Where have they all gone?
 
Where are the musical 'tribes' these days?
 
What happened to the Zeitgeist?

Most of those subcultures are still around and some are even thriving. Hip hop and electronica are less expensive to produce en masse though and it's easier to control the message coming out of them so that's what's top of the pops.
 
Mindless, repetitive drivel for a mindless, monotonous populace.

Yes, I know you can still find all the ones I mentioned, but their original 'moment' has long gone. What I'm getting at is that there doesn't appear to be any new melding of music-fashion-politics as in the past.
 
When I started going to pubs and clubs it was the tail end of punk, heading into 'Two-Tone' - sharp dressed kids into Madness, The Specials, The Selector, The Beat etc. Of course they were harking back to reggae and ska music and mod fashion for inspiration, but there was an identity that kids latched onto. I don't see anything like that now.

jamesg1213
Yes, I know you can still find all the ones I mentioned, but their original 'moment' has long gone. 

Consider this: You are but the moment. You are gone from that place and time. It still exists if you will it to.
 
 
Or........ there is no spoon. Ask Bubba.

The underground hip hop and various dance sub genres seem to be the counterculture gathering points these days. I've been to some of those events and around the people so as somewhat of a foreigner to all that had some of the divisions explained and afterwards could tell the nuances when presented with them. It's kind of like how the parents of purveyors of the genres you mentioned or people on the outside of the movements may not appreciate the distinctions or culture behind them ("it all sounds/looks the same to me, sonny!!!") but those in that environment could (and can) definitely tell. 
 
Then there are all the flavors of the popular "indie rock" styles (indie rock being such a ludicrous term when referencing some very mainstream acts... yurgh) of which I got thrust into on occasion due to hipsterish acquaintances thinking it would be humorous to have their crazy punk buddy come to the show and freak out the skinny jeans crowd (which of course I played up because lulzity).
 
The other thing is music is so varied, accessible and in many cases homogenized these days that individual movements can't gain the traction they once did. There are fads and scenes but they aren't quite as isolated or unique due to fusions of styles, tastes that cross larger spectrums without fear of persecution (like a metal fan having some Hank Williams in his collection in the old days) and much easier access to that spectrum (internet/itunes vs. bootlegs, college radio or dropping serious coin on releases).
 
I think the really special things that happen these days musically are in extreme microcosms comprised of tight knit local groups of musicians and their fanbases. The smaller movements are sharp and edgy like the older ones but once they gain any real traction they drowned out or dulled by the rest of the noise. No more aggressive and catastrophic tidal waves. Just the ebb and flow of a more general tide in a much larger ocean.
 
Also... we all got old. lulz

A lot of the original punks are still around and still dressed exactly the same as they were 35 years ago, only with a bit less hair and a lot more wrinkles. I was in a band with some older punks when I was 16 and am still in touch on Facebook. You have to hand it to them - into their 50's and they're still living the lifestyle. A lot of them said they were "punks for life" back then and they clearly meant it.

I see youngsters dressed as punks today and it just looks like they're on their way to a fancy dress party. They do not have the attitude. It's hard to look punk when you're snapping Instagram selfies.

Beepster
 
 
I think the really special things that happen these days musically are in extreme microcosms comprised of tight knit local groups of musicians and their fanbases. The smaller movements are sharp and edgy like the older ones but once they gain any real traction they drowned out or dulled by the rest of the noise. No more aggressive and catastrophic tidal waves. Just the ebb and flow of a more general tide in a much larger ocean.
 
 

 
Beepster, you talk a lot of sense. Very well put.

I got tired very quickly of the younger "punks". The fancy froo froo suburban kids were always a joke but the new gen of crustoids who look like they get it seem to mostly be just using it as an excuse to smell bad, do crappy drugs, beg for free money and create a nuisance of themselves without all the actual thinking and purpose behind the original movement. Basically they took the crap parts and ignore what made it an important movement. Many also choose to ignore the life lessons of the older dudes who managed to survive the first wave(s).
 
There are however some extremely awesome kids walking the walk and fighting the fight. They will be the survivors of this current crop of weirdos and they have my full respect and support.

Beepster
The underground hip hop and various dance sub genres seem to be the counterculture gathering points these days. I've been to some of those events and around the people so as somewhat of a foreigner to all that had some of the divisions explained and afterwards could tell the nuances when presented with them.

The problem with the dance scene now is that it's nothing new or revolutionary, so it's missing that whole vibe. I was there at some of those early acid raves and it was a wonderful atmosphere, something genuinely new. We'd see older guys of 30-40 at those parties who would tell us that it was like nothing they'd experienced back in "their" day. But if I went to a rave now as an older guy, could I say the same thing? Hardly - we've done it all before. To be honest if someone was to go back in time and play some of today's "hottest" EDM to us in the early 90's, we wouldn't have batted an eyelid. In fact much of it has that commercial pop tinge that we hated back then because it signified the rise of the cheesy superclubs and the egocentric big name DJ's toward the mid 90's.

I'd like to think that kids these days were experiencing something underground and revolutionary, but with the advent of the Internet and social media I'm not sure that's possible any more.

jamesg1213
Where have they all gone?
 
Where are the musical 'tribes' these days?
 
What happened to the Zeitgeist?

 
They all got a mention in here...
 

 
 
Everything is pretty much the same these days, I know exactly what you mean mate.
 
First it was Stock, Aitken & Waterman, and now it's Simon Cowell who decides what gets recorded.
 
And part of the problem with sh1te like Pop Idol and X-Factor is that everyone wants to famous yesterday, without having to go through the 'sleeping in the back of a Transit and playing every night trying to build up a fanbase' right of passage.
 
I could almost watch X-Factor and its ilk if the contestants actually wrote their own tunes. Let's be honest, it's nothing more than Karaoke on TV.
 
 
 
Lyrics for Last Gang In Town:
Everybody's looking for last gang in town
You better watch out for they're all comin' around

The sport of today is exciting
The in crowd are into infighting
When some punk sees some rock-olla
It's rock and roll all over
In every street and every station
Kids fight like different nations
And it's brawn against brain
And it's knife against chain
But it's all young blood
Flowing down the drain

The Crops hit the Stiffs
An' the Spikes whipped the Quiffs
They're all looking 'round
For the last gang in town


Meanwhile down in black town
Those old soul rebels are haingin' around
An' when some punk come alooking for sound
Rastaferi goes to ground
The white heart flipped his pocket dipped
'Cos a black sharp knife never slips
And they never say to one antoher
That tomorrow we might kill our brothers

Down from the edge of London
The rockabily rebels came
From another edge of London
Skinhead gangs call out their name
But not the Zydeco kids
From the high rise
Though they can't be recognized
When you hear a cajun fiddle
Then you're nearly in the middle
Of the last gang in town