Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

I suppose it is a bit of a stretch to bridge the gap between all that raw destruction, aggression, anarchy, and pure grumpiness—which is what that genre suggests to me—and the act of raking in cash at some high-end, polished concert venue.

If you really wanted to give listeners that true sensory experience, wouldn't you host the show in a literal junkyard or some gritty dive bar down a back alley? ☕

But hey, I’m just messing around; people listen to whatever they want, it's just that this particular style has always felt like a direct pipeline to emotions I don't particularly value, like rage or anger, so I've never quite grasped the motivation behind leaning into them. Or perhaps I just outgrew that phase of life where you feel the need to wear your frustration on your sleeve.

brightpilot6 said:I suppose it is a bit of a stretch to bridge the gap between all that raw destruction, aggression, anarchy, and pure grumpiness—which is what that genre suggests to me—and the act of raking in cash at some high-end, polished concert venue.

If you really wanted to give listeners that true sensory experience, wouldn't you host the show in a literal junkyard or some gritty dive bar down a back alley? ☕

But hey, I’m just messing around; people listen to whatever they want, it's just that this particular style has always felt like a direct pipeline to emotions I don't particularly value, like rage or anger, so I've never quite grasped the motivation behind leaning into them. Or perhaps I just outgrew that phase of life where you feel the need to wear your frustration on your sleeve.

I don't see aggression or anger in Black Metal; I see strength and power. That's why it's always appealed to me, even if it comes with a bunch of childish idiots attached to it. For me, it's the kind of music that just crushes weakness right out of you...

You won't find those flashy stages or high-end concerts in BM very often. In other metal genres, sure, but Black Metal is different. Even then, the bands that actually sell out might polish their sound to fit the mainstream, but plenty of others just skip live shows entirely to stay anonymous.
Black Metal is supposed to be about isolation and staying far away from the spotlight and everything the mainstream stands for...

Robert Torres said:I don't see aggression or anger in Black Metal; I see strength and power. That's why it's always appealed to me, even if it comes with a bunch of childish idiots attached to it. For me, it's the kind of music that just crushes weakness right out of you...

You won't find those flashy stages or high-end concerts in BM very often. In other metal genres, sure, but Black Metal is different. Even then, the bands that actually sell out might polish their sound to fit the mainstream, but plenty of others just skip live shows entirely to stay anonymous.
Black Metal is supposed to be about isolation and staying far away from the spotlight and everything the mainstream stands for...

Is Black Metal just some small town in the Midwest?

Matthew Young35 said:Is Black Metal just some small town in the Midwest?

It’s highly probable. And I suppose that’s exactly what he was getting at regarding this whole situation—something I find myself recommending to just about everyone lately:
https://youtu.be/GHuCNq390j8

bluebison47 said:It’s highly probable. And I suppose that’s exactly what he was getting at regarding this whole situation—something I find myself recommending to just about everyone lately:
https://youtu.be/GHuCNq390j8

Now, this is good...
I sat through the whole video, and I have to say, I actually enjoyed it.
There’s just something about it.
It’s quite jarring to see how she walked away from him, only to end up in a messy situation with some guy in a small town in rural Ohio.

I suspect there might be a deeper layer to the lyrics.
How does an African American man wielding dual pistols connect to a sleepy suburb in the Midwest at the 1:25 mark? Perhaps I simply don't understand the local subculture well enough to make the link.

A decent enough pairing. It's basically Rasta meeting Shorty. ☕

😁

brightpilot6 said:I suppose it is a bit of a stretch to bridge the gap between all that raw destruction, aggression, anarchy, and pure grumpiness—which is what that genre suggests to me—and the act of raking in cash at some high-end, polished concert venue.

If you really wanted to give listeners that true sensory experience, wouldn't you host the show in a literal junkyard or some gritty dive bar down a back alley? ☕

But hey, I’m just messing around; people listen to whatever they want, it's just that this particular style has always felt like a direct pipeline to emotions I don't particularly value, like rage or anger, so I've never quite grasped the motivation behind leaning into them. Or perhaps I just outgrew that phase of life where you feel the need to wear your frustration on your sleeve.

Honestly? They should just play on some damn cow pastures instead of these multi-million dollar stadiums that cost millions to run. Not even a real complaint, just facts.

You don't like Conan? Send him straight to hell. Or maybe just make it a little nastier than that. Honestly, listening to this makes me want to go out and commit a crime.

I haven't had a chance to listen to this yet, but those Bathory links you shared are awesome—really top-tier stuff.

brightpilot6 said:I suppose it is a bit of a stretch to bridge the gap between all that raw destruction, aggression, anarchy, and pure grumpiness—which is what that genre suggests to me—and the act of raking in cash at some high-end, polished concert venue.

If you really wanted to give listeners that true sensory experience, wouldn't you host the show in a literal junkyard or some gritty dive bar down a back alley? ☕

But hey, I’m just messing around; people listen to whatever they want, it's just that this particular style has always felt like a direct pipeline to emotions I don't particularly value, like rage or anger, so I've never quite grasped the motivation behind leaning into them. Or perhaps I just outgrew that phase of life where you feel the need to wear your frustration on your sleeve.

this stuff gives off major Radiohead vibes😬

In my experience, most people who dig this kind of music—and other subgenres of metal, if we're being specific—aren't actually miserable. If anything, they’re usually some of the funniest, most chill people you'll meet.

Hey steelharbor9, if you ever run into Ode, he can back me up. We have a mutual friend who is a total grouch, a real piece of work, but seriously, no shade intended😁—most people aren't even like that.

Maybe it's because they listen to a mix of everything. Or maybe those heavy emotions really do dominate when you're a teen, but who knows? Back then, I wasn't hanging out with the crowd that listened to this, or maybe we just didn't own up to it.😁

Robert Torres said:Well, I don't either. Most of those fringe acts stay on the sidelines for a reason, just like how mainstream popularity usually lines up with actual quality. We're basically saying the same thing, regardless of what we're arguing about.

Then go listen to some Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen and stare out the window feeling all nostalgic.

This is probably what you mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uhcZYaDNFw

Yeah, that's a solid riff🙂

At least half of these styles lean heavily on anger, rage, aggression, irony, cynicism, and varying degrees of political incorrectness—often just general provocations.
Punk, metal, and essentially everything born from the lineage of good old-fashioned rock.
It’s been this way since the era of those classic rock ballads.
Take Dylan’s "Knocking on Heaven's Door," where the man is lamenting his impending death because he can no longer kill. Or "Sympathy for the Devil," "Midnight Rambler," Neil Young's "Crime in the City"... the list goes on forever.
Then there is Leonard Cohen. The man has a song detailing how he’ll hunt down the dealers who sold drugs to his girlfriend after she overdosed. He describes her passing with startlingly vivid detail. He even has a cheerful little biblical tune about a father drowning his son on a hillside. Good grief. He even has a collection titled *Flowers for Hitler*.

Broadly speaking, everyone is just trying to shock the system and grab attention.
Naturally, some possess more substance (Cohen, for instance), while others fall somewhat short of the mark.

William Gomez5 said:this stuff gives off major Radiohead vibes😬

In my experience, most people who dig this kind of music—and other subgenres of metal, if we're being specific—aren't actually miserable. If anything, they’re usually some of the funniest, most chill people you'll meet.

Hey steelharbor9, if you ever run into Ode, he can back me up. We have a mutual friend who is a total grouch, a real piece of work, but seriously, no shade intended😁—most people aren't even like that.

Maybe it's because they listen to a mix of everything. Or maybe those heavy emotions really do dominate when you're a teen, but who knows? Back then, I wasn't hanging out with the crowd that listened to this, or maybe we just didn't own up to it.😁

I have to agree. I think metalheads are great people; it’s just the music itself that isn't really my thing.

ruggedjackal46 said:I have to agree. I think metalheads are great people; it’s just the music itself that isn't really my thing.

I was running in those circles back in the early nineties, and it’s been fascinating to watch how almost everyone transitioned into classic rock once the metal scene started to lose its momentum.
It isn't as if they all suddenly swapped their leather jackets for Beatles memorabilia or started obsessing over The Kinks. Instead, most of them leaned heavily into the staples—Queen, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Dylan, Springsteen, and that whole legendary era.

Matthew Young35 said:At least half of these styles lean heavily on anger, rage, aggression, irony, cynicism, and varying degrees of political incorrectness—often just general provocations.
Punk, metal, and essentially everything born from the lineage of good old-fashioned rock.
It’s been this way since the era of those classic rock ballads.
Take Dylan’s "Knocking on Heaven's Door," where the man is lamenting his impending death because he can no longer kill. Or "Sympathy for the Devil," "Midnight Rambler," Neil Young's "Crime in the City"... the list goes on forever.
Then there is Leonard Cohen. The man has a song detailing how he’ll hunt down the dealers who sold drugs to his girlfriend after she overdosed. He describes her passing with startlingly vivid detail. He even has a cheerful little biblical tune about a father drowning his son on a hillside. Good grief. He even has a collection titled *Flowers for Hitler*.

Broadly speaking, everyone is just trying to shock the system and grab attention.
Naturally, some possess more substance (Cohen, for instance), while others fall somewhat short of the mark.

You're only talking about the lyrics, though. Musically speaking, those tracks don't actually have the heavy weight of metal or the raw fury of punk.

Matthew Young35 said:I was running in those circles back in the early nineties, and it’s been fascinating to watch how almost everyone transitioned into classic rock once the metal scene started to lose its momentum.
It isn't as if they all suddenly swapped their leather jackets for Beatles memorabilia or started obsessing over The Kinks. Instead, most of them leaned heavily into the staples—Queen, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Dylan, Springsteen, and that whole legendary era.

That is an interesting shift. How does one actually transition from heavy metal to Bruce Springsteen? Hmm.

ruggedjackal46 said:You're only talking about the lyrics, though. Musically speaking, those tracks don't actually have the heavy weight of metal or the raw fury of punk.

That is an interesting shift. How does one actually transition from heavy metal to Bruce Springsteen? Hmm.

That's just how it goes.
On the first listen, sure, the metal influence definitely carries more raw energy.
But once you actually sit with it? That bit about the guy vomiting and flushing the toilet over a background track of an industrial complex from Middle-earth—where the soundscape eventually settles the Uruk-hai—it becomes... well, it's almost comical rather than high-octane.

That’s an interesting pivot. How does one move from heavy metal to Bruce Springsteen? Hmm.

Look, I’ve seen even wilder shifts... going from metal straight into a rave, for instance.

The reality is that most of these people were always fine with Springsteen; he just wasn't their primary focus at the time.
Once they exhausted the novelty of the initial heavy stuff, they drifted right back to their roots.

Of course, this is strictly based on my own experience and my circle of friends (though, admittedly, that's a fairly large sample size from Chicago; perhaps things play out differently in other US cities).

It’s hard to get anything out of it when you walk in with a chip on your shoulder. Just saying.

How are you even supposed to find any motivation in that? It doesn't work like that.

Walter Grant5 said:It’s hard to get anything out of it when you walk in with a chip on your shoulder. Just saying.

How are you even supposed to find any motivation in that? It doesn't work like that.

No, I don't hold any prejudices against metal.
Really.
I actually find thrash metal quite alright; I'll listen to a bit of it every couple of years or so.

Matthew Young35 said:No, I don't hold any prejudices against metal.
Really.
I actually find thrash metal quite alright; I'll listen to a bit of it every couple of years or so.

Yeah, but you jumped straight to black metal, which is how this whole thing kicked off. Look, you can't just start digging deep into that stuff looking for "energy" now. It ain't that complicated. You either feel it or you don't. And you? Based on everything I've seen, you definitely don't. Thank God. 🙂

Most people are obsessed with Queen, and I still can't wrap my head around what everyone finds so life-changing about them.

Or AC/DC. 🤷

Walter Grant5 said:Yeah, but you jumped straight to black metal, which is how this whole thing kicked off. Look, you can't just start digging deep into that stuff looking for "energy" now. It ain't that complicated. You either feel it or you don't. And you? Based on everything I've seen, you definitely don't. Thank God. 🙂

Most people are obsessed with Queen, and I still can't wrap my head around what everyone finds so life-changing about them.

Or AC/DC. 🤷

Fair enough, I'll admit I steered John toward Black Metal.
But that wasn't born out of prejudice; it came from experience. I know the music and I know the types of people who gravitate toward it—and those who only flirt with it briefly before moving on.
It isn't about being judgmental.
And honestly? I don't get why so many people find Queen to be such a spectacular phenomenon either.
As for AC/DC, they're great for easy listening. Truly great. A high-quality "no-brainer" choice.

I learned a long time ago not to judge anyone by their playlist. I've met plenty of perfectly decent people who listen to nothing but mainstream pop or country radio.
That doesn't mean I don't have my own opinions on the music itself.