We undoubtedly live in pretty crappy version of cyberpunk. For already quite some time. Authoritarianism and techno-feudalism are on the rise. Cristo-fascism is blooming. Rights and freedoms are being taken from us every single day. Tech is transformed purely into means of data extraction, surveillance and control. However there does not seem to be any counter-culture forming, no music or art genres with strong messages rising up against all of this. Where is the punk of today?
subversive punk is still around. It’s still politically leftist. Jeff Rosenstock and his fans are pretty anarchist in ethos. Go to one of his shows, you’ll find a whole lot of messaging about solidarity, mutual aid, building better world, fuck the police, etc. His lyrics aren’t always about politics but they have an anti authoritarian edge.
There’s Infinity Knives x Brian Ennals who are mixing punk and hip hop in a very in your face political way and theyre GREAT.
Viagra boys are a pop punk who satirize the alt-right, especially in their album Cave World.
Mount Eerie is a noisy folk band that dabbles in some punk aesthetic – their most recent albums contains themes of decolonization and anti-war.
Honningbarna just came out with an amazing record called Soft Spot that has some leftist political themes, but not as overt as the others. Amazing sound though. Maybe more Hardcore than punk.
There is no centralized counter culture because the media landscape is so different now. There’s no radio to all listen to together. Communities are pretty isolated online. There are advantages and disadvantages. At the very least, decentralization of the counter culture prevents it from ever being squashed completely. On the other hand, decentralization makes it harder for people to see, and cause them to lose hope and feel alone. But as another said, you’re here, aren’t you?
RBWells@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You know, I thought it was gone, spent my youth watching bands in garages and stuff, didn’t hear much about that anymore, community radio station still around.
But then my high schooler asked me to take her to a show in a church. A what? But we went and oh my goodness underground music is absolutely still around. There was a mosh pit, I wished I’d brought earplugs, way too loud for the space but there was a punk band, a speed metal band, and the band she went to see was the headliner - all local bands. It is still there, you just aren’t part of that world anymore.
kersploosh@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Hell yeah. There’s an unassuming restaurant in my town that hosts local all-ages punk and metal shows after the kitchen closes. The underground scene is alive and well. I’m looking forward to having your experience myself as my kids grow up.
Klordok@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That sounds like The Trunk Space! Though, I think they lost their church spot last year. I think TV Girl and AJJ were my favorite shows there. They also held a Desert Trash festival years ago.
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
A lot of early punk started in church basements. The best punk movements start in the spaces they can get, might be a church basement, someones garage, a retail space between leases, etc.