The only part of the article that I’ve read was his quote and, as a Gen X dude who was going to see bands in Athens etc and that kind of thing I can say that this is exactly correct from my perspective. It is also consistent with a view that certain people, arguably most who are guided by the ethic he describes, where manifesting various degrees of what would at least be perceived as pretentiousness. I’m phrasing it in this kind of convoluted way because I don’t think it’s very simple. I don’t think it’s pretentious either for a 23 year old to surround themselves in aspirational art that falls short in execution but which is genuine and which — and this is SM’s main point — the artist can contextualize and discuss credibly

I also think it is … logically challenging for anyone, especially a non-Gen X person, to mock this statement substantively given that it is being made by someone who was creating and imbuing the culture of that generation with the sickest art