No more Xs if you stop vomiting

I'm sick of all the people that say that they hate Straight Edgers cause they "have to belong to something" and because they put Xs on their bodies. They say that by putting an X on my body I'm pushing my views on them, that I'm making a public statement about my beliefs.

Well I'm putting it out here now that I will stop putting Xs on my hands and wearing Straight Edge clothing if everyone that is not Straight Edge will no longer drink in front of anyone that is Straight Edge, that means when I'm out you can't drink, cause that drink is in my face, and that when I'm out on the street you won't stumble out of a bar and vomit on the sidewalk. You won't wear alcohol sponsoring clothing, you won't smoke in public, you won't be hung-over in public.

I'll also stop belonging to my beliefs if you stop taking pride in things you can't control. Stop being proud of your genetics or where you were born. How can you be proud of being American, Irish, Native American; how can you be proud to be American or Male or Female or White or Black? Sure you can be proud of the people that chose to stand up for the freedoms that you now have, you can be proud of the commitment your ancestors took to defend their beliefs and way of life, but you can't be proud to just belonging because you were born that way. If you stop that then I'll stop being proud of my choices and commitments to myself.

So if you don't put your drinking, smoking, f*cking and being proud of your genetics in my face I won't put my Xs in yours! I'll stop making choices about my life, so that you can be happy about your life.

Straight Talk on Straight Edge

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


videos by c.s. spence

SxE Baseball Player

It's great when a positive role model of Straight Edge can be seen outside the Hardcore scene. Not to say anything bad about hardcore. But when the media general always has something bad to say about SxE such as that Utah SxE kid getting 20 years for a 1998 stabbing (but read the comments, I really need to learn more about this particular incident) it really makes you proud to hear about someone that is truly posi.

So hear I want to talk about C.J. Wilson, a pitcher for the Texas Rangers and someone that is truly proud to be Straight Edge. He has a few SxE tattoos and something that I think is definitely awesome is that he has XXX stitched into his glove. C.J. is also a Taoist, and a college film major that will actually be doing new commercials for the team himself.

Following?

Some people like to say that being Straight Edge is stupid, because you are just following what some guy said in a song. True, it was just lyrics in a song, i guess it's not as good as words in a book (like the bible) or a speech on a podium (like everyman that did something good or bad for America). I guess lyrics aren't important, and music is a pointless wasted en devour of the mindless youth. But those that say these things are wrong. Yes, it is true that Ian MacKaye never meant to start some worldwide following, but his lyrics rang true with disillusioned youth.

From the start of his words and the label Straight Edge sprang forth many other like minded youths that believed that being clean of body was more important than being so called "punk." It would seem to me that those that believed in the punk lifestyle were just following the trends of being punk and following into the rebellious lifestyle of their parents and the "man." They drank the beer and smoked the cigarettes of huge alcohol and big tobacco corporations, fueling the pockets of the elite while they destroyed their bodies. They did the same things their parents did. Being Straight Edge was something different, it went against the grain, saying "Hey I don't have to be like you."

Sure, everyone that took that claim to be Straight Edge is following the words of someone else now, but wise words are worth listening to. I say it's a smarter man that listens and heads rather than burying his head in the ground just to say I'm not a follower. So get wasted and blacken your lungs (like your friends that pressured you into it in the first place) and believe you are no sheep.

But you see I chose to be Edge for me and at a time when I personally didn't know any one that was still Edge. Now I have friends that claim, but for them it was the same as me, they came to a realization that being poison free was the right choice for them. So I don't write this to say I'm better than you, I write this to say I'm better than I was. I may follow another man's words, but I chose willing with a clear mind to listen.

Set it Straight

Fall Out Boy & Naruto Video

Tattoos and Judaism

Three New York Teachers Busted for Smoking Pot

Three public high school teachers were arrested and charged when they were caught by police smoking pot outside an Allman Brothers concert. The school board is just moving them to other schools while they investigate. I just hope that they fire these teachers, as they apparently are not good role models for the students they are supposed to be teaching. You can read about in amNY.

Music Sales are down, why?

Why? Because most music out there just plain sucks. I'm sick of reading articles about music sales being down and the simple answer not even being approached. When you slam everyone out there with the same old thing repackaged and blended and refaced with a crappier knock-off wanna be band you are going to get a decline in sales. People are sick of this kind of crap being shoved down our throats. The simple fact is that with the onslaught of myspace and other resources to listen to music (legally, at least this last article didn't go on about how illegal downloads are the cause, which is clearly a bullshit answer; and onto this continuing tangent I don't download illegal music because I care about the bands I listen to and buy their CDs and go to their shows) whenever we want we only listen to the single and nothing else.

This is due to the afore mentioned reason that most music sucks. Typically the single is the only decent (if that) song that is put out and it's so easily accessible that we don't care for the rest of the filler. Now just because I listen to a lot of hardcore and punk, don't peg me as hating all pop music. I like some of it, but only when it's actually good, which is very very rare these days.

If the record label marketing machines would actually care about a band and focus on them to put out quality and help build them up as a band and not a resource they would get more from their respective audiences. Instead of jumping to the next best thing which is a repackaged version of the last thing they need to make us want to create a connection with a band and continue to buy their music. Maybe one day they'll get it, but I have my doubts.

Energetic Hardcore at it's Best

ABC No Rio puts on amazing shows. Despite being sadly disappointed by 11.22, the rest of the lineup was great (Ed Gein wasn't able to make it to the show) I originally went to see 11.22 but they didn't seem to have very much energy and didn't sound all that great either. All Else Failed was beyond unbelievable; they put on a fantastic set that got the crowd energized and emotional. When they covered Suffer by Vision of Disorder everything I'd seen before paled in comparison, everyone piled on top of each other to get a chance to sing. They even did an encore song, something you never really see at a hardcore show all that much (this isn't arena rock.)

I was very pleased to see a lot of straight edge guys and girls out at the show. That always makes me happy, especially when I see some that are older than me and have been edge for so long. It's also great to see younger new blood that have claimed edge.

One of the other opening bands was a NJ group called In First Person. They were very tight, and put everything they had into that set. They're playing in Brooklyn in May; I'm definitely looking forward to seeing them again.