[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

yeah, cuz graffiti sure gets roads built, infrastructure repaired, schools funded, etc etc etc.

actually thats EXACTLY what the EZLN does in Chiapas, meanwhile the Mexican govt comes around and blows a bunch of shit up

voting doesn't get you shit.

[Rob Instigator]

i don't live in chiapas.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

i don't live in chiapas.

true, but perhaps if Americans were as motivated to get theirs as the EZLN, we might have ours? Voting is like saying, "i decline to do it for myself, hey you in the suit, do it for me "

 

[chairman of the bored]

donkey punch

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by chairman of the bored

donkey punch

 

[Rob Instigator]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

true, but perhaps if Americans were as motivated to get theirs as the EZLN, we might have ours? Voting is like saying, "i decline to do it for myself, hey you in the suit, do it for me "

 

that is the definition of a representative republic.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

that is the definition of a representative republic.

and 2000 years of history have pointed out its several fundamental vulnerabilities to corruption. But hey, nothing is perfect. Its just that there are very many more proactive ways to get directly involved in our communities than voting (not to say you do not already do that, this is rhetorically speaking) and I prefer folks get involved that way.

[Rob Instigator]

representative republics were born in 1776 bro

[Kloriel]

haven of disgusting signature pics

[phoenix]

Originally Posted by Kloriel

haven of disgusting signature pics

so glad I have sigs off.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Originally Posted by phoenix

so glad I have sigs off.

there's one with an old lady doing a poo out of her forehead

[Tokolosh]

Originally Posted by Savage Clone

I would also suggest Rob try out Black Cobra.
I am pretty sure they will "do it" for you.
Excellent live as well.

I'm digging the new album.
Southern Lord are on a roll.

[jon boy]

Originally Posted by Tokolosh

I'm digging the new album.
Southern Lord are on a roll.

they normally are. gonna check this out now.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

representative republics were born in 1776 bro

that is so silly I can only assume you are being sarcastic, or at least hope so.

because if not, explain these guys

 

Originally Posted by phoenix

so glad I have sigs off.

 

[verme (prevaricator)]

trite.

[terriblecanyons]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4JboGtcjdg

[ni'k]

most of what goes on here is people trying there best to stop any discussion of anything from happening. because they log on to make one liner sarcastic comments to appear to both know what they are talking about and be above saying anything at the same time. then there is the "long post" cops, who get upset about the lengths of posts, because it hurts their tiny heads? or just because they can't let it stand without proving how it was always unnecessary to say anything.

then there is the absolutely putrid irony that crawls around and around peoples brains in circles like a parasitic worm consuming all the nutrients.

then there is gross out/trolling/reducing everything to some reference - ie. relating everything back to a film or song or meme from culture with a funny jpeg or quote. then there are the massive quantities of stupidity which some seem to take pride in revelling in because NOONES GONNA TELL ME WHAT TO THINK! I DO WHAT I WANT! I AM ME! FUCK YOU! that's why i come on a message board, to prove that no matter what goes on whatever i do is my own personal choice. people are only interested in having "their own opinion" rather than actually having an opinion.

it leads to the ridiculous situation you find here, were people only say things to prove themselves, and any suggestion of collectivity has to be refuted. so that, for example. while almost everyone wants to ban kis and says it over and over again, when i make the suggestion that we all ban together and actually do it, everyone changed their minds, because they had to be unique. he should be banned, or else more and more people will just wast their time troll fighting.

what its about here, isn't what music you listen to, its more about proving that you listen to it independently from outside influence. so that everyone is copying each others music taste while trying to pretend they magically came across it themselves. everyone comes here to have the myth that their cultural consumption signifies some radical choice, and thus special subjectivity, that makes them both entitled/due a reward. that's partially just capitalism and people trying to navigate/survive in the world, but it gets very boring very quickly.

ultimately what almost everyone on here wants is the attitude without doing any of the work. they are more interested in looking like they've heard all the music rather than actually hearing it. because then they would have to admit they don't know everything!

so that while its blatantly obvious that most people here read pitchfork (considering the music they talk about) they all say that it fucking sucks. they are quick to disown bands they listen to if there is a consensus and cautious to express enthusiasm for anything, to the point were people are too afraid to mention anything for fear it isn't cool enough, and only able to prove they are aware of what's cool, hoping someone will be convinced they decided this themselves and are not just following someone elses lead.

i could make a thread about a new album or band right now, and as long as i convincing said they were shit people would agree and probably be impressed. its all about showing what you hate in leiu of explaining why you like what you like. because then you'd realise you're a fucking idiot.

but most of all this place is just a repository for idiots to prove to their universe that their personal selfishness is the most important thing in the world. because they are totally incapable of thinking for themselves, just taking on the crap they consume as self.

i write a lot of things here that in the end i don't post and just cut and paste out of the box and into a text file, because i know that someone will come along and demand that this thought crime be halted, or try their very best to keep things on the basest level of flippant irony. because people really are intimidated by thought or discussion these days, they know they can just ignore it forever and pick it up prepackaged from some product. they hate to think about what it is their doing because that will shatter the illusion that they have all these freedom from selfishness that they simply don't have.

also i find a lot of the time i will say something and someone else will just copy it later. its kind of annoying to see what you say regurgitated by someone else who doesn't want to add to the discussion. maybe a part of this is selfishness on my part but at the same time, i'd be better off with a blog. that way i can at least filter out all the trolls who just try to stop anything from happening simply for the sake of doing it. (now i stuck this sentence in the middle, for any of you that read the whole thing, watch as someone replies to this in a manner that is a perfect example of what i'm talking about. tldr or cool story bro or some crap like that). now watch them quote this sentence and post both those things and say something like "since you asked for it" or some other vapid witticism. relfexive trolling, they are all "keeping it simple" in their own special way.

i have the msn's/fb's of most of the people i actually think are worthwhile from here already. there are a few more i still need to get. if anyone wants mine they can ask, because i really have to force myself not to come here, as it is stopping me from doing anything useful and wasting a lot of time.

as for the state of this place now, its crap. the "political" discussion is either laughable or piss poor guilty liberalism 101. self justification, stupid anti corporatism or more criticisms of the conservative christian right from the position of the entitled bourgeious liberal. yawn. fuck you someone or its all fucked anyway lets be ironic.

take away atsonicpark and batreleaser and the music talk basically dies. dj rick posts his show, genteel, decayed rhapsody and derek have things to say, but apart from a few others thats it. you just have sonic youth fans and nirvana fans. people who still wish it was 1991 as asp put it to me. i know im missing out a few people i cant remember the names of. the point is the actual worthwhile content here is only provided by a tiny amount of people.

as for those that are able to actually discuss things, like glice, pbradley, knox and suchfriends, its mostly never going to go very far, because someone will come along to make sure that it doesnt.

even those that do want to talk about things, often can't take it further than referencing certain things, or showing off what we've read or know about. and this isn't a bad thing, because its the best way we all find out about things. but at the same time it feels very hollow for a supposedly limitless and uncensored space of communication with the world.

[ni'k]

why is it feel so timid about saying things then? why is it that i stop half my posts before i finish writing them? the atmosphere here of real hostility to thinking about the time you are wasting is mostly what comes to mind. the really strong and vicious need for people to make it all meaningless. this is culturally demanded of them, but then you have to ask, why even listen to music or care about art in the first place then? is it because its a sphere that demands no actual commitment and attachment and thus is safe for your irony/nihlilism mechanism to flourish? is it because you want to prove you know what you're talking about without actually thinking about anything or doing anything? i guess this is because people have been shamed into viewing any of their enthusiasms or attachments as something they are supposed to be embarrassed about, for fear of looking earnest. and i guess this is because they don't like to feel powerless or small, and/or get really confused and thus angry about what it is they actually get out of culture but lack the means to express, and thus what it is they really want.

but if you show up here and speak in order to project a position of being totally above and unattached to everything, yet totally aware of all culture and in touch with the coolest newest hippest trends by the fact that you do nothing but slag them off, then you will be massively looked up to. because you appear to be saying "there is something that is so great, but its not that" all the time. and people believe you and want to be you, because it makes them imagine the culture they consume is more important than it is, and gives them the narcissism of a position of serious taste. yet i don't often see the people that do this actually back it up by showing any of us what it is they DO listen to or watch, and why.

but have we really gotten to a point were most of us can only partake in destroying and shouting down culture, of our own accord? do we have to act like cops making everything necessarily meaningless? is it because we don't like the meaning we think the things we consume have? is noone interested in changing it? do people still read vice magazine and live in fear of appearing in the don'ts section? are you really that afraid? is the point of culture now something akin to a flimsy plaster that needs to be constantly reapplied in order to stop the subject from feeling bad and collapsing in a total emotional crisis? are people really that duped into seeing a culture that encourages selfishness as a sign of their own limitless potential power if only they CHOOSE to make things all better? have they really bought into that guilty trap so much that now everything HAS to be meaningless and noone can be allowed to think? i think people almost need culture now to make themselves believe THEY are the ones who are real, rather than the other way around. i think they are mistaking their own part in the cycle of product into profit as a self which should open up a realm of potentiality that it never actually can, and they should be able to control, and so they end up inevitably dissapointed and angry when they can't. what is important now, is that even if you are addicted to something, it be because you choose to be, that it be the outcome of some aspect of your self. and people don't see how this works to keep them in their place and to shift blame onto them, so they dont question their material coniditions. thats what i think we call democracy today ha. maybe its part of the confusion of a culture that likes to pretend noone is in charge and that everyone can do whatever they want.

its frustrating, and those that want to stay stupid and closed off are winning. some moderation would be nice, but that is not going to happen. i'd say if im honest, the majority of people here are idiots, and i dislike almost everything they say and do not ever enjoy reading it. then there are petty grudges that certain people don't ever forget, and so they follow you from thread to thread trying to snipe and get their comeuppance. if i said i was going to leave forever i'm sure i'd get a few "fuck off then, bye" comments, (which would only convince me i'm saying the right thing btw). then there are some other people here i feel quite sorry for, and i mean that. they are trapped in their own selves and cant see any other way but proving how they do exactly what they want and fuck you to everyone else. very destructive.

then there are some that want very badly for you to find them annoying, and to get at you, nearly always miserable males. incredibly selfish assholes who have never been told to shut the fuck up and feel entitled to be the only ones allowed to speak and to fight everyone else off so that the only truth is their miserable self. these people could really really benefit from a good slap in the face and gag over the mouth by someone, preferrably a female, so that they could learn if they only shut up and stopped being so completely selfish they might learn something and not go around in circles of isolation and inner rage. this place is mostly were certain alt white people go to prove they know everything and don't need to think or learn anything else. its the same 90's cynicism we all know so well, and which still hasn't died. its just a comforting vice that means nothing now.

as others have said, the obsession of the age seems to be authenticity, precisely because we all know it is inauthentic, it arises from the point when selfishness becomes so strong it becomes meaningless and destructive, so the point is not to prove what you are or what you do but to show how you really mean it, and do it because you do, for the sake of your own selfishness. so that we get people revelling in their own shit trying to prove that its what they want. its like bill hicks's "i don't quit smoking because i hate non smokers and would rather suffer than loose my identity" schtick has become the accepted "wisdom" and ideology of the era. so people go to ridiculous lengths to prove to each other that whatever the fuck they are doing its because THEY WANT TO ok? so we get the valorisation of how fucked up you've been on drugs because its so REAL apparently. not a good trap to fall into, trust me.

now you can take everything i've said as the wise observations of a clever and superior mind, which isn't exactly something i would HATE to discourage, or you can be a bit more realistic and less flattering and realise i am speaking from a mixture of experience AND observation of behaviour i haven't been immune from in other people.

what i want is some different structure of internet site. one that allows for participation of other people, so you're not just talking to yourself, but also weeds out the flippant and trollish. one that isn't as limited as any blog i could do would be, because other people are posting links to interesting things you havent come across yourself all the time. i'm still not sure what this format might be and what it needs to be like to encourage culture and thought to flourish, but i know that it has to bridge the gaps between personal blog, live chat and message board in a way that i haven't seen anywhere else yet. because i am not going to sit on fucking facebook reading about your sandwich.

i can't see this getting a terribly positive or interested reaction, but i'm sure if anyone does pay attention it will be to show they can give the opposite reaction of what i've suggested they might. so if you're going to just say "the board is fine, whatever, you think too much, shut up, you suck, blah blah, here's 1 point about nothing that proves you're wrong" then don't bother please. we aren't that predictable yet, are we?

[the ikara cult]

I dont care enough about this place, but i do wish you all well.

[deflinus]

^
my thoughts exactly. well said.


everyone in here has great taste in music though. thats all