Why would a punk use AI for a flyer if they can do it by themselves? They don’t have time, some may argue. Others will say they just don’t have the skills to make one. When was punk about having any skill or making “good-looking” (honestly, they look horrible) things? I don’t have answers for these questions.
The point of punk, in my opinion, was always to create something personal, something yours: it doesn’t matter how “good” or “bad” it was. I want to see your personality, your interests, I want to be part of a place made of real people. Those who use AI aren’t thinking about the benefits of learning something and improving or finding their style over time, because it takes years. Instead, they are finding a short-term solution, as if it were some kind of boring paperwork that has to be done but they don’t want to do it. That’s absolutely normal in our society, but with almost no extra effort, we could do way more than that.
Think about everything you do as something that will enrich you! And something that will enrich all of us too, contributing to a shared culture, with a DIY ethos, with a communal perspective. We have a big lack of long-term imagination, and the responsibility for improving it is ours. The system is fucked, but will the system ever change if you keep doing what it expects from you?
Punk historically stood up against big companies, call it McDonald’s or Amazon, Meta or Bayer, it doesn’t matter. And the reason why you don’t have time for anything, or why there’s scarcity of certain goods, or why you’re addicted to that screen is because these big corporations decided that, in that way, the world (and ultimately, you) would be more profitable for them. But also us, those same punks, we started to accept immediacy, the algorithms and the companies behind them many years ago, then it ended up being hard to find any punk outside of these spaces. Now it’s difficult, but not impossible, to imagine a different landscape.
Algorithms and machines that make things for us have become part of our everyday lives and they generate a huge lack of autonomy. The only way to confront big corporations is outside their services. Don’t feed the machine, it doesn’t matter if it’s a flyer or a text, don’t normalize the use of that software for things we always have done ourselves. Let’s imagine our future together instead of letting some companies decide how to think about it for us.
LUMPEN - Progreso?
An essential band from Barcelona that have perfected their style over the years. I’ve seen them a thousand times, and every time they sound even better, how is this possible? “Progreso?”" is another step in their search of their own UK82 sound, this time questioning the progress of this society and the so called peace that creates more war. The EP will be released by their own label (of one of the members) Chaos Tribes Records, I really recommend their releases.
ROTURA - Una y otra vez
ROTURA are one of my favorite melodic punk bands. These three lovely people, who have a new drummer, just released a new album that follows the path they already started in 2020. Rotura already have a radio-formula of their own that it always works, with certain types of songs that I’m always happy to find again but this time they are more fined tuned, better aligned and probably sounding more tight and way faster. The lyrics of this band always been balancing between sharp knifes against big powers, a critical view against the environment where we live, a rememberance of those who need support and hopeful anthems for changes towards a more free world. It’s very important bands like these exist in punk.
PS: Their lyrics are translated to English in their Bandcamp!
INDIKATOR B - S/T II
In my opinion, INDIKATOR B are one of the most interesting projects that exist right now in the European punk. Ressembling an 80s band from the compilation Izgubljena Alternativa, specially to some songs of QUOD MASSACRE, in a style that may seem simple but it’s not. Making simple things that sound good it’s hard, but they are actually extremely good musicians and you can feel it in each of their releases and their live shows. INDIKATOR B are, nowadays, a synonim of quality. I also recommend a lot the label Doomtown Records, managed in part by one of the members, that also releases their music.