Krudler is coming at it like music is a zero sum game, which is silly. I love the Ramones. I also love more innovative, complex music, as well as plenty of vapid garbage. I'm happy jumping from Art Pepper to Guatafán. None of it is a waste of time if it's what I'm in the mood for.
The Ramones were a fresh slap in the face back in the day, and without them punk & new wave wouldn't be what they are. In the meantime, other artists have built on the Ramones' foundation. Similarly, Jimi Hendrix revolutionised how people used the electeic guitar as an instrument, but other artists ran with it to the point that his stuff is archaic (I can't listen to Hendrix for the same reason K dismissed the Ramones, but to each their own).
I guess what I'm saying is that even if you personally don't like an influential band, you have to acknowledge that they might be exactly what resonates with someone else. That's why we have so much music in the world. To the original topic though, Ramones music does all sound the same. Why mess with perfection?
Miserable, no; quiet, yes. I don't know what to do in social situations, so I just pay attention, smile, and participate only when I absolutely have something to say.
In groups of people I don't know well, I don't say much but offer encouragement and react supportively - people seem to enjoy that. I'm told I'm a "good listener" when that's literally just my defense mechanism. It's wild what information people will volunteer just to fill conversational space.
With people I know well or who share my hobbies/obsessions, I will be more likely to participate until I run out of energy. I've convinced myself (with no evidence) I'm annoying or have nothing to contribute, so being quiet minimises the damage either way.
I use Photoshop for work, and I keep GIMP installed as a conversion tool because for some reason Photoshop is an absolute wimp when it comes to opening downloaded PNG or WEBP images. About 1/4 of the time I get "Not a PNG" or "Can't open image due to a programme error." Clicking the Help option in the error dialogue takes me to Adobe's help page about saving images, not opening them.
GIMP has effortlessly opened every single image I've thrown at it. After exporting from GIMP, suddenly Photoshop works. Bad look for the industry standard image editing programme.
Can recommend. I bought a huge bag of these exact babies and spent a Saturday morning hiding them throughout my entire office building, including my own work area (for plausible deniability). People were finding them for years. More than one co-worker would re-hide them, so the babies migrated constantly.
Nobody knew I started the whole thing they blamed our HR director, who was on holiday that weekend and had an alibi. The mystery kept people intrigued.
Also "Just don't use" iOS, Android, any Microsoft anything, any Apple anything, all social media, television, print, and most other media, Adobe software, Google products, even freaking DuckDuckGo...
How about these companies just learn what consent is and let me disable it forever without asking again every time I open something? "Yes" and "Maybe later" is not a choice.
(Yes I am aware of FOSS alts, that is not the discussion.)
I was going to advocate machines, specifically the vintage Singer machines (the black, all-metal dudes). They are very simple, there's tonnes of information online for repairing & maintaining them, and you can usually find people just trying to get rid of them. Find one that isn't rusty and moves freely and you'll probably just need to oil it and mess with the tension.
If space is a concern, you don't need to keep it in the sewing table (though it's more comfortable). Those vintage machines are simple and tough to kill.
If you can't play music but want to play WITH music, I'd recommend getting a groovebox like the Novation Circuit (original or Circuit Tracks). It gives you 2 synthesizers and 4 drum parts in one small, battery-powered box, with a sensible note/pattern sequencer. It's limited, but there are a lot of resources online for using it, and it's cheap if you buy used. Great fun to sit on the couch and make tunes.
There are also groovebox apps for iOS (like Grooverider GR-16) that do the same and sound great for less money.
What I'm saying is: music creation is more accessible than ever these days, so never tell yourself you can't do it.
I also have to use it for work. I don't know if it's Adobe, or Windows 11, or a toxic combination of both, but not a single day goes by where I can just create without things randomly breaking. Illustrator stops letting me drag with the direct selection tool. Premiere switches to hotkeys as I'm typing text. InDesign...actually InDesign has been behaving.
But literally all the other Adobe apps will break AS I'M USING THEM - like, an action I've literally just done suddenly doesn't work or glitches out. A couple weeks ago Premiere and Photoshop would literally crash on open. The day before they were both fine.
I have Gimp, Inkscape, and KdenLive installed just in case.
If Stein was not in the running, some of her voters may have settled for Harris. As it is, she's muddying the water. It's not Harris's fault a bunch of people are going to ignore the money trail and vote Stein. Harris is going to focus on the people who might be swayed.
As for Bush and Bowman, no argument. That was rotten & PACs need to die. Those two were doing something right for AIPAC to go after them.
Yeah watching the Dems is painful AF. They get real close to GETTING it and then fall back into their political safe zone. The 3rd party voters might not have the numbers, but they have good ideas for the future of the country that need to be considered.
We need more Bernies & AOCs on the inside to pull dems back (at least) toward centre and make them understand that 3rd party voters have some great ideas for bringing positive change and equity. Even if the Dems can't fully embrace them, let's nudge the needle back toward progress by paying attention to them. The Dems might do. The GOP won't. So if there are only two viable parties in the presidential (and congressional) race there's a clear choice if anyone really wants the opportunity to (frustratingly slowly) change anything for the better.
I always say it's easier to shame dems into doing the right thing. The GOP have no shame to leverage.
Nope. Stein voters are lost voters. The Harris campaign will ignore them and move on. There is no message being broadcast or received during this election. Voting for a party that can only help install the worse of two evils is 100% a move of immense privilege, not a moral high ground.
They have the power to put a dictator in place by leveraging people who don't understand the primaries are for your ideals and the main election is for strategy. Until we get ranked-choice voting (and we won't) your moral posturing does the opposite of what you think. In reality anyway.
Krudler is coming at it like music is a zero sum game, which is silly. I love the Ramones. I also love more innovative, complex music, as well as plenty of vapid garbage. I'm happy jumping from Art Pepper to Guatafán. None of it is a waste of time if it's what I'm in the mood for.
The Ramones were a fresh slap in the face back in the day, and without them punk & new wave wouldn't be what they are. In the meantime, other artists have built on the Ramones' foundation. Similarly, Jimi Hendrix revolutionised how people used the electeic guitar as an instrument, but other artists ran with it to the point that his stuff is archaic (I can't listen to Hendrix for the same reason K dismissed the Ramones, but to each their own).
I guess what I'm saying is that even if you personally don't like an influential band, you have to acknowledge that they might be exactly what resonates with someone else. That's why we have so much music in the world. To the original topic though, Ramones music does all sound the same. Why mess with perfection?