I too, grew up in the PNW in the nineties and feel emotional about this post. My relationship to the scene was a little different as person of color, but the sentiments in the music permeated nearly all of the environments I found myself in. Actually this line "Abuse is a different kind of fast zombie you can’t see on the poster." feels like a proper title for something and feels very PNW somehow. As does the smell of Subway through the rainy streets of Portland.
In some alternate timeline, I love imagining having time and space to talk about our parallels in time and place... and of course also catch up about this time and place. But you are inching closer in proximity so maybe this is just foreshadowing.
This is so timely, I'm about 85% through listening to Rebel Girl as an audiobook! I feel the same voyeuristic feelings - I also grew up in the PNW, but was an infant during the punk heyday of the 90s, so definitely was not attending the shows that I now read about. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein is one of my favorite books for this reason - it's cool to read about the place that I grew up in and love so much, and a scene that I would have loved to participate in if I were not literally 3 years old. I feel like the magic of punk in the PNW has evaporated since the 90s, so I feel this sort of odd yearning for a moment that has passed and I believe will not return in the same way, and really cling to the pride I feel being from a place that was so formative for 90s culture.
Thanks for your additional book recs in this newsletter, and also for that killer pic of your scrapbook! Is that a page from the 90s, or a recent page made with materials you collected back in the day? I also hoard old tickets and printed materials but don't usually journal with them until much later.
Love this perspective from a totally different generation impacted by the ripple... That page is straight out of a falling a part scrapbook from the 90s that I wish I would of NOT used masking tape and glue stick in. But it kept it all together this long, so better than nothing.
This is so good Faythe. I just finished listening to Rebel Girl and deeply enjoyed it. Love how you talk about nostalgia too. SO GOOD! Thank you for taking the time to write!
I too, grew up in the PNW in the nineties and feel emotional about this post. My relationship to the scene was a little different as person of color, but the sentiments in the music permeated nearly all of the environments I found myself in. Actually this line "Abuse is a different kind of fast zombie you can’t see on the poster." feels like a proper title for something and feels very PNW somehow. As does the smell of Subway through the rainy streets of Portland.
In some alternate timeline, I love imagining having time and space to talk about our parallels in time and place... and of course also catch up about this time and place. But you are inching closer in proximity so maybe this is just foreshadowing.
I'm jumping into that timeline in August :) Just lmk what works for you.
This is so timely, I'm about 85% through listening to Rebel Girl as an audiobook! I feel the same voyeuristic feelings - I also grew up in the PNW, but was an infant during the punk heyday of the 90s, so definitely was not attending the shows that I now read about. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein is one of my favorite books for this reason - it's cool to read about the place that I grew up in and love so much, and a scene that I would have loved to participate in if I were not literally 3 years old. I feel like the magic of punk in the PNW has evaporated since the 90s, so I feel this sort of odd yearning for a moment that has passed and I believe will not return in the same way, and really cling to the pride I feel being from a place that was so formative for 90s culture.
Thanks for your additional book recs in this newsletter, and also for that killer pic of your scrapbook! Is that a page from the 90s, or a recent page made with materials you collected back in the day? I also hoard old tickets and printed materials but don't usually journal with them until much later.
Love this perspective from a totally different generation impacted by the ripple... That page is straight out of a falling a part scrapbook from the 90s that I wish I would of NOT used masking tape and glue stick in. But it kept it all together this long, so better than nothing.
This is so good Faythe. I just finished listening to Rebel Girl and deeply enjoyed it. Love how you talk about nostalgia too. SO GOOD! Thank you for taking the time to write!
Appreciate this feedback Kate!! I can't wait to see you later this summer...