"Brick on the head 'cuz you're a fuckhead."

[jagreen79]

Listening to the Dead Kennedys yesterday put me in the mood to listen to some more hardcore, so on the way into work* today, I was rocking Husker Du's first studio record, Everything Falls Apart. What a behemoth of a record that is. Being several years removed from the time in my life where I listened to a lot of hardcore, metal, etc. makes this

Comments

[fireflykid]

I've always had a hard time with the label "hardcore". DK to me are pretty much the epitome of punk (i.e. garage rock i.e. rock 'n roll). I remember reading a Biafra interview where he said Alice Cooper was one of his influences. But instead of singing about, and I'm paraphrasing here, "vampires and werewolves" Jello said he decided to sing about "the police and the government". Heh.

Greg Aubry brought up nostalgia on Facebook, and it fascinates me. It's fascinating what we hold on to and what we disregard, and in what manners. But I find it to be a high mark for someone’s humanity when they are willing to let go and change. I'm not ashamed of who I was when I was 20, but I don't wanna be that guy anymore, either.

[terrible_greg]

"I find it to be a high mark for someone’s humanity when they are willing to let go and change."

That's terribly interesting!

In the anime series Evangelion, there's kind of a throwaway scene where two characters are at a bar, talking about this very thing. They talk about the two dueling human natures of homeostasis and transi-stasis; respectively, the tendency to remain the same vs the tendency to keep changing. One character posited that living as a human being meant the embrace of change, and I tend to agree.

Change can mean so many things, though. It can be a complete throwing out of points-of-view, personal artifacts, location, habits, jobs, and can also be additions to all of those things.

I've noticed in my own life that I tend to be more additive than subtractive in my life changes. The primary downside to this is pack-rat syndrome. I have all kinds of stuff EVERYwhere.

Maybe it's time for a change...?

[terrible_greg]

Oh, and Jason: We got our Save the Date card, as well. Cool beans! It shouldn't be a problem for me to go. The only x-factor is my wife and how her school schedule may interfere. We'll see when we get closer.

[fireflykid]

Got mine too! On the coffee table for all to see!

[fireflykid]

I think changing the physical realm - getting rid of clutter, buying a new wardrobe, moving - these things are pretty transient and cosmetic. Change for change's sake. The willingness to change one's mind, to consider opposing points of view, the ability to learn from your mistakes and others' experiences, these are things I find valuable to personal "evolution".

I think it's our nature to keep moving, "transi-stasis". Society imbeds in us the urge for homeostasis, because it's easier to control the populace when they stay in one place (this implies some conscious effort at control when there is none, and it does sound paranoid, but society does have to control the impulses of its citizens to properly function). I hate moving, and I have a hard time throwing anything away (especially anything with even a sliver of sentimentality attached to it) but when I consider how much I've learned and grown and changed over the last dozen or so years, I'm mighty proud of who I am, where I came from and where I can eventually get to.