WASHINGTON — Discord Records co-founder and legendary punk frontman Ian MacKaye is facing accusations of selling out after posting a 20-year-old mattress for sale on Facebook Marketplace, igniting a wave of outrage in the area’s tight-knit hardcore community.
“I thought DIY meant building your own bed frame out of cinder blocks, not hawking a Mattress Firm cage on Zuckerberg’s mall,” said 52-year-old hardcore punk purist Ken Pearsall, after seeing the Facebook Marketplace post describing the mattress as “lightly used” and “great for a guest room.” “This cuts fucking deep, man. I dedicated my whole life to this scene, staying pure and never selling myself out. I guess you either die young or live long enough to watch your anti-capitalist heroes turn into used mattress-peddling corporate shills. I guess I’ll just go work for that marketing firm my mom tried to get me a job at in the ’80s.”
Within hours, the post spread through local punk Facebook groups, sparking debate over whether it broke the anti-commercialist code MacKaye has long championed, though he seemed baffled by the criticism.
“I don’t know why this keeps fucking happening,” MacKaye said. “A couple weeks ago I asked if anyone wanted to buy my extra copy of Michael Crichton’s ‘Sphere’ that I accidentally bought at a secondhand bookstore for $3. Some guy showed up, yelled at me for charging cover price, and called me a sellout. It was three fucking dollars. I’m honestly worried what’ll happen if these people find my Etsy account. I make butterfly-shaped coasters out of scrap cork.”
Some observers argue the mattress incident reveals more about the expectations of the punk community than about MacKaye himself.
“This isn’t just about a mattress. This is a tangible sign that the late ’80s post-hardcore moral code has entered eBay-era capitalism,” said music critic Lila Reyes. “One can only wonder if he’ll auction his old guitar strings next. It’s hard to say whether the moral fabric of this scene can hold. Will Kim Gordon start hocking NFTs? Will Henry Rollins be a guest spot at the Pepsi Super Bowl halftime show with Bad Bunny? Only time will tell.”
At press time, neighbors reported steady foot traffic at MacKaye’s D.C. home to see the unsold mattress, a spectacle that had longtime fans debating principles they once treated as gospel and quietly wondering if they’ll survive even the simplest morality tests.
