nerdviolence:

chrisxvx:

h-e-f-f:

please read this

I agree with the majority of this.

I agree with pretty much all of it.

The hardcore scene is undoubtedly dominated by jock mentality, is too concerned with expensive fashion rather than actual attitude and mentality and is basically a horrible clone of Americanised trends and ideas.

Especially annoying the UKHC warriors that come up with those phrases. It’s true that many of them are completely oblivious to the roots of UKHC, many wouldn’t have a clue of who xCanaanx or Voorhees are, nevermind bands like Ripcord or Heresy. That’s still not as worrying as the fact that there seems to be a growing number of hardcore kids that literally have no clue about punk, never really listened to punk and came to hardcore from the more commercial sort of heavy music.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone gets to hardcore from somewhere different. But I feel that you can’t truly understand the importance of having an independent music scene, the importance of DIY ethics and the fundamental necessity to get out there and do something for the scene unless you have had experience of the murky world of punk.

That said, I do recognise at times I come across as one of those jaded older dudes (despite I’m only about to turn 23) that complains about “kids these days” but the crucial difference is that I am actually trying to do something constructive. You can complain all you want but if you don’t get out there and start a band, write your own ‘zine or put on your own show, there is not much point in moaning if you are not willing to do anything active to change things.

Re: the bold bits. Thing is, being 23 kind of does make you one of the older dudes! I mean, I’m only 21 and I’ve been going to shows for five or six years at this point and sometimes I can feel like one of them too. I know I probably shouldn’t, and generally speaking I don’t. But there have been a few times in recent memory where I’ve been at a show and seen kids doin’ what they do and just thought “I’m seriously just too old for this shit”.

I also totally agree that there’s a divide between people who have got in to hardcore through punk rock and people who have quite clearly got in to hardcore through metal and metalcore, and it may be unfair of me to generalise like this but it looks to me, in my experience, that the more metal-leaning kids tend to be the ones who are a little more concerned with looking the part and following the fashions and wearing expensive baseball caps. They’re the ones who get lower and lower in every consecutive pointless breakdown, and the ones who are most likely to push something misogynistic or homophobic. Generally when I go to hardcore punk shows there’s nothing there that really bothers me too much, but at metalcore shows (if I ever have the misfortune to be at one… it is rare) I’m far more likely to hear a singer call everyone a bunch of faggots, or see a shirt that for no apparent reason has some tits on it. Front magazine in human form.

But yeah, my engagement with hardcore is quite limited as generally a lot of time I don’t have the interest anymore - there has to be something really special for me to want to get involved these days.