I used to pretend to suit up as Wolverine during youth soccer games. First boots, then gloves, and finally the mask. Then I'd run at the incoming offensive attack and swing my arms out and down to imagine those adamantium claws shooting out. My memory of this, now, alternates between my point of view as my eight-year-old self and that of someone on the sideline, confused or amused by this kid putting on imaginary boots and mask, then sprinting forward with all seriousness.
Sort of embarrassing, but I was young and in love with X-Men. Less forgivable, or just more embarrassing, was my affair with Nu Metal. Two things recently brought this back to mind: 1) This incredible Map of Metal - I sacrificed two hours at that altar - and 2) Part 9 of the AV Club's series Whatever Happened to Alternative Nation? The writer despises Korn and Limp Bizkit; I was totally into them.
Still, I had some good influences in those darker days*. Skate videos and magazines, my primary cultural influence at the time, kept me on track with hip hop and punk. The two dominant cassettes in my walkman were Wu Tang's Forever* and a mix tape of Misfits and Dead Kennedys that a friend made me. That same friend once said to me, when I was deepest into Korn, that as the singer of my once-punk band, I shouldn't try to sound like Jonathan Davis.
I now see his advice as an informal intervention, and he did it with kindness and tact that transcended our early-teen maturity. He said I should try to stick with my own style. He put it in a way that encouraged me, especially since I looked up to him as a musician. I think he even went so far as to somewhat praise Jonathan Davis' voice, though I knew at the time that he didn't like it or that music one bit. But friends don't let friends try to sing like Jonathan Davis.
* Darkest Days is the name of the Stabbing Westward album I bought, featuring the single "Save Yourself", after I heard them on the Spawn soundtrack - my nu metal gateway drug and possible evidence that comic books encouraged me to do many silly things.
* Forever was a double-cassette, so technically that makes three dominant tapes in my rotation.
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1 comment:
I too, used to tare around my neighborhood shouting "snikt"and swinging my arms at imaginary mutant-hating scum bags and other misguided villains, but I'm sure that comes as no surprise. I'll have to look through this Map of Metal, my first impression of it is "The author included 'Stone Cold Crazy,' awesome," and I suspect there will be more enjoyment to follow.
We may have been young and foolish in those days, but I regret nothing. Otherwise we would never have such perfect one-liners to unleash at any given moment such as, "you look like one of those dancers in the Hanson video..."
-Joe
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