Some quick news involving the Older But Bolder column:

- it is now a weekly column as opposed to bi-weekly

- Q&As become the default entry style when I don’t have something I already want to talk about (this means send me your questions via comments on the entries or Facebook and I’ll answer them). 

 

Anyway, let’s dig into this.

 

Q. What traits in a musician/band do you think grant them the title of “honest”? In other words, when does a band cross the line between “supporting ourselves” and “selling ourselves”? What, then, are the most honest bands you can think of, and what are the least honest (with disregard to the obvious top-40 pop acts)?

A. This question is both good and slightly entrapping because it requires me to make assumptions about musicians that I don’t personally know. I’m going to try and walk a fine line here and make some solid points without being too condemning. “Honesty” is a term that rarely appears genuine when it is presented hand-in-hand with music. You’ll see acoustic artists, pop punk artists, and hardcore artists throw the term around: “Honest ___x genre___. Honest music.” That kind of shit. At that point, the word honest comes off more as a marketing pitch than it does as a trait of the music (even if it may be).

In terms of a band supporting themselves and a band selling themselves… there’s a grey area there. I could argue that there really isn’t a difference (to an extent). What does “support” entail? If it’s making t-shirt costs and van repair fees by playing shows and selling merch then yeah, I suppose support is maintaining the financial idea that the band should finance itself after a point. Should that band check themselves after selling a couple thousand records? Well it depends. There are people who want things. There are people who buy things. “Selling themselves”, if I’m getting your tone right, would be to mass market themselves and become more popular and make stupid amounts of money. I tend to think that bands who sell tens of thousands of records are usually appealing to morons. However, I think those bands make it fairly obvious when they choose to cross that line.

Some honest bands: End of a Year, Lungfish, Moss Icon.

Dishonest bands: open up an Alternative Press magazine, point at any band.

Q. Does the seemingly current re-emergence of hardcore/metal in “hipster culture” ever anger you? I.E. the fact that the new Trash Talk EP got “best new music” on pfork even though, when compared to past releases, it falls super short and sounds way too accessible. Or, seeing inverted crosses everywhere when half the kids doing it couldn’t even tell you where the term “black metal” came from. Or, privileged white kids with trust funds listening to Damaged and acting like it changed their lives. Is our music being taken over? Should we even give a shit? What does this say about us (you) if the answer is yes?

A. There are lots of questions here. Let me start off by saying yes and no. It annoys me that hardcore/metal are becoming the new genres that are en vogue at the present time, however it isn’t surprising. When you take a look at a publication like Pitchfork, metal/hardcore of all kinds really is their untapped medium in terms of genre. They understand that hardcore/metal have a market that they appeal to and that their current market is always lusting for something more musically. They understand that their current market wants more so that they are always “in the know” about what is cutting edge musically. This is a good plan for Pitchfork in order to tap into another demographic while linking their current to another.

Does it annoy me that somehow upside-down crosses and black metal imagery are pouring into the mainstream? Not so much. We live in a culture where things are redone and remixed all the time and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that this would happen. I find it annoying to the extent that these people aren’t creative enough to develop their own artistic image, but it doesn’t chap my ass when I see Tyler the Creator with an upside-down cross on his ski mask. Black Flag’s Damaged is also probably the most overrated Black Flag album, so I guess if kids with money want to jock it and justify their “punkness” by it that’s fine by me. I’ll stick with My War and Slip it In because they don’t sacrifice melody for some self-indulgent machismo laden tracks.

“Is our music being taken over?” is a strange question to ask. You have to ask yourself, when was this music ever ours? When did we lay claim over it and decide that only we could appreciate it? Again, there’s a grey area. I find myself annoyed when people start jocking hardcore or black metal only because they don’t understand where it came from and what it took for those genres to get to their current point. These bandwagoneers are clueless. That offends me; the lack of knowledge, blatant assumptions/misinformation, and Pitchfork-mined opinions.

What does it say about me and the hypothetical us? We’re assholes to those who are clearly uninformed about things we care about personally and there’s some clear humanity in that stance: it proves we care.

Q. Since you live in Bloomington, Indiana which is widely know for its huge folk punk heavy scene, what are your feelings on folk punk and the folk punk scene?

A. Folk punk is strange. It’s like a giant caricature of itself. Sit and think about that.

Q. How do you feel about the band Radiohead?

A. Ask me after I’ve sat down and actually listened to Radiohead.

Q. How do you feel about the air of misogyny in hardcore? Specifically: calling out “slutty” girls, prejudice against female vocalists, being the supposed “boy’s club” of musical genres.

A. It really doesn’t prove anything more than the fact that the hardcore “scene” was/is maintained by neanderthals. It makes those who agree with said prejudices feel good about themselves while it makes those who are aware of the shortcomings attached to their genre painfully aware of how stupid a fanbase/creative collective can be. If you’re really mad about a girl (or guy for that matter) who has had more sex than you (or still does) that just does to show how weak and insecure you are about yourself. If you’re a girl and do that to other girls, you’re being particularly mean and close-minded.

I have no problem with women in a band of any genre. I don’t even care if they’re vocalists/guitar players/drummers. Gender shouldn’t matter, though I could see how the meat-head mentality of hardcore would have a tough time wrapping its brain around gender politics and discrimination.

Q. Thoughts on GG Allin?

A. A parody of the Second Coming of Christ.

Q. Do you like (any) rap artists?

A. Yes. But then I always note: one day these people will become grandparents.

By: Josh Zoerner

Last 5 posts by jzoerner