Thursday, April 28, 2011
Hardcore phases have always been funny to me, when everyone jocks a particlar sub-sub-sub-sub genre while declaring that all others are bullshit. From the self righteous denier deleting last season's band off their itunes ("I never liked that kind of shit") and scrambling to download the newest band ("I've been into these guys for ages"), to the ever entertaining parade of costumes that sweep the nation at staggered times (each making fun of the last hxc fashion, not knowing that what they're wearing is already out of style somewhere cooler), even down to watching an ex-members-of-someone-cool band get accepted by the gullible hxc masses no matter how terrible or full of shit they are.
I laugh at hardcore trends like I laughed at an old man I saw standing by a public pool in Romania wearing a speedo stuffed with what appeared to be a pineapple. The absurdity amuses me. The charade of pride and competition, an act blown so out of proportion that not even the actors believe it. It's so pathetic that it tugs my heart strings while simultaneously repulsing me. Seeing grown people falsify themselves for acceptance makes me feel weird and kind of sad but the lengths (or shapes) they go to embarrasses me.
I've been watching the rise of new tough guy phase with somewhat bitter interest (this being a sub-genre of hardcore I've always been a fan of and have been made fun of for liking for years.) The tight and casual fit clothing of yesterday have been shed for xl shirts and freshies, jersies have been unearthed from the backs of drawers or purchased off ebay, timberlands have experienced an inexplicable rise in sales. Backs have been turned on Have Heart and every singer is a TUI rip. But what's cracking me up the most about this phase is the change in language that people use. No matter where they come from, people talkin' like they from deep inside deese streets and it don' no sense. "Yo my boy sent me the new Take Offense joint, dat shit it tiiiiight!" I can't help but laugh. Pineapples abound.