Stoney

Really cool this album. Well done!

@Rosa Spina, it’s like this: black metal is a genre that relies 99% on an audience of teenagers in the throes of pathological narcissism, and you’re not the one with problems if you think it sucks mammoth tusks. Follow the advice of those who suggest you explore deeper, if you’re interested, but first think about one thing: with all the musical world out there to explore, imagine how many musical genres you still don’t know that are worth approaching, which you might not even acknowledge because they aren’t as “annoying” as black, yet here you are (in good faith, of course) asking for information about black metal. Isn’t this also about picking up on a provocation, don’t you think?

Comment 18 truthful and brilliant.

We are unwell because we are conscious, it’s true, but this awareness is 200 years old, ever since someone at the dawn of industrial civilization said, "uhm, you know what? We're all going to end up in the shit." Once, we listened to intellectuals of the caliber of Moravia, Pasolini, who described everything we are talking about infinitely better than you and I are capable of doing, and their voice mattered. Politicians were different too; at least to some extent, they took on some popular demands. It could have been the beginning of a season in which truly modern and free ideas circulated and spread; people could have been educated with values that put Man at the center of existence, rather than profit, industries, television, flashy cars, cocaine, or perhaps that veneer of fake moralism that people stubbornly call "religious faith." Many fought for this, but you know very well how it ended. History took its course; those thinkers were eliminated or forgotten, and along with them, the thoughts they spread, and those at the top of the media exerted every effort to suffocate and demonize any non-conformist thought that questioned the new status quo. So you are mistaken, Caz, the culprit is very much present. Furthermore, I don’t want to live like in the 1800s because even if I were to till the land, the world around me would remain the same. What the 1800s farmer had and what we lack are the means to fully express their role in society. A poor person once conceived the world of the rich as unattainable, as something that simply did not belong to them and that they could very well do without. A farmer, a craftsman, could draw abundantly from the culture of their class, the result of millennia of human history, which would confer upon them, if not material wealth, at least existential dignity and an identity: their existence was poor, not wretched, and there is a terrible difference. I’m not saying that in the 1800s everyone ate and drank excessively; poverty has always been central to human history, but can you grasp the difference? It’s subtle but fundamental. Our existence, on the other hand, is wretched regardless of how poor or rich we are; let’s say that at most, if you are rich, you can convince yourself that you are not wretched, or rather, let’s say that modern society wants to convince you that there is only one way to escape misery, which is to become rich, the work+profit equation, which is the only thought to which we are all obliged to conform. Caz, I respect your point of view, but I do not appreciate excessive simplifications of matters that are of an abyssal complexity. Sorry if I sometimes seem presumptuous, but I enjoy discussing things like this with people. Bye.

Caz, words mean nothing. Just a few years ago, there were people fighting for the chance to manage their own time, build their lives, devote themselves to living their existence consciously, and believe in ideas of progress. There was the potential to change things, there were those who cared about spreading awareness and knowledge, and encouraging people to reflect and give their best. Today, however, we’ve been convinced that this is “idealism” and that anyone who doesn’t bow to simply toiling away like a slave to survive is an enemy of the community, and we’ve all fallen for it like fools. There are people who think the height of satisfaction is to smoke a joint after 8 hours in a factory, and then they complain about the "system" just because it restricts their little habit, not because it forces them into a miserable and unsatisfactory existence. You ask what I propose, but accusing those who speak like I do of not "proposing anything" stems from an old and corrupted viewpoint: the solution to these "evils" is individual, residing in the consciousness of each person, and thus there’s nothing else to do but criticize and talk, since if reality is like this, it’s because people’s ideas are like this; there is no political or legislative recipe that can fix things overnight as we tend to think, it's not enough to write a couple of rules on a piece of paper to delude ourselves that society will establish and follow them. Revolutions have failed because they tried to impose consciousness on people, while consciousness can only be earned individually or it doesn’t exist. For my part, I can only convince others to consider what I say, at least stimulate some reflection, recommend readings, spark curiosity, and it's difficult to do that with those who tell me I’m an idealist or that things can’t change. I respect others' positions, but I will never align myself with those who are indignant with the government because they want a hundred more euros a month to pay rent, or with the happy kid who signed a contract with a "prestigious company" that he already knows will exploit him but stubbornly insists on talking about "great job opportunities," because I’m convinced these people, even in good faith, cannot truly conceive of a possibility to live differently, or think about what it really means to be free. These people, in good faith, will perceive their lives as a constant effort to overcome their feelings of inadequacy in fulfilling the social and economic role assigned to them, within which they believe their entire existence is exhausted, and they will come to label me as an idealist or a slacker, thinking that I’m just looking for an excuse to work less or live comfortably. Sorry for the length, I hope I’ve managed to satisfy your curiosity.

Dude, it will be as you say. However, the ratio of entrepreneurs/politicians to "normal" people doesn't hold up, it's like one in six million, not to mention that according to the latest statistics, around a billion people in the world suffer from hunger. Now, we can sit here and make all the platitudes we want, saying "it's all the same," but a billion people is a damn billion people, and it takes a lot of nerve to say that "Everyone is responsible for themselves, the 'system' is only to blame to a minimal extent, satisfying EVERYONE is impossible."

Well, Caz, I'll daydream. You, on the other hand, are very realistic, and your talks are frighteningly similar to those of politicians, entrepreneurs, and bosses who want to convince you by any means necessary that things are just this way and cannot be changed. The usual old speeches that yes, we realize that things are critically alarming, but what can we do? A clean and decent way to justify everything, with that fake tone of wisdom that seems to give the matter the background of some kind of maturity or seriousness, which places every criticism in the realm of fantasy and mocks the naivety of those who made it. I might be one of those who gets lost in their thoughts (and daydreaming isn't useless; it matures self-awareness, they say), but I'm convinced that awareness and freedom have been silently taken from us without even ruffling a single hair, through social and economic transformations that are so rapid that we still struggle to adapt, and they continue to take it away from us day by day, and if one just looks around for a moment, it's obvious that it’s true. Then, we can also study the more insidious ways to lie to ourselves, but that's just how I am: if I’m forced to eat shit, I call it shit; I don’t convince myself that calling it chocolate makes it taste any better. Bye, Caz.

Puntinicaz, your speech is a bit superficial. Of course, we can't measure everything precisely and gauge what's right and what's wrong, but I definitely know one thing: as long as the rules become harsher, people's lives will get increasingly difficult; as long as there is ruthless competition, there will be weak individuals, and we can't just brush it off thinking that if these people fail in life, it’s "their fault." As long as we continue like this, there will ALWAYS be people trying to rid themselves of their guilt in more or less inhumane ways (drugs, alcohol, but also violence at stadiums, vandalism, various forms of violence), and it is truly inhumane to even debate "how" they will dispose of it. I mean, beyond forcing them into difficult contexts (I say difficult, not disadvantaged, mind you), we also go and hassle them about how they should react and how this is more or less acceptable. You can't throw people into the fray and expect everyone to be able to carve their way out: many won't make it. And not only do we make things harder for everyone while justifying ourselves with various nonsense (competition, a better world...), but we also build a morality around the idea that the harder the challenge of survival is, the more masculine those who manage to scrape through are, which if you want to believe, go ahead; however, I will continue to think it's just a massive load of crap. Bye-bye.

I always feel a sense of despair when people talk about "freedom." The "freedom" to smoke a joint, the "freedom" to have alcohol... In my opinion, there are drugs taken out of desperation, drugs taken to look cool or else you’re not keeping up with the times, drugs taken because otherwise, one doesn’t know how to have fun on a night out, and only at the very end, a tiny percentage of people are "aware" of what they're doing and use certain substances in moderation (which we would have to take a closer look at...). This is not freedom; it has nothing to do with freedom. On the contrary, it is yielding to external coercion, seeking an escape from a system that leaves people alone with their weaknesses and instead of helping them, bombards them with guilt, and this is true for both the devastated heroin addict and the cocaine-fueled manager. Not everyone is strong in the same way; in fact, it seems that more and more people are beginning to show ever deeper signs of weakness. Hiding weakness, forcing oneself to appear whole, is becoming a strong trait of our culture, which seems unwilling to admit imperfections. Perhaps one day we will understand this silly simple truth, though I don't count on it much. Meanwhile, if you truly care about individual freedom, talk about something else and avoid misleading discussions that are just red herrings. O' revuàr.

"If you have a bit of guts to face life, you just don’t touch certain things." There you go, it’s these kinds of phrases that make me drop my balls to the ground.