The following companion to "The Gospel for Generation X," in this issue, is a departure from normal LEADERSHIP fare. The narrative (originally published in Utne Reader, an "alternative" magazine) describes the extreme lifestyle of a small segment of the buster generation. Though a little raw in places, the account captures the psychological and spiritual despair of grunge culture.
I came face to face with the essence of grunge culture last summer, when I was out in Seattle interviewing street punks.
I was hanging out with a runaway anarchist named Jackie and his street friend Anthony when we decided to go party with their friends from the band Suffocated. We took a shortcut to their house on the outskirts of the U district, tramping through the woods and under the bridge where the "trolls" (street kids) slept when they didn't have a squat to crash, then circling around the back of Safeway to scavenge for moldy sandwiches in the dumpster.
Suffocated's lead guitarist received us nonchalantly, ...
1Support Our Work
Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month