Based on what I understand, I am a materialist. That means contrary to Idealists, I think that matter, and our environment, comes first and foremost, and our ideas come second. Idealists believe the opposite–that our ideas come first, and matter comes second. “Mind over matter” is a common Idealist phrase (that I don’t entirely discount, it certainly has its place)--a phrase that is often pretty tone deaf and frustrating when said to those living in awful conditions. An idealist might look at a violent protest and say “Don’t do crime!!”, whereas a materialist might ask “What were the conditions that contributed to this development?”. Our culture (and much of western society) is very much so Idealist. Materialists believe that our material conditions–our environments, the opportunities, food options, and influences within it (among other things)–have the ultimate say in what is feasible and realistic for people, both as individuals and collectively. Idealists would likely fall in the camp of “You can do anything no matter where you come from.” Statistics would say otherwise, but I digress.

Now onto the music part.

There is a massive elephant in the room. It follows us wherever we go--where we sleep, where we work, where we play, where we learn. It is inescapable, unavoidable, and influences the environments we grow up in and currently exist in, the decisions we make, the behaviors we adopt, the way we think of & see ourselves and each other, the food available to us, etc. It is the material and cultural substrate of our lives. *cough* it’s Capitalism *cough*.

The music industry does not exist in a vacuum, nor does any other industry in the US. Our industry has to operate via the same rules, incentives and confines as any other in the Western world, with very little wiggle room. The music industry is different than it was 10-15 years ago in part because the market has grown a considerable amount since then, and because the material conditions today are not what they were 10-15 years ago, in some ways more than others. The cost of living, for one thing, is far more than it was then. The specific variety and availability of drugs is also different now than it was 10-15 years ago (arguably there are more options now than there ever were, and more readily available as well). I never did ketamine enough to know for certain (i only tried it twice in 2015, never felt it, dodged a bullet imo) but I imagine it is more or less easier to get now than it ever has been. And fentanyl wasn't a thing yet either. Fast forward to recent years, COVID happened. Everyone has a smartphone. Infinite music costs $10-15/mo. The gig economy (Uber, door dash, instacart) is also a thing. There are obvi far more examples, but my point is that the material conditions of our world have changed quite a bit since 10-15 years ago. While yes, small-medium scale events are now generally widespread and feasible in most cities thru out the US, but the only reason we got to this point in the first place is because event production is a business that operates within “free markets”, and as any market grows, and events grow to a certain size, the demographics typically start to reflect that of the general public, and are no longer “underground”. Cast the widest net, make the most profit, and the culture gets diluted. Yes, our specific community’s drugs of choice might be different, but have you been to a dive-bar? A country music show? A football game?

The "underground" has grown to a much bigger market, and events that do well are typically ones that lean into the lowest hanging fruit, and take few risks, as any business in any industry is more or less incentivised to do.  Life for many people is unbearable, so many numb themselves in whatever way possible to cope--and I certainly don't blame ppl for just trying to exist, survive, cope, etc. But I *do* hold those with more power/influence to a higher standard, and companies, institutions and  governments to an even higher one. Events of a large enough size typically don't care about "the culture", or people for that matter, and neither do any large corporations. They don’t have to. It's not nearly as profitable to make events safe, to educate people, higher harm reduction teams, security, etc. For many event companies, there's hardly any financial incentive (if at all) to make safe spaces with reduced potential for harm. All large event companies care about at the end of the day is the bag and making sure nobody dies. For most big businesses/companies/corporations, the bar that’s set is either on the floor, or in hell.

These are not individual issues. This isn't even simply a cultural issue. No single one of us exists in a vacuum, and as I stated earlier, neither does our industry. The grind that everyone has to return to gives even more of an incentive to indulge in escapism/hedonism--to have a brief moment of bliss or comfort away from a job that is likely exploitative (and often pointless) and makes somebody else rich. And events (that want to make money) have every incentive to allow full blown hedonism/drug use, and in some cases, wink nudge encourage it. But let me be clear–I have no problem with drug use. I was able to get off booze & the vast majority of drugs ~3.5 years ago, but I find myself to be quite fortunate and lucky. We are products of our environment. You don’t like the vibes of the dancefloor? Look at the material conditions that so many people in our society exist under.

Our material conditions ultimately come first (our economic structure, housing, food, access to mental/physical medical care, how much of our labor and our lives we sell to our employers, etc), and our culture (which reflects those conditions) comes second. Our economic structure is *the* bedrock of our society, philosophically, ideologically, culturally, and so on. We are pit against one another, and raised to be as individualistic as possible. E.g. “Think for yourself, maaan.” It is in the best interest of the ultra wealthy oligarchs & their corporations that run our society for us to not work together in collaboration/cooperation. God forbid any of us take part in “group think!!!” (P.S. George Orwell was a reactionary snitch, and detested socialists/c*mmunists, gays, Jews, etc. Why do you our government pushes his books so heavily in our curriculum?)

While I don’t blame anyone for misidentifying what I consider symptoms of a much larger problem as though the symptoms are themselves the problem, I'm honestly sick and tired of the infighting amongst working class people--acting as though any of these issues (drugs, poverty, homelessness, obesity, or what have you) are in any way shape or form individual or even generational problems. And I don't even blame smaller businesses or event companies for just trying to survive. These are systemic issues. We live in a society motherfuckers. Talk with your peers. Be there for your homies.  Unionize. Find/join a co op or a mutual aid. Talk with your coworkers about how much you get paid. Don't listen to your boss, or your boss's boss. Their interests directly contradict yours. Be vigilant and educate yourself and others.

Nearly every conceivable societal issue in the US and the western world can be directly traced back to our economic structure. And it's in the interest of capitalists for us to think small--that these are individual problems, or maybe just your local community at most. Searching for meaning is hard when you’re a wage slave, so drugs are pretty appealing to those who literally can't stand their bullshit jobs. And when addiction runs its course and things get bad enough, what options are available? Our healthcare system is fucked. Our justice system is fucked. Our housing system is fucked. And you know what sounds pretty good when you're at the end of a destitute road?? DRUGS!!! I swear to mfing Christ, half the shit so many ppl have a problem in our society with are merely SYMPTOMS of a MUCH LARGER PROBLEM--that our government is an oligarchy of corporations, and only a democracy for the wealthy, and a near feudal state for everyone else. And don’t even get me started on the pharmaceutical industry.

Events are for profit. Nearly every aspect of our waking lives today is commodified for profit. There'd probably be way more diverse lineups with more interesting music if talent buyers/promoters werent terrified of losing tens of thousands of dollars on an experimental artist that isn't "marketable". It's not the younger generation. And who's to say whose attending these events "for the music" and who isn't? Existing SUCKS for so many people. Whether people decide to escape one way or the other, I don't blame them--I CAN'T blame them, but I most certainly can and do empathize. Our collective perpetuous grind to ensure capitalists' endless growth can and does reflect on the dance floor, and I will die on this hill.

And for what it’s worth, both parties in our electoral system work against us. No, I don’t like or simp for Joe Biden, and no, I don’t watch CNN. Obviously I also do not like Trump. And I’m not a liberal either lol (Liberal might not mean what you think it means, Google the history of the word. Liberals are pretty milk-toast/center-right. I’m much further left lol. Most people that call themselves Republicans are themselves Liberals without realizing it. Obvi the news spins this word to mean “left” when that couldn’t be further from the truth). I avoided using buzz words like those as much as I could, but I felt obligated to leave a little footnote for those that might have a knee-jerk reaction to any of this. There are no leftists or s*cialists in our government, just to be clear. No, not even Bernie, or AOC.