Bodged DIY
Consider yourself forewarned - I'm probably far too old to be complaining about this, but it's never stopped irritating me.
If there's one thing I find deeply, intensely irritating about some self-styled DIY/ Underground/ Punk artists, it's their own obvious insecurity about their lack of ability and development. If you're going to go on stage with a mandolin with only one string on it with a friend of yours banging a tambourine to perform a song entitled "Firebomb Richmond", do so with absolute arrogance and pride, and just a bit of cheeky humour. Don't take to the stage with a slightly aloof, faux-laddish attitude as if you're a mighty masculine revolutionary, then spend the rest of the evening slagging off other acts who have clearly thought through their sets a lot better because they're supposedly "inauthentic". That poser's stance just makes you look like exactly the kind of pseud you probably claim to detest.
Ditto poets. Just because you've written one rhyming rant on a piece of lined notepad paper about how much you hate David Cameron, it doesn't somehow make your work more valuable than anyone else's just because it's supposedly "more real" or "more direct". There's nothing wrong with learning to express ideas in more complicated and unusual ways, and the only people who seem to think this is inexcusable are other writers who lack the ability or the discipline to actually do it. Tarnishing all poets or writers who use basic literary techniques such as metaphor with the "upper middle class prick" brush is a bit confused. (Especially if you happen to be middle class yourself, and living your life to some complete fantasy about how working class people behave).
I'm sure you think your community-driven amateur ethic is more inclusive and "real" than my community-driven amateur ethic, and that your scowling face attracts tons of admirers like weary cold journeymen are attracted to a roaring pub fire, but honestly... fuck off and put some effort into your work, and spend less time cultivating your attitude. The phrase "Here's three chords, now start a band" didn't mean you had to keep on using the same three chords for the next five years, you know. Your heroes all moved on and took the stabilisers off their bicycles, now why don't you have a try?
Rather than one specific person, there must be about thirty thousand people (if not more) in Europe alone the above rant applies to. Tedious, pointless posers, the lot of them.
If there's one thing I find deeply, intensely irritating about some self-styled DIY/ Underground/ Punk artists, it's their own obvious insecurity about their lack of ability and development. If you're going to go on stage with a mandolin with only one string on it with a friend of yours banging a tambourine to perform a song entitled "Firebomb Richmond", do so with absolute arrogance and pride, and just a bit of cheeky humour. Don't take to the stage with a slightly aloof, faux-laddish attitude as if you're a mighty masculine revolutionary, then spend the rest of the evening slagging off other acts who have clearly thought through their sets a lot better because they're supposedly "inauthentic". That poser's stance just makes you look like exactly the kind of pseud you probably claim to detest.
Ditto poets. Just because you've written one rhyming rant on a piece of lined notepad paper about how much you hate David Cameron, it doesn't somehow make your work more valuable than anyone else's just because it's supposedly "more real" or "more direct". There's nothing wrong with learning to express ideas in more complicated and unusual ways, and the only people who seem to think this is inexcusable are other writers who lack the ability or the discipline to actually do it. Tarnishing all poets or writers who use basic literary techniques such as metaphor with the "upper middle class prick" brush is a bit confused. (Especially if you happen to be middle class yourself, and living your life to some complete fantasy about how working class people behave).
I'm sure you think your community-driven amateur ethic is more inclusive and "real" than my community-driven amateur ethic, and that your scowling face attracts tons of admirers like weary cold journeymen are attracted to a roaring pub fire, but honestly... fuck off and put some effort into your work, and spend less time cultivating your attitude. The phrase "Here's three chords, now start a band" didn't mean you had to keep on using the same three chords for the next five years, you know. Your heroes all moved on and took the stabilisers off their bicycles, now why don't you have a try?
Rather than one specific person, there must be about thirty thousand people (if not more) in Europe alone the above rant applies to. Tedious, pointless posers, the lot of them.