1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media. Hello, and welcome to Cool Peopleheaded Cool Stuff, 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: your podcast that usually has two episodes a week, but 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: this week only has one episode. And the reason it 4 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: all has only one episode is because this week, of course, 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,760 Speaker 1: we celebrated the presidents of the United States of America 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: a whole day dedicated to a one hit wonder from 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: the nineties. Who will answer the question that you've all 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: been wondering, where do Peaches come from? And not the 9 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: band Peaches, which is better than the band Presidency of 10 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: the United States of America, but the Peaches themselves, which 11 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: of course come from a can and they were put 12 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: there by a man. Anyway, that's my way of saying. 13 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: There was no episode on Monday because of President's Day, 14 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: and this episode is slightly different. You might have thought 15 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: this episode sounds a little different because there's no one 16 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: else there. There's just Margaret talking into my ear. That's right, 17 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: It is me, your host, Margaret Kiljoy. And this is 18 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: an odd episode. And since I sometimes do these odd episodes, 19 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: this particular one, I am going to read an essay 20 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: that I published in my newsletter about a month ago 21 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: called the Punk Rock Good Life. And before you turn 22 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: away and you think this isn't about history. Well, you're right, 23 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: it's actually not about history, but you might be interested 24 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: in it anyway, because it's actually one of the pieces 25 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: I've written that seems to have resonated with people or 26 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: made people come to their own conclusions around similar topics. 27 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: And so I am going to read to you a 28 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: piece called The Punk Rock Good Life. And this was 29 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: first published on my newsletter, which you can find at 30 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: Margaret kiljoy do at substock dot com, where I post 31 00:01:54,800 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: most things, including this for free, The Punk Rock Good Life. 32 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: Maybe this starts with an old friend of mine, we'll 33 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: call her Ember. I first met Ember in Asheville, North Carolina, 34 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: twenty years ago, when she was living in an eight 35 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,839 Speaker 1: by eight uninsulated shack she had built in the back 36 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: yard of a rented punk house. The ground floor of 37 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: the shack held only a desk with her typewriter and 38 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:24,919 Speaker 1: her books. Above that was aloft with a futon mattress. 39 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: The place was clean but cluttered, and I spent a 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: lot of nights with her by a fire in the 41 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: back yard of that house, talking about life. She was 42 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: a few years older than me, and I was wildly 43 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: in love with her, or rather the idea of her, 44 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: though this was in no way reciprocated. She wore a 45 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: di y carhart Overall's dress, and she had better boundaries 46 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 1: and clearer communication than any one I'd ever met. She 47 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,399 Speaker 1: was so direct that she came across as severe and uninviting. 48 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: She drank some, but not the swill I was used to. 49 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: Despite having almost no money, she only drank good beer. 50 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: Better to drink one good beer than six cheap beers, 51 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: she told me. Maybe the only life lesson she offered 52 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: me directly. I saw her, and I saw an inkling 53 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: of how to live a beautiful life despite poverty. I 54 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: wrote my first short story collection, a Zene I will 55 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: not be reprinting as bedtime Stories for Ember. We didn't 56 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 1: really wind up dating. She had those good boundaries, and 57 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: she knew what she wanted. But years later she was 58 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: living on the other side of the country in library 59 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: school and working at the info shop, And she drew 60 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: in silk screened a poster, and she drew in silk 61 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: screened a poster for an event for my first book tour. 62 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: This isn't a story about her, not really. It's a 63 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: story about the romanticized ideal of the punk rock, good life. 64 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: It's a story about zines and di y, about simple cooking, 65 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: about dumpsterd feasts with friends and frenemies, about pie and 66 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: record players and tea and punk mail and pen pals. 67 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: It's a story about turning your phone off more often, 68 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 1: about skinny dipping in rivers, about building shacks or shacking up, 69 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: about storytelling and basement shows. It's a story about social 70 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: centers and info shops. It's a story about punk houses 71 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: and cabins in the woods, and apartments and roust belt cities. 72 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: It's a story about loving half feral dogs and half 73 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: feral friends. A story about food not bombs, and community organizing. 74 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: It's a story about doing art you're bad at, making 75 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: music you're bad at. It's a story about doing art 76 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: you're good at, about making music you're good at. It's 77 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: a story about house plants and books and pulling furniture 78 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: out of the trash, and owning so many knit beanies 79 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: you're not sure which ones came from which of your friends. 80 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: Which is to say, it's a story about the good life. 81 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: A life you can have, a life I can have, 82 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: or at least an ideal we can chase. I know 83 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: I've been chasing it my whole life. Like all good dreams. 84 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: It sits comfortably on the horizon, giving us a direction 85 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:24,359 Speaker 1: to walk. We'll never reach it, not really, but the 86 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: joy is found in the walking. I'm not making a 87 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,720 Speaker 1: moral claim about this life. It's not objectively better than 88 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: any other. I'm instead making an esthetic claim. This is 89 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: a beautiful way to live. For the first two years 90 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: of the pandemic, I was living in an off grid 91 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,359 Speaker 1: twelve by twelve cabin i'd built on some friends land. 92 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: I'd built it more or less as a bedroom with 93 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: no electricity, water, kitchen, or bathroom. It just held a 94 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: queen size bed, some books, and a propane heater. There 95 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: was a communal kitchen and shower on the land, and 96 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: I did my work in cafes in town. When the 97 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: lockdown first hit, I spent my days in a frantic 98 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,279 Speaker 1: rush to build everything I needed to survive in the 99 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:15,159 Speaker 1: house alone in a pandemic in winter. I had very 100 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: little money to work with. It was hard as hell 101 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: at the start of the pandemic in February. In March, 102 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,359 Speaker 1: I was washing my clothes in the nearby creek with 103 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: a bucket and washboard. Then drying them slowly on a 104 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: clothes line. I was showering with a solar shower eighty 105 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 1: degree water in fifty degree air. I was using a 106 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: camp stove to heat up canned chilly and mixing it 107 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: with wild greens from the forest. I read books and 108 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,599 Speaker 1: played music and stared at the sky and slowly lost 109 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: my mind. It was more or less horrible. I had 110 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 1: barely any human contact for months at a time, and 111 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,159 Speaker 1: I worked on my cabin most of my waking hours. 112 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: When I finally, after months, managed to get water barrels 113 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: hooked up to a twelve vault pump powered by solar 114 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: panels plumbed into a propane shower on my porch, I 115 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: stood under actual hot water and literally cried with relief. 116 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: I just sobbed as my body got warm and clean. 117 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: Was this the simple life that people romanticized? All those 118 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: tiny house videos on YouTube told me you're supposed to 119 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 1: want a life like that. But by the second year 120 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: of the pandemic, I had a propane stove, and I 121 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: had enough electricity, and I had a strange, cheap collapsible 122 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: soaking tub, and I had a little shed full of mice, 123 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: spiders and woodworking tools, and things were going well enough 124 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: that I was able to romanticize my own life again. 125 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: Romanticization made it more bearable. Some days I would lie 126 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: in my hammock, reading books and listening to the birds 127 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: and the bugs. I learned to carve wooden spoons, and 128 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: I listened to audio books on my porch while I whittled. 129 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: For a week straight, an owl showed up outside my 130 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: house during the day every time I played my handmaide contilis. 131 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: I had friends over, and we had a handle on 132 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: the pandemic enough to know what we were risking. It's 133 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: a good thing to romanticize your own life. It's a 134 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: good thing to embrace the esthetics of how you live, 135 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: and to play into those esthetics. We should seek to 136 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: ring as much beauty as we can out of our life. 137 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: Some of the aesthetics we romanticize were born from suffering. 138 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: But if it's your own suffering you're romanticizing, then there's 139 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: not so much of a problem. What's dangerous is romanticizing 140 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: other people's suffering. What's irritating is when other people romanticize 141 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:55,359 Speaker 1: your suffering. It's useful to decide for yourself what constitutes 142 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: the good life and seek out to live that way. 143 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 1: For me, I want the punk rock good life. I 144 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: don't want to move back into that cabin. I never 145 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: did get a handle on the humidity and mildew, and 146 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: my dog is wild enough that he needs a fenced yard. 147 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: But I want to consciously take stock of who I am, 148 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: what I enjoy doing, What habits serve me, What habits don't. 149 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 1: Baths on my porch serve me. Doom scrolling doesn't reading 150 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: books before bed serves me. Doom scrolling doesn't cooking hearty, 151 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: protein rich simple meals serves me. Doom scrolling doesn't. Buying 152 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: new stuff rarely serves me, while repurposing old stuff or 153 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: making my own stuff generally does. Maybe this is early 154 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: Aughts nostalgia through and through. I don't really care the 155 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:00,080 Speaker 1: early aughts punks. I'm nostalgic about the lives of they 156 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: themselves were a nostalgic for nineties punk, who were nostalgic 157 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: for eighties punk, and so on back through the decades 158 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: and subcultures. Nostalgia is dangerous when it keeps us from 159 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: appreciating the present, but useful when it informs how we 160 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: want to find beauty in the present. There's been a 161 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: sort of joke going around my friend group for a 162 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,560 Speaker 1: while now about what an anarchist tradwife culture would look like. 163 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: Maybe this punk rock good life is my overly earnest 164 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: answer to that joke. It even rhymes with tradwife. Tradwife 165 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: is nostalgia for an imagined, simpler past, and so is 166 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: this The punk rock good life, though isn't gendered. It 167 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,479 Speaker 1: doesn't involve subjugating yourself to a patriarchal protector, but fortunately 168 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:57,000 Speaker 1: it's still involved sewing diy and baking pies. I'm not 169 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:01,200 Speaker 1: here in describing the life that I lead really so 170 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: much as the life I strive to lead. I'm writing 171 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: this as a challenge to myself, a challenge to embrace 172 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: the habits I want to have, the aesthetics I want 173 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: to indulge in. This is a challenge to live my 174 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: best life, a beautiful life. It's a challenge to live 175 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: the punk rock good life, just like you can be 176 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:29,000 Speaker 1: challenged by advertising. Learning to cope with it. It's an 177 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: important life skill. I'm teaching you about advertising and how 178 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: it's everywhere like right here, and we back. Everyone's punk 179 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 1: rock good life is going to be different. I suppose, 180 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: but this is mine. Most of these ideas are built 181 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: around some basic principles. It's best to do things with 182 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 1: intention and to build small rituals into our lives. It's 183 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 1: best to live esthetically and to decorate yourself and your space. 184 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: You can build your own space, and you can build 185 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: your own identity and body. We ought to celebrate the 186 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,199 Speaker 1: physical realm and only use the digital when it enriches 187 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,440 Speaker 1: the physical. And we ought to celebrate our friends and 188 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:19,400 Speaker 1: our connections with others as best as we can create 189 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: for the joy of creating. Share your creations for the 190 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 1: joy of sharing them. Most punk bands get by more 191 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: with earnest fervor than with talent, and we can carry 192 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,200 Speaker 1: that attitude into everything we do, including into making music 193 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: and genres we might like more than we like punk. 194 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: The joy of being punk is celebrating people doing things, 195 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: whether or not they're amazing at those things. We celebrate 196 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:51,120 Speaker 1: our friends making music, making food, making clothes, or writing stories, 197 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: whether or not those people are likely to be able 198 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 1: to make it professionally in that given field. Sure, some 199 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 1: punk bands go on to tour the world, but we 200 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:02,679 Speaker 1: can have at least as much fun at a basement 201 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: show played by local bands just giving it. They're all. 202 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:09,280 Speaker 1: Some zines will go on to be photocopied everywhere and 203 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:13,560 Speaker 1: influence hundreds of thousands of people, while others are read 204 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: by maybe ten people. It doesn't matter. What matters is 205 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:25,360 Speaker 1: making things and sharing them. Write letters. The time and 206 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: intention that goes into a letter shows care, and receiving 207 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,920 Speaker 1: things in the mail is always exciting. You can write 208 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: letters to your friends, whether or not you expect them 209 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: to write you back. You can send punk mail if 210 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: you have a friend who is traveling somewhere you know 211 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: people have that friend carry letters or zines or presents 212 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,559 Speaker 1: to folks at the destination. You can write to prisoners, 213 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: both political prisoners and those who are just caught up 214 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: in the nightmarish carceral system. If you were locked up, 215 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't you want people to show they are thinking of you. 216 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: Cook more part of living with intention is cooking. You 217 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:05,480 Speaker 1: don't have to be a good cook to enjoy cooking 218 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,679 Speaker 1: or to enjoy the food you cook. Pot lucks are 219 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: like punk shows. Everyone brings what they can, and the 220 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 1: amazing cooks are just as celebrated as the people who 221 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:18,240 Speaker 1: only know how to make one thing. Some good punk 222 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 1: staples include the forever soup, a big pot of soup 223 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: on the stove that gets new stuff added to it daily. 224 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: What German punks call rice mitscheiice rice with shit, which 225 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,440 Speaker 1: is to say rice with whatever vegetables and proteins you 226 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: feel like adding tofu scramble home fries. Anything you can 227 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 1: add seracha, nutritional yeast and or brags liquid aminos to 228 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: is good punk food. Anything you feel like calling good 229 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:51,040 Speaker 1: punk food is good punk food. Eat protein with most 230 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 1: meals and you have more energy. Avoid snacking on carbs 231 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: between meals and you'll have more energy. Eat fewer processed 232 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: foods and you'll pretend actually have more energy. Every Body 233 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: is different and wants different stuff. Veganism works for me. 234 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 1: Eating lower on the food chain has done me a 235 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: world of good. Other friends are far better off with 236 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: animal products. Let meals be something you eat with intention 237 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 1: with friends, if possible. Learn to cook not just for 238 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: your own dietary restrictions, but for those of your friends. 239 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: Grow food. Gardening is one of the most offline things 240 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: you can do, and is the cornerstone of a lot 241 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: of DIY practices. You don't have to be good at it. 242 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: Grow simple foods, maybe in buckets, maybe on windowsills, maybe 243 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: in raised beds, maybe on reclaim public land, maybe at 244 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: your friend's house, maybe in community gardens. Just grow some 245 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 1: food and eat it and share it. Potatoes, tomatoes, kale, 246 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: all the staples. Save some money and eat better and 247 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: get your hands dirty. Embrace esthetic. Decorate your space, whether 248 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: or not you plan to live there long, even if 249 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: you live in a squat and might get evicted at 250 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: any moment. Decorate your space anyway. Hang show flyers, your 251 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: friend's art or art in pictures you find in the trash. 252 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: Collect houseplants. It's always good to find small things to 253 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: be responsible for. Hang dried flowers, collect books, put instruments 254 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: on the wall, collect little cross stitched things from your friends. 255 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: Candles are good aesthetics, too, but this one is for 256 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: expert level punks. Never ever leave candles burning unattended. Too 257 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: many punks have been killed by their candles. I'm not joking. 258 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: I know of a lot of people who've died from candles, 259 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: and one of my dear friends spent a very long 260 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,840 Speaker 1: time in a burn ward because of candles. It's the 261 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 1: kind of thing you don't think of until you start 262 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 1: using candles like on a really daily basis. You know anyway, 263 00:16:54,240 --> 00:17:00,160 Speaker 1: whatever candles I like them. Be careful display your medieval weaponry. 264 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: Maybe that's just me, maybe right on the walls or 265 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: just some of the walls. Leave pens around for your 266 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: friends to do the same. Don't be afraid of maximalist aesthetics. 267 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,920 Speaker 1: Don't be afraid to cover every surface with art. Don't 268 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,640 Speaker 1: be afraid to then strip back your decorations to something 269 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:20,920 Speaker 1: less cluttered. Let your decoration EBB and flow paint the walls. 270 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 1: Paint them with murals, or paint them with deep colors, 271 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: dark colors, bright colors, contrasting colors. Whatever you want. Alter, repair, 272 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,919 Speaker 1: and make your own clothes. You don't have to be 273 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,240 Speaker 1: good at sewing to alter or patch your clothes. You 274 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: can get better as you go, but bad repairs have 275 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,520 Speaker 1: their own aesthetic too. Cut the sleeves off your T shirts. 276 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: Follow the two rules of T shirt sleeves suns out, 277 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:51,359 Speaker 1: guns out, and the corollary sun's gone sleeves gone to 278 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:53,479 Speaker 1: determine whether or not you should have sleeves on your 279 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:58,719 Speaker 1: T shirt. Midriff shirts are for everybody. Make your clothes 280 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:03,000 Speaker 1: your own, affected by the elements, patch up your pants. 281 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 1: If you want to go old school, sew black patches 282 00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:09,919 Speaker 1: on black fabric with white dental floss. Old pants can 283 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 1: become punk miniskirts easily enough. Overalls make great dresses. You 284 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,200 Speaker 1: can do all kinds of things with T shirts. Learn 285 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: to silk screen, or support your friends that do and 286 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: silkscreen art onto shirts, vests, dresses, patches. Your body is 287 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: not a prison. Your body is not a temple. Your 288 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:35,400 Speaker 1: body is your home. You can and should decorate your 289 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,720 Speaker 1: home however you'd like, with piercings and tattoos and jewelry 290 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: or without any of those things. You should style your 291 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: hair however. Suits you. You should change the shape of 292 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: your body or the sex of your body through hormone surgery, exercise, 293 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: or whatever you'd like. You should learn about your body 294 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 1: and work with it. Embrace your physical form. Stay as 295 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: fit as suits. You exercise every morning, lift weights, do yoga, 296 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: go for runs, go for silly little walks after dinner, 297 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: get massages, or don't do any of those things. Support 298 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: other DIY creators. You don't have to do everything yourself. 299 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 1: Go to craft fares or punk rock flea markets, or 300 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,919 Speaker 1: find creators online. Buy pottery, buy clothes by patches, buy 301 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: soap by candles by art. If every mug in your 302 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: kitchen is different, you're doing it right. Write stuff down. 303 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 1: Keep notes in a physical notebook. Write in an actual journal. 304 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 1: Write down your dreams, write down story ideas. Write down 305 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: your garden plans and your woodworking plans. Write down recipes. 306 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: Write stuff down. The physical is better than the digital. 307 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,920 Speaker 1: Meet your internet friends in real life, socialize in person, 308 00:19:55,600 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 1: travel and see things online is an to the enemy. 309 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 1: Connections made with people online aren't inherently less real than 310 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:09,159 Speaker 1: connections made in person. Social media isn't any kind of 311 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: absolute evil. Friends, community, and activism can all happen online. 312 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:16,959 Speaker 1: It's just a space more rife with danger and more 313 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,679 Speaker 1: pitfalls to navigate, throw, and attend DIY events of every kind. 314 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:31,400 Speaker 1: The Basement Show is a perfect esthetic experience. There's DIY theater, storytelling, comedy, 315 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:36,080 Speaker 1: and dance. There are teachings and barn raisings, apple cider 316 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:41,640 Speaker 1: pressings and seed swaps, potlucks and book clubs, bird watching clubs, 317 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: astronomy clubs. Whatever you're into, there are people doing it 318 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 1: a small scale and large scale. Go support your friends. 319 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: It's worth it. Tell your friends your literal dreams. If 320 00:20:57,119 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: you dream about your friend, tell them. Make a habit 321 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:02,960 Speaker 1: of telling people your dreams anyway, and make a habit 322 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,119 Speaker 1: of listening to people tell you their dreams. Our dreams 323 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 1: are important, but our brains work hard in the morning 324 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 1: to excize them from our memories, since they would otherwise 325 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: become confused with reality. So it's best to write them 326 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: down or to tell them to each other. Tell your 327 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 1: friends that you love them. Everyone you know is going 328 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:30,120 Speaker 1: to die, You are going to die. Let nothing stay unsaid. 329 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 1: Keep the Internet out of your bed. Don't look at 330 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: your phone first thing in the morning or last thing 331 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: before bed. In bed, pay attention to your thoughts, or 332 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 1: read a book, or cuddle with whatever person, persons, or 333 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: animals might be in the bed with you. Read zines 334 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: and books. While movies and TV and social media are 335 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: indeed ways to learn about the world and experience culture, 336 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 1: and it's okay to interact with them or create them, 337 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,919 Speaker 1: they serve a day different purpose than zines and books do. 338 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:07,119 Speaker 1: Zines create a horizontal culture, sort of like social media does, 339 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,919 Speaker 1: but physical and generally more honest and less about chasing 340 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,160 Speaker 1: clout and clicks. Books open up the world to us 341 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 1: with history and theory and narrative. The written word matters. 342 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:23,080 Speaker 1: No one is monitoring what you read in print, unlike 343 00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:26,680 Speaker 1: what you read on social media. When you read printed matter, 344 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: you also can't share your thoughts on that reading in 345 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: real time, and the whole act becomes less performative, allowing 346 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 1: you to engage more earnestly with what you're reading. It's fine, 347 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: of course, to binge watch a TV show every now 348 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 1: and then. It's fine to play video games. Just read 349 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 1: books and zines. Also write zines and books. You don't 350 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,240 Speaker 1: have to be good at writing to write a zine. 351 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: You get better through the practice, but you likely have 352 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,640 Speaker 1: unique things to say regardless of how much you've developed 353 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:04,720 Speaker 1: the skill. Make zines, make books. Listen to the ads 354 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 1: and purchase their products and services. No, I'm just kidding, 355 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 1: done do that? Well, I don't know. Do what if 356 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: you want, But you can also just press forward. Here's 357 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: ads and we're back. Become responsible for others, whether house plants, pets, 358 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 1: or friends. Caring for each other or other non human 359 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 1: living things helps us take care of ourselves. If you 360 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 1: have a dog, you will go for a walk every day, 361 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: whether you want to or not. If you have a cat, 362 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:41,959 Speaker 1: you will clean up after them, even if you can 363 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: barely clean up after yourself. You will hydrate your plants, 364 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: whether or not you hydrate yourself. Taking care of things 365 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: helps us be our bestselves. Taking care of friends helps 366 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,200 Speaker 1: us from becoming isolated and positions us into a web 367 00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:02,200 Speaker 1: of interconnectivity and inter reliance. Make a habit of doing 368 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,479 Speaker 1: things you're bad at. People who only do things they 369 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 1: are good at are cowards. Do things you're bad at, 370 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: but try to get better at those things. Sing out 371 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 1: of key until one day you sing in key. Learn 372 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,480 Speaker 1: skills that don't come naturally to you. Always have something 373 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 1: that you are bad at that you are working on, 374 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: and your brain will stay flexible, and probably you'll never die. Well, 375 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:28,920 Speaker 1: at least I haven't died yet, so it's working so far. 376 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,159 Speaker 1: Drink tea. I don't know why. It just seems like 377 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: something people who are living the good life do. Maybe 378 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 1: because tea. Drinking is drinking with a little bit of ritual. 379 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 1: Tea is a little treat you give yourself. I'm bad 380 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:48,120 Speaker 1: at this one. Be an anarchist. I wasn't sure whether 381 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: or not to include an ideological framework in the punk 382 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,640 Speaker 1: rock Good Life but I think it would be disingenuous 383 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:57,200 Speaker 1: to leave it out. Anarchism is a framework that teaches 384 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: us that we are our own masters, but that we're 385 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: also deeply interconnected with everyone around us. Anarchism believes in you, 386 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: and it believes in your community. Anarchism believes that we 387 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: can make the world better, and we shouldn't be afraid 388 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,520 Speaker 1: to speak honestly about what we really want. A world 389 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:18,400 Speaker 1: built on mutual aid and solidarity, a world of equals 390 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: where differences are celebrated instead of erased. The label isn't 391 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 1: what's important here, but it's a label that has helped 392 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:32,960 Speaker 1: keep me focused. Get involved in local mutual aid or activism. 393 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,879 Speaker 1: Go cook with food, not bombs, or distribute things to 394 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: people who need them. Find groups of local people, whether 395 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: they share every aspect of your ideological framework or not, 396 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,440 Speaker 1: who are involved in things you care about, and then 397 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 1: help them out. Listen to tapes and records and even 398 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:55,719 Speaker 1: band camp downloads. More than streaming music. Music is powerful, wonderful. 399 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: It is part of living an esthetic life. Let listening 400 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,880 Speaker 1: to music be intentional act. Physical media is a good 401 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,480 Speaker 1: way to do this. Putting on a record should be 402 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: an event, a little ritual for your day. Some wordless 403 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,880 Speaker 1: music is designed to sit in the background, but never 404 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: let music with words play half silently in the background. 405 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,920 Speaker 1: You're either listening to songs or you're not. Listen to 406 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: music while cooking, driving, and cleaning, not while in conversation. 407 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: Let social media be less of your life. This is 408 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,679 Speaker 1: not a call for absolutes or abstinence in any form, 409 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:34,679 Speaker 1: but instead a call for us to understand what habits 410 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: serve us and what habits don't. Social media is addictive, 411 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 1: and while it can offer a great deal to our lives, 412 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,159 Speaker 1: keeping us informed about what's going on with the world 413 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:48,879 Speaker 1: and our friends, entertaining us, teaching us, it's very easy 414 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 1: to run past the point of diminishing returns and stare 415 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:55,200 Speaker 1: into the void of our screens for longer than does 416 00:26:55,280 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 1: us any good. Be emotionally responsible to your partners. Our 417 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,919 Speaker 1: romantic lives, like everything else, should be intentional and considered. 418 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,199 Speaker 1: We should treat our partners well and respect them as 419 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,840 Speaker 1: our equals. We should always try to keep our promises 420 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: to them and be honest to them. Whether we are 421 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,480 Speaker 1: monogamous or polyamorous, or whatever labels we might use, we 422 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: should be emotionally responsible to our friends too. Let intoxication 423 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: be less of your life. Maybe the core of this 424 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,200 Speaker 1: entire lifestyle is to live with intention, to do things 425 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: with intention. Intoxication by whatever means, might be part of 426 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 1: an intentional and beautiful life, but it can easily become 427 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 1: habitual and soon hits diminishing returns. I learned the punk 428 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,680 Speaker 1: rock good life from someone who drank a good beer 429 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:52,119 Speaker 1: more nights than not, but was almost never drunk myself. 430 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: I've become witch sober over the years, where I only 431 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,840 Speaker 1: consider drinking or drugs for ritual purposes. Those rituals might 432 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:02,080 Speaker 1: be as elaborate as a sow in dinner with food 433 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:04,159 Speaker 1: and wine set out for the dead at the table, 434 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,679 Speaker 1: or they might be as simple as I would like 435 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 1: to drink tonight under the stars to consider my place 436 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 1: in the universe. But it's always intentional, and for me 437 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:18,919 Speaker 1: it's vanishingly rare. Maybe anebriation is an important part of 438 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: your good life, and that's just fine. Just always let 439 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: it be intentional, even if it's common. The punk rock 440 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:31,479 Speaker 1: good life can be lived in so many different ways. 441 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: It can be lived by a rubber tramp living in 442 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 1: a van or a school bus, drifting from town to town. 443 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 1: It can be lived by people living in punk houses 444 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,960 Speaker 1: in the city crammed overflowing with people, houses that have 445 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,160 Speaker 1: someone living in a tent in the yard and someone 446 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 1: renting space under the kitchen table to sleep. It can 447 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: be lived by people living in shacks in the woods 448 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: or their friend's yard. It can be lived by people 449 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,240 Speaker 1: who live alone in apartments or houses, or by couples 450 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 1: or thropples or nuclear families in the suburbs, or three 451 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: or four households. You probably can't live the punk rock 452 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,320 Speaker 1: good life in a mansion, though, unless you filled the 453 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 1: mansion to the brim with people. Ironically, the punk rock 454 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: good life is inherently non performative. It's non competitive. Getting 455 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 1: caught up in who is living the most authentic punk 456 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: rock life or comparing yourself to others constantly disconnects you 457 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:27,560 Speaker 1: from the authentic punk rock good life. Any influencer in 458 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 1: the punk rock good life space, as we might imagine existing, 459 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,960 Speaker 1: will have to contend constantly with this tension. Much as 460 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: a tradwife content creator is not living her authentic tradwife 461 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: life while she is working the job of content creation. 462 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,640 Speaker 1: The punk rock good life is about living intentionally and 463 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:51,800 Speaker 1: esthetically however suits you. No one truly lives this life perfectly. 464 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: We will never master every habit we set out to adopt. 465 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: We will always fall back on easier routines from time 466 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: to time. But life is not about the destination. It's 467 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: about the journey. My goal is to embrace the process 468 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,360 Speaker 1: of trying to live an esthetic life, not beat myself 469 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 1: up for all the ways I regularly fail, because I 470 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:17,240 Speaker 1: will fail. But like the great anarchist Bards of the 471 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: band Chumbawamba once prophesied, I get knocked down, but I 472 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 1: get up again. You're never going to keep me down. 473 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:30,360 Speaker 1: So for now, I will fill my house with flowers, 474 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 1: and I will walk my dog every morning, and I'll 475 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: try to remember to spend more of my time playing 476 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:39,080 Speaker 1: piano and less of my time doom scrolling. I'll cook 477 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:42,360 Speaker 1: food for myself and for house guests, and i'll clean 478 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,479 Speaker 1: the house with Godspeed You Black Emperor on the record player. 479 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: And I'll try to remember to watch the sunset or 480 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: the dawn, or to notice the phase of the moon. 481 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,160 Speaker 1: And I'll succeed, and I'll fail, and I'll succeed and 482 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: I'll fail, and one day I'll die and that's all 483 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: right too. My friends will know I loved them anyway. 484 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: That's it. That's an essay call the Punk Rock Good Life. 485 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 1: You can find it on my newsletter, Margaret Kiljoy dot 486 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:15,720 Speaker 1: substock dot com and it is free, as well as 487 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: a lot of other content I post almost every week. 488 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: Only the more personal stuff is behind a paywall. And 489 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: we'll be back next week with more Cool People Who 490 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 1: Did Cool Stuff? Like the actual way that the show's 491 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: supposed to go, not what I do when it's President's 492 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: Day and I need to come up with a half 493 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 1: week's worth of content. I mean, not when I have 494 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,240 Speaker 1: this exact thing that fits so perfectly for you all 495 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,960 Speaker 1: to hear this very day that you hear it. Take 496 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:43,719 Speaker 1: care of yourself, take care of your friends, take care 497 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 1: of each other. Fuck ice and talk to you all soon. 498 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff is a production of 499 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,760 Speaker 1: pool Zone Media, the More Podcasts and Cool Zone Media. 500 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 1: Visit our website Coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out 501 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,120 Speaker 1: on the five her radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 502 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. M