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?
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.
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.
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.
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.