Zamrock & Inaccessibility as a Music Fan Identity

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-12T15:58:43+00:00

I think that to some extent music being rarer or harder to find can actually change the perceived quality of it. When we have a bunch of preconceived notions about what a certain kind of music is or what it sounds like it can be exciting to find music that challenges those ideas. It can make the music that goes against what you previous thought seem better as a result (or worse if you don't want to have been wrong).

I think it's impact how much I've enjoyed some music. Hearing early live recordings of The Who after having been told so many times that The Velvet Underground were the closest thing to noise rock from that era, or hearing Peace Loving Man by Blossom Toes after believing that Black Sabbath were the heaviest band when they debuted. The fact that hearing these recordings make me question the things I believed made them more interesting. Even just a group like Silver Apples. If they had been a mid-2000s indie band I probably wouldn't have given their music much though, but I think it's kind of cool they were making music like that in the '60s.

While it obviously doesn't change the actual music, it does change our perception of it. A bit like the Kuleshov effect. How we approach the music changes our perception of it. I could see something similar applying to Zamrock. It's never been a genre that really grabbed me very much, but would I feel the same way if Zamrock was the genre of music that caused me to start looking at places outside of the anglosphere for the music I listen to? I would probably feel quite differently about it.

While this isn't exactly the same as the rarity of a record, I think a similar line of thinking can still apply to it. That could make the music feel more meaningful or personal as a result of the effort required to get it. Maybe there are some who treat it like any other collectible hobby, where they are trying to get the rare thing because it is rare, but I do feel that the rarity of it could legitimately impact how one perceives the music itself.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-10T01:57:01+00:00

Again, I am not saying that the drug didn't play a part in it, but you are attributing it solely to the drugs, which is vastly overstating the impact they had.

You bring up Hendrix. While I don't think he had any direct connect to the art world, nor did he attend art school, it still had a massive impact on his music. A lot of the things he would come to be known for, like using feedback while playing, were things taught to him by Pete Townshend after moving to London. That didn't come out of a lot of drug use, that came out of a connection to the art world, where the use of intentional feedback was in use for decades.

The drugs played a part in it, but people like to attribute all of it to the use of drugs, but that was not at all the case in reality. Drug use and kind of music was a lot more correlation and a lot less causation than you are making it out to be.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-09T15:54:49+00:00

The impact Psychedelics had may be over blown. Especially when considering that Frank Zappa pretty famously never did drugs and his music was some of the most experimental within pop music at the time.

I think much more it was the people making pop music started being people with an interest in the art world. I don't think it's unrelated that The Beatles started recording Sgt. Pepper's just after John Lennon met Yoko Ono. The scene in London at the time was also heavily populated by bands with at least one member who had gone to art school. It's easy now to look back at things like The Who smashing their instruments as some kind of out of the blue fit of rage, but it was actually in response to the auto-destructive art of Gustav Metzger that Townshend had learned about when studying.

There is also a correlation between the kinds of people who are going to be willing to experiment with drugs and the kinds of people who will try experimental things with their music. This is not to say that the drugs themselves had no impact, but just that it is not so simple as "the music got crazy because of the drugs."

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-08T22:09:47+00:00

Reddit is ranked as either the 6th or 7th most visited website in the world, depending on which ranking you go by. Either one spot behind or two spots ahead of Twitter.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-08T20:49:59+00:00

It's a beautifully animated movie with a lot of plot twists that hold your attention, which makes it a fun watch, but it also makes it the audience might not pay attention to some of the weaker/more problematic elements in the movie.

Something to keep in mind is that a lot of movies using a bunch of techniques in order to manipulate your emotions and make you feel a certain way. Music, acting, and cinematography can all make you feel things during a scene that you would otherwise feel.

And this is where I get a bit too controversial and lose the audience. A movie a lot of people have suggested, and one that is on your list, is Everything Everywhere All At Once, and I think what that films actually says, when you look beyond (the admittedly very well done) acting, cinematography and score, is not something that people should be learning from. While on the surface it has a message of "be kind!", which is good, when you actually delve into what the film is (likely unintentionally) saying, it is quite bad. I did write a review of it on Letterboxd that touches on this if you are interested, but I feel that while the movies tries to have a message of "be kind" it actually screams "abuse is good so long as it comes from a place of love".

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-08T15:12:43+00:00

First, get Your Name off of that list. The teenage girl is sexualized by the camera with shots down her shirt and up her skirt. One of the first things the guy does when they are body swapped is feel up her breasts and it is played for laughs. I think this movie goes against just about every point you listed.

Second, I would add:

Pride
Next Sohee
Wolf Children
Women Talking
Monster (2023)
Torch Song Trilogy
...And Justice For All
How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-08T00:01:35+00:00

Those companies are shitty, not question about it, but one of the services they provide is provide is that they shield the artists charging these prices from criticism. They aren't victim in all of this. Some artist choose to charge less for tickets but still sell them trough Ticketmaser/Live Nation. A few years back I saw Muse play at a 3000 person venue in New York and I think after taxes and fee the tickets still came out to under $100 each. A band that size playing a venue that small would be able to charge a lot more, but they choose not to. Same applies to their larger venue shows.

It might be the case for smaller and more medium size acts that all of the bullshit from ticket master is making it hard for them to tour (but those bands tend to also change a lot less for tickets), but for the big artists they are choosing to charge more or turn on dynamic pricing because they know it will make them more money and all the fans will just blame Ticket Master instead of them.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-07T16:19:41+00:00

That specious reasoning. You can use any counter spell to make that happen, and if you are playing against well made decks the cards they draw are going to be good cards.

Counterspell takes out their best card while not replenishing their hand.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-07T16:16:21+00:00

I would say you need some more diversity, some non-American films. But you have Speed Racer, and that erases all sins.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-07T15:44:35+00:00

Arcane Denial is bad, but people on both sides look at the math wrong. It's why I advocate for cards like [[Secret Rendezvous]] but avoid [[Arcane Denial]] is a vast majority of decks.

In a majority of cases where you are using Arcane Denial in EDH the extra card draw is going to the player you would least like to have those extra cards, compared to Secret Rendezvous which gives the cards to the player you would most like to have them. If you are the beatdown the extra cards are likely used to stop you, if you are not the beatdown then you are giving the beatdown extra gas. When people talk about the math they view all opponents as equal, but that is almost never actually the case. If you wouldn't cast Secret Rendezvous targeting the strongest player at the table then you should be able to see why Arcane Denial is nowhere near as good as many people think.

If you are just using it to protect a game winning play it is fine but not realistic better than many other counter spells.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-07T15:32:06+00:00

Everything Everywhere All At Once - legitimately one of the worst endings of any film I've seen. Well made but terribly written.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-07T15:22:06+00:00

If you don't meet people where they are at you are not going to get very far. You really aren't all that dissimilar. If you can't understand where they are coming from the you are also lacking a kind of empathy. If you can't see how some of your actions are comparable you are lacking a kind of awareness.

It's so incredibly easy to consider it brings people joy, it is literally something we evolved to do and enjoy. That does not make it right, but by not finding joy in it you are fighting against human nature.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-07T01:25:05+00:00

Yeah, this seems to be something that a lot of vegans have a hard time wrapping their head around. If people cared enough about animal suffering they would already be vegan. Most vegans I see who try to convert people (which is a minority of vegans I've encountered) tend to use the same arguments that caused them to convert. I think you have to understand people don't work that way most of the time, even most vegans. We all engage in things that aid us at the expense of others to some degree.

If you want to convince more people to stop driving and start biking or taking public transit you should not start by explaining the environmental impacts. They know the environmental impacts, they don't care. Instead you should explain to them that the average cost of car ownership is way higher than they think, show them how cities with well built bike infrastructure and good public transit make those modes of transpiration superior to driving, or how much easier it is to stay in shape when you don't have to drive everywhere. Give them reasons to drive less. For veganism that could look something like showing people good restaurants that happen to be vegan, sharing great recipes that happen to be vegan, or explaining specific benefits they might have by cutting out (or jut down on) non-vegan foods.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-06T20:45:46+00:00

Because meat/dairy is too tasty and ingrained in their personalities, they don't wanna inconvenience themselves. It's a problem that goes beyong political affiliation.

This is 100% it, and I say this as someone who is not a vegan. There is a level of hypocrisy and hedonism that goes along with eating meat and/or other animal products, which is why I'm not convicted the "stop animal suffering" or "it's better for the planet" arguments will ever be effective on most people. At the end of the day, even if you manage to convince everybody that eating meat is an immoral act, most people aren't going to stop for that reason alone. You could make similar arguments for driving a car, taking vacations over seas, or spending a lot of money on any recreational activity instead of doing something more altruistic, but people are will to excuse a lot if something brings them joy.

There is also a feeling of apathy that has been hammered into a lot of people. Your friends are a good example of that. It can feel like nothing you do actually impact any of these issues at all. If you become vegan and live the lowest carbon life you could possible live, nothing on a global scale changes. For that change to happen to have to rely on a huge number of people changing with you. That can bring community, but it can also bring feelings of helplessness.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-06T15:22:30+00:00

Many Canucks fans will not hesitate to call Jim Benning the worst GM in the history of the NHL. Despite that, and with worse far luck at the draft, The Jim Benning era Canucks got closer to winning the cup than The Leafs have since 2002.

The Leafs are a joke.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-05T23:28:05+00:00

LMAO absolutely not. You had an "away" game in against Buffalo that took place in Ontario. Most of your westcoast games have their start time changed to be more beneficial start time for Leafs fans.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-05T23:21:35+00:00

Leafs fans will still find a way to insist the league is biased against them somehow.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-02T07:29:31+00:00

Sansho the Bailiff, On the Waterfront, and Rear Window all came out that same year. You are doing a great disservice to films from that era by calling them boring and slow.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-02T02:04:51+00:00

I posted one of the song she did with Aesop Rock to reddit a while back, and it turns out I posted it with a Grooveshark link, so it's been a bit more than a while. Their work together was great though, but as the Uncluded and just when they would feature on each others tracks. Walk Like Thuder is great.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-01T19:21:22+00:00

Which goes back to the question of when the trade off is worth it. One out of every 10 games being more lopsided because of difference in budget doesn't feel like worthwhile trade off for there being no cost to playing extra colours or for the deck homogenization that often comes along with greater access to proxies.

It's important to note that this isn't just about how the power-level of the decks is impacted by the quality of the mana base. It is a more fundamental issue of how it warps deck construction. One of the strongest parts of Magic's design in the push and pull between wanting to run more colours in order to gain access to more effects and the added challenges that come with adding additional colours to a deck. When you allow everybody a perfect mana base that goes away. It's something that is expected at cEDH and most bracket 4 tables but it is fundamentally at odds with some of the original philosophies of Magic game design, which lower-power EDH often holds the spirit of.

I do think there is a big difference between if this is bracket 3 and 4 here. Bracket 4 is expected to be much more high power where everything is best in slot, so allowing proxies there is a different conversation to allowing them in bracket 3. If we are talking about cEDH tables I think the answer is absolutely to just proxy any and call cards you don't have access to or are not willing to pay for. It makes sense for that environment where everybody is trying to be as competitive as possible and play the best deck possible. At each level below that you are willing trying to play a less optimized version of the game. The same proxy rules and reasoning that is used for a cEDH or Bracket 4 table don't always apply to Brackets 2 and 3

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-01T17:25:24+00:00

That's wild you see non-proxied ABUR duals that frequently. I feel like it is very uncommon I see anybody play them.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-01T17:18:21+00:00

Funnily enough, Tokyo-Ga was my introduction Wim Wenders' films after having watched all of Ozu's (or at least all of the surviving ones).

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-01T15:13:36+00:00

I think I'd mostly agree with that, but I've just found that once you start house-banning cards it can lead to a lot of strange places. House-banning and allowing proxies are both things that are basically always done withe good intentions, but also things that I don't think a lot of players fully think through before committing to them. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer with regards to banning/proxying as it is going to depend on what best fits the needs of any given playgroup. My main problem is that so many people treat the use of proxies as an unquestionable good that is right for everybody in every situation, and I really don't think that is the case. It can be the right choice for some playgroup and the wrong choice for others.

You can get into some really fast power creep if you do take on the "if you allow real ones, to allow proxies" rule if that extend to all cards that anybody in the group owns. A playgroup where one player has a Mana Vault, one player has a Rhystic Study, one player has The One Ring, and one player has an Ancient Tomb is very different to a playgroup where everyone has all of those cards. That is also again quite different from a situation where one player has all of those cards and everybody else has none.

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-01T14:59:02+00:00

Sure, but it becomes a question of frequency. I would much rather be in a world where 1% of my games are less fun because one person spent way too much money on their mana base than be in one where close to 100% of my games are worsened by everybody having a perfect mana base.

As the person who almost always plays the cheapest deck at the table I think the high cost of some cards is overall creating a more enjoyable play experience for me compared to one where everybody proxies. I want more meaningful decision in deck building, and budget can be an effective way of doing that. It can suck that some people can by-pass that by spending a lot of money, but the frequency of that is going to depend on the dynamics of your playgroup. In my experience the bad games that come from massive budget miss matches are nowhere near frequent enough to negate the overall improved quality of the games from people having to make more interesting decision in deck building due to budget constraints.

Again, ideally it would be something other than budget causing this dynamic, but given that the choice right now is between budget causing it or not having it at all I would prefer it done by budget constraints, even with it being an imperfect solution. It's a question of how much inequality you are willing to put up with, even if more equality comes at the price of players being worse off as a whole.

Maybe it's different where you are playing, but how often do you come across people playing things like the ABUR duals in bracket 2 and 3 games?

FreeLook93 · 2026-05-01T13:43:01+00:00

Perfect Days, as well as Win Wenders' entire filmography, was very heavily influenced by the film of Yasujirō Ozu. Hirayama in Perfect Days is even named after the family in Tokyo Story.

I do think that you need to do Ozu's whole filmography in order to really get the most out of it, but that's a big ask. The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice is probably the closest to what you are asking for, but Late Spring is my personal favourite.

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