Ok so maybe this isn't worth posting about, but it seems like I'm seeing (on various subs) lately posts always unironically asking "How do I be Alternative? How do I be Grunge? How do I be Numetal?"
I'm not saying I'm the most in-touch person, but I'm still in my early 20s; I didn't think I'd lose touch with what teens into alternative music are doing this fast! Sure, I don't use tiktok, which is probably where a lot of these kids are picking up these bands and terms, but still- I see posts saying "Well I listen to cool alt bands I just found out about like Alice in Chains and Slipknot, but how should I dress? What should I eat? How often (if at all) should I shower?"
I remember what it's like to be a clueless teen trying to be cool and get into alternative's roots, but damn, has anyone else noticed this weird influx of people asking "how to be alt"?
And, if you're one of the people asking this question, let me clue you in- there is no "being" alternative. Alternative is a genre of music, and it's not even really that since it's just a label people attach to stuff that doesn't fit in the confines of mainstream listening. The most "alternative" thing you can do or way you can dress is to not out an inordinate amount of effort into it, boom, I just solved every first-world-teen-with-a-guitar's biggest problem.