T/S: Aging Mod Dudes vs Aging Punk Dudes

Isn't the first pic Liam Gallagher in 5 years minutes from now?

haha, I have spent all the time since this poll was posted looking at that trying to work out if it's Liam Gallagher or not.

Yes, Liam Gallagher rocking the haircut favoured by Media Studies lecturers in FE and guys who hang around the bar at Northern Soul nights.

Ideally the model Punk guy would have a septum piercing and a copy of Socialist Worker under his arm but I was working on a US hegemonic search engine.

thread collision!

He would occasionally drop in on my mod band

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/jan/05/popandrock

Harris looks like he could teach BTEC National Diploma Music in his sleep.

the lazy punk aesthetic refuses to die in u.s., too. people here are too dumb and uncouth to do the mod thing, though

Don't they have Ben Sherman shirts in America?

Anyway these are both despicable obv but I thought we shd have a change from "who's the worst?"

older punx in the u.s. would probably be a little more grungey gutter punk usually...u.k. always had a certain element to punk that felt like everyone was dressing up for halloween

older mod dudez can look kinda cool IMO but i'm so removed from it maybe it's annoying in the u.k. if you actually see it.

mods are kinda like unicorns to me, like i'm just kinda blown away to actually see one on the rare occaission that i do

surely mod dudes are worse via smug aura from having 'won' (in their view) popular culture?

Older UK punks are grubbier than the guy in the pic too, it was just the first usable GIS I came across.

I think the Mod guys might well be worse, and it is down to how they carry themselves mostly yes.

yeah, there are ben sherman shirts in america. i have seen them on s. people who fetishize mod stuff and b. racist skinhead types

older punx in the u.s. would probably be a little more grungey gutter punk usually...u.k. always had a certain element to punk that felt like everyone was dressing up for halloween

i see both varieties everyday. nomadic homeless crusty punks panhandling, and halloween sorts with the haircuts, black leather, spikes, swimming in tattoos, etc.

there are more mods on the west coast, i think? i'm sure there are tons of u.s.-based scooter clubs on facebook

yeah, there are ben sherman shirts in america. i have seen them on s. people who fetishize mod stuff and b. racist skinhead types

freudian slip-- "s" for suggest, "b" ban

those being my favorite brands of underarm deodorant

You occasionally see the ageing mod who hasn't changed his outfit in thirty years (and, even better, the officially old original mod who hasn't changed his in fifty, although those dudes are probably a bit crazy), but I don't know that I've ever seen a 50-year-old guy decked out in the full Richard Hell kit. So I side with the punks. Or the mods. Someone give me some criteria to work with.

Wd you rather hang with dude who won't shut up about Paul Weller or won't shut up about Steve Ignorant? Me I'm siding with the latter.

but I don't know that I've ever seen a 50-year-old guy decked out in the full Richard Hell kit.

i see this in u.s.

in america i would rather hang out with hypothetical mod dude. in u.k, i'd probably go the other way.

it is funny how mod subculture never took off here. too much cowboy values, suspicion of all things fancy, european, i guess?

there was a lil scene in early 80s california, along with ppl into 2tone + uk ska.

yeah, i mean there were mod bands from cleveland during that period, but it never really took off in america. like, grand funk railroad never went through a mod phase.

I am tangentially acquainted with a bunch of aging mod types in Chicago. They seem to always have good w33d. Also pretty heavy anglophiles iirc.

midwest cognoscenti holler

old punk people always seem super cute to me, especially if they have spikes, backpatches, the whole nine. especially especially if they are pushing strollers and drinking coffee in the early morning. i always want to say "wow you are so perfect and cute" and take them home (in miniature form) and put them on a shelf so i can admire them periodically.

ugh i hate those people

where i live those ppl turn out to be foaming-at-the-mouth racists, without exception

oh

:(

i don't talk to them, so my admiration remains unmarred

so so many in portland

they probably are awesome. i'm just severely prejudiced

I think they shd let go.

Aging goths are the best. The people who made "Carpe Noctem" magazine lived in my hometown for a while...their kid was three or so years younger than me but we went to the same high school. He had dyed his hair purple and when people asked why he said, "Because my mom made me." And you got the feeling it was in some way partly true.

Aging seems to suit the goth aesthetic better, plus goths seem to naturally gravitate toward domestic bliss. It's a reasonably gender-mixed subculture.

The dudes I'm thinking of give off much more of a "last cowboy in town" vibe. Even tho there's fucking loads of them.

haha, noodle vague i admire your armchair anthropological spec

think you are "OTM"

Pro tip: 5 minute walks to the shops can provide useful material for ILX threads

nothing to do with you, but, i wake up sometimes at five am with "useful material for ilx threads" thank goodness i forget it all when morning light comes 'round

five minute walks to shops = me being too distracted looking at butts to be engaged in lofty ilx material

and i live near an art school so probably my leering is technically illegal or something

see this does all sound like classic thread material

at the very least epitomizes male ilxors' experience in any part of the world, i'm thinking

There was also a great lady in her 50s in my hometown who ran a headshop that also sold "goth accessories." Smoker's croak, still eyeliner doodles on her wrinkled face. She only liked two bands, though, Alice Cooper and Cradle of Filth. Half the stuff she sold was band merchandise, but only of those two bands, and then just drug stuff and Slave Labor Graphics comics and glitter. I think more stores should be run like this.

ha, wow. true lol

love that story/lady abbott (bt)

The first Saturday of every month she had a "dark convergence" of everyone having coffee at the truck stop.

i want to go to there

Aging seems to suit the goth aesthetic better, plus goths seem to naturally gravitate toward domestic bliss. It's a reasonably gender-mixed subculture.

but hey wait, i dunno about this. relative to west coast US, doesn't sync. cuz punks here is gender mixed and also domestically inclined, with the marrying and baby-making, etc. moreso than goths, who often seem to exist in semi-isolation, only ever seen out shopping with their moms, etc.

one time in college i was at this denny's and these dudes were sitting in a booth trying to write dark-themed speed metal lyrics

it was an eye-opener of sorts for twenty year-old me

what rhymes with "cadaver"? *grabs french fry*

palaver?

aging goths just look like barbara cartland

Filthy corpse
Rotting cadaver
Necrotic flesh
What a palaver

Living in the aging mod capital of the universe, I voting punx on this one.

finds television "quite vacuous" apart from First Dates, which sounds like some good middlebrow action for a leg-pumping fool on a push iron.

yes sorry NV i was being quote lazy appending that tweet here

No the Wiggins is closer to one of my initial impulses, it made me realise this was done better in the OG interior life of Nole Gallagher thread, of which that Wiggins piece is the vertiginous real life counterpart

I have a lot of love for many aging goths

People as individuals are always better than our straw figures of them but it's interesting how some people seem to want to externalize their affiliations more than others. And like 90 percent of threads this started off as self-psychoanalysis as much as anything.

Yeah I feel ya, I think I’m just sort of envious of people entrenched in subcultures like that*.. it sucks when a perfect vintage look is ruined by pulling outta cellphone.

*no doubt a romanticized vision of belonging... still love fashion and things

https://secure.i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02554/Alan-Johnson_2554079b.jpg

he recently said on the wireless it was his bestselling coming of age memoir that was his greatest legacy, he really underrates himself as a style icon though.

Still got his hair so it would be hilarious if he went for the Weller cut - but then he's an original mod and not a saddo Jam fan so unlikely.

70 yr old bloke with a Wellender is a pretty classy look, lol he's only 8 years older than Weller so should go for it.

Who is this person?

Also:

Aging Mick Jones Actually Lost In Supermarket

LONDON — Mick Jones, founding member and former guitarist/singer for the classic punk band the Clash, grew confused yesterday while shopping at a Tesco supermarket and could not decide if he should stick around or head for the exit, market security confirmed.

“I almost called for help — this old codger kept pacing, mumbling that he ‘came in here for the special offer.’ His cart was filled with coupons for tea, though, so I figured he knew what he was doing,” said Tesco produce and fish-and-chips specialist Jennifer Bronson. “I see a lot of geezers like him come in and wander the aisles aimlessly. Normally, it’s not a big deal — it gets them out of the house. But he was spooked by all the people coming up and taking pictures of him.”

former postman + home secretary and self styled ace-face, the most august Alan Johnson - he's basically a total dickhead.

(xp) Funnily enough, one of the few times, after I first moved to London, when I was excited to see a celebrity in the flesh was when I saw Mick Jones in an M&S Food shop and, I must admit, I did kinda follow him around for a few minutes.

When me and my girl were at the Velvet Underground gig, we were trying to get ice lollies out of the vending machines at the back of the hall. We succeeded, and turned back to watch the band, and right there was Mick Jones and some of his friends. Man, he was thin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQqG8em2Qss

There's a guy in his 40s who's regularly on my bus to and from work who convincingly wears the Ben Sherman shirt / jeans / work boots / parka combo. I think a lot of that is because he has a buzzcut rather than a Wellend or similar hairstyle. Although today he was wearing a Liam bucket hat, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that this was entirely for practically as it was very sunny and hot today. And I could hardly criticise his choice of headgear as I was wearing what my work colleagues refer to as a 'fishing hat' ie a repeatedly folded/crumpled up and sweated through khaki number from M&S.

practicality

aging goths >= aging punks > > > > > aging mods (throw them in the Thames)

Just remembered, I was on the bus home last week when I saw Alan Johnson walking up Caledonian Road, shopping in hand, wearing one of those stupid big mod parkas.

what a detestable old dickhead. If you are ever looking to buy an ironic gift for someone you really hate, send them one of his awful memoirs of being a really despicable postman who unfortunately didn't die of diphtheria in the 50s

Lol

Aging Scab Dudes

Aging mod reporting for duty but frequently now undercover except for soulie weekender parka excursions.

Idk I was always shy about claiming a subculture label when I was of the age to be in it. Now in retrospect it seems silly but I always felt like there was a purity test that I would fail etc.

Some part of me will always be a metalhead. (It really comes out when I’m in the presence of jazz dudes.)

old punks never die, we just stand in the back

That LA Punk segment on that show John Mulaney did for Netflix was pretty great cross look at aging punks in one room. Worth searching out if you have not seen it before.

it's been fun to see multi-generational families at all-ages shows and events... grandpa punk, 30 year old punk, and the 11 year old granddaughter punk, all together.. like at a Linda Linda's show or something

yeah I love that

Are mod parkas bad? I always sorta liked them. The army green fishtail ones.

They look kinda stupid if you're 74.

they are mainly bad when an absolutely detestable ex-New Labour politician like Alan Johnson wears one, but I wouldn't judge any average citizen for wearing one in the same harsh way. But also, yeah, it's worth noting that old septuagenarian fuckwits pretending to be jimmy from quadrephenia is kind of fucking ridiculous tbh!

the punk and the great-grandfather ;)

From roughly 1974 to 1984 my cold weather coat was an army surplus parka. It was cheap at the local army surplus store and indestructible. I tried to home-dye it black, but it just turned a murkier shade of olive green. After I married my wife made me give it to charity. It was never remotely stylish, whether as 'mod' or otherwise.

to me that is a classic punk look!

the failed home-dye being key to the aesthetic ofc

I have a highly customized one with scooter club patches etc on it so I am definitely part of the problem! I took it from an ex who was leaving the country which means I never had to see him again and he couldn't ask for his parka back.

IMO the skin/suedehead look is not a bad way for (aging) men to stay relatively stylish into their middle years, but a pink mohawk at 56 is pretty fucking silly looking.. but whatever brings you joy

"I have a highly customized one with scooter club patches etc on it"

As mentioned passim I passed my motorcycle test earlier in the year, and I actually owned a scooter for a while. Which got me to thinking about Mod fashion. I assume that actual 1960s Mods wore military surplus jackets because they were cheap, not because they were particularly good as safety gear - they don't have any padding and there's no space for armoured pads. So the Mod look is basically a side-effect of poverty. And then it was copied and formalised until it became a style. In the same way that a few casual comments from a carpenter two thousand years ago became Christianity.

Which also got me to wondering about the modern equivalent of an actual OG 1960s mod. Not an imitation mod, but the original thing. E.g. a mobile but not particularly well-off hipster. Presumably he or she would wear the cheapest safety jacket they could get from Amazon, except that in the UK at least they wouldn't need it, because they wouldn't be riding a petrol scooter. They would be riding an electric stand-up scooter, so a military jacket actually would be a decent choice. The modern Mod would be a takeaway delivery driver with superior taste.

This suggests that the whole petrol-scooter-riding mod subculture is one of those things that made organic sense at the time but doesn't make any sense whatsoever today. And punk isn't quite the same, because I have the impression that the punk subculture generally wasn't too hot on motorbikes. Or at least it's not something The Clash or The Sex Pistols particularly showcased in their music. I've always associated biking with 1970s pub rock and pub-rock-esque bands such as The Stranglers rather than punks, who were either too uncoordinated to ride a motorbike, or too young, or too poor.

For the record I wear a Bellstaff copy, so I probably look like the writer pictured towards the bottom of this article, minus the binoculars:
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2024/dec/19/goodbye-to-old-town-beloved-utility-inspired-norfolk-clothing-company

I feel sorry for that chap because he's obviously going to put on a lot of weight later on in life.

Aging metal dudes want in on this thread

There was a discussion on one of the guitar subreddits about how boomer Tone Lawyers were being superseded by Tonegazers with five-figure pedal boards worth more than a car. Holy fuck did I feel seen.

lol

several podcasts I listen to have nailed the aesthetic evolution I’ve seen in a lot of North American late gen x’ers —rockabilly is the punk retirement plan

[I assume that actual 1960s Mods wore military surplus jackets because they were cheap, not because they were particularly good as safety gear]

My understanding is they were widely available from US GIs and/or military surplus suppliers, and they weren't safety gear as much as all-weather gear, with the fishtails and longer hems helping to protect the new Continental fashions from rain and mud (which the scooter's knee shields also protected against as compared to bicycles and motorcycles).

Rockabilly has been the skinhead retirement plan for at least several decades lol

I've mentioned before a cartoon I find impossible to search now but it's an image of an aging punk standing in front of two escalators, one labeled "Rockabilly" and the other labeled "Jazz".

ha yes but u forgot the detail that the rockabilly one goes down to hell, and the jazz one goes up to heaven

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRtcPY32gjYCdQ9_jjGSnxs8fXG_RmV6nl5ZA&s

and they weren't safety gear as much as all-weather gear

Yeah, that's my understanding as well... keeping the threads clean on the scooter ride to the club, and staying warm in the drizzle

those are actually the flames from a hot rod, possibly driven by rat fink