IT'S BLCK PUNK... (By: Hark K O)

Oh wait, I know I’m supposed to do a life update but I’ve been listening to this song on repeat tonight. Again. I have my phases and we’re back in it. 

This is Meet Me @ The Altar and this song is “Garden” (*Swoon)

Please go ahead and press play on the video below. RN. Let this song bring you back to the good ole days. You’ll see what I mean. It has suuuuchhhhh a nostalgic sound and feel. Reminds me of high school. Reminds me of... idk happiness. Press play if you need that boost of serotonin. 

Okay, now that you’re listening and vibing here’s a little about Meet Me @ The Altar:

They started in 2015. What’s important to know is that they were formed online and operated virtually. So, Téa Campell (guitar and bass) met  Ada Juarez (drums) on Youtube where Ada posted covers. They then hosted online auditions for their singer, where they met lead singer Edith Johnson (vocals). According to Billboard.com, “Johnson texted Campbell every day until she gave her the vocalist gig.”

 I love that. 

Their name actually comes from a text from Ada to Edith. Ada said: “marry me!” Edith responded, “meet me at the altar” 💕

So yeah, from there, the trio wrote songs (some via text message) and practiced virtually. I read that they would usually practice on their own, and really only play together right before a show.

To all my early 2000s bbs, guess which band is one of their inspirations? Paramore! 

They deserve to be huge. 

I love them, and I hope you do too. I spent a good chunk of today crying about all this Promise Land shit. Playing this song, I feel a glimmer of happiness. How are ya’ll.

If you have any recommendations or want me to talk about your fave Black punkers hit me up here or on Tik Tok (@ donnieharko). 

Quick life update that you didn’t ask for:

So we’ve reached Friday night. I have two more nights of peace before The Promise Land games begin. 

My hope is that when this shit is over (and if I’m still alive) I’ll come back to this Tumblr and post a “I made it!” post. If not, maybe this will be an archive. I was here. For anyone that sees this in the future, America (the world too we’re told) has gone to shit. We should’ve paid attention to all the climate change bells and whistles back in the 2010s. Now we can’t go back. And now the powers that be are punishing us for it.

They’re saying we need to get rid of 200 million Americans. If we do that, then the rest of us 100 million left will live in the “Promise Land” (because they Promise it’ll be great or some shit). More resources. More free to be you and me shit. They’re deciding which cities to pick off based on which city shows the best “American values.” no one knows what that means. We’ll only find out if we live or die that week. But we voted on this shit. Well, I didn’t. I thought it was stupid. i didn’t think we’d all agree to this. But we did? Idiots. 

I live in the Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. There’s only like 2000 of us here. Our “Mayor” has decided we’ll demonstrate “American values” by focusing on tradition and hard work. Basically we’re all supposed to show up to our jobs and focus on keeping the city afloat. He said, “hard work is the foundation of this country, as long as we do that, we’re fine.” Sure. 

I work at a sandwich shop so I my work won’t be crazy. But I guess they’re gunna keep the electric grids off most of the day and and we’ll get power at night. So i’ll be dealing with a lot of rotten meat. 

Sigh. 

I’m panicking. The games start in 2 days - -Monday. I hear more and more helicopters. I’ve seen some Promise Land Security teams around, installing god knows what. I don’t want to die. 

I’ve gotten into this new thing on Tik Tok and its been hard to keep up on both places. Tik Tok reminds me of, like, the pools at Mt. Olympus with enormous water slides that people wait in long ass lines to get on for 10 seconds of fun. Tumblr is like, the lazy river -- in the best way. Just you, maybe a nice drink, your vibes, and other chill souls just cruising and watching. 

I love both platforms. I love both kinds of pools. This rant is stupid. 

 I wanted to share a few songs that I’ve been listening to this week. I shared them over on Tik Tok if you wanna hear them (@ donnieharko)

If I still have wifi (seriously it could go out at any moment) I’ll post a life update ASAP. 

LESIBU GRAND - WFS 

Started in 2017, Lesibu Grand started when lead singer Tyler - Simone Molton and  John Renaud “bumped into each other to each other Pains of Being Pure at Heart show at The Earl in East Atlanta.” According to everywhere I look, the two were already acquaintances before the encounter but I’m not sure to what extent. The two met up afterwards to discuss what their goals would be as a band and -- clearly -- they stuck together! Tyler-SImone’s musical taste ranges from hip hop, punk and metal. In an interview Tyler-Simone said growing up she was called an, “Orch-Dork” bcuz she played the violin. She was also a cheerleader. John previously played in both rock and funk bands! 

This song, “WTS” is dope. Go ahead stop reading and press play and listen to them. Tyler-Simone said that they wrote the song to reflect their feelings during the Trump era. The song, “WFS,” evaluates all of our shortcomings as a society and how, frankly, we seem to go on with our lives, comfortable with leaving our most vulnerable out to dry. 

Go listen to it. We’ve gotten no better as a society. Our leaders have truly failed us. But this song makes me feel seen, heard, and I guess a bit disappointed in some of my own inaction during the last few years. Climate change has won, maybe i should’ve fought harder. I’ll think about that and get back to you. 

I guess its too late now. The Promise Land games are beginning on Monday. We lost. But I can’t get into that right now. 

Until then, stream WFS. 

Just a place for Black punks and alternatives to chill and for me to collect Black punk shit. My name’s Harley or Harko: Sammich maker by day (I actually love my job, stop by if you’re ever in the Wisconsin Dells) and punker/game lover by night. Wanted to be in a punk band growing up but it was too hard. So now I’m just here for the music. 

This is a place to hide. I’ve grown up in a small town in the midwest my whole life. Instead of going to college and spiraling into debt, I decided to stay in my small town and work, much to the disappointment of... well everyone lol. So this is my hideaway when home becomes too much. A safe space for the lost souls who grew up to be “disappointments.” You’re not. We’re not.  This isn’t my first account and I usually keep my Tumblr posts private but, idk I just felt the need to open up. Why stay private when connection is so hard right now? 

Things are so weird bad right now. I don’t know what comes next. I mean --  you know, I won’t get into it rn. Anyways, I just need a place to hide and vibe and head bang.  My service is p spotty but Ill try n check in as much as possible. 

Shout out to all of the Black artists who paved the way for us to do this now. 

H 

(My current fave: Big Joanie - “Dream Number 9″)