Shit Scenesters

What is a "Scene"? Examples of some famous (but now extinct) scenes are:

• The Detroit/Chicago house scene
  Names: Derrick May, Gerald Simpson
• The Washington, DC emo scene
  Names: Ian MacKaye, Guy Picciotto
• The Zürich dada scene
  Names: Hugo Ball, Tristan Tzara

In theater, a scene is defined as "a division of a play or of an act of a play, usually representing what passes between certain of the actors in one place."^[1] If electronic music were a play, Detriot/Chicago house would be a scene.

A scene in and of itself is a perfectly fine thing. The Detroit/Chicago house scene made valuable contributions to electronic music. Many of its "big names" were genuine arists, thinking for themselves and gifting the world with thoughtful nuggets of culture - a group of creative, like-minded people sharing ideas, collaborating, and competing. Just like a scene in a play, a musical scene comes out of previous scenes, has its arc, adds to the story, and ends, leading into the following scene. Rock music would not have existed if not for Blues, and Industrial would not have existed if not for Rock. A scene MUST end eventually, or culture will stagnate.

A scene can be a very positive thing - in fact, they are arguably necessary. At issue here is the negative elements that come along with a thriving scene, the people that crave glory for themselves rather than artistic and cultural advancement of the human race. People that want one scene to go on forever, and do not understand the need for show to go on. Specifically...

Shit Scenesters As the name would imply, the Shit Scenester considers himself^[2] part of a scene, but is not really of any value to it. Whatsoever. He dreams of becoming one of the scene's big names, but has a snowflake's chance in hell of achieving that dream. This is because the Shit Scenester does not understand his scene beyond what is required to make appearances. He sees fame, crowds of people, attractive groupies, money being made, respect being garnered, etc. etc. and simply wants a piece of it. Some Shit Scensters will at least have the decency to pick a scene they actually like, but in general it's like moths to a lamp - someone please get the Bug Zapper.

The Shit Scenester acts like he is essential to the scene, and has a deep understanding of it. He observes how members dress, act, and speak, then attempts to be one step flashier. Here, however, is where his abilities end. Actual comprehension of the scene is impossible for him - and that's not his goal, anyways. Anyone that actually knows their stuff will very quickly smoke him out as a Shit Scenester. If the scene has a high enough proportion of earnest members, he has virtually no chance of getting anywhere. However, this is rarely the case.

Take one of the example scenes above - the Detroit/Chicago house scene, let's say. A Shit Scenester would likely attempt to pass himself off as an up-and-coming DJ or producer... but it's a party scene. Thousands of people are just there to dance, to listen. Many are completely wasted. Some people just visit for a week or a weekend. In this environment, a Shit Scenester can thrive. While true insiders will know him for what he really is, outsiders will be unable to tell the difference. He may even manage to cultivate a following of his own - a "crew," e.g. less successful Shit Scenesters that hang with him purely because they see other people doing so, and realize that being together in a large group gives the crew an apparence of validity, and having "made it." Strength in numbers. Starting their own tribe within a tribe.

I'm sure the recursive headache this implies is already looming over your frontal lobes... "And these have smaller fleas that bite 'em, And so proceed ad infinitum." As with any other parasite, the only way to get rid of Shit Scenesters is to pick them off or starve them.

Why? Mankind used to exist in small tribes that were more or less indepedant, sans occasional trade, intermarriage, and warfare^[3]. Rules were strictly enforced, and if you broke them enough, you would be kicked out of your tribe. To be kicked out of your tribe would mean almost certain death. To understand why, imagine being plucked from your home, deposited in the middle of the amazon rainforest miles from anyone, and told, "Good luck. If you return to the city, we'll kill you as an example to other rule-breakers."

A tribe, of course, has a social order, with chiefs - the big names - at the top. The chiefs get first choice of women, they distribute the food, they resolve disputes, and they make the rules. A desireable position, obviously. The chiefs, however, have responsibility as well. They can lead the tribe to greater success... or into destruction. So it is with a scene. Alpha males compete to rule the tribe, but only within certain boundaries - if they are too drastic, they will be kicked out of the tribe - put to death. It is good for a tribe to be run by the most able leader, but excessive challenge and turmoil will destroy it. Typical methods of challenge usually went along the lines of tests of strength, bravery, skill at hunting, and so on.

In modern times, there are no distinct tribes. The closest analogues are things like scenes (or gangs!). Everyone lives together in a pile; technology renders geography irrelevant. We are all one tribe, and no tribe. Just as always, some men aspire to be Chief - the alpha male, the president, the leader of a scene, the CEO, and of course... ruler of the world. But, no one can rule the world. It's simply too damn big. It is an outdated way of viewing the world that is unhealthy and destructive. We have to get beyond our DNA, and treat each other as equals, or we will destroy ourselves. There will always be a desire to conquer - but we should take this energy and put it into art and self-improvement. Enrich the world, rather than tear it apart. Compete to enhance the scene, rather than to own it.

The Shit Scenester is a genetic reminant from the tribal days. He wants to be the alpha male, the Chief. He does not care about furthering the scene - only about furthering himself. To secure resources, father the most children, and pass on his genes. In common terms, these people think with their balls instead of their brains. They are more "clever apes" than humans.

The music industry Shit Scenesters are easily manipulated. Ever wonder how Nickelback, Linkin Park, and other such crimes against creativity succeed?

Simple: they are Shit Scenesters, and their fans are their crew.

It's a common notion that business is bad for art, and this is where that notion comes from. Business is about selling records, not making them. Nickelback and Linkin Park do not make records, they sell them - the same ones they sold last year, with different album art and different titles. The same ones other top-dog, Shit Scenester bands sold yesteryear. They only differ from other Shit Scenesters by their degree of success. They are proof that greed knows no bounds. They are only a few steps removed from the bankers and Rockefellers of the world.

So what's there to do? Shit Scenesters derive their power from conformity. In order for them to blend in, they must dress like everyone else (but better), talk like everyone else (but bigger), walk like everyone else (but with more swagger). However, just as with tribes, Shit Scenesters only challenge within certain channels - bluster and swagger. They fear upsetting things too much, because they fear complete ejection from the Scene. A true visionary is above this, and challenges anything he feels needs to be challenged, with little concern for his position in the food chain. Think of Ghandi - did he care about being famous? No, he cared about achieving justice for his people. He challenged the social order, rather than trying to rise within it. The social order - the British empire - fought back, but there was no jungle to cast Ghandi out into. He swallowed his fear and stood against an empire, successfully.

If everyone dresses differently, talks differently, and walks differently - according to their own unique style and taste, and not what everyone else does - there is no typical style to absorb, and the Shit Scenesters will fade away. Only those with the vision to challenge the empire will rise, be revered by their peers, and remembered by history.

People conform due to fear. It still lingers in our DNA. We are terrified of challenging the social order, of being an individual... of being kicked out of the tribe. Our society becomes increasingly spiritually and artisticly impoverished as our chiefs stuff their wallets, because few people realize that there is another option:

Think for yourself.

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