Best of 2023

 4) Rotten Sound - Apocalypse

I took a vacation to visit my family recently. The bulk of the visit was listening to my conservative father complain about the decline of civilization. He didn't make any really compelling points, more just pointing at things like homeless people and young people with anxiety saying, "See, it's obviously getting worse." It's lazy and short-sighted and he should get a hobby.

But is the world actually in decline? Are the aggregated signals of societal health showing a positive or negative trend? Are there more or less existential threats today than in past decades or centuries?

Rotten Sound wrote this collection of grievances and observations clearly indicating their perception of decline. Although Rotten Sound is a crusty veteran grind band who've made a career of being generally negative so you shouldn't take their word for it.

My word is society has never been aligned with ideas like a greater good, or peace, or well-being, or nature preservation, or sustainability. To have the perception that it used to be and it's not anymore is self-delusion or a misinterpretation of history. To have the perception that it will eventually be aligned to those greater goals is naïve. We have always been on a sinking ship that paradoxically becomes bigger and more mechanized the more water it takes on. While I don't agree with the finger pointing Rotten Sound is doing with this album, it is a fantastic soundtrack to our perpetually sinking ship.