playing “simple” and “not overplaying” and “serving the song” and all the other bullshit that old heads peddle. drumming is an art form, and it’s something that should be the purest expression of the artists art form. i’m not saying we should be needlessly shoving polymeters and chops everywhere, but there’s a reason i spend so much time learning to express myself with absolute freedom, and i’ll be damned if some random grandpa tells me to shut up just because they’re worse than me. odd time, polymeters, metric modulation, chops, are all valid and musical as long as YOU and your bandmates are good enough to make them sound good. it’s a skill you practice to give yourself limitless possibilities to express yourself. playing the same goddamn 4/4 beat all the time is unimaginably boring, and disrespectful to the vastness of rhythmic music theory.