[Below is an article I wrote for a friend’s now defunct webzine Mob Front. This was three of four articles that appeared on the webzine before it closed. In short, I spent a far amount of time researching this topic and repost this in hopes that people mix pop-journalism with academic undertones.]

Looking like a punk is not too difficult. From Wal-Mart to Amazon, punk’s imagery can be bought and sold just as easily as any other identity. Although punk’s identity can be packaged as a commodity, it still lingers in communities and groups throughout the world. One of these communities is Punknews.org, an online news site that updates users about the latest reviews, releases, and stories concerning punk and other related genres. Punknews reflects how an online (immaterial) community can have a physical identity. Although Punknews does not have a physical body, its virtual body allows users to project their wishes/desires onto the stories and bands found on the site. This phenomenon allows users to experience the site in a way that allows them to maintain an illusion about how they and others should look and act on- and offline.

Necessary Illusions

What happens when this illusion is shown as an illusion? That is, what happens when the illusion of a website’s collective identity is revealed as imaginary? Seminal works like Dick Hebdige’s Subculture: The Meaning of Style (1979) are often used to define the role of punks in a society: a group of individuals who, once recognized as a subculture, begin a slow process of being commoditized into mainstream culture (Hebdige).

But, the image and role of punk and style has changed greatly since Hebdige’s work. Punk, style, and subcultures are often more complicated when the Internet is involved. Punknews is part of this complication because the image it displays does not depict what average users look like. In order to understand how the community on Punknews is viewed and how it views itself, people must examine popular bands featured on the site.

Illusions are necessary for maintaining a person’s relevance in reality. Jousha Gunn and Celeste Michelle Condit argue that people (agents) who strive to change the world (agency) operate under an “illusion” or a fantasy that maintains a continual sense of relevance. Gunn argues people operate with illusions that will shield them from “the abject horror of contingency” (qtd. in Geisler 12). Gunn suggests how illusions protect people from uncertainty and offer them their-own reassurance. Moreover, Condit claims illusions are necessary; these illusions allow people to rationalize their efforts (Geisler 12).

Although Gunn and Condit’s argument is rhetorical, their logic has application in a boarder context. People can interact in situations where their importance and relevance are replicated. This replication is part of a larger trend to rationalize one’s actions in uncertain situations. Through Gunn and Condit, illusions are fantasies that allow people to continually experience a relevant reality, a place that helps them maintain a balance between themselves, their wishes, desires, fears, and anxieties. People do not need a complex network of operations or procedures to produce these illusions, but simple, everyday outlets that allow easy access to visible objects. Once people establish an illusion, their relevance is almost guaranteed.

Projecting onto the Body

Many people practice a human condition of projection, an active process of “projecting” a person’s emotions or wishes that cannot be acknowledged in oneself, but are “projected” onto another person or entity (Childers and Hentiz 245-46). With sites like Punknews, projection of the body is not a simple task. With so many bands, so many images, so many records, users have a seemingly limitless supply. Projection on this site offers users an endless amount of bodies to project unfulfilled wishes onto. What users face is locating an image to project onto and develop an illusion that maintains this projection. In other words, when users encounter an image which is worthy of projection, these users are actively contributing to an illusion of this image—which embodies not only their wishes and emotions, but also their identities, norms, values, and attitudes.

Against Me! began as an anarchist-folk-punk band in 1997. With a series of EPs, Against Me! released its first full length album Reinventing Axl Rose in 2002. As of March 29, 2014, the band has 51 reviews on the site and countless stories, interviews, tour dates, and other band updates. As the lead singer and lyricist, Tom Gabel became a popular musician on the site, often being the main focus in many articles. Since the launch date of the site (1999) and the release of Against Me!’s debut (2002) are close, Gabel and his music have become one of the main aspects associated with the site. In fact, looking at the first review of Against Me!, user FeedMyNightmare’s insight about an Against Me! performance demonstrates a connection users have with the group:

Then the moment I had been waiting for months. Against Me! set up and played one of the most emotional intense sets this side of Shai Hulud [a band]. There was no room to move, but still I rocked me heart out. My friend didn’t have any room to dance so that bummed me out a little. He is a dancing machine. They played ‘Pints of Guiness make you strong’, ‘Walking is Still honest’, three more then finished off with ‘I still love you julie’. I advise anyone that likes emotional heart felt music to check these bands out.

FeedMyNightmare’s review suggests, since Against Me!’s first review on the site, how the band became an integral part of the Punknews community. The entire persona of Against Me!—from music to group members—became an object for users to project onto. As the lead singer of the group, Gabel acted as center object for users’ projections.

When an illusion is exposed, people are placed into a moment of crisis, a moment when they must rationalize the image and then reconstruct or abandon it. Punknews does not have a central image (i.e., an official mascot or spokesperson) and presents users with a basic visual template that has them focus of content (i.e., stories, reviews, discussions, etc.). Punknews’ template has users develop the identity of the site through commentary and user submitted reviews and stories. As a user favorite on the site, Gabel is an example of how a basic website can still develop a stereotypical physical appearance for users. When users see Gabel or hear Against Me!’s music, they are allowed to project onto these aspects. But, on May 7, 2012 news broke that Gabel was outing himself as a transgender individual. Tom Gabel becoming Laura Jane Grace demonstrates how exposed illusions will be reconstructed or abandoned by a community of users who helped develop it.

How a Site without a Distinct Body produces a Stereotypical User Body

When looking at the site, the body of the site is seemingly simple. While the site contains headers, navigation bars, live news streams, top stories, and current reviews, its complexity is found within its user commentary. User commentary drives Punknews. From user submitted reviews, stories, and discussions, the commentary of these categories lets users become more active and strengthens a sense of the community on the site. As stated on the site’s FAQ, “Punknews.org is a community-driven website publishing news on punk rock and related genres since 1999” (“Frequently Asked Questions”). As a site driven by community, identifying what the body of the site should visualize is difficult. Since punk rock is intended to be an inclusive environment looking for like-minded individuals (Pete Shelly qtd. in Gee), Punknews has a simple body in order to maintain inclusivity. In other words, a site that projects a certain type of user body (e.g., Bodybuilding.com or Elle.com) could cast an unattainable illusion, an image that few users can attain. Whereas, sites with basic layouts like Punknews maintain an easy illusion to attain (or at least project onto).

Looking at one of the first Against Me! reviews, the body of the review summarizes the body of the user: this image could be anybody (see review screenshot below).

Looking at the head of the review, users see three things: 1) As the Eternal Cowboy album cover 2) reviewer rating 3) user rating. Although the reviewer rating and the user rating are two different ratings, they are not too far apart (4 ½ stars to 5 stars). Seeing this rating, other users can get a sense that As the Eternal Cowboy is at least a quality album. But, what is overlooked is not the mass of user comments (which start November 7, 2002 and continue until January 24, 2014); it is the image to the left of the rating [1]. What users see is the body of a musician. Even if it’s an image of the then Tom Gabel, users can see an idealized object: a jean vested, patch wearing, guitar holding cowboy dressed in black.

Gabel is an object that users can project onto. While some people think punk is a visual aesthetic of black leather, safety pins, and spiked mohawks, Punknews is not that. The site has a basic layout surrounded with neutral blue colors. By not identifying what a mass of users should look like, Punknews avoids generating a unified image. But, the concept of users projecting themselves onto images can still happen. As the Eternal Cowboy review functions as an example of what the user could idealize: young white males that come from a population where style (visual aesthetics) is not championed over substance (music). Even if substance is the stronger value among these users, some users cannot escape the subtle influences of the site. In other words, when some users see the 4 ½ star rating of As the Eternal Cowboy, they cannot escape this positive rating being associated with the sole image of the review. At this juncture, they project a wish or an emotion when gazing at the review. Be it a positive or a negative comment, users interact within the site to establish the Punknews’ community. At this time, Tom Gabel could act as an embodiment for what an average user strives to be. Or at least what the average Punknews musician should be.

Since the advent of the Internet, traditional community identity has been questioned within music. Holly Kruse suggests:

Indie music can now be disseminated online, and people can connect easily across localities, regions, countries, and continents. As Internet options for the discussion and sharing of indie music increase, the local spaces devoted to interaction around music are changing, and sometimes disappearing. Increasingly in the years since the 1980s and early 1990s, the Internet has become a key player in the production, promotion, dissemination, and consumption of independent music. (625)

Kruse suggests how the Internet has become a major force for spreading music to more people. Since Punknews’ launch date, the site has gained attention from people within the independent music community. Brett Gurewtiz, a founder of the punk band Bad Religion and independent record label Epitaph, has searched Punknews to find potential bands (“New York Times is Talking About The Getaway”). Punknews has not made a new community in itself, but it has been affiliated and normalized into the changing face of a larger punk online collective. Not only do average users visit the site, but also veteran punks like Gurwetiz visit as well. Like other aspects of the Internet, the site has not stopped local independent scenes (Kruse 626). If anything, it allows more people to associate themselves with aspects of a punk community without getting too involved with punk norms and values.

However, now being an outlet for punks and other subcultures (metal, thrash, experimental, indie, etc.), Punknews has developed a user image (as much as it tries to avoid it). This type of image has been labeled as “orgcore”. This image is often derogatory. For example, orgcore has been described on Urban Dictionary as “Mockingly derived term referring to an assortment of punk rock bands, most notably from but not limited to such subgenres as folk-punk, melodic hardcore and pop-punk, acclaimed by message board members frequenting the website punknews.org” (“Orgcore”). Even if online sites like Urban Dictionary allow non-authoritative users to update its content, this group of users are members of the same type of online community like Punknews. Therefore, as one subculture of users (Urban Dictionary) defines another subculture of users (Punknews), their interaction mainly focuses on stereotypical visual content. In fact, artist Rob Dobi has illustrated and verbalized what an orgcorester would like (which is hauntingly accurate): “…while his fashion might not be as over-the-top as other scenesters, he’s just as identifiable with his signature scraggly beard, cowboy shirt, Jade Tree alumni tattoos, and swamp-like smell” (par. 3).

This image is often Dobi’s illustration reflects Punknews users’ objects of protection or objects that embody the visual representation of average users. The orgcore visual identity can be traced to such popular Punknews musicians as Hot Water Music, Lawrence Arms, and The Flatliners (see images below).

Looking at the visual level of these musicians stresses a certain degree of accuracy in Dobi’s illustration. To the extent that his representation of an orgcore user could easily be placed into anyone of these three pictures without seeming out of place to a causal viewer (disregarding that Dobi’s image is a cartoon).   From facial hair to flannel shirts, Dobi’s illustration suggests a correlation between a user’s projection onto these musicians. Establishing an image to project onto requires a certain degree of familiarity for some users. Unlike physically dominating, muscular-male figures, the orgcore figure represents an average, almost everyday identity. With a subculture invested in a DIY attitude and a preference for being authentic, these musicians represent, in their own ways, not only a common visual identity, but also an identity that embodies a subculture’s values and norms. In unison, these musicians from the clothes they wear to the music they produce, give users an image and attitude that fosters their projection. In turn, Punknews users could feel more comfortable with projection if the images they attach themselves to are not too dissimilar from the average user.

Although Dobi’s illustration is mocking Punknews, what is interesting is the Against Me! shirt that the average user is wearing. This illustration is only Dobi’s interpretation, but even he associates Against Me! with the site. Users cannot deny that this one image, if only in jest, has a good point. When people think about what Punknews users like, they often think along the same lines as Dobi and picture a bearded 20-30 year old male with iconic band art, beer in hand, and some connection to Against Me! At the time of the Dobi’s illustration, Against Me! was not too dissimilar from the average user. Given the band’s popularity at the time within the site, the band became almost like a beacon, giving some users guidance into what to wear, think, and act like outside the site.

The association between Against Me! and Punknews is not absolute, but it still has a relative importance. When Tom Gabel was the figurehead of Against Me!, he became the embodiment of what some users could project themselves onto. Many of Against Me!’s songs are about romantic relationships, community unity, social issues, and lifestyle. Take these themes and add some folk, rock and punk to them, Tom Gabel via Against Me! was the average user. To a certain extent, As the Eternal Cowboy’s lyrical continuity in the song “Cavalier Eternal” demonstrates an aspect of orgcore’s identity:

Me and this guitar are going swinging blind into the unknown/ You know a song and a stage is all I never needed of a home/ Someday I will call from a payphone in a truckstop on the road/ And you’ll tell me how much better off you’ve been on your own. (Grace)

Gabel develops a notion of a solidary musician, mildly heartbroken, only with a guitar, stage, and road as his company. As one of the final lines of the album, “And you’ll tell me how much better off you’ve been on your own” leaves listeners with a certain sense of abandonment. Although this lyrical sentimentality could be seen as slightly melodramatic, Gabel’s lyrics further the notion of the orgcore’s identity as a lone and struggling musician who, no matter what relationship fails, will always have music to fall back on (this could be the “emotional” aspect that user FeedMyNightmare is alluding to). With Gabel’s visual style and the substance of his lyrics, Punknews’ community found an entity to project onto: a solitary punk-rock cowboy always pining for the girl that got away.

 Illusions as Illusions    

On May 8, 2012 Punknews ran a story that generated 1342 comments, which far surpasses the average number of comments. This story is entitled “Against Me!’s Gabel comes out as Transgendered” :

This story, although brief, begins to tell the users’ reactions to Tom Gabel’s transformation into Laura Jane Grace. The initial comments to the story show two sides of Punknews. The first comment by user Bearded states “More like Tom Gay-Bel”. Whereas the second comment by user Badrook states “Fuck off forever” (it’s a reaction to Bearded). The mass of comments began within the first few days of the post, but continued to generate comments until June 22, 2012 (see chart below).

 This post generated over 1000 comments within 48 hours, which surpasses the average the amount of comments (if not sets a record for largest amount of user comments on the site). Looking at the depth of the comments, the mass amount of these comments demonstrates how users are actively trying to reconstruct the illusion of Gabel/Grace. In other words, if users read the story and were not previously invested with Gabel or Against Me!, the amount of comments could be less. But, since Gabel was already an integral part of the orgcore identity, users must consider how Grace will or will not be part of Punknews’ established identity (i.e, an illusion). Otherwise, they will have to acknowledge the arbitrary notion of lack that safeguards them from the dynamics of power relations among their community.

Although the story appears to be neutral (after all, the Punknews is just releasing facts about Laura Jane Grace), the commentary is not. This juncture separates the information found on Punknews from the experience provided by Punknews. Simon Frith describes the musician and the audience as both performers during the concert experience (205). He states that “The performance artist depends on an audience which can interpret her work through its own experience of performance, its own understanding of seduction and pose, gesture and body language. . .” (205).

What users could have a difficult time adapting to is not Against Me!’s music (which has not changed since Laura Jane Grace), but their roles as fans of Gabel/Grace. As Frith suggests, audience members have their own performance during the concert experience. During this performance, some fans could be projecting their own wishes, desires, and emotions onto the performer. This type of interaction aids them in not only the musical experience, but also the experience after the performance—where they have to continually maintain a certain aspect of the illusion that support their projection. In other words, for a site built around music and musical performances, users often rely on the roles of performer/audience member and musician/fan. The transformation of Laura Jane Grace marks a transformation in Punknews users. In a sense that if one of the flagships of the site makes a change, how does this change affect the community that surrounds Grace’s life and music? If the experience of the site is centered on the image depicted by Dobi, how does a transgender identity change that experience for users?

The question of sexual identity can be a scripted aspect of any community. Be it music or visual ascetics, some members often need a common identity to reference (if not for themselves, for at least others). Although there are numerous female users on the site, the male identity is constantly being examined. Varying with time and culture, sexual scripts often provide frameworks, guidelines, and agendas for the sexual feelings and behaviors of males or females (Shaw and Lee 170). These scripts, along with the views of others, will infiltrate their way into the lives of users, setting up an outline of acceptable and expected behaviors. The issue isn’t how users should feel when Tom Gabel sings a song about romance, but how users should feel when Laura Jane Grace sings the same song. This potential crisis has little clarity for outlining the exact behaviors for users reacting to Gabel becoming Grace.

Grace’s transformation into a woman exposes orgcore’s visual identity as an illusion. Some popular musicians have established their illusions by displaying a sense of “one of us” to their audience. Frith comments that:

A skilled rock and role player like Bruce Springsteen seems to adopt the same attitude to his songs, to his band, and to his own performance as the audience itself, and in taking our place, living our reality, he thus enacts his own star persona, as one of us. (211)

 

As Frith suggests, a musician has an ability to appear like “one of us” to an audience. When Tom Gabel embodied the male persona, he could appear to be just like any other male user: a young man dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans, singing songs of social protest and romance. As this persona, he was not too dissimilar from the collective body of users. Male and female users can rely on sexual scripts (social constructs) to guide their reactions to Gabel’s male persona. But, when Gabel became a transgendered individual, Grace’s ability to appear as “one of us” is not without complications for users. As a man, users could easily see Gabel as representative of the Punknews collective. As a woman, users cannot see Grace as easily. What makes their understanding of Grace complicated is the fact that musically and lyrically, Against Me! has not change drastically; it is still a collection of sentimental songs about romance, social issues, and abandonment. Now when Grace sings songs like “Cavalier Eternal”, users are forced to ask themselves “If I once thought he was one of us, can she be one us?” If anything, Grace’s transformation could be seen as an existential question about self-identity. It is exactly this type of examination that lets users see the visual embodiment of orgcore as illusionary. Only when users see how the visual representation of orgcore is an illusion, they will be able to understand how the site’s (and the larger punk rock community’s) power relations operate and how these relations maintain themselves. It will allow users to see how the site’s values and norms will either embrace or ridicule people like Grace.

Discussion

“Yeah, this place has been on the decline for some time now. Seems like they post fewer news stories than ever, and when they do post them it’s usually a day or two after the fact. I’ve submitted numerous things to be posted, even including my own writeup so they wouldn’t have to write anything. I’d say maybe 1 out of 10 items I’ve submitted has actually gotten posted in the last couple years, so I’ve just stopped bothering with it.” (April 14, 2014)

Punknews user Fattony    

As users like Fattony suggest, traffic on Punknews has declined. This decline brings up an interesting concept concerning subcultures. Peterson and Benett suggest that scenes are “kept in motion by a series of gigs, club nights, fairs and similar events where fans coverage, communication, and reinforce their sense of belonging to a particular scene” (11; italics mine). The “motion” on Punknews may be in decline. Since the site was bought out by BuzzMedia (now know as SpinMedia) in 2012, there has been a change in the site (“BuzzMedia acquires Four Leading Punk Properties to form AbsoluteVoices Publishing Group”). Other users like Fattony have noticed the decline in community participation: “Back in the day, this story would get at least 100 comments. Now it can’t even muster up 50 coments. This site is a shell of what it was 10, even 5 years ago” (SydBarrett420). BuzzMedia’s acquisition of Punknews could have removed it from the community driven aspect of the site’s origin. If a scene cannot keep a steady sense of motion, Fattony’s comment suggests that while users like him/her stay active (or try to) more users will begin the “come and go” motion common in other music scenes (Haenfler).

The story of Gabel becoming Grace suggests two possibilities: a static site or an active site. As of March 29, 2014, this story has generated 1342 comments. As a static site, this story would be a strange anomaly that suggests, if anything, Gabel/Grace is defibrillating the site in an attempt to get it to become active again. As an active site, this would be an example that, although the current user activity is low, Punknews is still actively keeping users connected to current issues in the larger punk-rock community. Due to a “come and go” motion of music scenes, time is a factor to see if Punknews will still be an active part of the online punk community.

When a pillar of Punknews’ community undergoes a major transformation, users’ experience of the site could change. In other words, looking at how the image of a grizzly looking orgcore punk is depicted, there is little room for a fashion conscious transsexual. Since Grace’s outing, she still receives a fair amount of coverage on the site. Against Me!’s latest album Transgender Dysphoria Blues has a reviewer rating and user rating of 4 stars (Thepopeof-chili Town). At the moment, Against Me! has not lost popularity on the site, which could be a testament to the music and/or fan base. Although the user participation may be in a decline, user’s interest in Against Me! does not seem connected to this trend. Again, time is the only factor to see if Against Me! will alter the way users experience Grace and the site.

There is a crossroad between the virtual body of a website and the physical body of the user. But when sites like Punknews display as neutral persona, the site can still develop a physical body image among its users. The site’s coverage of Laura Jane Grace highlights how a site reacts to its community’s image being questioned. If the community’s attitude toward Grace takes a negative turn (which probably won’t happen in 2014), the site will still maintain a stereotype similar to Dobi’s illustration. Grace complicates a male centric image and has users do more self-reflection about gender norms and social constructs. This type of self-reflection may urge users to see how a seemingly accurate visual representation of a group of people may not be an absolute representation. In the end, some users may end up projecting their unfulfilled wishes and emotions onto Grace’s new music or could revert to the idealized notion of Gabel. No matter their choice, their projections may maintain the illusion of the site and keep it a thriving part of the online punk community.

 

Worked Cited

Adam. “Against Me!’s Tom Gabel comes out as Transgender.” Punknews. Spin Media, 8 May 2012. Web. 29 March 2014.

Against Me!. Reinventing Axl Rose. No Idea, 2002. LP/CD.

Andy. “Against Me! As the Eternal Cowboy Review.” Punknews. Spin Media, 7 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 March 2014.

“BuzzMedia acquires Four Leading Punk Properties to form AbsoluteVoices Publishing Group.” Archive Online. Internet Archive, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 7 May 2014.

Childers, Joseph and Gary Hentzi. The Colunbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism. New York: Columbia U P, 1995. Print.

Dobi, Rob. “Orgcore Punker.” Yourscencesucks Online. Rob Dobi, n.d. Web. 29 March 2014.

Fattony. “Details emerge about the Charges Against Steven Klein (ex-New Found Glory).” Punknews. Spin Media, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 May 2014.

FeedMyNightmare. “Against Me!/Grabass Charlestons/Army of Ponch.” Punknews. Spin Media, 13 Dec. 2002. Web. 7 May 2014

Frith, Simon. Performaning Rites. London: Routledge, 1995. Print.

Gee, Grant, dir. Joy Division. Weinstein, 2007. Film.

Grace, Laura Jane. “Caviler Eternal.” Against Me! as the Eternal Cowboy. Fat Werk Cords, 2003. LP/CD.

Haenfler, R. Goths, Gamers, and Grrls: Deviance and Youth Subcultures. Oxford, Oxford Press U P, 2010. Print.

Hebdige, Dick. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Routledge, 1979. Print.

Kruse, Holly. “Local Identity and Independent Music Scene: On and Offline.” Popular Music and Society 33.5 (Dec. 2010). Print.

Peterson, R.A. and A. Bennett. “Introducing Music Scenes.” Music Scenes: Local, Translocal, and Virtual. Nashville: Vanderbilt U, 2004. Print.

“New York Times is Talking About The Getaway.” Epitaph. Epitaph Records, 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 March 2014.

“Orgcore.” Urban Dictionary. Urban Dictionary, n.d. Web. 20 March 2014.

Shaw, Susan and Janet Lee. Women’s Voice’s, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. Print.

Sydbarrett420. “Details emerge about the Charges Against Steven Klein (ex-New Found Glory).” Punknews. Spin Media, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 May 2014.

Thepopeof-chili Town. “Against Me!: Transsexual Dysphoria Blues Review. Punknews. Punknews, 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 March 2014.

 

 

[1] Although all reviews of albums on Punknews show the album art, this is still the primary image showed in the review.