‘Tude

Oh stop. 

‘Tude.  What is it, and why does it matter?  ‘Tude, which is, rather reflexively, a “bad-attitude”-driven abbreviation of the word ‘attitude,’ was a charming blend of equal parts arrogance, vanity, and naivete.

Although ‘tude could be found in abundance in many discourses of American culture in the 1980s, it was especially dominant in male rock and pop music-performance.  More to the point: if you were a male growing up musically-inclined in the 1980s, this was the dominant image available for you to aspire to.  For some reason, the basic idea of being a musician/ writing music, etc., was linked to this silly pout and shitty attitude.  Oh and ridiculous outfits, naturally.  Personally, it took me about ten years of reactionary lo-fi-indie mewling to bounce back from the damage caused by this nonsense.  But, yes, eventually I did get over it, and I now own and in fact like guitars with humbucking pickups.

I am still not sure what the rebellious stance of these fellows was based on.  I mean, did they like their jobs or not?  Did they like their fans or not?  Perhaps they were angry at the government, or some unseen agent?  For fucks sake man, you’re a guitar player!  You make music for a living!  Where is the joy?  Why the hostility?  I may not agree with the tenets of ‘Punk,’ dude, but at least it’s an ethos.  WTF were these guys aiming that vague bitchiness at?  Please use the comments session to discuss.  Oh and spare the ‘tude, pls.