“If you think that your words will ever make a difference, think again and carry on.” / Rise Against – The Unraveling (The Unraveling, 2001)
So Jus, are you bored as well during this period? To be honest; absolutely not. The advantage of having four jobs is that, even during a period like this, at least one continues. And I’ve also got plenty of time I can spend on my master thesis. I really appreciate that the government tries everything to keep me at home so I can work on my thesis. That way I finally might be able to graduate this year. Might. I’ve probably already got the first messages on my phone with friends telling me that I should work on my thesis. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’
Recently I started thinking about having a blog again. Or a website. Or whatever you want to call it. To me it doesn’t matter what you call it, what matters to me is that you don’t let it die by putting it in a certain box of rules and expectations. And that’s exactly how I want to define this website. Because what is the purpose of this website anyway? After all, if you want to remain interesting to an audience, it might be helpful to choose a particular focus. Nobody likes everything, right? So in that case it’s not convenient to keep the topic of this website too wide. Is it?
I’d like to compare this website to the first years of the punk culture. Johannes van de Weert, vocalist of the Dutch punk band De Rondos (1978-1980, based in Rotterdam), told me about it last year, when I interviewed him about my thesis (which I haven’t finished yet, well done). He told me that it was unclear what punk was about during its first few years. Nobody really knew. The only thing that was clear about it, was that it was a creative movement that didn’t only contain music, but art in general. During its first years, punk was focused on creativity, before it eventually turned into an anarchistic, nihilistic and violent culture as well. This broad definition of punk, before it got a definition, is maybe what I want with this website; an undefined whole. (And hopefully this website doesn’t end as an anarchistic, nihilistic and violent website.)
Perhaps it’d be a good thing to give this website some kind of structure though. I’d like to use an example from straight edge for that. In the book Straight Edge – Hardcore Punk, Clean-living Youth, and Social Change (2006) from Ross Haenfler is written that one of the most important underlying structures from the straight edge movement (or subculture?) is its positivity. For straightedgers this positivity isn’t only about living a ‘drug-free’ life. Straightedgers define it in plenty of different ways, namely: “questioning and resisting society’s norms, having a positive outlook on life, being an individual, treating people with respect and dignity, and taking action to make the world a better place” (Haenfler, 2006: p. 37). This corresponds to one of my own goals, written in my new year’s speech that I post on my Facebook every year (I will post all of them on this website as well).
Good, there’s some kind of structure, but it’s still kinda vague, Jus. Perhaps it’d be helpful to tell what people can expect concerning the content. As I’ve already said above; the speeches that I’ve written over the past years, and that I’ve posted on my Facebook. Speeches wherein I try to be open and honest, and I understand that not everyone might like that. But one of the first rules I’ve learned about writing is that one should always write for themselves, not for others. And I’ve received many beautiful replies on my speeches over the past few years. Apparently some people appreciate them. Next to my speeches I’ll of course post about music (hint: 23 April, remember the date). People who know me know that I often listen to rock, punk and metal. But the last few years I’ve tried to broaden my music taste. Not every music genre is good, but I believe that in most music genres are artists that are great within the genre they’re part of (don’t put them in a box though).So I’ll talk about artists playing soul, hiphop, pop and many more genres (sometimes I don’t even know the genre they’re playing) as well.
To me, this website is a platform to share everything I come across in life. Things that make me think, things I learn from, or things that create new perspectives. Music, books, movies, quotes, news articles, scientific articles, video’s; some examples of things that might be shared here. (Actually I also want to add “friends” to this list, because I learn a lot from them as well. Not only do I learn from the things they tell me, but I also learn from the way they are and the things they do. After all, if you look closely you can learn something from everything). And of course I’ll share thoughts that cross my mind here as well. To be honest; they don’t always make me happier, but I learn a lot from them. It’s both a curse and a blessing. But these thoughts aren’t always things that should be put in a box. Or that should be kept in a box. Because if you don’t share a thought or convert it into something, it bleeds to death and nothing happens in the end. This website was a thought, and now it’s here.
Society’s my front stage
This is my backstage
Please enter..
Related posts:
- The Illusion of Control
- Over Mij / About Me
- The Playlist that turned into a Musical Diary
- Achtergrond / Background
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