DIY, Bitterness & The Echo Chamber of Old Farts

Let’s talk about a specific breed in the music scene: the bitter old farts. You’ve seen them. You’ve heard them. Hell, you might’ve even tried to support them once — until you realized their favorite hobby isn’t creating, collaborating, or evolving. It’s circle-jerking in an echo chamber with other equally bitter has-beens who didn’t “make it” but now pretend they chose obscurity for the sake of “keeping it real.”

Some people genuinely choose the DIY route. They hustle hard, create their own infrastructure, build up a community, and stay true to a vision.

Others mask their mediocrity as DIY because they couldn’t handle real feedback, effort, or compromise. They scream “DIY!” as a shield for unprofessionalism and lazy execution.

Then you’ve got the pros — who also started in the dirt, but decided to level up. Build teams. Understand logistics. Work smart. Not better. Just different.

Here’s where things turn toxic:

Old farts stuck in their outdated glory days love to throw shade at anyone doing better than them.

If you tour professionally? “You sold out.”

If your merch looks good? “Too polished.”

If you market yourself? “Fake.”

If you make money? “Capitalist scum.”

NEWSFLASH: It’s not the scene gatekeeping you. It’s your refusal to evolve.

The scene didn’t leave you behind. You parked yourself on the side of the road and started yelling at traffic.

Some people still play sweaty basements and big stages. Some of us run merch booths and streetwear brands. Some of us juggle punk values with international logistics.

Because we love this.

So if your only contribution is to mock, undermine, or throw passive-aggressive tantrums every time someone tries to move forward, you’re not preserving the culture. You’re choking it.

Let people build their own version of success.

Let the new kids experiment.

Let the scene breathe.

And if you can’t contribute positively, maybe just go enjoy your nostalgia silently instead of poisoning everything.

To each their own. But kindly —keep your bitterness to yourselves