It's far more counter culture these days to be nice, thoughtful and respectful.

Beepster
It's far more counter culture these days to be nice, thoughtful and respectful.

Back when I was into the whole metal scene, as counter-cultural and extreme as it sometimes was, there was some sense of a Klingon/Viking-like code of honour which seems to be long lost today's world. 
 
Despite their looks, in real life, metal heads were quite often the nicest people. Same with Goths. 

And punks... though that may not be everyone's cup of tea. I'll hang out with anyone really if they're decent people. Never liked social divisions.

Beepster
And punks... though that may not be everyone's cup of tea. I'll hang out with anyone really if they're decent people. Never liked social divisions.

At first we (metal heads) were at war with them, back home. Friday night brawls at the skate park and all... I was a bit young to really get involved but in retrospect, it wasn't all that serious.
 
But soon came along bands which bridged the gap between their culture and ours - Slayer, Metallica and all those guys. I for one was quite happy because some of my best/most interesting friends happened to be punks. 

I kind of got converted. I was always into the more thrashy technical stuff with deeper social commentary when most people around me were on the glam wagon. My impression of punk was just three chord junkie weirdos who didn't know how to play their instruments. Then I met a bunch of street punks who were really cool and drug me out to a hardcore gig. I was blown away. Super heavy and tight and everyone was straight up, thinking and aware. Got into the bands and that was that. My thrasher/shredder background came in really handy and I had a lot more creative freedom. This was well after a lot of the crossover stuff happened though so it was probably a lot easier than it would have been in the 80's. Now the thrash and punk scenes seem to be completely intertwined which is awesome.

Back in 89/90 I was in a punk/thrash band with some older guys who were part of the first wave of punks. It really seemed like an all encompassing way of life to them. I'm friends with a couple of them on Facebook and even in their 50's they are still living the punk lifestyle. I see the photos in their network of punk friends and they still look much the same as they did when they were 20, albeit with larger waistlines and less hair in many cases. Still doing small gigs in pubs, still putting out the old style DIY flyers. Hats off to them, they never sold out. 

yorolpal
What's to hate about Ed Sheeran?? Just curious.

Nothing really, just my little joke. He's too bland to have any kind of feeling about really, like Dido or James Blunt.

sharke
Back in 89/90 I was in a punk/thrash band with some older guys who were part of the first wave of punks. It really seemed like an all encompassing way of life to them. I'm friends with a couple of them on Facebook and even in their 50's they are still living the punk lifestyle. I see the photos in their network of punk friends and they still look much the same as they did when they were 20, albeit with larger waistlines and less hair in many cases. Still doing small gigs in pubs, still putting out the old style DIY flyers. Hats off to them, they never sold out. 

I became the young kid amongst the 1st, 2nd wave oldsters who had been doing it since the late 70s/80s. That wasn't until about 97-98 so I don't what "wave" that would be but it was all pretty far along and yeah... those older dudes who stuck with it are lifers for sure. Most of their friends died, many others got married and moved to the burbs, etc but those dudes remained and kept doing what they did. Lots of life lived there and a lot to be learned. Some strange and rigid views on certain things that us "puppies" couldn't really relate to but all in all I think I'm a better person for knowing them. I don't know... maybe I've "sold out" but health issues were not allowing me to keep up that lifestyle. The fact you see little kids with yuppie parents sporting mohawks kind of sucked a lot of the edge out of it anyway so now I'm a longhair again (and that's just because I'm too cheap to get a haircut... lol). I got nothin' to prove anymore anyway... well aside from music nerd stuff. Next chapter, yo.

Yeah it always makes me laugh to see young kids sporting the "punk" look now...I mean it's as valid a look as any other, but they always look like clean cut kids in fancy dress to me. The original punks were scary, at least they were to me as a young kid in the 70's.

Went to see The Damned and The Anti-Nowhere League in Chippenham in 1983..the audience were bloody terrifying to a poor country lad like me.