At first hardcore/punk was to me a sub-culture based on being different. Since
I didn't seem to fit into "normal" society, I found a little space in being
hardcore or punk. With that title I could be different and nobody would bother
asking why. The answer was obviously because I was hardcore, I was punk,
the music was weird so Chris was weird. In high school my band's name was even
Freak. That's what the other kids called my friends and me so it was an easy
choice for a band name. Now being a Freak is popular and being "different" is
a catch phrase used by anybody trying to market stuff to kids. There used to be
a commercial that said: "Tired of eating burgers? Arby's is different." I
used to annoy the hell out of my parents with my philosophical question: If you
eat at Arby's all the time wouldn't Arby's be the same and burgers would be
different? This is how the subculture has gone. It's become a marketing tool.
It's filled with kids that want to be popular and it's all an image. I have
realized that this sub-culture is not about being different for different's
sake. This is who we are and personally I take great offense when you
commercialize it and mock me. There are tons of kids that have evolved
without becoming something that they are not. There are still bands out there
that truly have a message, whether it be political, personal, or a show of
creativity in the music itself. In a few years everybody will act and dress
like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Marilyn Manson. The truly weird people will be
forced to wear preppy clothes to distinguish themselves from the masses.
Do you want to be one of these kids? Of course not! The truly different kids
will still be wearing what they've been wearing for years. They will use
a revolutionary motto: true to yourself, for you and the world's sake. Art,
music, writing, communication, and ideas can be revolutionary and different.
Clothing and trends cannot be. Let's please stop eating up the crap the media
serves us and markets as different, alternative, punk, hardcore, etc....
Let's start exchanging ideas, communicating, be it through written word,
conversation or art. Let's truly be different because we do not accept
the norms of society not because TV told me to.