Come As You Are

Punk and Neoliberal Leftism

Alexander Herbert and Jason Myles 

[This article is the starting piece for a larger book project by Jason Myles and Alexander Herbert on the simultaneous history of punk/hardcore and leftist politics, and the problems that the blending subcultures pose to organizing today.]

Permit us to open this article with some personal reflections on our experiences in both the music and leftist scenes as a point of entry. 

Alex

First of all, I want to say thank you to the followers on Instagram who responded to my poll about why they don’t go to shows anymore. The answers were actually more varied than I expected, and clearly, there is a lot to say in such an article. I also want to confess that a lot of what I am going to discuss below I am guilty of. I don’t fault anyone for falling into the traps of scene cliques and subculture–it provides a vital outlet (and sometimes the only outlet) for alienated kids. I just hope that being aware of the “scene’s” limitations can help everyone overcome them. 

When I was very young, 4-7, my sister, cousins, and I used to memorize choreography from Backstreet Boys and other pop artists' music videos and then perform the dances for our parents. It was cute, and I wish I had a picture to drop here. It reflected a genuine human urge to be seen and to participate in something larger than oneself in community. Humans, as social beings, are performative by nature, and we are always looking for ways to perform in front of an audience.