Touché, I have many fond memories of partying at Metelkova in semi legal bars where high schoolers, college kids, and old rockers mixed as one. Some nights you’d get a punk or metal sore from a band happy to get 10 people listening, other nights it was an underground great on their European tour who packed the club so tight you couldn’t move.

Good times, cheap drinks, and lifelong memories.

I think sfba (where I live now) still had a thriving scene like that until a few dozen people died in a fire a few years ago. That put a damper on the mood around underground bars and clubs I think. Turns out rules are there for a reason …

But it’s something else too I think, a novel I enjoyed (Close Enough For The Angels) put it perfectly: When we were young, selling out was seen as a shame, now it’s the goal. Everyone wants to get famous enough asap so they can sell brand deals and sponsorships and whatever. The art is secondary.

It’s very hard to sell advertising and branding deals if you aren’t seen as “safe”. Bland is best