Black Sheep Squadron

Black shirts, edge X’s and spin kicks separated the believers from the bystanders at Syracuse straight edge Sunday night at the Westcott Community Center. Clad in their best scene shirts, about fifty young people from as far as Toronto and Vermont came in support. Featuring Black Sheep Squadron (Black SS), Mindset, Not Sorry, Reason and Ghost Ship, these hardcore bands spouted lyrics promoting taking a stance and living a life of independence.

Prying themselves from the new Call of Duty video game, Syracuse locals Ghost Ship took to the front, with Curtis Lepore at the helm. Red-faced, Lepore shook his fist and squinted his eyes as he spat out, “We won’t be bought, we won’t be sold, we’ve had enough,” in their anthem “Enough”. Despite being sick, he bounced and growled in the faces of the head nodding bunch, delivering dissonant but driving vocals. Only a band for the past few months, the hair-tossing bassist, jumping guitarist, and forceful drummer banged their heads in perfect unison to their double-kick peddle beat.

As a result of a family plagued by alcohol and drugs, Lepore choose a life of straight edge because he was turned off by the behavior. “Our first song is called “’Never Abandon Ship’ and that’s about, basically staying true to our promise that we make to ourselves and no matter how rough things get we wont succumb to substance and remain straight edge,” Lepore said. He goes on to explain that that everyone has their own beliefs, but straight edge is their driving force.

Covered in a black hoodie, Chris Smith of the four-piece Reason from Buffalo, New York, trounced about the floor in a two step serenade that never let up. Ripping through song after song, the drill of the drum set moved a third of the crowd to destroying the floor in hardcore dance moves and circle pits.

All the way from Seattle, Washington, John Twentyfive (yes that’s his last name) of Not Sorry spewed quick shouts of lyrics about people who makes a conscious effort to think about what they put in their bodies. Taking a moment to break from his fight to maintain his microphone from the gang pouncing on top of him, Twentyfive dedicated their song “Learned” to his mother’s 21 year victory over addiction. “Looking back on what they did, this is how I want to live,” he belts.

Maryland’s Mindset busted right into their set, lead singer flailing around the room, proclaiming, “Whether you want to light the way or watch the world burn, you’ve got to be a spark!”  Collectively, the pit tore across the floor in punk passion. Coaxed for an encore, the lead singer leans back and screams out a high pitched shrill, igniting the room in a 4/4 time fury.

With each set, the level of brutality rises. Black SS tops the night with band and crowd melding into a community-core of screaming, kicking, pushing and chanting. Vocalist Chuck Hickey is pushing 6 years rocking the hardcore scene. For him, the music is an outlet for things he hates — be it drugs or people.

“Straight edge to me is just logical,” Hickey said after the show. He doesn’t think straight edge makes someone a good person, but sees alcohol as a false experience that stifles exploration of who we are. “[Straight edge] frees up who you are and your personality too. It lets you flourish to become who you are.”

Hickey believed in edge before he knew what it or hardcore was and compares it to people who were born homosexual. When he sees young kids supporting the belief of clean living, he feels they have opened positive doors for their lives.

“The hardest things about being straight edge is realizing that things in your life, even when you are straight edge, that hold you back and keep you from being the best person you can be,” Hickey said. “And to look at that and to say ‘I don’t want that’ you have to be a free thinker, you have to be open minded to the idea that you’re going to be different for the rest of your life for all of these people because you have noticed that this is not the way that you should be and not the way people should interact with each other.”

On this night of community and commitment, each band took time between songs to give shout outs to the other musicians, thank the crowd for showing up (especially those from miles away), and to offer props to those took the time to X their hands in support of the scene.

– Rhema Hill

Benvolguts amics,

Ja hi tornem a ser! Avui a les 22:00 h podreu escoltar La Pedalera que, com sempre, vindrà carregat de bona música. A continuació teniu les raons per les quals no us podeu perdre el programa d’aquesta nit. Son aquestes:

- Entrevista: aquesta nit tenim el plaer d’entrevistar a Dani Flaco. L’artista de Bellvitge ens parlarà, entre moltes altres coses, del concert que donarà el pròxim divendres al Casino de Vic.

- Do it yourself: amb grups com Nofx, Minor Threat o Fugazi; l’Iris Palou ens farà un recorregut que va del punk al hardcore a més a més de parlar-nos del moviment straight edge.

- Mes enllà del so: avui en Ramón Castro ve ben carregat. Ens parlarà del disc Imperfectos de Manolo Tarancón. Un altre disc serà l’anomenat Cartografias de José Ignacio Lapido. I també ens parlarà de la nova promesa del rock madrileny, Vikxie.

- Eclipsa: avui l’Ester Ferre trencarà un pel amb la tònica a la que ens tenia acostumats i ens portarà una crònica del concert al que va assistir aquest dissabte. I entre els molts concerts que es van fer dissabte… a quin creieu que va anar? Doncs a Depeche Mode.

- A banda: en Zeus Díaz ens portarà també una crònica d’una banda espectacular, els Porcupine Tree. Després d’això ens parlarà de Poncho K.

- Agenda: avui l’actualitat musical, de la mà de Jordi Gonzàlez, passa per El niño de la hipoteca, Maria Rodés, Alex Guideón, Las Furias i El Bicho.

- Top 5: el rànquing format per les maquetes d’artistes i bandes que mica en mica anem rebent a La Pedalera.

Com cada setmana us recordem que també ens podeu escoltar per Internet mitjançant el següent enllaç.

http://kara.fast-serv.com:8700/listen.pls

Sintonitzeu amb nosaltres!

La Pedalera
Miquel Cornellà

Russian animation from ЭКРАН, 1986. Direction and art direction by A. Fedulov. Александр Федулов. Part of an anti-alcohol campaign.

I thought I would finally post an updated bio, as well as the new commenting policy I was working on.
—————————————————————————————————-

This year, I decided to start over.

I spent my college years pursuing a degree as a Christian minister, and stopped just short of beginning the post-graduation job search. Ministers leaving the faith isn’t unheard of – but I saw the life ahead of me, and I wanted nothing to do with it. Throughout my teenage years, and during my time in Bible college, I had serious doubts with the legitimacy of Christianity. Even while I was extolling the virtues of faith from the pulpit, my intellect disputed the words spilling from my mouth.

I decided I could take no more. I decided I would not make a living out of the fear and weakness of others. I would not line my pockets with the dirty money of the religious economy. I would not indoctrinate young children into a single worldview. I would not endorse a philosophy that has taken the lives of millions of people throughout history. I would not spend the rest of my life pretending to know what really happens to people after they die.

On August 29th, 2009, I cut the intoxicating delusion of faith from my intellect, and I renounced Christianity publicly and left the faith for good.

It was one of the most empowering and proud moments of my life. I refused to settle for supernatural non-sense, and I finally embraced the true value of a mind liberated by free-inquiry. Over the next few months, the response was overwhelming; the traffic on my blog nearly tripled, and I received more criticism for my work than ever. The nastiness wasn’t confined to random internet trolls, but past acquaintances and even family members decried my conversion. Emails, IMs, awkward phone calls and in person conversations were nearly incessant for the initial ‘coming-out’ phase of my atheism.

It was a slew of spiritual doctors who were all trying to diagnose my ‘condition’ – I was told that I ‘never had faith in the first place’ or that I was just ‘bitter and angry at the church’. I was told that I would ‘burn in hell’ and would be separated from God forever. I didn’t believe any of this non-sense, but what was abundantly clear was that these people viewed my atheism as a threat to their own belief system. I felt embarrassed for them – their outbursts were childish and stupid.

What has deeply impressed and humbled me is the response of my family and of my close friends. They never hesitated to accept me, even though my philosophy ran completely contrary to theirs. I read an article about atheism from Focus on the Family – they suggested that ‘all atheists have a strong hatred towards their own fathers or family units’ – but I quite love my dad and my family. I grew up in a loving and unique home, in a family with two caring parents. A true rarity in this day in age. I have no qualms with my own upbringing, and in all honesty, I wouldn’t have changed a bit of it.

My atheism is not the result of bitterness. It is not the rebellion of a young mind. It is not the eruption of repressed emotion – and I think this is what frustrates my detractors the most. If you spend any decent amount of time reading this blog, you won’t walk away thinking that this is the ravings of a petulant child, but of a well-reasoned adult.

It is my hope that this blog will help me create the best book I can – thanks to everyone who has been along side me through this process, and for those just discovering TPD, please get involved in our pursuit of intelligence, free-inquiry, and knowledge.

-Adam

Det er så sinnssykt deilig å komme hjem edru på en fredagskveld som dette.
Konserten på humla i dag var jævlig bra. Masse deilig hardcore. Skikkelig energisk og positiv stemning, akkurat slik jeg liker det.

Veldig få jenter der, og det har jeg stadig lurt på… Hvorfor? Men så kommer jeg på dette med moshing og stage diving. Jenter er pyser. Iallefall jeg!  Ser for meg en gjentakelse av Mira Craigs fantastiske stage diving. Jeg er livsfarlig. Såh… best å gjemme seg bakerst i første omgang, sånn for sikkerhetens skyld. Gøy var det uansett! Og dette må det bli mere av. Perfekt musikk for min krakilske hjernemasse. Problems skal spille på blitz om ikke lenge, det passer bra! Skulle gjerne hatt tak i musikken deres. Kjøpte meg en kassett av Critical Point. Nu är jag spent! Den ser heftig straight edge ut! Høhø.

“si mæi, ææær dere stræitedge?“

“ææh øh, neeei…?“

“Yessss!“

Jepp. Folk.

Formado em 1999, o Evergreen Terrace, quinteto de Jacksonville/Florida, mostra que é possível misturar hardcore melódico com metal sem causar estranhamento.

Para comprovar, é só dar um play no vídeo abaixo, Sending Signals, presente em seu mais recente álbum Almost Home, que saiu em setembro pela Metal Blade Records e que traz 11 faixas e participação de Tim Lambesis (As I Lay Dying).

Vale dizer que em breve eles entram em turnê pela Europa ao lado de Ignite, Biohazard, Agnostic Front, Death By Stereo, Walls Of Jericho e No Turning Back; e que o guitarrista que divide os vocais do ET com Andrew Carey é Josh James, que também é vocalista da banda straight edge Casey Jones.

Quem quiser ouvir um pouco mais do Evergreen Terrace — que provavelmente tirou seu nome da vizinhança dos Simpsons — é só clicar aqui!

E aí, Simpsonscore ou Karate Kidcore?

.desert islands are so last solstice.

.the needles are not yet falling off the trees but that is no excuse not to drop the needle on these hyperlinked holiday hit parades.

.crucial youth presents crucial yule.Xmas indeed.

.tales from the crypt : have yourself a scary little christmas.

.the h. p. lovecraft historical society : a very scary solstice.

.monster christmas mash.

.a john waters christmas.

.a merry monster christmas.

.tiny tim’s christmas album.

.supposing none of these tickle your tinsel perhaps ren and stimpy’s crock o’ christmas or mr. hankey’s christmas classics or dr. demento presents the greatest christmas novelty cd of all time.you were trying your best to avoid all the traditional rubbish the neighing bores living next-door are listening to as they tip back the alcoholic egg nog were you not?

Un segmento en Fox News sobre el straight edge, con la participación de Patt Flynn, Chris Wrenn y Sweet Pete. Es uno de los mejores trabajos que he visto en la televisión acerca del hardcore/straight edge.

Alrighty then. First actual blog. Woo! I wrote this up this up about an hour ago in composition and it’s kind of ranty but it provides an adequate idea of my personality and how most of my personal non-fiction writing goes.

The problems with sanctioned anti-drug movements are vast in nature.

1. They don’t understand their audience.
2. They can be insulting
3. They are “holier-then-thou”
4. They fail to realize they are dealing with a society which no longer cares.

Everyone is so caught up in their own bullshit that they don’t really care if smoking kills brain cells, stunts your growth, or gives you brain plague or some other horrible affliction

Give a smoker a sensible reason as to why they shouldn’t smoke and they’ll generally produce some horrible sob story about how hard life is, how their mother they told to go fuck herself doesn’t love them, how the rent for the apartment they couldn’t afford in the first place is due, how their cat has down syndrome and various other bullshit which every other human being endures. All of that amounts to an excuse for why they “need” their five minutes of feel good time. Thats fine I suppose, but many more people are much more honest and blunt with their answer.

“I don’t give a fuck”.

How quaint.

Cancer won’t scare a guy who doesn’t give a fuck. At least they don’t engage in denial or possess the notion that their special making their ass bulletproof. Instead, the guy who doesn’t give a fuck believes that his self-inflicted degeneration gives him a certain aura of coolness. His tough guy antics make him unique.

I, on the other hand, don’t see that.

Let’s say I vigorously beat myself with a crowbar.

I don’t give a shit that it hurts, which it does. If I keep at it, lasting damage will inevitably occur. Maybe it will be brain damage or a neurosis or some sort of deformity occurs.

Beating myself to death with a crowbar does not make cool, nor does it turn me into a tough guy.

It makes me a moronic jackass.

Maybe i’m exaggerating a bit, but when smoker enters my field of vision, all I see is jackass clubbing himself to death with a blunt object. If you don’t give a fuck that your destroying your life, why not cut the middle-man out and simply brain yourself with a pickax?

“Well I don’t want to die now”

Fair enough, but does that mean in ten, fifteen or so years you’ll be ready to die? Or maybe when you have an electronic lung, your dick is cauliflower, and you can barely bring yourself to squeak from your little sqawkbox for fear of remembering your voice you will be ready to die.

Telling me that you’re in control,
I’ve heard it all and it’s getting old
Chasing down regret from the night before,
But every night you’re back for more
Life can pass you by, so lets get it right
Decisions made? Just think again
Don’t fill your life with regrets

I know that you see the truth
There’s not a moment to lose, I know how hard it can be
You’ve got to try and break free

They’re the best days of our lives
Why waste them standing in line?
But there’s always a path you can take
Break free and take pride in decisions you’ve made

Decisions Made by Champion

Really can’t get enough of the band and I don’t think that will ever change. So inspiring.. Truely great hardcore music straight from the heart with a powerful message of friendship and clean life.

Way to rip off "And Out Come the Wolves", asshole.

This is the kind of music that makes having powerful speakers a worthy and noble goal. Before Ian MacKaye was busy being the over-achieving father of post-punk, back when he was a teenager and age hadn’t dulled his fury, he was the frontman for Minor Threat, a hardcore punk band formed out of the ashes of a band he had been involved in earlier (Teen Idles). Starting in 1980, right at the beginning of the hardcore punk explosion in the United States, they would achieve moderate success in their region but later be recognised as one of the best examples of hardcore in its primal state.

And it is primal. Pure rage, distilled anger. Thrillingly furious with the way things are in his world, and shouting about how it. There’s just something about angry music that makes it beautiful. So now I shall review their self-titled and debut EP.

Filler

Opens slowly, with a drum fill to Ian screaming What happened to you, you’re not the same. There’s something in your head, made a violent change. Apparently he wrote this about a close friend who turned into fundamentalist. He also blasts people looking to fall in love and live happily ever after: Was she really worth it / She cost you your life / She’ll never leave your side / She’ll be your wife … You call it romance, you’re full of shit. Right away, one of my favourite songs on the album, as it tackles that kind of absolute devotion (to a person or a religion) that warps a person – the kind of devotion I tend to find disturbing, so I can entirely agree with him on this. One thing you notice immediately is that these guys rock: not content with just playing fast and shouting loud, they also play effective riffs and have a good interplay between instruments.

I Don’t Wanna Hear It

Ah, my favourite song from Minor Threat. Bass opens, guitar smashes everything, Ian tells us he doesn’t want to hear it. The verse describes those lying, self-aggrandising, ego-stroking people who just don’t ever shut up. The chorus sees the song get a little sparser, with the refrain: I don’t wanna hear it, know you’re full of shit / I don’t wanna hear it, no it’s bullshit. I think the first is the correct lyrics but the second certainly have something going for them.  Unbelievably, in the third verse they amp up the rock again, with even more direct lyrics: Shut your fucking mouth, I don’t care what you say. The telling-off of a lifetime in When the fuck are you gonna realise and the song closes with an amusing Aww, shut up! Can squeeze one more mention of how much these guys rock? Also, the bassline for the chorus kicks ass. Listen to it, hear it, love it.

Seeing Red

Ain’t nobody making hardcore music like these guys. Continuing the theme of bass starting the song, we get a few bars of the bassline before the heavily overdriven guitar comes in over the top. The guitar develops into its riff and Ian starts screaming, almost incoherently and a little out of step with the band. Hehe, out of step. Sorry, Minor Threat joke. After fumbling through the verse the whole song just snaps together with the chorus: Red! I’m seeing, Red! I’m seeing, Red! More incoherent rock into the chorus again, then the coda turns the chorus on its head by extending the Red! into Reeeeed! I am a big fan of that all-out finish, where they take the chorus and pump it full of extra energy, add lines, or add complexity.

Straight Edge

Has a band ever regretted a song as much as Minor Threat regrets this song? In just 45 seconds of music they single-handedly created an entire subculture – straightedge. And what a subculture. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, don’t fuck. At least, don’t fuck promiscously. Okay, fuck heaps, but don’t do any of that other stuff. You would think that telling people not to have sex would turn them away from the movement; it didn’t. Edgers soon began to refuse legal drugs such as painkillers, stimulants like the caffeine in coffee (these guys pretty much drank water at shows and got their high from beating people up) and probably refused medical treatment with drugs, knowing those crazy guys. Ian never wanted to start a movement; Minor Threat’s message was to think for yourself instead of following the crowd and doing drugs. Instead, in a very short time, angry and physically imposing punks were running with Xs on their hands, swatting bottles and cups out of peoples’ hands. It must have been like giving birth to a baby and watching it turn into an Alien that eats your husband. The song itself is pretty simple – I’ve got straight edge so if we come up against each other in the pit, I’m sober and clear-headed and you’re wasted off your face, I am going to beat you.

Small Man Big Mouth

Clearly Ian’s met a small man who tends to boast a lot, and it pissed him off enough to write a song. Seems like it doesn’t take much to rile him up. Why does he feel like he has to yell at everything he doesn’t like? Surely it’s enough to simply dislike it. Empty barrels make the most noise, Ian. You better be happy with what you got. Ian stands five feet nine inches tall according to Wikipedia. Maybe he was wearing 5 inch heels? Some people think this song is unintentionally self-directed. I couldn’t tell you what they are talking about.

Screaming at a Wall

You won’t hear my words, no matter how loud I shout. The guitar fumbles around the riff, with rough transitions. The bass doesn’t seem to be able to quite keep up, and the drums are just mental. Musically there is a small improvement over the beginning of the album: we get a breakdown in the middle! For some weird reason it reminds me of We’re Only Gonna Die’s breakdown. Even though Bad Religion came after. The breakdown in this song, though, is pure music: Ian starts his mangled shouting up at the end and they kick it back into top gear for the finish.

Bottled Violence

More anti-alcohol attitudes – get the drunk punks out of the pit! Lose control of your body / Beat the shit out of somebody / Half shut eyes don’t see who you hit / But you don’t take any shit. A tirade against alcohol-fuelled aggression. Amusingly enough, this song starts with the sound of a bottle being smashed – the only sound effect on the entire album.

Minor Threat

The entire ideology of the band can be summed up in the first lines of their namesake song: We’re not the first, and I hope we’re not the last. This song is a youth anthem in the purest sense, warning the young ones not to rush into adult life. The time is so little, the time belongs to us. They coin their own name in the pre-chorus Try not to forget / We never will / We’re just a Minor Threat! The song’s riff is decent enough, and they derive their chorus from it by speeding it up sloppily. Even though it’s only 1 minute 30 seconds long, it’s longer than most songs on the album and with the transitions, feels too long for band. It is nevertheless powerful and energising throughout. The play on words is between a minor threat – nothing to worry about – and minor threat – the threat of young people (minors) having some sort of youth-oriented revolution. The song ends chillingly with the spoken words: But it’s a promise and a half-hearted, almost menacing laugh.

An extremely powerful album – not moving or compelling as much as it makes you want to scream and shout too. The rage directed at everything bad is refreshing – he’s not trying to change it, not trying to justify it or show that it’s wrong, he’s just venting his hatred of it. More than anything else, this music is cathartic, and a listen-through of the record leaves you feeling exhausted but with a slow-burning hate, like a well-stoked fire.

ok, mais um…acordei com tempestade na zona sul, chuva, vento e trovão, tudo junto matando minha gatinha de medo, coitada, sempre que chove assim ela fica desesperada, gato é incompativel com barulho, adoro, sou meio assim tambem, sorte deles já nascerem com isso… ontem? ontem eu consegui manter minha promessa de não enfiar minha napa em NADA que não fosse oxigênio, foi foda mas deu certo, o dificil pra mim é conseguir ficar “careta” depois de beber o dia inteiro com quem realmente entende do assunto, é meu chapa, não sabe brincar não desse pro play…meus amigos “encharcam” com furor de adolescentes, foda mais eu acompanho, firme e forte, mas uma hora me enche o saco(always) e tenho que ir, mas e o alcool? esse fica na cabeça, no sangue, no figado, pobre figado que aguenta o tranco. bom, agora é curtir esse domingão cinza, tomar um bom vinho (WHAT? again?), assistir filme de terror psicológico e torçer pra tudo dar certo a manhâ.

vou sair de chapéu hj, medo de assombração…

As I was waiting in line earlier today to buy this awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt.

A kid who was a couple people behind me in line shouted to me, “Are you straight edge?!?”  I looked back at him and then looked down at my hands and realized that these monstrosities from last night were still on my hands.

That’s what happens when vOLUMe is playing Boardner’s and the doorman has a permanent marker this big.

Looking back at this kid I replied, “No.  These are from a show last night.”  To which he replied, “Good.  I was gonna say…”

And then he didn’t say what he was “gonna say.”  What was he going to say? I was standing in line holding a TMNT shirt and a C cup full of Mr. Pibb.  It’s not like I was standing there holding a 40 of Mickey’s with a blunt in my other hand and heroin needles still in my arms.  I was simply waiting in line to buy my awesome shirt.  Was he, in all his high school wisdom going to tell me that straight edge is stupid or even gay?  Probably, but that raises the question as to why he was “gonna say” anything.  If I was straight edge, and he said that, I would probably take it as some sort of insult.  It’s like looking at someone in a wheelchair and saying, “Are you handicapped? Because I was gonna say…”

I am sure most people can agree that razors such as the Mach 3 Razor are very expensive in the long run. The actual cost of the razor is no more than $12 which seems very reasonable but in the long run, it will bite you in the @$$!  Replacement blades run about an average $2 per blade, making a 4 pack close to $10, sometimes even more. Being the broke college student that I am, I decided to look for other alternatives to these expensive razors. At first, shaving with a straight edge razor seemed very tedious, complicated, dangerous and probably expensive. After further research on straight razors, I came to the conclusion that they are better than other razors for many reasons:

The price of a straight razor can be very affordable and pay for itself in only a few years. No matter what happens to you or what situation you are in, you WILL have to spend money on shaving products, unless you never plan to shave in your lifetime. Whether it’s a Mach 3 or disposable razors, mind as well pay for just one razor that will last you a lifetime! It’s very well worth the money!  I purchased mine for $40. Not bad for a German made Carbon Steel 1920’s era razor! It also looks nice too!

Shave quality it’s definitely better. Unfortunately I personally have very little experience with a straight edge razor therefore the quality of my shave is comparable to a Mach 3 razor shave. With a little more practice I will have a baby butt smooth face in no time!

Ingrown hairs are much less of a pain when shaving with a straight edge razor. I would use a Mach 3 razor blade for as long as I possibly could since I didn’t want to change them frequently because they are expensive. I obviously had many ingrown hairs because of the use of a dull blade. With a straight edge razor, you are always using a very sharp blade!

When using a straight edge razor, shaving soap is used, not shaving cream. I attempted to shave with shaving cream the other day but I then realized why straight edge razor users use shaving soap. It allows the razor blade to glide down the face with ease and also maintains moisture. They are usually a little more expensive than shaving cream, but said to be better for your skin since they are made up of mostly natural products and essential oils. Lavender, Sandalwood, Lemon, Eucalyptus and bay Rum are just a few of the many scents shaving soap comes in.

The satisfaction of using a non-modern method of shaving is self gratifying. Not everyone has the patience of taking the time to learn how to use a straight edge razor. Some family of mine have told me about the best shaving experiences they have had involved the use of a straight edge razor.

C. Broch Sohne #201, Mfg. in Germany

Out of all the reasons why I believe using a straight edge razor is better, they are a few drawbacks. One is the need to buy a leather Strop. This is a piece of leather about 2-3 inches wide, 28 inches in length and about a 16^th of an inch thick. What this does is help maintain the edge on the razor, not sharpen it. It’s used before every shave and it’s mandatory to have one. A shaving brush is another investment along with the need for shaving soap.

The total amount you can spend to get a decent setup would be at most $100 which includes razor, brush, strop and shaving soap. If you look at the reasons why straight razor shaving is better, it far outweighs the drawbacks. This method of shaving is not as easy as picking up a disposable razor and learning how to shave in 15 seconds, but using a straight edge razor is well worth it once practiced with a few times. We all know that we are stuck with the face we have , so mind as well take good care of it!

by ssjrem

Many times, a word or phrase comes along with a certain definition or association only for it to lose partially or entirely that initial definition or association. Straight edge seems like one such example. It originally rose out of the hardcore punk movement back in the 80s. It’s gone through a few different incarnations throughout the years, but the basic ideas behind it have remained the same.

Basically, people adhering to the ideals of straight edge want to have respect for themselves and their bodies; thus, there are a number of things that they shy away from. The most prevalent are drugs and alcohol. Sex is usually grouped in, but not always. Straight edge doesn’t prohibit sex, but rather promiscuous and anonymous sex. If you’re having sex in a committed and monogamous relationship, then that’s fine.

So let me just say that I am straight edge. The phrase has lost much of its original association with the punk culture and has come to mean basically anyone who chooses not to engage in promiscuous sex, drugs and alcohol. And I adhere to that. It was an interesting journey to arrive at such a stance, so let’s see how I got there, shall we?

I went into high school as a complete loser with pretty much no friends. Even if I wanted to party, I couldn’t have because I just wouldn’t have been invited to parties or anything. Honestly, I was shocked when I sat in homeroom freshman year and just listened to all the conversations about parties and drinking. I knew that kids did drink underage and all, but I was naive and didn’t know it started this early. So, did kids drink even in grade school? It just seems insane to me. Anyway, for some reason, even when I was younger, drinking and partying just seemed ridiculous and stupid to me. I eventually came to have a large number of friends and none of us drank. We were pretty much the only group of kids in the entire school that didn’t drink. And I liked that. I really did.

I never really had any desire to get involved in drugs or alcohol and often found my friends and I making fun of all the other kids partying and getting drunk. It just seemed stupid. However, things changed a bit when I got into my senior year. Two of my friends had begun drinking and attending a few parties. It was the second half of my senior year and I had long since given up on school entirely. I thought to myself, “Hey, why not live a little?” and decided to throw all my feelings and reservations right out the window. I drank alcohol for the first time on, if memory serves me correctly, February 13, 2008. Give or take a day. Anyway, it did provide me with a sort “forbidden” feeling that I actually found I enjoyed. The taste itself was awful. It was some sort of mixture of Gatorade and vodka or something. Ugh, what an utter waste of Gatorade, right?

As time went by, I found that I never really got any sort of enjoyment from drinking. I just didn’t like it. But I still wanted to give it one more shot. Senior prom is often built up as some spectacular thing and lots of times in movies and shit, it’s the time to get wasted and/or laid or something. So, I figured that I’d get drunk after prom and have myself a great time. I went over a girl’s house beforehand and suffered my way through one beer. I really didn’t like the way that it made me feel, but I had talked this night up so much that I had to drink. After prom itself, we went where we were staying for the night. I hated it so much. It was so weird because the girl’s parents didn’t even care. They were actually helping with the keg. What the fuck? That is so fucking wrong. I hated every second that I spent there, so I forced my friend to just drive me home at like 2:30 in the morning. I went home and just went to bed. So much for having such an amazing time, right?

Since that day, May 9, 2008, I haven’t consumed alcohol. At all. Not a sip. And I’m proud of myself. As a college student, it almost feels an accomplishment. It’s just what people do in college. And senior week too. Senior week is just a whole shitload of drinking. That was really the first time in my life that I tested my newly found stance on not drinking at all. I wanted to see if I could last the week. And I did. It wasn’t even that hard. Whenever I drank, this knot formed in my stomach and I could barely drink anymore. It just feels wrong to me. Maybe it’s my upbringing or some sort of moral feeling, but I just can’t drink. It feels wrong and I’m not going to put myself through that. So, yeah, I’m almost halfway through my sophomore year of college and haven’t drunk at all. I plan on keeping that streak going.

As for drugs, I’ve never even had any sort of exposure to that. There was one time when a kid I knew asked me to smoke weed with him, but I declined. Drugs have always seemed so fucked up, far worse than drinking. I would never get involved in any of that. And, oh yeah, about sex? Well, I’m still a virgin and I don’t really care about that either. Is it really such a bad thing to be a virgin at twenty years old? I don’t think so. In my younger days, sex was such an all consuming thought and I wanted it so badly, but I don’t care so much anymore. So I’m not getting involved in promiscuous sex. I’m not saying that I’ll wait for marriage, but I do have sex, it’ll be with a girl who means a lot to me and one with whom I’ve been in a relationship for at least several months.

I’ve often had to think about what I’ll do when I turn 21. Will I drink then because I can do it legally? I often thought that I would, but lately, I’m not so sure. Then I wouldn’t be straight edge anymore. What would I get from alcohol? It tastes like shit, so what good comes from it? I could see if it was like the elixir of the gods or something, but it’s just shit. I’ve got no reason to drink, so I’ve decided that I won’t bother with it even when I turn 21. I’m making a commitment to myself. I just don’t see the point. There’s always this nagging part of me that does want to go out and drink, possibly even get drunk. But there’s a part of me that wants to do a lot of things that I know I shouldn’t do. There are certain aspects about drinking that do sound appealing. Mostly, it’s the social aspect. 99% of college kids drink, so it’s pretty much one of the only ways to meet people and make new friends. And that sucks, but I’m not going to go parties just to make friends. Besides, I wouldn’t want to be friends with most of those kids anyway.

I really, really like the idea of depriving myself of these things. It allows me to know that I do in fact have some measure of restraint and self-control. But it does suck sometimes. Pretty much all my friends drink and/or have girlfriends, so I don’t see them nearly as much as I would like. Hell, lots of nights, it ends up being just me and Dukemich going to Dunkin Donuts or something. But, in all honesty, I really would rather do that than go party. It just doesn’t appeal to me. I suppose there are two reasons this whole blog came to mind. One, I had an interesting conversation with Hydro last night about this sort of thing. The second is a bit more personal and I don’t feel like I have any right to discuss it on a blog. My apologies to the four people that will actually read this.

Anyway, one thing that I’ve always wondered about my straight edge stance is why? Why do I abstain? I’m an atheist. I’m 95% sure that this life is the only one that I’ve got. So shouldn’t I try to live it up as much as I can? In a sense, I suppose, I feel as though I can live a more fulfilling life by abstaining from all these things. Looking back on my life, I think I’ll feel a sense of accomplishment at going through life being straight edge. My heart tells me that drinking is wrong. And logically, I don’t see any reason to bother with it. So, I guess I just won’t. Part of me would like, if only for a night, to live the stereotypical college lifestyle, but I’d never be able to force myself to do it. I do have to admit that I fact it’s nigh impossible to find a girl who’s straight edge. That sucks. As if I don’t have bad enough luck with the ladies as it is, the fact that I’m such a minority here isn’t really helping. Oh well. I think it’ll be worth it in the long run.

Fuck, this blog was way longer than I wanted it to be, but it seems like they always end up that way. So yeah, I’m straight edge and I like it that way. And when I turn 21, I find no reason to change any part of that. The reason I don’t drink isn’t because it’s illegal. It’s because I personally don’t get any level of satisfaction or fulfillment from it. So, fuck it, I say. I’m straight edge and hopefully I can keep it that way until the day I die. There’s gotta be some girl out there respects that, right? Some girl that feels the same way? I just gotta find her and snatch her up because that is a steal. Anyway, yeah, sorry for getting all self-pity and slightly depressive here. Life’s not that bad without a girl. Anyway, yeah, straight edge for life.

If you want an issue of Cuddle Puddles and Hot Pants # 4, please send 3 dollars to
Mo Karnage
PO Box 6025
Richmond, VA 23222

It is a super long issue, about Richmond activism, about my life, about silly stuff. Includes book and movie reviews, funny pictures etc. Definitely worth checking out!

I also still have back issues #1 and #3. Issue 3 is 2 bucks and Issue 1 is 1 buck.
Thanks for your support!
Mo

If you want an issue of Cuddle Puddles and Hot Pants # 4, please send 3 dollars to
Mo Karnage
PO Box 6025
Richmond, VA 23222

It is a super long issue, about Richmond activism, about my life, about silly stuff. Includes book and movie reviews, funny pictures etc. Definitely worth checking out!

I also still have back issues #1 and #3. Issue 3 is 2 bucks and Issue 1 is 1 buck.
Thanks for your support!
Mo

A los 18 años, ¿quién se imagina que se va a convertir en uno de los iconos más importantes de un movimiento musical emergente (por aquel entonces)?

Ian McKeye nace  el 16 de Abril de 1962 en Washington D.C., Estados Unidos y se crió en el barrio de Glover Park junto con Henry Garfield (Sí, como el gato. Pero menos risas porque sería el futuro cantante de Black Flag, bajo el nombre de Henry Rollings). Los padres de Mckeye dieron pie a que el inconformismo de su retoño creciese bajo un ambiente liberal y progresista. Durante su adolescencia, en su tocadiscos sonaban bandas de rock como Ted Nugent o Queen hasta que en 1979 descubrió en un concierto den The Cramps que el hard rock o el punk podían ser más duros todavía y alejarse así de “alejarse de la música verdaderamente corrupta”. The Cramps: culpables del primer empujón musical de Mackaye.

Ian Mackaye en Minor Threat

La primera producción musical de McKeye fue grabada con los The Slinkees en una cinta con una canción llamada “I drink milk”. Al poco participó como vocalista en Skewbald/Grand Union Su primer proyecto serio a la par que breve (1979-1980) se llamó The Teen Idles, en el que tocó el bajo junto con Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle y Jeff Nelson, con quien formaría Minor Threat junto con Lyle Preslar y Brian Baker. Paradójicamente, Minor Threat fueron idolatrados y odiados a partes iguales puesto que se mostraban muy críticos, no sólo con el sistema, sino además con la escena punk local. El mensaje de Minor Threat fue uno de los primeros en alejarse del “There´s no future” de las bandas de punk o las primeras bandas de hardcore y se acercaron a un hardcore positivo además de crítico. A Ian Mckeye se le conoce como uno de los precursores del movimiento Straight Edge, que criticaba a los jóvenes inmersos en una espiral de alcohol, tabaco, drogas y sexo promiscuo. Esto se vislumbra en letras de canciones como “Straight Edge”, “Out of step” o “Bottled Violence”

Straight Edge: [I'm a person just like you/But I've got better things to do/Than sit around and fuck my head/Hang out with the living dead/Snort white shit up my nose/.../I've got the straight edge]

Bottled Violence: [Lose control of your body/Beat the shit out of somebody/Half-shut eyes don't see who you hit/But you don't take any shit].

No obstante, algunas de sus letras generaron malentendidos además de controversia, como por ejemplo “Guilty of being white“, que describe la opresión sufrida por un blanco en una sociedad eminentemente negra.  Se llegó a acusar a la banda de racismo pasando por alto que la escena de DC se manifestó siempre abiertamente antirracista, antimachista y antisistema.

Guilty of being white: [I'm sorry/for something I din't do/Lynched somebody/but I don't now who/You blame me for slavery/a hundred years before I was born//Guilty of being white]

Ian Mackaye en Fugazi

Tras la ruptura de Minor Threat Mackaye participó en bandas de post hardcore como Embrace (1985-1986 junto con tres miembros de la banda de su hermano Alec, The Faith), Egg Hunt (1986) o Pailhead (1987-1988). En 1987 fundó Fugazi, que sería considerado uno de las bandas más importantes de post hardcore. La tendencia innovadora y transgresora del grupo no sólo abarcaba lo musical: sus conciertos no sobrepasaban los cinco dólares ni sus discos los diez, no se promocionaban, en todas las reseñas del grupo o crónicas de conciertos aparecen los sustantivos humanidad, energía y emoción… en definitiva una apuesta total por el DIY (Do It Yourself).

Ian Mackaye en la actualidad

En la actualidad, Mackaye se encuentra embarcado en un dúo llamado The Evens con Amy Farina (The Warmers donde tocaba la guitarra el hermano de Mackaye, Alec). Por suerte para los adolescentes americanos que son incapaces de asistira conciertos en salas por no sobrepasar los 21 años, The Evens tocan en cafeterías, librerías, salas de arte, escuelas… Mackaye defiende su política musical con declaraciones como estas: “Amy y yo decidimos que la típica experiencia de los clubes era, de algún modo, anti-ética con respecto a la música. En este tipo de locales, el énfasis siempre estará puesto en el verdadero negocio, que por supuesto es el alcohol. Tal situación ha perjudicado en el hecho de que los menores de edad no pueden asistir a conciertos, lo que obviamente obedece a una ley que se conecta con la industria del alcohol”. (…)En los Estados Unidos hay muchos, pero muchos locales que no permiten la entrada a menores de 21 años. Es una locura… Déjame preguntarte si escuchabas música cuando eras adolescente y si era importante para ti. El hecho de que hagamos ese tipo de shows es por que nos gusta pensar en que al sacar la música de esos lugares, para llevarla a otros más inusuales, el foco central vuelve a la música y a la interacción humana.”

Lo que en un principio fue un proyecto con miras a un futuro inmediato (producción del 7″ de The Teen Idles) se convirtió en un sello discográfico independiente llamado Dischord Records, que fundó Mackaye con su amigo Jeff Nelson. Hasta la fecha el sello ha producido más de 150 títulos (además de The Teen Idles, Minor Threat, The Evens…) de bandas como Dag Nasty, Youth Brigade o Void hasta nuestros días. De momento.

Como fuente de ingresos alternativa Mackaye limpia cristales.

Web de Dischord Records

DVD American Hardcore

Artículo Super 45

YouTube Videos

]]> http://setitstraight.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/the-mongoloids-on-vimeo/ Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:30:40 +0000 Keith Carney http://setitstraight.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/the-mongoloids-on-vimeo/

As a kid growing up in Philly I have always been kind of spoiled as far as music goes. Rarely have I ever found the need to venture more than a few miles outside the city to catch a show I wanted to see.  I can still remember seeing my first real concert down at Veterans’ Stadium back in 1987, it was David Bowie playing the Glass Spider Tour.  My mom had actually pawned me off on my dad for the weekend because she was going and didn’t think it was an appropriate setting for me at the time. Apparently my dad thought otherwise,  he already had plans to go and ended up taking me along with him. He also took me to see Katrina & The Waves which must of been at my request because that definitely wasn’t his style. Everything I learned about Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, ZZ-Top, Guns N’ Roses etc came from him. But it really wasn’t until the summer before middle school that I really started getting into music on my own.

My next door neighbor was a metalhead and used to hook me up with different mixed tapes he’d put together for me, which is when I discovered Slayer, Metallica, Exodus, Anthrax etc. Somewhere between all that and skateboarding I started making it out to some of the local church shows to see bands like Dimension 9, LTD (Left To Die), and later Intoxicated, U.S. Expulsion , Public Urination and Kensington at places like CD’s To Go (Roosevelt Mall) Juniata Park, The Firenze and a million other places I’ve forgotten about.

Every so often I come across photos or video footage from some of the shows that I’ve made it into over the years and it never fails to bring back a flood of memories that I had completely forgotten about. There’s definitely nothing better than being able to look back on your younger years through a photograph or a video that you never even knew existed. Which is why from here on out I plan on posting some of those things under “Caught in the Mosh”. Enjoy.

I pop up on stage twice @ 18:17 & 18:55

Respeito para aqueles que estão ao seu lado[1]

O Hardline é a propaganda negativa do Straight Edge até hoje. A maioria das pessoas e a mídia costumam associar o Hardline como um straight edge radical, intolerante as pessoas com convicções diferentes, adeptos a violência e agressões deliberadas.

Na verdade o Straight Edge e o Hardline são concepções distintas. O Straight Edge propõe a abstinência de entorpecentes como uma postura individual de negação a condicionamentos sociais e a aceitação de forma de vida mais integra, de respeito a todos. Já o Hardline se determina como um movimento (o que já rompe com o conceito de Straight Edge) de caráter ecológico e radical que diagnostica os problemas da pós modernidade através das transgressões do homem as leis da natureza.

O Hardline aparentemente apareceu a década de 80 no mesmo período que o Straight Edge o que gerou associação da opinião pública sobre as duas filosofias como uma só, uma vez que possuíam raízes semelhantes, diretamente ligada ao punk/hardcore e defendiam o rompimento com as drogas.

O Hardline, embora livre de drogas, adotava uma postura ideológica fascista ao se colocar contra as transgressões sociais do homem, suas crenças estavam vinculadas ao veganismo, ao pró-life e ao homofobismo, e suas postura representava a herança do espírito gangueiro que o niilismo punk apresentava na época. Contrários a essa idéia, os straight edges colocavam sua postura como uma liberdade pessoal, as pessoas deveriam sentir-se bem do jeito que eram. Seu rompimento com as drogas antes de mais nada era a tentativa do rompimento com a autodestruição da cena e não a imposição de valores e intolerância.

“E, obviamente, um movimento é contrário ao indivíduo, esses movimentos não ligam para os indivíduos. Mas eu estava cantando justamente sobre um indivíduo. Movimentos há regras, quando você tem algo que pode ser percebido como regras as pessoas sentem que elas podem impo-las. Mas para mim nunca existiu nenhuma regra. E, claro, quando você tem regras você acaba atraindo fundamentalistas, puristas ou pessoas intolerantes e essas pessoas geralmente têm uma barriga cheia de violência. Elas querem botar isso pra fora e o jeito de fazer isso é procurando algo para puxar o gatilho. E se existem regras esses são os termos perfeitos para isso”.[2]

O antropologo João Bitencourt em sua pesquisa pela Unicamp sobre Straight Edge identificou por entrevistas que a filosofia surgiu como uma alternativa as práticas do “guanguismo” disseminado pela “cultura punk”, não havia interesses em brigas e confusões com objetivos de demarcar territórios ou sobrepor ideologias:

“Enquanto que esse pessoal,  pra eles o punk era mais esse lance de andar com certas pessoas e ter gangue, enfim, pra mim e pra essa minha turma imediata de amigos era diferente. Era um pessoal que andava de skate, lia sobre anarquismo e ouvia Minor Threat, 7 Seconds”[3]

Embora o surgimento na mesma época e no mesmo meio e ideais semelhantes como a abstinência das drogas, a conduta ativista, o fator ideológico e a determinação sobre movimento diferenciavam Straight Edge e o Hardline. Os hardlines não  são straight edge e os straight edges os querem longe da cena

[1] Trecho traduzido da música Trust da banda Still x Strong

[2] Entrevista de Ian Mackeye do Teen Idles, Minor Treath e Fugazzi em sua visita ao Brasil.

[3] BITTENCOURT, João Batista.Quando a disciplina torna-se pratica de resistência: uma cartografia sobre os straight edges de São Paulo. Ciências Sociais. Unicamp 2009