Not That Serious

this is a real essay

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just a thought on punk scenes, music, and the spaces we make

i love music. i really do. and i love that people are making it, sharing it, showing up for each other. i’m not here to put anyone down for doing what they love.

but i’ve been thinking a lot about how we label things—especially in underground scenes. like, calling a show “punk” doesn’t make it punk. punk isn’t just a vest or a mohawk or a loud pit (though those things have their place). punk is purpose. punk is resistance. punk is community. punk is absurdity. punk is asking why are we doing this at all?

and when shows feel like they’re just entertainment, with fancy Canva posters and no backbone behind them, i get confused. like—where’s the message? what are we saying here? is it punk just because it's loud? because we’re all wearing black? i’m not trying to gatekeep, just trying to ask… are we thinking about what we’re doing, or are we just vibing with an aesthetic we saw online?

i’m not saying punk can’t be fun, or chaotic, or just-for-the-hell-of-it. but i do think it needs something—a spark, an ethos, even just a little weirdness for weirdness’ sake. otherwise it becomes just another scene, like any other.

and then there’s the whole music industry thing. how did we get to this point where one viral song = arena tour? no slow build, no playing in basements, just instant industry plants on massive stages. i think about artists like gracie abrams (nepo baby pipeline in full force) and how easily people just accept that. where’s the critical thinking? where’s the challenge?

i know this might sound bitter, but it’s not. it’s love. it’s love for music and for scenes that could be something real. i’m just thinking out loud. something to think about.

not everyone has to agree. i just want more people to ask: “what are we really doing here?”

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Just so we are all clear

Hot topic is not punk rock

Emo got scooped up by suits the second they saw dollar signs in sadness.

Its a commodity.

If you’re romanticizing emo aesthetics, you’re feeding institutional capitalism.

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This is true creativity

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I love my shrimpies

[captainpirateface]

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meow

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i think i finally figured out why that newer hozier song gets under my skin. the one where he’s all like “i take my coffee black and my bed at three.” yeah, i get it. i do that. i drink my coffee black. i go to bed at 3 or 4 a.m. it’s not romantic. it’s not quirky. it’s not a vibe. it’s just my life.

and that’s the thing—it isn’t that serious. it’s just how i live. but suddenly everyone’s acting like it’s profound. like they’re so seen by it. and maybe that’s fine. maybe people are just connecting to something small. but it feels weird, watching something that came from a place i actually exist in get turned into a catchy aesthetic anthem. like… do they even get it?

because when i drink my coffee black, it’s not because i think it’s cool. it’s because sometimes dairy makes me feel gross. sometimes sugar makes me hate myself. sometimes i just want the bitterness because that’s how i feel, and i want my body to match it. and when i’m up at 3? it’s not a sexy, artistic hour. it’s when my thoughts are loud and my room is too quiet and i can’t sleep even though i want to.

and yeah, hozier’s a good artist. this isn’t about him exactly. it’s about how people latch onto aestheticized pain like it’s cute. like being exhausted, lonely, overstimulated, and stuck in your head is something to put on a pinterest board. like “dark academia self-care” is a thing. what the hell is that even supposed to mean?

real dark academia types don’t call themselves that. people who live in that slow, crumbling, world-weary space don’t need a label for it. we just live there. it’s not a costume. it’s not a trend. it’s a worldview. it’s the place you go when the world feels too loud and too stupid and you just need a moment of stillness that isn’t pretending to be beautiful.

so yeah, i guess what i’m saying is: it’s not that serious. except for when it is. and it is. for some of us.

[neotibicen-linnei-deactivated20]

me, trying to get someone into viagra boys: it's kinda like if talking heads, cake, & gorillaz had a collective baby. and the baby is an arsonist

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Pinhead Gunpowder - Live @ Chain Reaction

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Everything’s Too Serious, So Let’s Get Weird

My other manifesto I guess

The world is heavy. Every headline, every tweet, every post is weighted down with crisis, irony, and existential dread. Everyone wants to be right. Everyone wants to be cool. And everything—everything—feels like it has to mean something huge.

But what about the artists who didn’t care about being cool? What about the bands who made songs about beef jerky or watching TV all day or how much they love their stupid hometown?

This is a space for that. For the silly, the unserious, the under-appreciated weirdos who made music not to save the world, but to make it a little more tolerable.

I’m talking about Ween. I’m talking about Nerf Herder. I’m talking about the forgotten live footage and lost interviews where someone says something weird and beautiful and no one claps. I’m talking about music that makes you grin even when you’re falling apart.

This is part archive, part diary, part soapbox. I’m not here to convince you these bands should be in the Rock Hall. I’m here to say they already did something better: they made life less serious.

So welcome to the mess. I’ll be posting thoughts, clips, memories, maybe even some zine-y bits. If you’re tired of doomscrolling and want to remember what it’s like to be in love with something stupid and joyful, stick around.

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Punk is a Joke, and That’s a Good Thing

My manifesto, version 1

What if being punk didn’t mean being angry all the time?

What if it meant making fart jokes onstage in a homemade superhero costume? Or singing about Star Wars with the same sincerity people sing about breakups?

What if real rebellion looked like not trying to be the next Nirvana— but trying to make your friends laugh while the world burns?

That’s what I'm chasing. From Bloodhound Gang to Allie Goertz. From Flight of the Conchords to the Aquabats. From Mike Patton’s 6,000 strange side projects to Billie Joe Armstrong’s weird little detours into goofball power-pop. From the Viagra Boys dancing in their own mess to Liam Lynch making art that doesn’t care if you “get” it. From the New Pornographers to your friend’s garage band that never posted online.

This is punk—not in fashion, but in ethos. It’s DIY, it’s messy, it’s hilarious, it’s heartfelt, and it’s for the people. It’s anti-corporate, anti-perfection, anti-elitist, anti-burnout. It’s weirdos making stuff just because they love it, and letting other weirdos know it’s okay to love stuff too.

So I’m starting this space—part blog, part public journal, part digital zine— to write about it. To talk about obscure footage, forgotten interviews, side projects that never got a tour (and some that we forgot toured), and songs that saved me by making me laugh.

Because when everything is too serious to survive, the joke becomes the most honest thing left.