are say, 38. But I guess that's the dark side of the internet.

You mean they ain't fucking? Maybe they're just fucking in different ways? Maybe they don't even care about fucking... that would be really cool, except it would mean that their generation won't have a younger generation to not understand... which might actually make them the coolest... which would mean martian cyber-archaeologists in 2525 are going to sum up Earth music of the 2000-2050 era as Lil Uzi Vert and K-pop... that is until they discover a Mad Nanna 7" which will be written off as some sort of Cardiff Giant (which is real by the way)

[AggravationOverdose]

around 2015 i was at work and this 21 year old gal who bartended at my place walks in my office while i'm listening to Siege, and she refers to it as "dad rock"

wasn't even the song with the sax, it was full speed Siege

granted when I was a young kid I thought Black Flag was cool and the Ramones were sell outs, but I mean I eventually grew out of that silliness by the time i was 21

Dad rock... haha. I wonder what she is into now as she ages. Check in with here when she is 29, and I'll bet her middle-aged ass will be rocking The Hellacopters or Gluecifer or Soulja Boy Tell'Em or  whatever