I’ve worked in music for decades. Independent artists are struggling badly and though the barriers to entry may be lower, it’s harder than ever to make a real living from music.

You mention Napster like thats still relevant, which makes me think you don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not even in the top 8 streaming providers.

Spotify is #1 and their royalty payouts are notoriously low - fractions of pennies. Yeah it’s easier for fans to listen to music now, but that doesn’t translate to real money for the artists.

Stealing my parents’ tapes at age seven or eight in the 80’s, then my older brother’s CDs in the 90’s. With few other options, music was a main staple of entertainment for me as a kid.

Kids have so many other distractions these days, which is why the music industry is in shambles, save for a handful of big pop artists.

First thing - the bar should start over the center of your foot, at your center of gravity, and move up along your shins as you come up off the floor. Right now you’ve got the bar starting and moving up way too far ahead of your toes.

Grow some gut muscle.

Right, but so does Batman or James Bond, but we don’t see multiple studios in multiple countries making their own movie or TV versions of those characters every year. Seems like the Godzilla IP is in the public domain, or shared?

How so?

What’s the old phrase? Something about success being 90% work/preparation and 10% talent.

In other words, if you aren’t grinding, no matter how talented you are, the chance you’ll succeed at anything diminishes significantly. Don’t knock the grind out of envy for those who’ve succeeded. You don’t know their story, or how hard they probably had to work to get there.

Just came across REZN on Spotify randomly and was immediately reminded of Ghost’s first album which was very doom influenced, with similar clean vocals. It’s not an entirely wild comparison.

I’ve become less and less a fan of Ghost over the years, so it’s great to come across REZN.

My neighbors in DC are exactly like this, except they don’t even bother aiming for the trash cans. Just sidewalks piled up with used pizza boxes and used diapers in front of their houses.

Agreed. I enjoyed following the MCU when it was one or two movies per year. Then, after “End Game” it just became too overwhelming to keep up with everything and the stuff I did check out was awful. So, I’m done with it. Also, same reason I gave up comics as a kid. Just too much, and too expensive to keep up with. Star Wars is becoming the same way.

These big corporate entertainment companies are just beating dead horses and shamelessly sucking once-beloved IPs dry now, and blaming the fans when these movies/shows inevitably bomb.

CK One and Polo Sport in high school. Abercrombie & Fitch cologne in college. Haven’t smelled those scents in years, but can remember them.

It’s much more than malicious “racism” by outsiders as many claim. It’s a tag that is willfully adopted by the individual because it’s advantageous, depending on the scenario.

For example, Obama is exactly 50% black and 50% white, but campaigned as “black” and is regarded as “black” by his progressive left supporters because that’s the most advantageous race to claim as a progressive left politician. It makes his white supporters feel good about supporting him and insulates him from legitimate criticism because he and his supporters can claim any and all criticism is “racist”.

Similarly, Kamala Harris is regarded as “black” despite being 50% black and 50% Asian/Indian - but, the latter ethnic tag is not nearly as advantageous.

It’s the same in any scenario where social capital is important to the individual, and the fact that modern society is obsessed with race forces most people to claim membership in one ethnic group despite an ancestral mix that doesn’t fully correspond with that claim. I see this with people who claim indigenous tribal membership, despite the majority of their ethnic ancestry being European.

Don’t wear no baseball caps or blue jeans unless you’re in the MLB or gold mining in the Yukon, damn posers.

What’s paid? This post? I wish.

George Lucas first said this in 2002 after facing backlash for some of the half-baked infantile qualities of The Phantom Menace. Since then it’s become convenient shorthand for some fans to wave away legitimate criticism of frequently subpar content.

Not sure he said that in the late 70’s when teens and adults lined up around the block to watch the original Star Wars movie in theaters.

Interesting. So non-Hispanic and non-Spanish speakers invented it?

You shouldn’t. Hispanic here. It’s dumb as fuck and I first heard about it from non-Hispanic liberal white people. These people always have to make up new woke terminology nobody asked for.

Yasss, queen.

Worth it once in a lifetime. Did it once when I was younger, with my dad. Fun memory but would never want to do it again.

It implies physical weakness, lack of confidence, and lack of self-awareness. A handshake should be firm, not too weak and not too strong.

It’s like another social norm involving physical touch - the kiss. Shitty kissers generally aren’t well regarded in society, same as shitty hand shakers.

Feels like I stopped watching that show like twenty years ago. It sucked, even back then. Can’t believe it’s still on, with multiple spin-offs.

A “lil loud”? Drunken dickhead was setting off bottle rockets with his drunken dickhead buddies, not family, at 3am just a few feet from my bedroom window on a weeknight. Yes, I would’ve absolutely jumped that fence to kick his ass. Cops don’t give a fuck in my neighborhood and I would’ve been doing my other neighbors a favor.