in a 1907 dissertation about general complaints by the ancient Greeks by student Kenneth John Freeman
“The counts of the indictment are luxury, bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect to elders, and a love for chatter in place of exercise. Children began to be the tyrants, not the slaves, of their households. They no longer rose from their seats when an elder entered the room; they contradicted their parents, chattered before company, gobbled up the dainties at table, and committed various offenses against Hellenic tastes, such as crossing their legs.”
See? the complaints and observations about certain cultural cornerstones like apathy or depression or rebellion have always existed
This really has nothing to do with sad rock music or depression being perceived as a “cool trend” but think of another example like Sylvia Plath writing very depressing and confessional poetry and prose about her life and killing herself tragically or Kurt Cobain, or any other large cultural figure that deals with depression as a theme of their work
Apr 21, 2024
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being young is hard, you’re full of intense and volatile emotions, the world is an overwhelming and scary place, adults often lack patience or compassion for the intense experiences of youth, and music makes people feel less alone.
when i was in middle school/high school, people would make fun of me for listening to “wrist cutter music” (this was over 10 years ago). emo/alt rock/pop punk was pretty big then and a lot of it was pretty angsty and/or sad.
grunge was huge with young people in the 90s, and that was a pretty angsty/disillusioned movement too.
i’m not sure i see this as a new trend? i think the music itself changes but the appetite for art that speaks to these big feelings remains.
Apr 21, 2024
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are people jumping on a depression trend, or have we created such a harsh environment for people to live in and navigate that they seek relief from media to cope with issues they have no power over?
Apr 21, 2024
I think I am on board with your assessment @ACTUALLYASLEEP
Four reasons:
* stylistic diversity: punk was born and commercialized at one end, hip hop at the other. We take this for granted today but at the time the jaggedness of going from the Clash to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Treacherous Three, and ESG (all of whom they collaborated with at one point) was exhilarating. The sheer confluence of everything was unprecedented.
* MTV as a cultural force: I mean, it was called Music Television 😉 and this was its finest hour. The assumption was that music mattered more than everything else, otherwise why would you watch it?
* legacy icons: Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce, Bowie. I could go on. You may not like them all but you’ve gotta respect the bodies of work over decades.
* the roots of indie culture were born then: bands like R.E.M., Husker Du, Replacements, the Smiths and a million others were blazing a trail (radio, live DIY tours, etc) that created “College Rock” and ultimately indie and here we are today staring in awe at what they made from scratch.
The Reagan era sucked to live through but a lot of great music came out of the struggle.
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Mar 14, 2025
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As often as possible
May 7, 2024
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The bastard child of the kitchen, the most misunderstood condiment
You might be underutilizing it, if you don’t like it I can’t help you
Apr 11, 2024