For sure, and specifically the particular precipice of punk and pop they were perched on. Punk’s funny, too a certain kind of guy (like me) punk as a genuine period aesthetic still feels cool as hell, but if I saw someone trying to earnestly pull it off today it would feel off, ersatz, probably lame

An example: Last week, I went to see Judge. There were three opening hardcore acts. Two were from the same period and were great. One was a bunch of young musicians. Technically good, but came off to me as a preservation society thing. Same for the punks in the audience. The younger exuded affect.

i will say as a guy on the precipice of end-stage 30s still going to punk/HC shows the kids are back into it in a big way now — scene feels more active than ever, and it’s cool to see from afar