The Konstantino, Author at HARDTIMES

Uh Oh: I Watched Euphoria Once And Now I’m Popping Baby Aspirin Under Bisexual Lighting

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Sarah S.

When it comes to TV shows, I like to play it safe. You can usually find me rewatching the classics: Seinfeld, Friends, maybe even a little Golden Girls if I’m feeling frisky. Clearly, HBO dramas aren’t really on my radar… They’re just too intense for my liking and there’s way too many penises.

When all my friends at work wouldn’t stop talking about the new season of “Euphoria,” I felt a bit left out. Of course, this isn’t necessarily uncommon for me since I’m kind of the Ross of the friend group. But regardless, I decided to give it a try and boy, oh boy, was I not prepared.

One episode in and this show’s got me feeling… sexy? Maybe even a little rebellious. Sure, the amount of penises in the first 10 minutes give me a headache. But now I’m popping baby aspirin under bisexual lighting as I listen to Labrinth. Those tattoos I’ve always wanted but was too afraid to get? Fuck it. I just applied 17 temporary tattoos all over my body. And in just two days, I’ll have 10 pounds of glitter from Amazon that I’m gonna sprinkle all over my apartment.

Fuck my roommate, I do what I want now.

I have gone absolutely wild. Last night I bought myself a sparkling grape juice and finished half the bottle after dinner. I stayed up till nearly 11:00 just being a badass queen. I even busted out my old copy of Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill,” the uncensored one that I told my mom I would exchange at the store. Who is this person?

Finally, I’ll have something to talk about with my friends again. If only they’d stop ignoring me because I call everyone “bitch” now. Whatever. That’s just how I roll. I am ungovernable and answer to no authority (except my mom, of course). But don’t tell that bitch about my tattoos.

Former Punk Turned Frugal Mom Grateful for Safety Pin Collection

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Ciara Murphy

DALLAS — Former punk and current mom on a budget Lana Spiller is putting the skills she harnessed in her past life to good use by effectively repurposing her safety pin collection for chores around the home.

“I’ve been saving all of the safety pins that we’re rust damaged or covered in bong resin for years, and now that I have three kids whose clothes are constantly getting torn in ways I can’t even imagine, my tendencies have finally paid off,” Spiller explained, who has gone on to upload safety pin hack videos including ‘Fasten your Seatbelts! – Easy Fixes for Car Wear and Tear’ and ‘Tampon, Tampoff? How to Stop that Pesky String from Falling Off’. “For years I didn’t even know that safety pins had a functional purpose, not until my wedding day when one of my spiked bracelets tore the hem of my dress. Suddenly I had a brainwave, took a safety pin out of my ear, and used it to fasten the dress back together. From then on, I started seeing uses for safety pins in everyday situations. They really should think about marketing these things differently, because I bet a whole lot more people would get use out of them.”

Old friends from Spiller’s punk days have mixed feelings about her lifestyle change.

“Being punk is all about finding ways to do things as cheaply as possible, so it makes sense to me that Spiller would be good with money management,” Eliza Nelson, who went to high school with Spiller. “I mean, we’re talking about the same woman who didn’t wash the Sharpie X off her hand for three weeks to get into four shows for the price of one, and successfully stole various non-perishable canned goods from those same shows. Just because she’s using safety pins to hang her curtains instead of decorating a sick jacket doesn’t mean she has lost all of her punk ways.”

Youngest daughter Kaialynn Spiller is eager to show off her mother’s latest fix.

“Kyyle ripped off Mr. Snuggles’ head when he was practicing wrestling, but Mommy made him better again with her magic pins,” explains Kaialynn before running outside to show her friends her Frankenstein-esque previously headless toy. “Sometimes when I fall on the toys my hands get an ouchie, but mama has an old backpack full of bandanas and makes it all better.”

At press time, Spiller was taping together dozens of old show flyers in an attempt to make a room divider.

Photo by Jana Miller.

21 Reasons My Band Hasn’t Gotten Above 1,000 Plays on Spotify Yet

Posted on March 5, 2022 by John Danek

Spotify abuses musicians in myriad ways. Underpaying artists, devaluing music, and gatekeeping playlists are only some of the ways the streaming giant keeps musicians in the struggle. But the most insidious way is creating a class system wherein artists with more than 1,000 plays get to proudly display their view counts while those with fewer look like goddamn amateur hour. My band faces this problem ourselves because of 22 distinct reasons.

Our Bassist Dave Didn’t Regram the Band’s Post

What the fuck, Dave? Aren’t you proud of these songs? I mean sure, we overdubbed all of your bass parts and vocals. And we also changed your lyrics. But come on, be a team player.

Reverse Racism

Everyone in our band is white, and we are tired of apologizing. Literally. We spend the first 10 minutes of every set apologizing for this fact.

We’re in the Worst Timeline

In any other timeline, we’d be Nirvana level successful, according to my roommate who just got a pack of tarot cards.

Our Drummer has Fucked and Ghosted Every Possible Fan

He said that this was a form of “networking” but while he draws a large crowd to each show, they’re only there to yell at him while he loads in. They never buy tickets and I doubt they are streaming the EP.

Attachment Issues

No one in our band has secure attachment styles. I’m not a licensed professional, but I did drop out of an introductory psych class in high school. This certainly hurts our chances to get placed on the big Spotify playlists.

Our Keyboardist Won’t Quit his Day Job

Sure he has a really nice job at a consulting firm and buys our gear for us, but it’s time to commit. We’re going places, with or without him.

It’s a Bug

Computer programming is difficult. I remember how long it took me to nail the CSS on my MySpace page, so it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Spotify was full of bugs and not correctly displaying our songs’ play counts.

Our Parents didn’t Support our Music

It’s tough to make it when you have absolutely no support from your parents. Mine always nagged me with quips like “Get a real job!” and “Your hair is on fire!” but never compliments about my music.

But Also, Our Parents Supported our Music too Much

But then they would do annoying stuff like show up to my shows and yell out “Woo hoo!” and clap excitedly right in front of the stage and buy me new guitars and pedals. Everyone knows you can’t make it in punk if you are coddled like some premature baby.

Our Friends are Bastards

I’ve always suspected that my friends hated me. This only confirms the nasty truth- they all want to see me fail and go back to my boring day job as an EMT so I can “feed and clothe my daughter.”

Mick’s Girlfriend

She always just sits there, working the merch table and saying we “sounded great.” What do you really mean by that, Mick’s girlfriend?

COVID-19 has Severely Limited Peoples’ Abilities to Stream

The global coronavirus pandemic severely limited peoples’ abilities to go out with friends and stream music together. I’m starting to regret spending 5 years writing and releasing our first EP. Had it come out in 2019, things would be different. Damn COVID.

Spotify is Lying and Afraid We’ll Make it TOO Big

Spotify themselves could be throttling our band out of fear that demand for our tunes will crash the servers. Honestly, that’s fair. I’d be scared too if I were them.

False Embezzlement Allegations Against our Band

They say that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but I’m not so sure. Just because 3 of 4 members of our band work at the same Build-A-Bear Workshop, and that store has been mysteriously hemorrhaging money at an unsustainable clip doesn’t mean it’s our fault.

Free Speech is Gone in America

Everyone is saying it: Joe Rogan, Dave Chappelle, and other famous assholes agree that our First Amendment rights are being infringed upon. Maybe the SJWs are worried that our truth bomb lyrics about our exgirlfriends will cause some kind of mass hysteria?

The Old Witch in the Woods’ Curse Turned Out to be True

I already said that I’m sorry, Grimelda. I didn’t mean to run over your cats with my dirtbike but please, lift the curse preventing me from attaining musical glory.

Our Band Name is Completely Unsearchable

Typing in our band name, which is three semicolons followed by a backslash (pronounced Sigmund Floyd) returns a HTTP 503 error instead of our artist page. Another example of limitations on free speech?

Nancy Pelosi

I thought things couldn’t get any worse when Nancy Pelosi took a knee in a kente cloth, but this is getting ridiculous.

The Songs are Too Good

Sometimes good art scares people. It challenges them. It shifts the culture in ways that the people aren’t prepared for. I guess I can take solace in the fact that my work will be appreciated more after my death.

Supply Chain Shortages

The economy has been thrown into a state of absolute disarray with the global supply crisis. Maybe a bunch of our streams are currently stalled on some boat out in the ocean near Los Angeles?

Wind

It’s been really windy lately and I can’t help but think it’s a factor.

Man’s Childhood Best Friend and Adult Best Friend Absolutely Fucking Hate Each Other

Posted on March 5, 2022 by The Hard Times Staff

PUEBLO, Colo. — A local man’s plan to introduce his childhood best friend of over 20 years to his adult best friend for the past five years went sideways when both vowed to kill each other before the night was over, confirmed sources monitoring the situation.

“I figured as soon as they got together they would start quoting ‘Dirty Work’ lines and we would all laugh our heads off telling old stories,” said Eddy Rios, the man in the center of it all. “My oldest buddy Dave [Palmer] and my newer best pal Kevin [Turner] tried to stay civil, but it went downhill fast. A discussion about the best season of ‘The Simpsons’ devolved into a talk about ‘Family Guy’ and then somehow Joe Rogan came up and that’s when things got heated. I had to separate them before someone threw a punch—they’re both nearly 40 and they can’t be injuring themselves in petty squabbles.”

Palmer admitted that he has no idea why his best friend since middle school would fraternize with someone like Turner.

“That dude is a complete tool. The guy was wearing boots, who does that? I didn’t realize Mr. Fancy was too good to go to the Vans store and use his sister’s store discount like a normal human,” said Palmer who was still bright red with anger. “I knew shit was really bad when I asked him what his favorite football team was and he said ‘I don’t watch a lot of sports.’ I guess I’m dealing with the king of fucking England over here. I completely lost it when he told me his favorite hobby was rock climbing and that he and Eddy go together all the time. I guess I’ll just go fuck myself.”

Psychologists note that adult friendships are often difficult to navigate, especially when trying to intertwine friendships from different eras in your life.

“We have always recommended that people compartmentalize their friendships. You need to have friends that want to go bowling with you, and you need to have friends that will help you bury a body if needed,” said Dr. Ernest Zahir. “As we grow older, our needs change and we start to seek out friendships that complement our lives. A friendship that develops over a shared love of World War 2 memorabilia is just as valid as a friendship that developed during your teenage years when you were stuffing roadkill into a stranger’s mailbox.”

At press time, staff working at the bar were calling for police assistance after Rios’ best friend from work showed up for a few beers and a small riot broke out.

Morrissey Waiting For a Few More People to Show Up Before Cancelling Gig

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Bobby Korec

CHICAGO — Morrissey revealed that he’s waiting for a few more people to show up to the Riviera Theatre before ultimately canceling the gig entirely, sources who were wondering why he was taking so long to call it off confirmed.

“I think a good 50 more people should do it,” said Morrissey while peeking behind the stage curtain to gauge just how full the theater was getting. “If 75% of the venue is at capacity at the time of cancellation you don’t have to refund tickets or reschedule the show. That’s how it works. Sure, I arbitrarily made up this rule back in the ‘80s, but rules are rules. Also, with an entire audience in attendance, I can pretty much get the gist of the performance before calling it off to do something better with my time. Oh, look. Another six people just entered the venue. Almost cancelation show time.”

Fans in attendance thought for sure he’d be going on any minute now.

“This is my fifth time coming to a Morrissey show despite never technically seeing him due to all the last-second cancellations,” said longtime fan Rachel Bradburger. “I’m beginning to think this guy’s never actually played a show in his entire life. The good news is that people are still filing into the venue, the opening band has already played, and the merch table is completely sold out of replica Morrissey pompadours. These are all signs that he’ll definitely play this time, right? RIGHT!?”

Music critic Shana Markshun is a noted expert on the history of artists canceling gigs.

“Cancelled shows are inevitable, but you have to make sure you’re giving your fans a plausible excuse,” said Markshun. “So many bands cancel shows for the pettiest of reasons, like they’re hungover or all of their gear was stolen or the bass player died last night. Others named Dave Grohl inadvertently fall off the stage and break their leg. Don’t be that guy. These people paid good money to see a musician with zero broken bones.”

In a related note, Morrissey announced that he’d be postponing the show, which will be immediately re-postponed in perpetuity.

Is It Hyperpop Or Digicore? How To Let These Things Go Because You’re 38

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Sam Eardley

As influential as it is divisive, Hyperpop has been seemingly inescapable in recent years, but it’s classification is a little murky.

What is Hyperpop? Is it the same as Digicore? Is it even a genre at all? And most pertinently – are you 38? If you are, shouldn’t you be having an IPA-nap under curly-wired headphones playing Fleet Foxes rather than desperately straining to stay relevant? By examining five key tracks, we help you find out.

twst – Sugared Up

Sugared Up is a glittering delight. By taking the melody from Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and supercharging it, twst dares to ask the question “Why didn’t you put any OTT multiband compression on your ballet, you dead prick?” Yet twst disavows the term Hyperpop, so could this hard-as-nails bop be Digicore after all?

If you’re 38, this simply doesn’t matter. Just put Last Nite by The Strokes on and have a nice sit down. You like The Strokes, don’t you? Chug-chug-chug-chug-chug-chug-chug-chug. Isn’t that better?

Look there’s nobody you need to impress anymore, just like what you like.

Holliday Howe – kicks

This glorious banger lures the unsuspecting 38 year-old in with the promise of lush, de-tuned synths, eliciting happy coos about “analog warmth”. But then the house-y chorus hits, with its pearlescent digital plucks and treated vocals, and the startled 38 year-old scurries away to the safety of a War on Drugs song.

quinn – coping mechanism

Remember when you went to a Bon Iver show and shouted “Judas!” when they played their weird auto-tune song? Well, this post-Hyperpop, post-Digicore gem may not be to your taste. The creative possibilities of auto-tune are fascinating, but if you’d rather listen to ‘Holocene’ ten times in a row under a blanket, then that’s absolutely valid too. You do you.

Namasenda – Donuts

It’s a shame your 38 year-old soul can’t feel pure, unfettered joy anymore, because this slice of bliss could’ve been a great fit. It’s just a bit……girly for you, isn’t it? Couldn’t she have made it in a snowy log cabin after chopping some wood or something? Would it have killed her to record a nice mopey song on a rudimentary guitar fashioned from a hollowed-out owl?

Charli XCX – Blame It On Your Love (feat. Lizzo) [Dylan Brady Remix]

Something of a victory lap for Hyperpop, this mashed-up-remix-of-a-reworking-of-a-reworking is steeped in scene history and scene royalty. But those synth sounds are so harsh! I bet they’re making your poor 38 year-old ears all hurty. How about we whizz up those nasty sharp synths in a blender, and pour you out a nice smooth Future Islands song – that’d slip down real nice.

Biden Wondering if Russian Propaganda that He Secretly Dead is True

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Freelancer

WASHINGTON — US President Joseph R. Biden is trying to ascertain if propagandistic reports being circulated by the Kremlin that he’s actually dead are true, sources within the White House confirm.

“I owe it to the American people to be completely honest, no malarkey: I saw a report on Russia Today that I’ve been secretly dead for several months, and I gotta tell ya, they made a darn good case,” Biden said, searching for a pulse within the folds of his drooping neck. “If I’m one thing, I’m a fan of the works of Mr. Bruce Willis, so I understand that sometimes, someone may not know that they’re dead. I‘ve asked Congress to form a select committee to get to the bottom of this, but in the meantime, I’d like to say, on the record, that if I am indeed dead, I’d like to donate my remains to a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ reboot.”

Not all sources in the White House shared Biden’s concerns, however, characterizing the rumors of Biden’s demise as “categorically false.”

“How fucking gullible are you people? For fuck’s sake,” an exasperated Psaki shouted at the press corps. “Sure, the President might be less energetic and articulate than he was in his younger days. His skin might be graying and paper thin, and he may smell faintly of hard candies and decaying flesh. But that doesn’t mean he’s dead! The President is alive, alert, and sharp as a tack. Which one of you fuckwits put this idea into his head, huh? Was it fucking you, Doocey? This is why he’s not allowed to watch TV without supervision.”

Bridget Wall, an expert of Russian propaganda campaigns, explained that members of the President’s generation are particularly susceptible to disinformation.

“Reports over the past decade have repeatedly found that Baby Boomers are the generation most likely to share fake news on social media,” Wall said. “Additionally, upper-class white men have been conditioned not to question their ideas, so as they age, their capacity to engage in critical thinking often pales compared to most other groups. You can see this mental vulnerability in some of the President’s other ill-conceived decision-making, like his failure to relieve student loans, or his mistakenly insisting that the Joint Chiefs referred to his dogs.”

At press time, Vice President Harris was seen sipping champagne and dancing in excitement after being briefed on the subject.

Help! Listening To Kings Of Leon Took Me Back To 2008 And Now I’m Trapped Here With Them

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Matt Bieker

I’m not sure how this happened and I don’t know how to make it stop. One minute I was minding my own business, listening to Kings of Leon’s “Only by the Night,” the next I found myself wearing a greasy black tank top and sitting in a smoky Nashville green room listening to the Followill brothers talk about painting houses in Tennessee. By methods unknown to me, I’ve been transported 14 years into the past and am trapped on tour with these guys.

It’s true, my 16-year-old self would have been awestruck to hang out with this band, but I’m getting desperate to get back to my own time. I can’t drink any more of this lukewarm beer, but the only alternatives are dragon fruit Vitamin Waters and American Spirit yellows.

The weed here is terrible.

The band has been little help. They assumed I was part of the road crew when I showed up, so I earn my keep by carrying speaker cabinets and doing liquor runs multiple times per day. Any time I broach a heady topic like time-travel, music theory, or splitting the check, it’s grounds for screaming, drunken arguments, which sometimes escalate into brawls. Afterward it takes hours to clean the hair off everything.

2008 isn’t all bad. Boomers are too scared of social media to ruin it yet, and Obama’s whole “Hope” schtick is still fresh. Plus, “Use Somebody” and “Sex on Fire” are instant classics and none of the guys in this band are sober yet so they really belt it out.

My knowledge of the future weighs on me, though. I have to act surprised every week when we watch Breaking Bad on cable, and my warnings about the housing bubble have gone totally ignored. There’s this young roadie who keeps talking about paying off his student loans and leaving his studio apartment in a few years. I can barely look the poor bastard in the eye.

Update: After witnessing someone physically mail a DVD copy of “Mind of Mencia” to Netflix, I redoubled my efforts to leave this time period to its fate. I believe I have succeeded. All I have for reference is Kings of Leon’s latest album “When You See Yourself,” though, and since it sounds indistinguishable from the era I just left, I will have to confirm some other way.

Dave Grohl Somehow Pulls Dave Grohl Out of Audience to Play On Next Foo Fighters Song

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Tom K

MILWAUKEE — Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl stunned audience members when he pulled a fan out of the crowd to play with the band who turned out to be Dave Grohl, confirmed multiple sources whispering “what the fuck is going on?” to themselves.

“It was the usual part in the concert where we got to a song that I’d forgotten how to play. So I start looking for any Joe-schmo that I can strap a guitar to and make his goddam life,” said Grohl while decompressing backstage. “I went up to the barricades to grab a random hand and all of a sudden this handsome guy is yelling random facts about obscure punk bands from the 80s and I realized it was me, just in the crowd. It was the strangest thing. I turned around to show Taylor but he wasn’t at the drums. I was? I guess I had taken over drumming duties that night too. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

The lucky audience member, also Dave Grohl, did not seem to mind the physical anomalies occurring at the Fiserv Forum and was just happy to play with his favorite band.

“It was one of the best moments of my life. Ever since I started the Foo Fighters, I’ve followed them religiously. They are my all-time favorite band, and I’m my all-time favorite musician,” said the second Grohl from the tour bus. “Of course, I was playing ‘My Hero,’ with my hero—me. The only downside is that I would have loved to meet Nate, but when I got a little bit closer it turns out I was also filling in on bass that night.”

In a breakdown of the historic moment, leading Foo Fighters fan blog, Big Zine, noted that this is the first time in the band’s storied career that multiple Dave Grohls have shared the stage together.

“Just because this was a general affront to the laws of physics we shouldn’t ignore how this was exceedingly rare collaboration,” stated blog editor Dave Grohl. “It was certainly one of the most memorable performances in recent Foo history and will go down as one of the best ever. The genius of this show is in its showcase of secret weapon Dave Grohl, long considered the unsung hero of the group.”

When asked about the possibility of future Dave Grohl team-ups, Grohl hinted that there may be more to come, stating that he enjoyed playing with himself in front of an arena crowd and hopes to do it again.

7 Animals That Need To Seriously Step It Up When We Lose White Rhinos

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Sean Peecook

As the world’s climate changes, certain sacrifices must be made, but why should the burden fall on man alone? We’re already drinking out of cardboard tubes, Isn’t it about time one of the other 8.7 million remaining species on this planet did something?

We all know that white rhinos are on their way out, which means the rest of the animal kingdom needs to seriously step it up. Here are 7 animals that need to do better to fill some big shoes.

Groundhogs

Truth be told you guys have been slacking for a while now, and we can’t keep making excuses for you. We don’t even really understand your whole deal. Are you a beaver or a rat? Pick a lane and step it up.

Wild Boars

Straight up, we’re going to need you guys to put on like 2,000 pounds.

Toucans

Honestly, we know you can do better. You’ve been phoning it in since you got on the cereal box. You’ve got a big beak, so start using it. No excuses. If nobody is trying to use your body parts as medicine, you’re not trying hard enough.

Elephants

We know you’ve got a lot on your plate already, but you’re the closest we’ve got. As a fellow big grey, we’re going to need you to pull double duty and do a bunch of rhino shit on top of all the elephant shit you’ve got going on, at least until we can find a replacement. No raise.

Ants

Conservatively speaking, there are about 1,000,000,000,000,000 of you. What are all of you doing? Digging holes and moving little sugar cubes around? Is that really necessary? We’re going to need you to start doing classic rhino things like stampeding and pissing on tourists. Make it work. We’re not afraid to pull out the magnifying glass.

Guitar fishes

The rhinos of the sea? By 2036, we’re going to need you to step it up and become the rhinos of the land too. Just take it slow. It’s not that hard. If you’re going to use the name, you’re going to have to earn it.

White-collared swift

Sometimes we wish it was you that was going extinct instead.