Music is (or at least should be) an art-form, an expression; an organic process as natural, useful, sensible, essential – ENRICHING – as breath itself… not a “lifestyle choice” or demographic denominator…such generic “lifestyle choices” are strait-jacket constraints, imposed by marketeers and media men with no concept of individual preferences, identifications or experiences. The “Alternative” is another bait…a net to catch those who didn’t swim into that left lying in the mainstream. Just as the cum of Communism drowns those who resisted the faeces of Fascism, so it is in the realm of fashion and entertainment that the “Alt” pen rounds up the sheep who escaped from the main farm. I say cast it allll away……salsa to Slayer and head-bang to Estefan if such takes your fancy…let yourself define your aesthetic tastes & lifestyle…don’t let a lifestyle or tastes EVER define who and what YOU are..
….irrefutable…
…irreplaceable…
…individual…
..a singular event unable to be produced or defined by the hands, minds, tongues or binds of marketing men or media moguls…
~MRDA~
I see what you mean. Too many people take one genre of music and adopt it as a lifestyle in an attempt to fit in to one group. This is especially true with goth/emo kids in my opinion, although it could just be a Derby thing. For example, “Goth” music is a general term for darkwave, dark electronica and black metal (sorry if I’ve missed anything out Goth types). A lot of people aren’t content with just listening to the music, they have to dress in the gothic clothing and adapt a miserable/cynical outlook on life that puts mine to shame. People are so desparate to fit into just one particular elitist group that they can’t bring themselves to listen to a variety of music, lest their peers see it as uncool.
Just my tuppenneth worth, anyway.
Yeah, you’re totally right – in many ways that was part of my experience – when I started to listen to “Alternative” music (rock, metal, industrial et al) I bought into the notion that the scene was full of open-minded, truly alternative individuals. However, festivals/gig experience showed that my notions were bullshit! The “scene” seems filled with as many pricks as you’d find on your inner city street corner or Garage club – townies dressed in black, if you will…though there are always exceptions, I suppose…
All this hasn’t diminished my love and enjoyment of metal, industrial and the rest, but I integrate loved stuff from other genres into my playlists and such, and try to distance myself from any “scene” affiliations..that’s the best way to go if you TRULY wanna be “individual” and “different”..
I notice I virtually repeated me post – but fuck it!