Young Writers Society

Drugs sex and rock and roll. Its been denounced as a hopeless and deprived idea by the mainstream since the idea first arose, but oh no more. Depravity is the in thing these days. The artists all sing about it, the kids all follow it. Granted, this has been going on for a while, but this time its different. No longer is it a sign of rebellion, its the norm, no longer are groups that talk about shocking things shocking. This generation is growing up with the notion that sex drugs and rock and roll are counter culture, theyre growing up with the notion that it is the main culture. Recklessness is “in” these days, and the youth are conforming to it in mass quantities. It doesnt matter if youve never actually sat down and listened to a Bob Dylan song, quote him on facebook and hang pictures of him on your wall. You will be received with praise from your fellow piers who also have never actually sat down and really LISTENED to Dylan. It is no longer about the message, its about the image. Ask any young person about the cultural and sociological implications of Buffalo soldier by Bob Marley and I promise on average they will not know what the song even implies. But not to worry for them, because as long as they are listening to the right music and making all of the right wrong decisions for the wrong reasons they will be accepted into the growing mainstream drug and alcohol driven pop culture market. Its sickening to think that these fashion and music industries can morally do this, because they do know what theyre doing. Do you honestly think that Joe Strummer of the Clash would have let Hot Topic sell t-shirts of his bands? To be honest, would any of the true original anti establishment bands let this happen? No, they wouldnt. Kids who werent even born when Joe Strummer, Jimi Hendrix, or Hunter Thompson DIED are now joining this rebellion bandwagon that is being driven by the marketing teams of corporate America. It is true, I am also a bit young for these icons, but at least I know what the real message is, and I can see through all of the marketing bullshit. What ever happened to the true drunk, stoner, speed freak? The ones who were looked down upon and still managed to be a youth leader despite what corporate america tried to shove down the throat of the youth. At this point in teenage society its more non conformist to walk around in suites, never swear, and believe in democracy than to do the opposite. I think The Clash said it best in “White man in Hammersmith Palais”, 'The new groups are not concerned, with what there is to be learned. They got Burton suites, ha you think its funny, turning Rebellion into Money'. So I encourage you, the youth, to not let the media desensitize you. Smoking weed and drinking too much is not cool, in fact its the opposite, and I cant believe ive actually written that because I myself am the same as you. I guess my point is not to quite that stuff, but to steer clear of the market that has been growing around it. Stop quoting Bob Marley, listen to his songs. Stop hanging up pictures of Dylan on your wall, read his lyrics and think about them. Stop trying to be stupid acting like youre spontaneous, try to be smart and BE spontaneous. Dont recite dumb quotes about getting drunk while being drunk, recite smart quotes about life and talk about them while being drunk. There needs to be a youth revolt along the same line as our predecessors in the sixties, but not along the lines of what Hot Topic and Budweiser want. Unite, create your own music, think of your own witty quotes, take your own pictures. Stop feeding off this over marketed time machine culture and start making your own revolution. That is all, i've lost my drunk and im going to bed. Thank you.

Hello there, Jakesweden, and welcome to YWS. I, ArticulateOverlord, shall be your reviewer today.

I must admit that your title is what caught my eye. A youth revolution and Hot Topic? Such incongruity piqued my interest. Well done with that.

Unfortunately, the rest of this piece did everything in its power to smother that interest under a tide of grammar mistakes, leaps of logic, and a very visible lack of paragraphing. The first sentence, for instance, is rather obviously missing commas. Considering that the first sentence is the first thing a reader sees, having such a rudimentary error in your first sentence is quite the deterrent for readers. It also indicates (truthfully or not) to your reader that you did not care much about writing this piece, which leads your reader to wonder why he should care to read it.

Might I suggest that, next time you write something while drunk/high, you wait before you're sober and have edited before posting? Drunken rants are hardly the most accessible reading material, and if you have a message, there are better ways to convey it, such as in a well-reasoned essay.

- Art

This is interesting, to say the least. I would agree that some of the points you make in this work are valid, but all of the negatives to this piece deter from its effectiveness. I also agree with ArticulateOverlord, the grammar mistakes and the lack of sentence structure deter from your work's effectiveness.

After reading this I'd love for you to look at my pieces of writing. Even though I doubt you use this forum and that people actually understood what you were getting at. If your still about PM me so you could maybe review something of mine Thanks

J.A.C