"Fuck What You Like" by A.R.E. Weapons.
Although I dislike labeling things, especially music, I think this is a great example of modern punk. While it doesn't have the cliche punk sound, style, or fashion, I think it definitely has a punk sound and style. Despite the simple sound of the song, it really makes me think. It has a wonderful, yet simple message, which I think people could really benefit from. Just do what you do for your own reasons without being controlled by what other people will think of you or what you think other people will think of you. Don't do things based on what you think other people will like; a concept that's definitely important when it comes to any creative endeavors.
I think the lines "Fuck what you like, I don't care what you like. Fuck what you like, I'm living my life" stick out to me especially in the context of the vocabulary used in things I've been noticing lately on the internet. There was a recent change on Facebook that I really don't approve of, where pages no longer have a button you can click to become a fan of whatever the page represents, and instead have a button for you to click to "like" whatever the page represents. It makes things much too black and white in my opinion. I think people already think in terms of everything being black and white, and this just makes it easier for them. Everything is now easily organized into two groups. Things they like, and things they don't like.
Obviously the song is not about that, after all, it has been around for a few years now, but I think it applies to the meaning of the song. Look at the top right corner of the Vimeo video player I embedded at the beginning of this entry. It has a button with a heart symbol on it, labeled "LIKE". If you like the video, you're supposed to press that button to let people know what you like. If that's not irony, I don't know what is.
I was disappointed recently when a few people decided they no longer "liked" my music page on Facebook, because I feel it's like finding out people who you thought once supported you suddenly no longer do. Going from someone who supports you to someone who doesn't is quite a significant change for an action involving one mouse click. Although their actions still upset me, it's really not a big deal. It's not for them, so I don't really care if they like it or not. To them it's not about support. It's about what they like or don't like. I don't care what they like, and what they like doesn't affect how I do things, because I'm doing it for me. It's my life.
I agree. The Facebook 'Like' thing is bullshit anyway, but now it's even more awful to have to make decisions. A friend of a friend of mine just started a small business, and invited me to Like their business. I've never used their service, and don't plan to, but now it feels like there are clearly drawn battle lines: I don't 'like' something, so I must therefore hate it. I think it's stupid and awful.
ReplyDeleteIt's become an even bigger problem now that they've linked our interests section to the pages we like. So if, for example, a friend has some band that you want to "Like" to support them, they are now listed in the section where you're supposed to list your favorite music. So if you don't want them among your favorites, then you have to "unlike" them. There's no middle ground where you can like something and not have it listed among your favorites. I think that's why a few people have "unliked" Jacob's Shadow recently.
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