I'm straightedge.
But I've always thought that people should be able to do what they want.
If you choose to drink or whatever, I'm not gonna rag on you.
I hate it when you have this image of how certain celebrities/band members/heroes are, and they seem to fall into your belief system, which is cool and all.
Then one day, you see a picture, or read an interview, and you realize that these people are nothing like you thought they were.
I'm not one to be the naive kid who thinks that these people can do-no-wrong, but it fucking sucks when you find out you've been lied to.
Or rather, it sucks to find out these people have really been lying to themselves.
This is where I begin to rant.
Kenny Vasoli.
When I got in to The Starting Line, Kenny was the bleach blonde kid who was pretty much the ruler of our 14 year old worlds.
To me, punk was Blink-182, New Found Glory, and The Starting Line.
To this day, Say It Like You Mean It is one of the only cds I can listen to front-to-back, without skipping any songs.
Everyone was shocked when they released the song "Bedroom Talk" and it was like "OH SNAP! Kenny's singing about losing his virginity!"
Okay, not that big of a deal. I can accept this as creative progression.
Now, I was reading an article about The Starting Line in AP the other day, and it pissed me off.
Kenny Vasoli stated " I feel like I've written some of my best songs stoned as hell."
What. The. Hell?
Innocent Pop Punk: -1
Bad guys: + 1
Pete Wentz.
That boy has always claimed to be straightedge.
You can read into his lyrics, and it's pretty obvious he isn't a member of the V-club.
No big deal.
Anyone that knows Pete's history with Jeanae knows he's a pedo, so it's not that shocking ; )
But I see a picture on the internet of Wentz with a beer bottle in his hand, and my world starts to unravel just a little bit.
It shouldn't matter that much, but it really bothers me.
Him downing a bottle of Ativan in a parking lot? I can handle that.
Beer?
Nope.
Ryan Ross.
This kid has always been a walking anti-alcohol ad.
His dad was an alcoholic, and it pretty much killed the man.
Ryan always said he would never drink. He's always claimed he doesn't "party".
The pics from his 21st B-day surfaced, and he's definitely drinking alcohol.
I guess it bugs me so much because the kid knows what effect that stuff can have, and he still goes for it.
Brendon Urie.
Okay. The kid (yes, everyone I refer to is a *kid*) used to be Mormon.
I know the key words are used-to-be. The kid is addicted to Red Bull. That kind of clarifies where he stands now. Red Bull addiction? Not so scandalous.
The picture I just saw of Brendon holding a bottle of Corona?
It makes me angry.
Max Bemis.
Now don't get the wrong idea. I don't really like Say Anything... at all.
But I was reading an article about them, and it pissed me off.
He made it seem like it was necessary for everyone in a band to go through a phase where they do coke and ecstasy.
Ummmmm......Nooooooooooooo.
Just because Bipolar-Boy doesn't have the self-control to politely decline, doesn't mean he has to stereotype everyone else.
And it seems like he uses his "disorder" as an excuse.
Max Bemis just really pisses me off. Let's not mention Bemis anymore. K?
Now I probably seem like an uptight asshole.
But see, this is where I get confused.
If people drink/*insert other action here* from the get-go, it doesn't bother me!
Jon Walker.
The man loves his alcohol.
That's fine. All the more power to him.
It doesn't bug me at all.
Joe Trohman.
Weed-loving Joe-Troh.
It doesn't bug me!
(Maybe it's because I know good ole' Andy Hurley is there to keep things in check!)
Yellowcard.
Hello! They've always talked about being high!
And those boys can down more wine than anyone I know! (Let's not forget Ryan's recollection of that one time Sean was drunk and broke Ryan's jaw...)
Big whoop!
I'm not even going to begin to get into the numerous band members I know of who are friends with Mary Jane, but seriously, it doesn't bug me.
Probably because these people have been smoking the stuff since before I ever met them.
I seriously don't know what it is.
I feel like a shallow bitchy person because I freak out when I see so-and-so drinking a beer or smoking weed.
But then I feel like such a hypocrite when I see others doing the same damn thing, and it doesn't phase me at all.
What the hell?
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11 comments:
Kenny has just finally come out in the open about being a stoner. He has been one for a super long time. Even when he was the bleached blondie we loved so much. I thought you should know that. best of Me was written when he was sooo stoned.
I do know where you are coming from, for me it is just a shock. I am like holy shit you drink? WTF when did this happen. But for you, you put the people that you see as "straightedge" on a pedistal, because you are looking for someone in this music industry to look up to. Who is "straightedge" and has the same beliefs as you, or just similar ones like; so-and-so likes to get high but they don't drink. You are excited and look up to them for not drinking, but you also know they have a vice and you are cool with that, because you know it up front. It doesn't seem like they are trying to hide anything from you.
Granted some people just change and I think you need to learn to accept that, but Ryan Ross, I think he needs someone to keep him in check if he is going to start drinking, but I also think that might have been a one time thing. I do wish that you could have more people to look up to in the bands that you love. People that are straightedge, not perceived to be
I totally and complete agree with you. Maybe if they just stated they drank/smoke from the beginning, maybe less people would view them as hypocrites. Half the population drinks or smokes, but at least most don't hide it. So bottom line, i agree with you :)
Some people can't state their own beliefs. For example...I believe it's ok to drink/smoke/have sex with whomever I choose. They are followers of the crowd. Those are the people that are straightedged because everyone else is, not because they believe in it. When they get older they follow along in the drinking, etc. to be part of the crowd. They just change crowds. The person really hasn't changed. They are still as weak natured as ever. Some people don't like to take a stand on what they believe in, to state what they feel is right...Those people are always going to be followers- not leaders. Life tends to filter through the hypocrites until you truly find someone you can look up to. Someone who can speak their mind, speak their heart, take a stand, pick a side of the fence, ignore the followers, and show their true personality. Those are the people you end up admiring.
I think Ryan got drunk because he though"It's my birthday!"
Brendon has the strangest addiction I have ever heard!But he is not a hypocrite!Everyone knows that Brendon isn't a Mormon anymore,so he didn't lie.
i agree about ryan but he doesnt normaly drink or party. he just did cuz its his birthday so he did it as a one off. and joe trohamn i dont think about it that much but he should stop tho cuz like smoking is reli bad alltogetehr let alone smoking weed. imeaan i know someone lets call him X now i dont know him that well and i aint known him for that long but i do know that he has smoked for quite a long time but not as long as joe. and one min he is nice and bein reli kind and then the next he will snap at you and have ago at you for no reason and he will say reli horible stuff and not realise how mean he has been. the next day he will be like totally unawair that he has said anything and he will just carry on like normal and he cant help it it's just what drugs so to you there is nothing i can do for him but i think that if we all let joe know how much we care bout him and how much we reli want him 2 stop then i think we culd help him to stop. x
In my point of view, I see drinking and smoking just as another way to kill some body, but it is a choice made by that person , and no one has the right to say what they can and can not do, but, we are still allowed to criticize on the stupid assed choices that person makes. As for Ryan drinking even if it was on his birthday, and even if it was one transgression, it was still a stupid choice, but for all we know it could have a perfectly good explanation. As the Whole red bull thing, I really cant say any thing because I’m sorta, addicted to monsters, so yeah.
Guys... Kenny never said he was straightedge... and who really cares? it's his life. he grew up on tour. that's a super stressful lifestyle. he coped the way could. all the power to him for not lying about it, i say
Hey there,
I've also been a huge fan of the Starting Line and a few of the other bands you listed here in your rant. I feel it is important to say something, even though I'm a complete stranger and my opinion to you will probably mean nothing...
The way you look at your heroes is understandable, since everyone sort of builds up a certain admiration/point of view of those they look up to. The problem is when those views turn into some sort of weird obsession and deformation of who those people ACTUALLY are. For example, in the case of Kenny from TSL, you seem to have created this persona in your head as if he was catering to your sensibility all along. The fact is, he and all the others you listed have no clue who you are, nor do they care what you as a s/e fan thinks of how they behave in their personal lives.
All of this is indicative of a bigger problem that stardom seems to constantly bring. Fans put unrealistic expectations on these people as if they know them personally or have some stake in the way they behave. All that should matter is how you connect to the music they make and, if you respect the music, what difference does it make if they wrote it high or sober or while dancing in their underpants looking at kiddie porn? The point is, it's still credible because it, for whatever reason, hits a nerve and connects.
Your views are yours, and theirs are theirs. They don't owe you anything and there's no point in developing these convoluted images in your head about those you look up to because we're all human and we all have our vices.
It's fine if you don't like some bands, that's not what I have a problem with. What I have a serious problem with is the fact that you made fun of someone, in the spotlight or not, for having an extremely serious mental disorder making it seem like it's his fault he is Bi-Polar. You are obviously some ignorant 13-year-old emo kid because you get offended when people have one beer or smoke weed. A newsflash to "people" (I can't believe you get the right to call yourselves that) like you who have this obscure and twisted vision of people you don't even know: you are wrong.
I have listened to every single song of many bands you have listed here and not one word in any of those songs either 1: Glorifies getting fucked up and tells you to subsequently go get wasted, or 2: Even talk about it at all (as in the case of The Starting Line, the song 21 notwithstanding).
Bottom line, you are extremely ignorant and affected my such minor, obscure and unrelated things that I do not want to waste another word on you.
...please where can I buy a unicorn?
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