Note: in the editorial for issue #3 (1991), I wrote, “I’ve kicked off a section called ‘Disposable Opinions.’ These are not my opinions but those of contributors, although I may agree with them. You can take them or leave them, but maybe they’ll give you another viewpoint that you could think about.” More opinions appear in other ‘zine issues of the Disposable Underground Collection.
A Woman’s Perspective
by Daisy Rooks
Whenever I go to shows, there is always the usual group of girls standing in the back of the room, gossiping, pointing at their (boy) friends “moshing it up,” and holding their coats. These girls are all too happy to play the “support your man” role that females all over play too frequently. As a female involved in the scene, I think this role is bullshit. In a supposed alternative to society like hardcore, women should not have the same subordinate roles they do in mainstream society. This must end. The only way for women to get equal recognition in this (or any other) scene is for these apathetic roles to stop. We all (males and females) need to understand that these women change the emphasis of a show from music to getting picked up, and thus dismiss all hope for women involved in the scene. We all should denounce these women at shows and work to create a true alternative to society. One that values women on their participation and sincerity, not on their ability to “look good for the boys” and be a coat rack. ■
A Comparison of the Scene Today to that of Around 1984-‘85, From the Washington, D.C. Suburbs
Hello everybody, Mike Smith from Deceased here. Rich has been asking me to write this for a couple of months, and after much procrastination, here it is. I don’t want to offend anyone (but then again, maybe I do!), so remember, this is just my opinion. How does the scene compare?
Well, for one thing, there were no shows to go to back then except the Capital Center and the very rare club show. You used to be able to buy a record (“What’s a ‘record’?”) on the looks of the album cover alone. It just seems like today, metal bands are a dime a dozen. Everybody is doing what everybody else is doing. In the old days, you could pick out a band by hearing one riff.
Bands need to spend a little more time finding their own style, rather than trying to be more brutal than the next band. One thing about this D.C. area I will say is, at least our bands do sound different from each other. If you want these bands to survive, then support out fuckin’ scene! Come out to the shows to prove to the clubs that this is not a passing thing.
Death metal is becoming a fad quickly. If you’re truly into it, cool. If you hate it, also cool. It’s not for everyone. But I’m hearing about many bands having their “death metal” part of a song and shit. Fuck that. That’s the exact bandwagon-jumping shit that turns something into a fad. I don’t want that in my scene.
Last week as we drove to New Jersey, somebody put in a tape of Slayer’s Live Undead. Now, earlier that day, we got in the new Slayer live album, Decade of Aggression, here at Tower Records. Remembering the cover of that new live album and hearing the old one provided the inspiration for this article. Now, before I go any further, if you love anything by Slayer after 1986, then you’d better not read any further.
Once upon a time, there was a band called Slayer. This wasn’t the band that recorded the South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss albums. The Slayer I’m talking about would never have cheesed out like that. They said they would never slow down and would stay underground. They wrote the most killer riffs and had a singer who had the sickest voice in the scene.
Now take a look at the new Slayer live album. Is Jeff Hanneman sponsored by a surf shop? Why does Kerry King wear the same sunglasses as the ones worn by elderly people? I think when King lost his hair, he also lost his ability to write cool riffs. All sarcasm aside, the feeling just isn’t the same.
Before you kill me for thinking this way about Slayer, look at the old pictures inside the new live album. Slayer was death metal personified. That’s what put you where you are today. I used Slayer as a scapegoat, but so what. Put on Seasons in the Abyss and then play Haunting the Chapel and you’ll see what I mean.
Hey, it’s okay to think that everything that comes out of Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida sounds like shit, ‘cause I do too. Don’t be afraid to have an honest opinion. ■
