But the analysis and now-historic context that Schulman provides -- none of that was in the air. We all had our reasons for wearing that mood like armor, and I'll probably always be guarded around her generation, but as I age into the cringe years I wonder what else all that detached irony cost us.

Like Rent. We all knew it was something to be mocked, but it was mostly a chance to be cleverly cynical and perform a sort of faux authenticity. Make fun of the thing you knew was a gross oversimplification of a gay artist's life to cheaply claim to the authenticity of that life, and move on.

It's funny (weird) how many old blogs have 2 - 5 years of intense posting and over sharing, then start to slide into mild-self promotion of projects, and then just stop, as though the world ended in 2013.

I've been deep in a lot of aughts era zine reading and re-reading for a project. It's strange how things that once seemed so central to DIY culture just sort of fade and are mostly forgotten/ignored.

My copies of @lilacperil.bsky.social were gone by 3:00pm.