GG Allin: Violent, Barbaric, and Disgusting

(Warning: Gross material ahead)

 

            This is probably the grossest piece I've ever written. While being invested to rock music in general, the punk section is barely touched by me during the most of my life, aside from bands like My Chemical Romance, Simple Plan, Blink 182, you know, those 2000s Pop Punk bands. Recently, I started to listen some of the heavier punk bands, those like The Misfits who mainly touched by their more metal influenced sound. From what I've read and researched, punk rockers have a certain knack for controversy, And the subject of this story inevitably raised the bar so high, no punk rockers since have duplicated that level of infamy.

 

            What we are looking at here is probably the most infamous punk/shock rocker ever lived, and his name was GG Allin. His real name was Kevin Michael Allin, but thanks to his ultra-religious, abusive monster of a father, he was born named Jesus Christ Allin, believing that young Allin was the child of prophecy after claiming that Jesus visited him in his dream. He was born in Lancaster, New Hampshire, USA on the 29th of August 1956. And as predicted, his parents Merle Allin Sr. and Arleta Gunther, along with his younger brother Merle Jr. lived in a log cabin with no running water and electricity, and to top it all off, Merle Sr. was the type of man that was known to be "unstable" to put it mildly. This trait inevitably passed on to young GG, who was put into a special education class and severely bullied due to his nonconformity stance. Only after their parents' divorce, Allin's legal name was changed by his mother to Kevin Michael Allin, but his other name, "Jeje" as his brother pronounced, was kept as his nickname, ultimately evolved to GG.

 

            And this effectively turned Allin into the man that he was, but I'll save that for later. Allin had always had fascination for rock music, especially due to his musical influences being mostly British Invasion bands from the 1960s. He also idolized the country music star Hank Williams, but not until one Alice Cooper arrived and cemented his influence on Allin's overall sound. Surprisingly enough, Allin didn't start as a vocalist, rather as a drummer. He did this while forming his first band with his brother Merle no less named Little Sister's Date, but that band only lasted a little over a year. From then on, Allin went on to join (and founded) several bands, like The Jabbers, Scumfucs, and the last one at the time of his death, The Murder Junkies. At this point, his main instrument was his vocals. He was not interested in breaking out to the mainstream, as he became the household name in the underground hardcore punk scene.

 

            Perhaps his prime era was also considered as his most violent era, as during the mid 1980s, he practically abused anything and everything everyone threw at him. On top of that, he held a strong misanthropist, anti-authoritarian, non-conformist, and anarchist stance. On one occasion, he proclaimed himself as "the last true rock n' roller", as per his stance that rock music in general is a personification or rebellious attitude. Let's do a breakdown about a typical GG Allin live show. Allin's choice of attire (or lack thereof) is a white jockstrap, a leather jacket, and sometimes accompanied with a pair of sunglasses. Hell, most of the time he would show up buck naked. It started normally for one or two songs, once the show reached the third or fourth song, all hell would break loose, partly because of Allin's tendency to go out of control and start punching his own fans and in some extend, himself (he hit his head repeatedly with a microphone until he bleeds out of his head), but mostly for his drunken state and his nasty habit of SHITTING HIMSELF IN FRONT OF HIS OWN AUDIENCE. Not only that, but the sick bastard also went as far as either (don't read this while eating) eating his own discharge, or threw them to the concertgoers, with all of those INCREDIBELY NASTY SMELL. The way he did this is to ingest a copious amount of laxative before he entered the stage. Other crazy antics he did also including shoving things (mostly his microphone) up his ass and causing millions of US Dollars in damages.

 

            Allin was also have a knack with suicide threats. It all started somewhere in 1989, where Allin stated that he would commit suicide during one of his shows at Halloween, but the plan never came to fruition, as he would end up arrested instead. Hell, one of those arrests even landed him in prison in late 1989 for "assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder" of a female acquaintance in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but later reduced to a felony assault charge after a plea deal. He was imprisoned from Christmas Day of 1989 to 26 March 1991. But instead of reporting to parole, he went straight back to touring. And during his imprisonment, he wrote his essay titled The GG Allin Manifesto.

 

            This punk rocker arrived with a bang, and he departed with a bang. The day was 27th June 1993. The place where it all happened was a small club called The Gas Station at 194 East 2nd Street in Manhattan, New York. It was a typical GG Allin and the Murder Junkies show, with all of those chaotic antics by the shock rocker. After just three songs, the show ended in a chaotic fashion when a brawl broke out, and a totally intoxicated Allin then went out leading his fans into the neighborhood. He then crashed into his friend Johnny Puke's apartment and continued to party along with everyone else. During that time, Allin ingested a heavy dose of heroin. It was too much that he overdosed on it and fell unconscious. On 28 June, when morning came, and Puke noticed Allin's body still in his apartment, already dead due to his overdose the night prior. He was 36 years of age. His funeral became something of a low-level party, as mourners gather around with alcohol and various audio devices, blasting his songs while Allin's bloating corpse was lying in a casket, unwashed and still reeking of human turd. GG Allin was finally laid to rest on 3rd July 1993, in Littleton, New Hampshire. Even still, Allin's gravesite had become something of a pilgrimage site of all hardcore punk aficionados, with his gravestone desecrated on a daily basis as an act of "respect" like GG himself would have wanted it.

 

            In short, Kevin Michael "GG" Allin was a punk rocker like no other. Musicians of his caliber might not be famous for his sound quality, or his poetic lyrics, but one thing is for sure, that he shaped the landscape of hardcore rock n' roll to be the thing that it is today, even though all it took to get to this point was someone flinging shit onto each other while at the same time punching others in the face. GG Allin was a wild man, and he demanded us to remember him that way.

Depression and Hard Times: Revealing K-Pop Industry's Darkest Secrets

Allow me to open this article with an honest statement: I am not a big fan of Korean pop music (K-Pop). Instead, i like to blast the heaviest of Metal songs possible, but recently I can't really resist writing this piece, because in either case, everyone and every soul is a precious life form, and must be preserved. It was a month ago on one afternoon after hours when I came across a disturbing story of a former K-Pop Idol named Sulli (real name Choi Jin-ri) of the girl group f(x) who was found dead in her apartment in Seongnam, South Korea on October 14. During the process of writing this article, the Korean Police Force has determined her initial cause of death to be suicide by hanging, with the autopsy currently taking place. She was at the tender age of 25 years old. Prior to this shocking turn of events, she had stated that she has been fighting depression for the course of her life. This poor but pure soul was also known to have social anxiety disorder. Now, we all know these artists often portray themselves as happy, bubbly and energic, but beyond those faces, lies a deep, dark and possibly disturbing secret that has been brewing inside. These unknown facts are not only hidden inside these idols in plain sight, but also inside K-Pop as an industry itself.

Speaking of the idols' fight with whatever they suffered, in some cases, it can be because of love lives gone wrong, their struggle to reach the top of the charts, annoying fans and equally annoying haters, or even their own agencies trying to screw them over. Yes, the last thing is real and happening in the industry. Let's start by dissecting how an artist or a group is being brought to the K-Pop spotlight. These idol hopefuls, otherwise known as trainees start their training as young as 9 or 10 years old. And during the course of said training, these hopefuls are expected to have an impeccable singing and dancing abilities, and the ones redeemed not sufficient, will be instantly replaced. This, effectively turn this otherwise a good training program for the future into a fight for survival with a hefty consequences of getting kicked out of training with nowhere to go. The training can last for years, and by the time these trainees are considered ready, they are formed into groups and certain agencies will sign them for their debuts. By now, these girl groups and boy groups further hone their skills in order to give the best performances possible (and I mean, perfection is the only thing that is tolerable in this situation). The agencies also expected these guys and girls to do plastic surgeries; others even did it before the training. The practice itself is pretty common in Korea. It is often considered as a High School graduation present for not only girls, but boys too. And this is also tied to the fact that these idols have to look flawless. The girls have to look pretty, skinny and sexy, while the boys have to look masculine, energic and muscular. After their debuts, the groups must do their activities together, often put in the same apartment. This is said to maintain the working relationship within the group. Their activities ranging from training, recording songs, shoot a music video, attending fan meets, appear in variety shows and touring. During those activities, the money that they made is going to the agencies first, before being distributed to the groups evenly. The number varies depending on their success. The more successful a group can be, the more income they will make. But how is this related to those sketchy facts lying underneath? Well, prepare yourself, because this might be the most disturbing thing I've ever written.

I did mention about how these girls and boys train their backsides off before their debut, right? Apparently, some girl trainees (some of them can even be consider as underage) are told to meet certain investors to talk about the prospect of their debuts, but instead of a serious talk, those same investors (estimated to be around 40 and up) actually took those girls and forced them to be sexually active. This disturbing fact doesn't even end here, this disgusting practice continued even after their debuts. In order to be pushed to greater heights, these guys often force the members to participate in some sketchy meetings, where they would end up as a prostitute. Being in a successful K-Pop group doesn't guarantee you to be rich and famous. You can be famous, but rich? Not necessarily. The executives would do anything in their power to keep these artists productive, even if it means to overwork them and make them receive little numbers on their paychecks. Moreover, these guys started to collect debts way before they are even known to the masses. The agencies pour their resources to their talents, from housing to their daily activities like food and other amenities, and also hospital bills from the plastic surgeries they received. And in order to break even, they start taking those paychecks with the reason to pay them back. Then what the hell are these guys doing in their spare time then? A little something called part-time jobs.

About tight work schedules, an idol or a group are subjected to do their activities as public figures, and many times those schedules are crammed together. This is done so the idols have to work more hours in order to make more money, but that also means going into several events in quick succession in the course of one day, sometimes to different cities. This resulted in high numbers of car crashes, as some drivers have to speed in order to make the destination on time. A girl group named Ladies' Code was involved in this accident in 2014 during a rainy night, with two out of five members lost their lives.

In K-Pop, appearances are considered the most important aspects of an idol, that means to look perfect, pretty, handsome and overall faultless. In order to achieve the desired weight, some artists engaged in tight diets (when I say tight, I mean so extreme that the only thing they are allowed to eat is merely a lettuce) and workouts. TWICE's Momo Hirai even revealed in one interview that in order to lose 7kg in one week (which she did) in order to go up for a showcase on stage as told by her company, she only ate a single ice cube and went to gym over the course of the same week. Now that's what I call extreme. Aside from the already mentioned cosmetic enhancement surgeries, these diets are also employed by the agencies to keep the idols in top shape (If you say that top shape means to starve these poor beings to death, then who am I to judge anyway). The artists are also expected to obey whatever the executives told them, even goes as far as blackmailing a member if he/she contemplates to break their contracts. The most common (but underhanded) method to do this is to film the member's sex tape and uses it against her in order to compel the girl to stay with the agency. The contract itself is also a sketchy one. Dubbed the "slave contract", the contract restricts the group’s activities and leaves them with almost no paycheck and has to stick with the agency for a long period of time. TVXQ once sued their agency, SM Entertainment because of this, claiming that their 13-year contract is too long and too restrictive. As the result, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KTFC) issued a rule that limits the maximum duration of a contract to seven years.

These disturbing facts not only presented themselves inside the industry itself, the outside factor also contributes to the dark facts today. You might think Koreans as cute and kind, but inside, mostly the Korean Netizens are known to have the most hostility towards artists or groups. Take the survival show Produce 48 for instance. This TVN show aired the new series featuring both Korean and Japanese idols, mainly from the 48 Family. The reaction from the Korean fans are mostly in favor of the Korean contestants, while the Japanese ones are subjected to hostile comments on the Internet. This is the same case with the Japanese fans watching the same show. The ways idol industry operates in both countries are entirely different. The Japanese idols are known for their cuteness and adorable persona, while their Korean counterparts are known for their sexy and alluring images, with emphasizes more on technicality. Some of these keyboard warriors often bully another, more established Korean idols online. The recent events with Sulli tied with her suicide case, just two days before her death, she was streaming on her Instagram, and reportedly cried while saying "what did I do to you?" She did took a break from the entertainment industry because of the rampant hate comments in 2014, all because of small controversies like allegedly kissed Goo Ha-ra in one instance, but decided to return in 2017 to focus on her acting career. Sometimes these heartless bastards just don't care if the idol in question has a mental illness or an emotional breakdown. All they wanted to do is to throw shades at someone they don't like, to the point of it's actually can be classified as hate speech, body shaming, or just being rude in general.

The idols themselves are not always happy with their life as the face of the Korean music industry. Some even struggle to make ends meet because of the harsh working conditions, some even struggle with mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Late Sulli and former SHINee member Jonghyun took their lives because of this illness, despite with different methods, with the latter died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to purposely inhaling the smoke from a coal bricket. They might show in public as happy and enjoying their fame, but thanks to depression, both of them often felt empty and worthless inside. There is also a jinx called "the Seven Year Curse". Some groups once they reached their peak of popularity, they slowly faded into obscurity for exactly seven years time. This can be the group member themselves who wanted to pursue a solo career, or they just couldn't compete with other groups in the K-Pop scene. The girl group 2NE1 is an example of this Seven Year jinx. They were once the most popular K-Pop band not just in Korea, but also the world. After some of their songs went popular, like their 2013 single I Am The Best, they slowly faded, rarely even show up to the public. They disbanded just a few years ago.

Even with these annoyingly disturbing facts stated above, the K-Pop as a musical genre is still one of the most listened genres in the world, alongside Pop, Hip-hop, and the fastest growing genre today in the form of Heavy Metal. But let's be clear. We as human beings despite being the most clever creatures of God, often make mistakes and often have to suffer the consequences and living with the guilt. Although I don't really like K-Pop, but everyone working in the industry deserve a better working environment and better life. And for those of you currently suffering from any form of mental illness, I suggest you to find some help. Find a friend or a psychiatrist to talk to. Don't bury those thoughts yourself. And lastly, for Choi Jin-ri, or Sulli as the fans once know you as, rest in peace, you beautiful soul. You are no longer suffering from the unfair nature of this mortal life. And may God grant you the best place on His side. As the final statement, I want you to remember that mental illness is neither a simple matter, nor something to be ignored. 

Trapt: The Metal World’s Equivalent of a Punching Bag

In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, People around the world must find some alternatives while isolating themselves at home. Whether working from home, playing online games, clean their houses, cook up a storm in the kitchen, or, if you are happened to be Chris Taylor Brown of the Nu Metal band Trapt, ranting on just about everything either on Twitter or Facebook, trying to offend someone to no avail. 

            You must be wondering why I write this relatively unknown, obscure band like Trapt in the first place. They might not be as big as other Nu Metal bands like Korn or Slipknot, but they are famous in their own right. For those who are wondering who the hell or what the hell is this band, they were formed in 1995 and hailing from Los Gatos, California. They released seven studio albums so far, and known for extensive line-up changes, mainly for drummer and guitarist. As of today, Trapt’s current formation consists of vocalist Chris Taylor Brown, guitarist Brendan Hengle, bassist Pete Charell, and drummer Mike Smith. If they are well known among the metal scene, then how come we only knew this band a little? Sadly, this band is known to be a “one-hit wonder”. This term is applied to artists or bands who have that one song that break out to the mainstream (and the ensuing explosive success). The song subsequently defied said artists, and other works (albums or other singles) are often overshadowed by that particular track. On more than one occasion, the track (and the artist) are quickly forgotten. On Trapt’s case, that particular song is Headstrong from their 2002 self-titled major label debut album. The song in question topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts and Modern Rock Charts, as well as charting at number 16 on Hot 100 between 2002-2003. The album itself could only reached 42^nd position on Billboard 200 on that same year span. It’s more than likely that you can compare them to bands like Nickelback, but on this case alone, we have to admit that Chad Kroeger and co. are the more well-known of the two. Just for the record, that same song once voted on Ultimate Guitar's Users Poll for Worst Guitar Riffs of all time, placing 4th out of 15.

            What happens if a band needs to keep themselves relevant? Usually (in the case of Metallica) they evolve their sound to stay competitive or offering new concepts and fresh images and ideas (Slipknot’s move). But in Trapt’s case, starting an online feud with other musicians on the metal realm or other celebrities on the entertainment spectrum, mainly done by Christ Taylor Brown, their vocalist who happens to run the band’s official accounts (This is the mother of terrible ideas). This feud started when the Coronavirus spreads to the US. And apparently, Brown himself is a full-fledged supporter of the sitting President Donald Trump (who is infamously known to be the most incompetent and racist sack of human being currently sitting on the presidential throne) as noted on his 48-hour rant on Twitter. He supported Trump’s “Chinese virus” rhetoric on how to name the virus. He also blasted Bishop Talbert Swan and actor Chris Evans on Trump’s take on mitigating the disease, calling the former “The authority of victim mentality”. On the recent feuds, Thrash Metal band Power Trip vocalist Riley Gale called them out to book a show at the same time on the same city with different venues, with the losing side has to donate all of their proceeds to the charity of the winner’s choosing. And how Brown respond to the challenge? In the most cowardly fashion, they suggested that they are rejecting the challenge, and instead blaming the ordeal to the COVID-19 pandemic when being confronted by a Power Trip fan. After being roasted by Gale and Power Trip, Brown had to deal with many other metal artists, like Tilian Pearson of the band Dance Gavin Dance, Dylan Bowman and Eric Vanlerberghe of I Prevail, The Acacia Strain’s Vincent Bennett, and most recently, Trivium bassist Paolo Gregoletto, calling him “this bass player from Metallica cover band” (Metallica is arguably one of the most influential bands contributing to Trivium’s overall sound). While boasting their Spotify streams as well as their total listeners on Pandora, we can’t help but notice that other bands mentioned above have significantly high numbers of stream counts and ticket sales. 

            Of course, this is done for attention (albeit in the wrong way). But even before the feuds, the band once came under fire for something called “click theft”. It’s essentially interpreted as someone stealing content from someone else and re-hosted it on their pages in order to be passable as their own. In this case, they ripped off Metal YouTuber Rob Scallon’s “00000” video and repost it on their Facebook page. And when they are being called out by Canadian Producer and Sound Engineer Glenn Fricker on his YouTube channel (I love that guy’s content by the way), Brown responded in a typical victimizing fashion, stating that by posting the video, Fricker violated Trapt’s copyright. I have to call bullshit on this one for two reasons. Number one, all Fricker did is only show the band logo and a sample of the music as part of an editorial, while focusing more about how Trapt ripped off Scallon off his YouTube views. Therefore, it’s classified under fair use. Number two, to call it as violating Trapt’s copyright claims is a bullshit on its own, considering that they stole a YouTuber’s content and refurbish it to be passable as their own content. If someone has to press charges for plagiarism, it should be Scallon himself. 

            I could have written many examples of Trapt being the “headstrong” of the metal world, but they are just too unknown to me, and their status as a “one-hit wonder” is not helping the case either. Their latest album was released in 2016, which to be honest, is far too long ago. Will they gain their fame and fortune again? With this kind of attitude, I highly doubt it. If they ever release another song or album, it will still be overshadowed by the success of Headstrong. I’ll just end this by saying that an idiot would always run his mouth with zero substance over what they say. Rationalized and educated person on the other hand, would rather stay silent and only chime in when it’s necessary. Stay safe, stay healthy, put some distance between you and other person, and keep washing your hands. 

The Jewel in The Crown: A Tale of Prestigious Events of Different Calibers

When a new year rolls around, a few of us immediately think of award shows, in which artist of different platforms and genres are honored for their hard work and dedication to the platform of their choosing. But what others might think at this time of the year is the milestone events of a specific sporting event. What set these events apart is the former is actually the platform of appreciation for the best of the best, while the other is about the competition and sporting spirit. In this month alone, there are currently two crown jewel events from two different worlds in a span of three weeks. One is for honoring the best of the filming industry, the other is the greatest American motor race ever held. 

Last month we witnessed the Grammy Awards Ceremony by The Recording Academy, honoring the best artists of the music industry (but to be honest, with today’s music standards, I don’t think there is any to be proud of). Tonight, by the time of writing, we are just hours away for the most prestigious award shows ever witnessed, the Academy Award Ceremony, also known as the Oscars. This particular ceremony specifically presented for the filming industry, organized by the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences. The history of the Oscars can be traced back to 1929, where the first ever award took place at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. At the time, the ceremony took place at a private dinner, honoring the best of the industry of 1927 and 1928. Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor were the first recipient of Best Actor and Best Actress Award respectively, and the silent war movie Wings directed by William A. Wellman won Best Picture Award (Outstanding Picture Award at the time). At last year’s awards, Egyptian-American actor Rami Malek snatched the Best Actor Honors with his role as the ever-flamboyant Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury from the movie Bohemian Rhapsody (the movie shares the title with the 1976 hit single from the album A Night at The Opera by the band). On the women’s side of the spectrum, Olivia Coleman was the 2018 winner for Best Actress on the movie The Favourite as Queen Anne of England, Scotland and Ireland. Best Picture went to the comedy-drama movie Green Book, starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. On this year’s edition, method actor Joaquin Phoenix is predicted to win the award for his brilliant acting as the sadist clown Joker from the namesake movie, directed by Todd Phillips. For the Best Actress, the field is pretty much competitive, with names like Cynthia Erivo, Scarlett Johansson, and Saoirse Ronan currently aiming for the honor. On the Best Picture field, there is a prediction that the award is coming to either the aforementioned Joker, Ford V Ferrari, or the Korean comedy/thriller Parasite.

Another aspect of events this caliber is to establish a legacy and put their names in the history book as the fastest from the rest. In the world of motorsport, the Daytona 500 mile race is arguably one of the most prestigious racing events in history, alongside events organized by National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) like the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or the Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina and similar events on the global scale like the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix or the 24 hours of Le Mans. Referenced by the name, this race event is held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, which covers 500 miles (800 km) and lasted for 200 laps. On the first edition of the race (dated 1959), Lee Petty (father of 7-time NASCAR Cup champion Richard and grandfather of Kyle) won the race driving an Oldsmobile. Richard would go on to win the event on a record total seven times, his final win happened in 1981. The race can be also considered as a curse for one Dale Earnhardt. His first and only win came in 1998, after what racing commentator Mike Joy described as “20 years of trying, 20 years of frustration” after a late race caution flag. Three years later, he succumbed to his injuries as a result of a horror last-lap wreck involving him and Elliot Sadler. At the time, beside competing as the driver of the #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, he was also competing as Team Owner, fielding three Chevrolets for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. with Steve Park driving the #1 car, Michael Waltrip (who went on to win the race) with the #15 team, and his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the #8 car. The famed #3 Chevrolet returned to Daytona 500 victory lane in the hands of Austin Dillon, Childress’ grandson in 2018. For this year’s event, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin will start the race as the defending winner of the Harley J. Earl Trophy. His teammate Kyle Busch is the defending Cup Series champion and two-time Cup Series winner; but has yet to win the 500-mile race. Kyle’s brother Kurt won the race in 2017. 

It’s safe to say that whenever an event is called a “crown jewel” one, there is going to be something of a prestige and glamour, yet competitive. Whether you are honoring the best the entertainment business has to offer, or to be recorded in history as the fastest race driver of them all, these two events are setting the tone of what has been a great year of entertainment or as the teaser of what we are going to experience during the course of one year. What we are witnessing is history, and will be forever be remembered. 

Another Tale of Some of the World’s Worst Musical Acts: Scraping the Bottom of The Piss Bowl

(Warning: Strong Languages and sexual references ahead)

            Around last year, I wrote something similar to this topic I am about to present you with, but mainly points out how some genres that produced great artists and musicians also have someone who is questionable to say the least, on how one bad stunt overshadows their achievements on the music industry. But this time on the second part, I am literally diving into the very bottom of the totem pole. Meaning that some of these so-called “musicians” are just plain bad to the point of being unbearable. Usually, I am pointing out the best and the worst these guys have to offer, but let’s be honest, when you are scraping the very depths of the musical pissing bowl, you will only find the absolute worst of the worst, and I’m not even being sarcastic just yet. However, there are also some who is not necessarily despised for bad production or boring songs, it’s just when a single controversy ruined a prospect career of a certain group.

            In the previous post, I’ve pointed two rappers with shady track records. Even with that, they have an amazing discography of their own, and held their own in the industry. But even within Hip-Hop, there are even more rappers who are not only hated and ridiculed; but ended up as the worst ever rappers ever existed. Some of them are not even started out as rappers to begin with. YouTuber Jake Paul once released a diss track It’s Everyday Bro featuring his entourage Team 10, aimed at his ex-girlfriend Alissa Violet and fellow YouTube personality Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg on 2017. Unironically, it received mostly with negative reviews, even earned fourth place on Most disliked YouTube videos of all time. His brother Logan is no better. After the backlash of his video at the Aokigahara Forest in Japan (Also known as “The Suicide Forest”, he exposed a corpse of a hanged man inside the forest, as well as being culturally insensitive during his Japanese trip), he started a feud with British personality Olajide Olatunji (known as KSI), which ended up with two boxing fights, both won by KSI. His diss track, Goodbye KSI is reviewed as a desperate attempt to gain attention, and how the track is actually managed to roast himself rather than his intended target. 

Those who ARE rappers themselves also not spared from this either. At first, I wasn’t aware of this, but rappers who use Plotagon-animated music videos are quite a thing, and along with it, comes bad (and I mean really bad) production quality, awful lyricism and extreme (and I mean to the max) level of auto-tuned vocals. The most notable example of this is Submarine Man, whose songs are revolved around one thing and one thing only: foot fetish (this is even worse than K-Pop sasaengs writing a fan note with menstrual blood). His latest album Barefoot Worlds was released in 2019 and was reviewed by users of the website Album of The Year 14/100. Some even called the album “an abomination that should never exist”. I looked up this “rapper” out of pure curiosity, and stumble upon one song called Stinko Foot. The moment I press play, I instantly regret it. Not only the song is quite unbearable (same with the accompanying music video), but all vocals either by Submarine Man or the featured artists (Lama Doodle and Sakooni!) are auto tuned in such an extent, it produced an annoying robotic sound to it. He is also a type of rapper that constantly ripping off songs and beats from another artist. This particular song is a rip-off from Travis Scott’s SICKO MODE. No wonder YouTube channel HipHopHQ placed this “rapper” as number 1 for their list of “Worst rappers of all time”. Canadian rapper Lil Meerkat, although not being a Plotagon artist, are also notorious for bad quality songs, rip-offs and severely auto-tuned vocals (and doing a bad job in the process. His rapping can be either off-key, off-beat, or both at the same time). He even went as far as covering (and by that, I mean ruining) Queen’s eternal masterpiece Bohemian Rhapsody, naming his version Lil Vohemian Brrrrappussi and Lil Vohemian Trrrapsody. From those titles alone, his poor attempt to pay homage to the band and Freddie Mercury is instead being translated as blatant disrespect. The lyrics was also changed to suit his otherwise laughable lyrical content of Japanese anime, hentai, fanfictions (and how he loves it), Sonic the Hedgehog and flexing on how rich he is. It also contains a product placement for a porn site of all brands (What the hell is he thinking (or smoking) when he made this song?). He also (hilariously) has a diss track aimed at the Japanese animation series Love Live called Todokete (the title rips off one lyric part of one song of the show called Snow Halation). The song itself is (unsurprisingly) a rip-off of the aforementioned PewDiePie’s diss track Bitch Lasagna aimed at Indian Music Label T-Series when he was feuding with the company on who got the most subscribers on YouTube. All of the songs including these two are included on his debut album Weeaboo Paradise, Vol. 1, and got the abysmal rating of 38/100 on Album of The Year (Previously, it got 1/100). I did mention about lyric repetitions before, didn’t I, Well, one rapper in particular who is famous for this is Nicki Minaj, with her song Stupid Hoe. In this track alone, she muttered the line “stupid hoe” for a record of 45 times. This is also one of just a slew of her songs with blatant sexual nature. Another rapper fitting this category is Cupcakke (real name Elisabeth Harris). She took the sex theme and max it to the more disgusting levels with songs like Spiderman Dick, Vagina and an awful remix of Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road, titled Old Town HOE. Other than artists mentioned above, “mumble rappers” (a derogatory term for rappers who rap incoherently to the point of just mumbling the lyrics) are also known to be hated the most. Rappers like Lil Xan (real name Nicholas Diego Leanos) and Tekashi 6ix9ine (real name Daniel Hernandez) are known as the “frontrunners” of this “genre”. What makes the genre and the artist hated is because of some songs like Betrayed by the former and FEFE by the latter contained overly simple lyrics, nonsensical phrases, awful beats, and (well, I’ve been accustomed to this) auto-tuned rapping. 

Many musical acts are not necessarily hated because of bad product, some are ridiculed because of one big controversy that derailed their career. German Pop duo Milli Vanilli rose to popularity with their hit single Girl You Know It’s True, even earning a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1990. The beginning of the end for both members Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus was when they were performing in Bristol, Connecticut as part of an MTV performance, the backing track skipped, revealing that they actually lip-synced their performance. It was later revealed that all the vocals on their acclaimed album Girl You Know It’s True were not recorded by Morvan and Pilatus themselves. Instead, producer Frank Farian brought in session vocalists to perform vocal duties. Both Milli Vanilli duo were treated only as visual models for the band (this was also per Farian’s order). Before that, there are already doubts of the legitimacy of the singing, due to the duo’s English skills. They tried to recover by releasing songs featuring their own vocals to little success. This worsens after Pilatus’ death on April 2^nd, 1998. After his death, Morvan continued as a session musician with considerable success. On a funny note, the term “pull a Milli Vanilli” is used to describe an artist who caught lip-syncing a performance, and often lie about it. On the rock and metal spectrum, vocalist/rapper Kid Rock is also hated mainly of his poor attempt to fuse metal, rap and country music. He is also labeled as a “sell-out” by metalheads due to his shift from Rap Rock to Country. 

When we think about music, it’s supposed to be a beautiful, enticing melody that hooks the listeners from the beginning to the end, but what music fans get from these so-called “musicians” (save from Milli Vanilli, behind that fiasco, the real singers are awesome) is nothing than pure nausea and ear rape coming out of the speaker like a thousand hornets stinging your ear at the same time. I have to say that while I am not a fan of some genres but appreciates them anyway as forms of art, I am no way a fan of those artists, and by that, I mean I absolutely loathed them. Nobody in their right mind would take a great song from a great band, change the lyrics with themes referencing anime, hentai and all of the bad sides from the Japanese pop culture, present them in severely off-key, off-beat auto-tuned vocals with terrible beat, and proceed to call himself “the best rapper in the world” (Eminem would chew your ass for that statement. Look up Rap God if you know what I mean). As always, I will end this piece by constantly reminding you to never shove your own musical taste to non-consenting individuals, especially involving artists like those mentioned above. 

The “Scene” Subculture: For Those Who Once Consider Themselves “Edgy”

Just hear me out on this one for a moment. Being an anthropologist doesn’t mean that I am limit myself to ancient cultures from ancient civilizations, It also means dissecting current or past trends that can be considered to be a “culture” or a “subculture” to a specific extent. I can vividly remember a quote from an Indonesian anthropologist Koentjaraningrat, which explains about what culture is in the first place. His statement, roughly translates as “Every ideas, behaviors and human crafts that belong to a particular society as a whole, and can only be obtained through learning and knowledge.” And every side of human life can be considered as a cultural point, if there is enough members of the society that support it. The music scene is no different, due to varying styles and genres offered today. From mainstream, alternative to underground, every tune is different from the next, and dedicated fans are often come together for enjoyment or making a statement towards the society. For now, I’m throwing back to the late 2000s and early 2010s, where Alternative music was on its prime as the answer of popular culture at the time. Although I was never a member of this particular subculture, The “Scene” is always interesting to dive and discover, particularly their dedication to the music within this “scene”, and also their fashion statements.

The scene subculture first emerged in the United Kingdom during the early to mid 2000s, and developed simultaneously with the more emotionally driven “Emo” subculture. Due to this, the two are often mislabeled and confused with one another. One key difference between these subcultures is the use of bright, often clashing colors and outfits, mostly wear by scene kids (The term for someone who follows the scene subculture), while the other are more darker in color shades, mostly favoring black. This particular subculture also developed from mainly other branches of the alternative culture, like Indie, Goth, Retro and Skater Culture. By late 2000s, the subculture spread throughout the British Isles to Europe and America, most notably The United States and Mexico. At that point, most scene kids are also part of the Metalcore and Deathcore branch of Heavy Metal music, with other styles including Pop Punk, Crunkcore, Hip Hop and Electronic Music. As of the late 2010s, this particular subculture has decreased in popularity, it even considered ‘dead’ as of today. 

Someone can be identified as a scene kid if he/she wore bright, sometimes clashing or contrasting color for their outfit, which typically consists of tight t-shirts and pants, multi-colored bracelets, Vans sneakers, leather jackets, retro belt buckles, ear gauges, piercings, and makeups like eyeliners. For either sex, their hairstyle is mostly flat, androgynous long hair covering the forehead, and to an extent, covering either one or both eyes. Scene girls are also known to puff their hair with various accessories like ribbons or pins. The hair is not spared from the same bright colors either, with most of them dyed their hair with red, blue, green, or any other neon colors they had in mind. For their shirts, graphic shirts are most common piece of clothing among scene kids, with motives ranging from cartoon characters like Hello Kitty, SpongeBob, and etc. to band shirts. They are also an exclusive community, opted to socialize with fellow scene kids, either at music concerts, or social media platform at the time, Myspace. They often use this particular platform to look for new fashion trends among other members of the scene, or setting one. Trendsetters on social media for scene kids are often called “Scene Queens”. They are typically own multiple accounts on multiple platforms like the aforementioned Myspace, Flickr, or the then unknown Facebook as a way to spread current trends at the time. Well-known scene queens ever recorded are Americans Luna Fang and Jeffree Star, and Russian Kristi Massacre. The way they communicate amongst themselves were also a lot different, with mostly modified slang words like “hella”, “uber”, “stella” and “radd”, abbreviations like “STFU”, “LOL”, “IDGAF”, and so on, or even a word most commonly known, “Rawr”, which is a modified version of the word “roar”, often followed with emoticons like “:3” or “XD”. 

Music wise, the scene subculture embraced Metalcore, Deathcore, Hip Hop, Electronic Music, Pop Punk and something called Crunkcore, which is the result of electronic music fused with Hardcore Punk. Most of the music styles carry lyrics full of rebellion, angst, and the desire to break away from conforming society. Bands like Fall Out Boy, Paramore and Bring Me The Horizon once started as scene bands, initially gaining fame through Myspace. Other bands that belonged to the scene are Brokencyde, Blood On The Dance Floor, Asking Alexandria, Black Veil Brides, I See Stars, Attila, We Came As Romans, Pierce The Veil, and many others. Music festivals like Warped Tour (discontinued after 2019) are often the place for scene kids to come together and enjoy (what they thought as) good music. Scene kids are also seen in Skate Parks, as few elements of this movement are borrowed from the Skate Culture. These guys would spend hours socializing with skaters or fellow scene kids, despite never skate for once or even remotely learned how to skate in their lives. They are mostly hate pop music, and see various Rock genres mentioned above, as well as Alternative music as their main preference. They often stated things like “music is my life” or “this band saves me”, or even “(insert band name here) is the best ever!” Of course, with various modifications on the spelling or grammar, which is the thing they are mostly known for. 

From appreciation, come the critics. Since the scene emerged around the same time as the mainstream exposure of emo, many members of the emo subculture accused the scene of blatant “rip-off” of many aspect of said subculture. Scene kids are also the source of controversy by the metalheads, often showed by blatantly dissing more experienced, well-known and legendary bands like Pantera and Slayer, and in turn, metalheads take aim at the deathcore and metalcore scene, calling it “emo crap with whiny lyrics”. Both genres are also criticized for their heavy use of breakdowns, which is a part of a song where instruments have solo parts (breaks) between verses, and screaming vocals, often done incorrectly. Their exclusivity is also displayed by only socialize or date people who also belonged to the scene. This move often responded by criticism of social exclusion and rejection by mainstream masses. Scene kids themselves often label these critics as ‘haters’. They are also known to be equally hostile to individuals that are new to the subculture. Most scene kids will brand them as ‘posers’ (which is a hilarious thing on itself, metalheads also call these scene boys are girls with the same term). They did this with the belief of those same “posers” are in the scene for the fashion, not the music (ironically, the scene from the beginning to its supposed “demise” is all about making fashion statements). Bands within the scene are often criticized for lack (if they have any) of musicianship. Brokencyde was regarded as the band that started the genre Crunkcore, often met with negative reviews. One of them, like Warren Ellis, a Britain-based comic book writer even wrote about their 2008 single and music video FreaXXX, reviewing it as “a near-perfect snapshot of everything that’s shit about this point in the culture.” Blood On The Dance Floor is the more notorious scene bands ever existed, with Jesus “Dahvie Vanity” Torres as the sole member. The group has been reviewed with mostly negative remarks, due to their discography consisting of songs with materials like sex, drugs, and hate speech, beside all the plagiarism accusations in the past, most notably with Nu Metal artist Otep Shamaya. Vanity himself has been linked with statutory rape allegations during his career; with most of the victims were girls around the age of 12 to 17 years old at the time. One of the alleged victims was New Years Day singer Ashley “Ash” Costello.

As someone who appreciates modern culture, I have to say that the scene subculture in itself is like a two sides of the same coin. In one side, it’s about making trends and appreciation of the music as the way to escape conformity. In other end, we often picture this as an exclusive community of mostly teenagers who are thinking (or deluded) about themselves as a misfit, while in reality, they alienate themselves from the society. They are known for their unusual (to say the least) way of communicate amongst themselves, with slangs and abbreviations inserted in their speech or written forms like social media comments. Today, many have thought that the scene is already “dead”, but somewhere around the world, there might be a scene queen who wants to revive the culture and make it popular again like the days of the 2000s. I was never a part of this movement. That being said, if the scene rises again, despite my intention to stay away from it, I can guarantee that exploring this subculture through the anthropological lens could be an interesting thing indeed. 

Metal Musicians: How To Be One and How Not To Be One

After few posts that targets a certain genre that I do not want to be associated with (yeah, it’s exhausting to say the least), I’ll just head back to the heavier side of the spectrum for now, and talk about probably the most misunderstood, yet rapidly rising musical styles available today. As excited as I am doing this, I’ll just divert it a little by dissecting the ones that make heavy music, whether as a solo effort (yes, this thing exists) or joining forces in a band. These talented individuals dedicated practically their whole life to master this craft of pure excitement. But with that being said, there are some “musicians” that piggyback themselves to the popularity of the genre and in turn, produce bad products with questionable quality. 

When we take a deep look at what makes a metal musician, it has to be what motivates them to play in the first place. Many musicians today would still refer to Black Sabbath to some degree, as the English band is arguably the first ever Metal Band, remotely thanks to Toni Iommi’s down-tuned guitar sound as a coping mechanism to his fingertip injuries (when I say injuries, they are slashed). Other influences range from fellow Britons Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Venom, Motorhead and Saxon, each has their own distinct sound. Venom would be billed as the one who kick-started the Black Metal Movement thanks to their namesake album. Iron Maiden are often argued as the band that laid the ground to modern Power Metal sound, and Motorhead are referred as the ones that responsible to the rise of Thrash and Speed Metal, which in turn spawned genres like Death Metal, first popularized by Chuck Schuldiner, founder and vocalist/guitarist of the Florida band Death. 

Musicians take pride of their influences. The recently passed Canadian drummer Neil Peart is the referred as a “hero” by ex-Dream Theater, current Winery Dogs and Sons of Apollo drummer Mike Portnoy. Keith Moon of The Who is also a major influence by many metal drummers, like former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison. The four-stringed section of the band is also full of talented and influential musicians, names like Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler, Motorhead’s Lemmy, Slayer’s Tom Araya, Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big and Sons of Apollo, etc. are only some of many bassists that laid their influences in the metal work today. And we can’t really talk about metal without mentioning the most important element of the music itself, the guitar. Metalheads and metal musicians would spend eternity naming their most favorite and influential metal guitarists. There are massive amount of guitarists either currently active or already retired, from household names like Toni Iommi (of course you have to include the man here), Kirk Hammett, Kerry King, late “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, Dave Mustaine, and Zakk Wylde to emerging youngsters like Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold, Marco Coti Zelati of Lacuna Coil and Eluveitie’s Jonas Wolf. As far as the vocal side of things, there are many iconic frontmen in metal history, with names like Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, James Hetfield, and Ronnie James Dio. 

Referring to the fact that metal is one of the hardest musical genre to master, the musicians themselves are expected to evolve and perfecting their craft over the years, most commonly taking on a side project beside their main bands. German vocalists Hansi Kursch and Tobias Sammett are the prime example of this, with Kursch currently working in both his main band Blind Guardian and a collaboration effort with American guitarist Jon Schaeffer named Demons & Wizards, while Sammett focusing on either Edguy or his metal opera project Avantasia, in which Kursch himself lend his vocals to sing in two of the songs of the 2019 release Moonglow by the band. Sammett’s ability as a vocalist is often compared to Bruce Dickinson, due to similarities on tone and delivery. While Kursch has a habit of overdubbing his own voice to the point of actually create a perfect choir, implying that he is heavily influenced by English Rock band Queen. Other vocalists are known for their versatility, like Nightwish main woman and Dutch native Floor Jansen. She is known both as a powerful vocalist and a vocal coach herself. Other techniques like growling and screaming are also requires technicality in such a way to preserve the vocal chords. Vocalists that are known for these techniques are Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg, Cannibal Corpse’s George Fisher, and Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach, to name a few. It seems like forming a super group is a thing commonly associated with metal musicians who wanted to spread their wings in the scene. The most recent example of this is Sons of Apollo, currently consisting of ex-Dream Theater members Portnoy and Derek Sherinian as drummer and keyboardist respectively, bassist Billy Sheehan, guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto. The band is looking to release their second album MMXX in the beginning of the year. When it comes to musical ability, these guys are not to be underestimated either. Sheehan is known to be a shredder type bassist, always loves to bust out tasty bass lines, grooves and even solos, and also known user of three-finger picking technique. Sherinian is a type of keyboardist that mainly thinks like a guitarist, with most of his gears are run through guitar amplifiers. But when it comes to complex musicianship, every metalhead you know would probably give one simple and similar answer: Tool. This Progressive Metal band that once pissed an entire fanbase off is known for their odd time signatures and deep lyrics. Drummer Danny Carey is known for his polyrhythmic playing behind the drums, bassist Justin Chancelor is known for his complex bass lines, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan, who is known as an eccentric character on and off stage. 

Aside for it’s technicality, many bands are praised for bringing another element to the heavy tunes of metal. Rapper Ice-T formed the band Body Count initially as a media for his friend and guitarist Ernie C to play Rock music. The way Body Count play their metal is to fuse the metal element and Ice-T’s rap, with lyrics tackling on social issues like racism and Police Brutality. New Zealand upstarts Alien Weaponry went even further, by incorporating the Maori culture, including the Te Reo language into their Thrash Metal music with the release of 2018 debut effort Tu.

Aside from those who are talented in their own right, there are those who are also musicians, but not as talented per se, instead became a laughingstock of the metal world. Metalheads often argue that metal should be miles away from any other elements of the genre. It means originality, integrity, work ethic, and dedication. With more bands emerging from the underground scene, there are slew of bands that not only are criticized, but also ridiculed. The most known example is the Experimental Metalcore band Design The Skyline, hailing from Corpus Christy, TX. They were formed in 2010 as a 7-piece band, and signed by Victory Records in the wake of their debut demo Surrounded By Silencein 2011. They are viewed as “the worst thing ever coming out from the metal scene”, with severely auto-tuned clean vocals and chaotic composition (in a bad way, when I listen to the song out of curiosity, I was amused by how messy the mix and the composition are). Their appearance reminded me a little bit to the “Scene Subculture” in 2004-2005, with emo influenced colorful hair, colorful wardrobes and skin tight pants. It seems like auto-tune become the common enemy, as this piece of equipment can be used to justify someone who has terrible singing voice. Another band loathed by the metal scene is Toronto native Abandon All Ships, where they released the single Take One Last Breath from their 2010 album Geeving. This song gathered hate and loads of criticism due to clean vocalist/bassist Martin Broda’s heavily auto-tuned singing. This band effectively makes Nickelback like the most musically talented band ever (I said that out of sarcasm though, many people still hate them to some extend). Asking Alexandria also came under fire for the “auto-tune” issues surrounding current vocalist Danny Worsnop. These bands are also criticized for their heavy use of screaming vocals, similar song patterns like double kick bass drumming and guitar breakdowns, and also profane-filled lyrics. Plagiarism is also a thing of taboo amongst all metalheads. Last year the band Flaw are accused of plagiarism by several Metal YouTubers for stealing guitar riffs. Once the case surfaced and dealt with, the band decided to fire the guitarist, who accidentally slipped a confession regarding the case. The situation worsens when he issued an alleged “half-assed” apology online. Since the case, he has retired. 

These musicians are deserved the praise that they are given as they are, with years of dedication and hard work making them what they are today. They are influenced by many musicians before them, and will influence future musicians of the next generation. Just make sure you don’t cheat your way to fame by using auto-tune or time-aligned instruments along the way, you might get your backsides kicked because of it. And In the closing, I am writing this as a fan who admires the work that these guys and girls are putting out for Heavy Metal, and I am proud to be a fan because of them. 

Neil Peart and Rush: A Rock Legacy

When I saw the news popped on my social media timelines, the first thing I felt was shock and disbelief. Sure, I don’t really dive into the more progressive side of Rock and Metal music, but the entire Rock and Metal community mourns the loss of a legendary musician who has been the ace behind the drum kit. He was mainly known as the drummer of a massive Canadian band (not THAT Canadian band), spanning a career from 1968 until his retirement in 2015. Today, exactly three days since the news of his death broke out, I’m writing this article in honor of the drumming ace Neil Peart. 

Neil Ellwood Peart was born on September 12^th1952 at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada as the eldest of four. His first musical exposure came in a form of piano lessons, which later (according to the man himself) didn’t have much impact on his musical prowess. He got his first drum kit as a present for his 14^thbirthday and began taking lessons at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music. He once went to London, England to pursue his career as a full time musician, but ended up having to support himself by selling jewelry at a shop called The Great Frog on Carnaby Street. Once he returned to Canada, he began playing drums for local bands before auditioning for a position as a drummer for the band Rush, at that time seeking a replacement. Despite differences on first impressions, vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson accepted Peart into the band on July 29^th1974, two weeks before their first US tour. With Rush, Peart acted as the main lyricist, as two of his bandmates are uninterested in writing lyrics in the first place. The band produced the album Fly by Night, their first album with Peart onboard in 1975. His most notable example of musicianship showed in the 1976 album 2112, at that time was Rush’s answer to the least favored 1975 offering Caress of Steel, as well as a big middle finger to the band’s record label who wanted the next album to be more commercially friendly and accessible to the masses, with its title track consisted of a 20 minute number divided into seven parts. He also loved experimenting with sound elements, began incorporating electronic drums for the 1984 album Grace Under Pressure, borrowing the words from an Ernest Hemingway quote to describe their trials and tribulations (according to Peart). He went into a sabbatical following the death of his first daughter (at that time, his only child) in 1997 following a single car accident and his common-law wife to cancer in 1998. After extensive travelling and mourning, he returned to the band to record the 2002 product Vapor Trails. During his hiatus, he married photographer Carrie Nuttall, which in turn gave Peart another daughter, Olivia Louise Peart. Neil’s (and Rush as a band) final album was the 2012 releaseClockwork Angels, and announced his retirement from the music world in 2015. Rush retired from the scene in 2018. After a three and a half year battle with brain cancer (glioblastoma), Neil Peart passed away at the age of 67 on January 7^th2020. The Peart Family (wife Carrie and daughter Olivia) announced his death to the public three days later. 

When I read all those news and tweets sent by the members of the metal community about the legacy this man left, it is safe to say that Neil Peart went from a household name in the Rock and Metal scene into a legend. The main reason Lee and Lifeson accepted him in the first place was because of his chaotic British style of playing, implied that Peart is influenced by The Who’s Keith Moon. His other influences came from Phil Collins, Billy Cobham, John Bonham, and Michael Giles, among others. He was known for his drum solos during Rush’s live performances. His solos were characterized by the use of exotic percussion instruments and passages in odd time signatures. He was also known for his 360-degree drum kits used on performances and MIDI trigger pads for his drum solos. 

As of today, tributes are continue to be posted from Rock and Metal stars like vocalists King Diamond, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, fellow drumers like Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Mike Portnoy, Alex Bent of Trivium, and former longtime Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Guitarists and bassists like Slash, David Ellefson, Gary Holt, Frank Bello and Scott Ian (both from Anthrax) also shared their heartfelt tribute. Comedian Brian Posehn are also among the ones mourning Peart’s passing. Former bandmates Lee and Lifeson also released a statement remembering their “soul brother and bandmate of over 45 years.” Fans around the world continue to offer support and condolences to the Peart family and Rush.

As I have said, when human died, he left two things, his name and his memories. In this case with Neil Peart, it’s his influence and insight of Rock music that would stand the test of time, even when the man is no longer with us today. For now, let’s remember Neil’s life and career in the best way that we can think of, by blasting some of Rush’s iconic albums, mainly 2112. I heard that it is a 20-minute epic masterpiece. Thank you Rush, for the music that you brought, Thank you Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and most importantly, thank you Neil Peart, for not only an amazing career, but for an equally amazing life.

K-Pop Fans Part 2: How they became The Most Cringe-worthy Fan base Ever

(Warning: Strong Languages and Full-blown rants ahead)

At this point, you are probably wondering, “Why the hell is this guy keep writing on K-Pop fans? Does he have anything else to write about?” To be honest, I’m kind of stuck in a rut, with nothing else to write. Besides, with so many trending topics around all social media channels are revolving at either the imminent threat of world war 3 (Yeah, I know, Trump brought this to himself. He deserves to be impeached anyway) or the current state of world music scene, particularly the one from the Korean Peninsula, such as the recent inclusion of BLACKPINK and BTS on the iHeart Radio Music Awards and the recent disbandment of X1, It seems like I have to write this. But instead of a simple explanation, this is just going to be my thoughts and my thoughts only.

I explained to you many times about fans of a certain musical genre that is kind of like two opposite ends of the spectrum. At one end, there are these matured, well behaved and civilized fans, who loves the genre because of the music itself, and at the other end, well, if I want to elaborate it in a nutshell, it's like stepping into a gang fight while only armed with a single camping knife, while everybody else are armed with either baseball bats, machetes and even sledge hammers. One small false move can spell the end of the road. I can totally feel the emotion and dedication of these fan bases, but like I said in previous articles, shoving your own taste to everyone’s throats would only causing more hate towards you and your fan base, effectively dragging everyone, even those who aren’t even remotely responsible with those events. Sure you are doing this on the basis of “defending your idols” but come fucking on! Even those who only point out the smallest of details about the flaw of your supposed “boys and girls” are greeted with nothing more than hostility and toxicity. You actually have the audacity to attack those who just merely said, “I don’t really enjoy K-Pop.” If someone doesn't really enjoy it, then just move the fuck on! You don’t have to be like a swarm of insects just to defend your idols. It’s basically pointless anyway. The world is not revolving around K-Pop, and not everyone is interested in your taste. 

I recently noticed a specific pattern about how these K-Pop fans make themselves known on every social media platform. If there is a post about their groups or a news involving one of the members of the group, then it is almost certain K-Pop stans will swarm that thread and make it their own appreciation post. Not so long ago, I encountered a Twitter post by FIA Formula E (my favorite racing series today, beside NASCAR and Formula 1) who post their collaboration with none other than BTS, who coincidentally also campaigning on climate change, as well as welcoming Seoul as one of the cities hosting one of the races. And what did I encounter at the comments section? A swarm of ARMYs being annoying just because of 7 Korean men was chosen to be global partners of an FIA sanctioned racing series that will have a World Championship status on their name starting next season (2020-2021). From fancams to pictures of their biases,they are effectively turning a thread from a highly competitive form of motorsport into a BTS appreciation. No wonder some motorsport fans are not happy about this. It maybe for a good cause, but all these fans are doing is solidify a legacy, but as the most cringe-worthy fandoms ever existed. On other topic, I’d really want to see those guys drive that car around Seoul Olympic Park and see how long they can last, because those Formula E cars can generate G-force on cornering that is so big, it can put a massive stress on the neck, possibly snapping it. And also those cars don’t have certain driving assistances either (Traction Control and Anti-locking Brake Systems). I also need to point out, between Tool outsold Taylor Swift on Billboard charts (with lots of Swifties fanbase being mad because of it) and Queen’s resurgence thanks to Bohemian Rhapsody (the movie, named after THAT 1976 eternal masterpiece), when Chart Data released Billboard’s Top Album Sales of 2019 based on pure sales, ARMY swarmed the post with all they got, without taking a consideration that a legendary English Rock Band whose frontman is already dead and doesn’t release any albums since is above them on pure sales (BTS came at number 3, with Queen at number 1). And Tool might only get the 7^thspot, but they just don’t really care. 

When it comes to dedication, nobody tops these fans. Yes, these fan girls and fan boys are so dedicated to their respective groups. But sometimes, at one point, they stan these groups to the point of actually became disgusting. I did mention about sasaeng fans before, didn’t I? While not being a sasaengthemselves, some of these fans just simply whack jobs. There is one thing common across all fandoms of the pop culture, and the element I’m referring to is the one called “shipping.” “Shipping” basically means putting two characters (either from the opposing gender or same-sex) together and fantasizing about the two having a romantic relationship, usually presented in a written form (fanfictions) or drawings (fanarts). And the way this works on K-Pop fandoms are no different either. But what makes me horrified about this element is sometimes they put it on bands like BTS and EXO, and write a fanfiction story like some kind of a love story between two guys! (I am personally not against the LGBT Community; I have few friends who are representing the community itself) What makes me even more mortified; they didn’t hesitate to make it a sexual one either, like a full-blown sexual relationship (like, I don’t know, FUCKING EACH OTHER?). Some of these fanfiction writers portrayed themselves (usually written by fan girls) married to one of the members and having sexual and intimate life with their chosen bias(I read one out of curiosity, and let me tell you one thing: my eyes are scarred for life). Let me tell you one thing. Despite all they did is singing and dancing, these guys are MUSICIANS! Not some kind of a play doll that you can exploit with your heart’s content. And don’t get me started on the “No dating rule.” These guys and girls are humans. They have their own rights to fall in love and start a relationship of their own. So if you are blabbering the lines of “he should not date anyone”, then congratulations, you have been fooled. 

Many would say that during a band’s tenure in the music scene, the fans are the most important to have. And K-Pop fans are no exceptions either. It's just that sometimes, just for the sake of breaking every record on every chart, these fans would do ANYTHING to ensure that their idols are at the top, even if it means to encourage them to be more productive on their promotions and comebacks. For these fans, their idols are everything. If a band didn’t release an album, a single or even making a single appearance, the fans will be going absolutely berserk. It’s not the case when Progressive Metal giants Tool released Fear Inoculum, their first album in 13 years. Tool fans were absolutely chill, but occasionally post memes about “Tool not releasing a new album for centuries.” They can be in denial too; despite initially it was their wishes in the first place. Back when the vote manipulation scandal rose in the aftermath of Produce X 101, I’ve already sensed that X1 is bound to be disbanded, even some of the fans thought so too. But when the daunting announcement came, every single One Its (Their fan base, but I have no fucking idea how the hell they can come up with that lame name) went crazy, demanding the managements to keep the group and its members. They even took to Twitter to express their distress with various hashtags, basically wanting to tell the management to keep X1 or at least rebooting the group. I know what militant fans are, but (to quote Vegeta of the Japanese animation series Dragon Ball) the level of obsession is over 9000. 

Okay. Enough ranting. I personally think that although the music itself is enjoyable (But honestly, I can’t enjoy it as much), it’s always the one who devote themselves as fans that sometimes grinds my gears. To think about having to endure a conversation about music when a K-Pop fan is around kills me slowly. I can only guess that each of us has that one friend who is obsessed with this music, all they wanted to do is to bother everyone else about how amazing these guys are (when you think about it, it’s equally hard to sing and dance at the same time, not much less ripping a guitar solo while growling at the same time), but please. And they are not hesitate to bash, even get pissed if their idols are treated like a big hunk of shit, whether talking trash or flooding someone’s social media account with hate remarks, these Neanderthals will stop at nothing to ensure that their “idols” are pure and untouched (Yeah right, but I believe you are currently fantasizing about being married and having intimate relationship with one of those guys huh? What a bunch of hypocrites). Now I have an urge to just blast Slayer or Dying Fetus to these crazed fans, just to see the reaction. Hell, let’s put Mayhem or Behemoth albums o the loop. If I can get at least horror or scared reaction, that would be enough for me. And I’m saying this one more time, this is written without dismissing a large portion of fans that are more civilized and open-minded. I’m just pointing out some of you that can be really annoying most of the time. I guess no wonder why people hate more on the K-Pop fans lately.

K-Pop & European Metal: Two Opposite Ends of the Same Coin

This is by far my most bold comparative article I’ve ever written so far, because discussing two genres of music at the same time, it’s like messing around with the starved lion while inserting your head into a gaping mouth of an alligator. One is a nation’s pride and joy, as well as international sensation, the other is a continental affair, lurking in the depths of the underground, biding its time to explode and dominate once again. I am currently into this continental affair, now that it’s currently rising from the ashes like a newborn baby phoenix. Both have their own distinct fan base and cultures, and sometime, these two genres would clash at each other. One is from South Korea; the other is from the Continental Europe, Korean Pop against European Metal.

When we talked about the history about these two styles, it’s safe to say that Heavy Metal, claiming its roots from Blues Rock and Psychedelic Music back in the 70s is the older genre compare to its much younger modern Korean counterpart, which rose in the late 90s-early 2000s. Some even say that it was invented by accident. It started when Black Sabbath guitarist Toni Iommi was caught by an accident that severed few of his fingertips, and in order to continue to play, he had to modify his Gibson SG with lighter strings and tuned-down sound, which created a signature distortion now common on metal records today. Before that, the closest Rock song ever to the then unknown Metal territory was Voodoo Childby Jimi Hendrix. K-Pop (modern K-pop, that is) on the other hand, began to rise after a slew of influences by the American market, with the first confirmed modern K-Pop boyband H.O.T debuting in 1996. But not until 2003, the K-Pop market is still contained in the peninsula, after TVXQ’s debut, the movement exploded to a global scale, dubbed the Hallyu Wave(but honestly, I don’t understand any sort of this thing by the time it went popular). 

Since the Hallyu Wave, bands from older generations like Girls Generation, Wonder Girls, Super Junior, 2NE1(now disbanded), Kara and the newer ones like X1 (recently disbanded due to vote scandals), BLACKPINK, BTS, EXO and TWICE continued to spread their wings of K-Pop to worldwide audience. The Heavy Metal movement also spread through continental Europe, with Finland, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom as the frontrunners of the genre, with bands like Judas Priest, Motorhead (disbanded after Lemmy’s death), Saxon, Scorpions, Lordi, Nightwish, Epica, Mayhem and Amon Amarth leading the charge. Although Metal has established its influence across the American, Asian and Australian continents (Africa now has a growing metal scene, most predominately in the South and Northern part of the continent), Europe is still viewed as the place where Metal was born, and the most metal friendly continent. 

Both K-Pop and Metal in Europe are a spectrum within itself. Despite most K-Pop girl and boy groups have a certain formula to their music, it is the visuals that can separate one group from the other. Girl groups like 2NE1 and BLACKPINK went for the “badass girl” persona, and other s like APink, GFriend, Momoland and TWICE once went for the cute and bubbly image, while most boy groups are portrayed as cool, masculine and badass, without taking out the cuteness aspect most K-Pop groups have. The musical aspect of the genre involves inserting some English words to an otherwise Korean lyric in an attempt to appeal to a worldwide audience. Some singers and group members also use English names to gain popularity. Another aspect present within the genre is the choreography and dance. This is mainly done because of most bands having multiple singers, so choreographers must work in such a way that both the singing and the dancing can complement the music and hooking the audience during the process. Whereas the Metal scene spawned multiple subgenres across Europe, with England’s Iron Maiden once viewed as the pioneers of Power Metal, with the genre now has produced prominent bands like Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire, Hammerfall, among others. Dutch native Epica is deemed responsible for the birth of Symphonic Metal alongside Finland’s Nightwish and Sweden’s Therion. Norwegians Mayhem played an integral part of the rise of Norwegian Black Metal, and most notably Motorhead, whose sound is the main starting point for Thrash and Speed Metal, which in turn, created bands like Kreator, DragonForce (they mix the Speed Metal element with their prominent Power Metal sound), and Destruction. Europe’s version of Death Metal is a little bit more melodic, thanks to bands like Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth. One of the most famous examples of European Influences on Metal is the existence of Folk Metal. This particular sub-genre blends traditional metal sound with Folk music either Celtic, Slavic or Viking elements. Bands like Russia’s Arkona, Switzerland’s Eluveitie and Finland’s Finntroll and Korpiklaani are considered the main frontrunners of the genre.  The lyrical aspect of this genre is also evolved over the years. What began as a protest or a channel of frustration quickly evolved into songs about drugs, alcohol, politics, religion, culture and counter-culture, and mythology. 

From praise, come critics. While Metal has been viewed as a supposed “dangerous” music, K-Pop has a dark and grim secrets looming beneath the supposed bubbly and bright scene. For many years since the Korean Wave, K-Pop artists are often accused of inauthenticity as well as ripping off some elements from their western counterpart. The use of English phrases also criticized by the base of “making the phrase itself meaningless.” Others even say that the scene has ZERO ties with the Korean national identity. The controversy doesn’t even end here. You can actually trace this back to my article Depression and Hard Times: Revealing K-Pop’s Darkest Secrets about all the sketchy, often disturbing underbelly of the K-Pop industry. All those scandals, controversies, bullying, depression and sketchy contracts are part of the industry’s hidden abyss. And we can’t talk about Metal without mentioning all the stereotypes that comes with it. Drug addicts, hedonism, Satanism, Crime, Violence, you name it, we have it all. 

The fans are also an important aspect of these genres. Both have enormous dedicated fans around the world, but some of them (Metal elitists and Overly-obsessed K-Pop stans) are considered to be the worst type of fans you have ever encountered. Both of these groups will do anything in their power to ensure that their preferred genre overpowers the other; some can even escalate to fanwars. But surprisingly, the most known fanwars mostly happen within K-Pop fandoms, with currently brewing fanwar between EXO-L (EXO) and ARMY (BTS) over many aspects like chart positions or popularity. Some fanwars can escalate to fistfights or online harassing. Metal elitists meanwhile are considered enemies by a more open-minded ones, citing that metal is diverse, and no one should judge a band solely by someone’s own standards.

Speaking of the dedicated musicians of both genres, I know it may sound weird and impossible, but I would like to see K-Pop Bands and Metal Bands engage into a competition, like pitting one band against another or singers against each other. I mean, in my twisted mind, I’d like to see BTS leader RM square off against Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kursch in a sing-off competition, or TWICE trying to fend off Finnish beasts otherwise known as Nightwish, or even Blinks and The Hordes can tear each other apart when BLACKPINK and Kreator decided to compete against each other. Hell, let’s put Kai of EXO against Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg and have a high note VS high scream riff-off. That would be a spectacle to the masses. 

In the end, both genres have their own distinctive features, whether you are a K-Pop fan or a metalhead (I am one), just enjoy the music and all other things both genres have to offer, and I’m gonna stress this again, don’t shove your taste into someone else’s throats. Quit bitching about other’s musical taste and just enjoy it.