As a semi professional musician, multi instrumentalist who makes a living in various scenes such as metal/hardcore etc...
You gotta understand that it's not just "screaming", you use harsh vocals as an instrument itself (kinda like in Death Metal), those music has to be "felt", not listened to (well, it does, but it's instinctive).
Those kind of scene have to be lived "live", you want to understand hardcore?
Go to a concert and check it by yourself, that's how you'll get an idea of what it's about.
Btw, most Punk/Hardcore concerts are "pay what you want", so don't worry to throw money either.
Musicaly, about hardcore, how do you convey anger, frustration and a need for change? Probably not by doing a Radiohead cover.
Now, going to see it live, you'll stumble in active places, with political and activists there, sharring flyers for various stuff
(from " how to squat a vacant place legaly", "what to do if police arrest you?" to "how to grow a garden to be autonomous", " what can you do to help a victim of domestic violence" "how to spot sexism, racism and oppressive behavior and fight against such mentality", etc...) there are also people doing stuff to help foreigners, or just homeless.
Here we used an oooold house, inabitated, unowned to help homeless people, we did concerts, free food, movie projections, activity for kids, like painting and stuff, we made a place so they could sleep in security and tried to create a sense of community just to help people in the streets so they're not alone against a big mean world
(how do you get a real job, a phone, etc.. If you don't have any basic mailing adress? Well, you don't, it's a real problem in our western countries, but most people don't know/care about that, last time I had to open a phone-line or open a bank account I had to give them papers that I couldn't ever had if I'd live under a bridge... think about that before telling an homeless person to "go find a job"), one day the authorities thought it was enought, police came, thrashed everyone out, confiscated the goods and destroyed the place...
We.just.helped.homeless.people.
(We tried to make a small peaceful protest, just to say " It's not cool to push down an action trying to help fragile people" and you had all the middle-class-nice-people on the sidewalk laughing at us and telling openly "lmao, look at them, they don't know what they protest for"...
Yeah, I hope those people will never have an hard time in life, losing everything, ending up in the street... It happens more often that you'd think...)
Again THAT'S NOT POLITIC, it's just a way of thinking that stick to the punk-scene.
Just like how Johnny Silverhand did when he was alive, giving his opinion on his world and trying to somehow talk about it, without telling you "who you should vote for".
So tell me how it fails to convey a message and action? Trust me, you'll want to yell your guts out when you will see those kind of scene happening again and again...
Now I didn't said that in any political way, but yeah, that's the roots of rap and hardcore. The street, the unity and helping each other (and as said, the most popular acts aren't the more "relevant" either in those scenes).
I find it more cringey when you have Bono talking about world peace when the dude is a fucking' millionaire living in his private island...
Even hip hop is in the same scheme, you have all the "top" sellout (Eminem spew sexist bullshit, snoop dog has nothing to say etc...) but go back to the roots, grandmaster flash, public enemy, etc... It had a meaning (and a lots keeps on trying to push a positive and meaningful spirit and lyrics).
Just don't judge those scenes as "its not music, etc..." its not true, it has it's codes which most of the time ends up in mainstream music (but if you dont interest yourself to it, you won't notice), and they do have much more impact on the everyday life than lady gaga, with her billions, wearing a meat dress...
Just... Try to understand the roots of those cultures (even if you don't agree with it, you're not forced to), at least not to sound like a grandpa which told kids that "rock music is satanic and Led Zeppelin isn't music, just random noise".
Or...
" video games turn you violent and are a waste of time"
ring a bell?
Kids will listens to stuff that you'll find weird, you're not forced to like it, but try to understand it.
It will get you further than just telling them that it's not music (grandpa's voice yelling at clouds).
Those street musics are a sonic translation of the "violence' of the streetlife, so of course they'll sound brutal.
Just like Nine Inch Nail were made fun of by the guys from Ministry "that dude is nice, but he never lived in the street under a cardboard and you hear it...", and you can compare the emotions between both bands, it doesn't sounds the same.
It doesn't mean that one is better than another, but music is art, a way to express feelings, so it's totaly legit to express your anger and your frustration of dealing with such hard life.
Also, trust me, it's obvious, a band with a real message and meaningfull lyrics, one to make you think and be like " fuck, that dude is right!"...
You won't hear them on the radio or on Tv...
All of that to say, from my experience, everything has a meaning, try to figure it out.
It's not because it doesn't "talk" to you that it's meaningless or lacking of quality.
You know what is meaningless and upsetting?
Famous celebrities doing "nice speeches" in their golden castles, with bodygards around and never, never, never hanging around the "low people", but giving them advice with their wealthy lifestyle...
Just like people ranting about "vegans" as if it was a new thing... It exist for decades if not a century, look it up.
Things never "pop" by themselves.
Every trees have roots
Now Refused isn't the most relevant or greatest hardcore band ever, but I'm happy that CDPR gave them some exposure, it's refreshing and show that they have some kind of understanding of that culture.
Because "politic" set aside, it's a culture.
All I wrote above isn't politic, it's a culture.
That you hang in Brasil, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, whatever, you'll stumble over those same scenes sharring the same culture, it's what punk identity is about.
The game definetly needs some deus ex1 like music too
