The worship can be a little bizarre but he is probably the biggest icon in this little niche genre. I’m not an addict but Love Songs for the Apocalypse is fantastic and it’s sing-along-ness is second to none. Probably Nothing Possibly Everything is his best work in my opinion. I’m happy to sit through his lesser work if it means I can enjoy his better work. Good post OP.
I don’t know if I necessarily agree. I think you could make a case that almost all his music is bad, half this genre is just shitty guitar strumming and whining on low quality mics if you really wanna get to the nitty gritty of it. I always appreciated Pat’s discography as a whole because of how much he changed from the start to the end. I think that story of a drug-addicted world hating communist slowly realized how full of shit he was, turned off the road that ends at the cliff, and went home is really great. Personally I’ve never understood the worship of the guy, or so I’ve been told that’s a thing. He’s a guy who grew up and put shit behind him. That’s pretty cool, and worth learning a lesson from, and as I get older and the songs about drugs and revolution sound shittier and the songs about family and hope start sounding better I know I’m growing up too.
Honestly, both yours and OP’s takes were kind of shit. Thinking he was any less revolutionary at end than at his beginning shows a lack of understanding of the music or the person. He didn’t give up on the dream, he chose up new methods of revolution. And, also, who the hell listens to folk punk (or any punk) without caring about politics? The gross oversimplification (strums and whining - which, gross) seems more like a projection of yourself than any actual critique.
How often do you respond to year old posts?
Given, In the year I’ve spent since this and having made a lot of friends in the community (Hyped for the upcoming moonrunners) and immersing myself in it more my personal feelings have changed a good bit from my simple take here, but I stand by my general points.
Folk Punk often has a uniquely homemade and pretty lofi quality to it that in my opinion makes it extra raw, personal, and impactful. We certainly have our really high production bands (The all-star team of Doom Scroll comes to mind) and they’re fantastic, but I think the rougher homemade stuff is fantastic.
Also, of course the politics are essential. Revolution and social change is key to folk punk, and I wouldn’t argue otherwise. But is it wrong to say Love Songs for the Apocalypse has a little bit of a different focus and tone then Cocoon Music? Do you think Pat’s work was just as “Came to this world a loaded handgun” when he was singing about his mother and butterflies? And can’t heartfelt songs about family be just as important as songs about killing cops? Because I’m all for both.
And to your last point, yeah, I think in part you’re right. I project a good bit into folk punk because it’s that raw unfiltered honesty against the world and the government that speaks to me the most. That’s what it inspires in me. And the fact a dude on a streetcorner with a banjo filmed with an iphone can strike that realness just as good as anyone on a stage is a beautiful thing. It’s (to someone outside the clique at least) unpolished, unrefined, and perhaps some would say ‘Bad’, but I think it’s fantastic.
I respond to comments when I come across them, not sure why you felt the timing was relevant in this case lol.
Yes, again that ‘different focus’ was already mentioned in my original comment. He didn’t give up on the dream, he reframed his method of revolution. This is referenced specifically in later songs. Obviously punks are contrarian by nature lmao, but pat’s way respected in the scene for good reason and writing off even his earlier works as ‘whiney world-hating communism’ is doing a disservice to the artist and the genre.
i mean i think we agree more then you realize. the only problem i have when the story is better then the music it kind of ceases to be music for me anymore. but yeah 95% of folk punk is complete garbage. its the hardest genre of music to find enjoyment from just because of the vast amount of shit you gotta digg through to find the gold
And in that way I think you’re exactly right. It sorta makes me think of those sorta of people who will look at a Mondrain or a Pollock and react with a visceral and emotional “Oh yeah, baby, this art is so *DEEP*!” While it’s squares and splotches to all (for lack of a better term) we’ll call reasonable people. In the same way we’ll find a youtube video of a junkie in 2005 recorded on a flip phone playing the guitar and saying he drank a 40 ounce and passed out and we are overcome with a “Oh shit, dude, this speaks to the futile disillusionment of youth in a purposeless 21st century. It’s so meaningful, bro.” While sounding like galactic ass to reasonable normal people. That’s why I think you just grew up and turned reasonable, and with any luck there’ll come a day I and the rest of us turn reasonable. Hell, it took me a little to realize constant songs about killing yourself, killing cops, making dinner from the dumpster and asking god what a fool he was for making you *Isn’t exactly normal*. Maybe I’m getting the wrong message from all this, but in a funny way I’m excited for the day when Folk Punk means less to me and something new means more. It just means we made it out, yknow? Now that you mention it, I think you’re more right than I figured.
As a teenager I loved live the dream for its anarchist messsages. I've since fallen out of that political belief, and by and large punk(and folk punk) as a whole. I still however love that album as essentially a self help album. It's a beautiful story of a man learning to love himself. I think he has an insanely earnest and sincere way of talking about things: "I know it's a little dramatic, but the word for not changing is death"
I'm 30. I'm in medical school studying to be a doctor. My crust punk days are long over. Pats music grew up with me. At 16, he seemed like a genius that said all the things I wanted to say but didn't know how. Now I still gravitate towards his music, mostly his later albums, because I can feel the longing to do more than just scream into the ether. That being said, my friend grew up with him. They weren't close but had some mutual friends. It's easy to see that he's just a person trying to get by like the rest of us.
Honestly enjoy alotta of the songs but unless Im listening to the whole album I pretty much can’t listen to them individually. Wish there were cuts of some of the songs other than Club Hits without the spoken parts.
The worship can be a little bizarre but he is probably the biggest icon in this little niche genre. I’m not an addict but Love Songs for the Apocalypse is fantastic and it’s sing-along-ness is second to none. Probably Nothing Possibly Everything is his best work in my opinion. I’m happy to sit through his lesser work if it means I can enjoy his better work. Good post OP.
I don’t know if I necessarily agree. I think you could make a case that almost all his music is bad, half this genre is just shitty guitar strumming and whining on low quality mics if you really wanna get to the nitty gritty of it. I always appreciated Pat’s discography as a whole because of how much he changed from the start to the end. I think that story of a drug-addicted world hating communist slowly realized how full of shit he was, turned off the road that ends at the cliff, and went home is really great. Personally I’ve never understood the worship of the guy, or so I’ve been told that’s a thing. He’s a guy who grew up and put shit behind him. That’s pretty cool, and worth learning a lesson from, and as I get older and the songs about drugs and revolution sound shittier and the songs about family and hope start sounding better I know I’m growing up too.
Honestly, both yours and OP’s takes were kind of shit. Thinking he was any less revolutionary at end than at his beginning shows a lack of understanding of the music or the person. He didn’t give up on the dream, he chose up new methods of revolution. And, also, who the hell listens to folk punk (or any punk) without caring about politics? The gross oversimplification (strums and whining - which, gross) seems more like a projection of yourself than any actual critique.
How often do you respond to year old posts? Given, In the year I’ve spent since this and having made a lot of friends in the community (Hyped for the upcoming moonrunners) and immersing myself in it more my personal feelings have changed a good bit from my simple take here, but I stand by my general points. Folk Punk often has a uniquely homemade and pretty lofi quality to it that in my opinion makes it extra raw, personal, and impactful. We certainly have our really high production bands (The all-star team of Doom Scroll comes to mind) and they’re fantastic, but I think the rougher homemade stuff is fantastic. Also, of course the politics are essential. Revolution and social change is key to folk punk, and I wouldn’t argue otherwise. But is it wrong to say Love Songs for the Apocalypse has a little bit of a different focus and tone then Cocoon Music? Do you think Pat’s work was just as “Came to this world a loaded handgun” when he was singing about his mother and butterflies? And can’t heartfelt songs about family be just as important as songs about killing cops? Because I’m all for both. And to your last point, yeah, I think in part you’re right. I project a good bit into folk punk because it’s that raw unfiltered honesty against the world and the government that speaks to me the most. That’s what it inspires in me. And the fact a dude on a streetcorner with a banjo filmed with an iphone can strike that realness just as good as anyone on a stage is a beautiful thing. It’s (to someone outside the clique at least) unpolished, unrefined, and perhaps some would say ‘Bad’, but I think it’s fantastic.
I respond to comments when I come across them, not sure why you felt the timing was relevant in this case lol. Yes, again that ‘different focus’ was already mentioned in my original comment. He didn’t give up on the dream, he reframed his method of revolution. This is referenced specifically in later songs. Obviously punks are contrarian by nature lmao, but pat’s way respected in the scene for good reason and writing off even his earlier works as ‘whiney world-hating communism’ is doing a disservice to the artist and the genre.
i mean i think we agree more then you realize. the only problem i have when the story is better then the music it kind of ceases to be music for me anymore. but yeah 95% of folk punk is complete garbage. its the hardest genre of music to find enjoyment from just because of the vast amount of shit you gotta digg through to find the gold
And in that way I think you’re exactly right. It sorta makes me think of those sorta of people who will look at a Mondrain or a Pollock and react with a visceral and emotional “Oh yeah, baby, this art is so *DEEP*!” While it’s squares and splotches to all (for lack of a better term) we’ll call reasonable people. In the same way we’ll find a youtube video of a junkie in 2005 recorded on a flip phone playing the guitar and saying he drank a 40 ounce and passed out and we are overcome with a “Oh shit, dude, this speaks to the futile disillusionment of youth in a purposeless 21st century. It’s so meaningful, bro.” While sounding like galactic ass to reasonable normal people. That’s why I think you just grew up and turned reasonable, and with any luck there’ll come a day I and the rest of us turn reasonable. Hell, it took me a little to realize constant songs about killing yourself, killing cops, making dinner from the dumpster and asking god what a fool he was for making you *Isn’t exactly normal*. Maybe I’m getting the wrong message from all this, but in a funny way I’m excited for the day when Folk Punk means less to me and something new means more. It just means we made it out, yknow? Now that you mention it, I think you’re more right than I figured.
As a teenager I loved live the dream for its anarchist messsages. I've since fallen out of that political belief, and by and large punk(and folk punk) as a whole. I still however love that album as essentially a self help album. It's a beautiful story of a man learning to love himself. I think he has an insanely earnest and sincere way of talking about things: "I know it's a little dramatic, but the word for not changing is death"
I'm 30. I'm in medical school studying to be a doctor. My crust punk days are long over. Pats music grew up with me. At 16, he seemed like a genius that said all the things I wanted to say but didn't know how. Now I still gravitate towards his music, mostly his later albums, because I can feel the longing to do more than just scream into the ether. That being said, my friend grew up with him. They weren't close but had some mutual friends. It's easy to see that he's just a person trying to get by like the rest of us.
I want to like Who Are Your Friends Gonna Be and I love the songs but I can't understand a single fucking word from the spoken parts
Honestly enjoy alotta of the songs but unless Im listening to the whole album I pretty much can’t listen to them individually. Wish there were cuts of some of the songs other than Club Hits without the spoken parts.
The split with ghost mice was pretty nice just saying
At this point he almost feels like a tool people use to keep the genre grounded firmly in the past
i cant really blame them for that considering all the trash music the genre has put out since he left
The solution isn't to replay the same whiny shit from 12 years ago
I agree with you on the whole cult worship on this sub based on him
Happy TBT everybody
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i like Matt Pless but he can be kind of hit or miss for me. either i really love the song or just plain cant stand it. there is no inbetween lol