DEAR READER

The VANS Warped Tour was one of those musical indie circuses you had to attend at least once in your lifetime. Whether it was during the glory punk days with bands like Agent Orange, Green Day, or Limp Bizkit (I’m joking) or during the more glamorous years of Beck, Eminem, and Social Distortion (see what I did there?), there was always a narrative that fit the summer and a reason you’ll remember it forever.

Now 21 years down and still running, our own intrepid musical man-about-mayhem, Dave Wedge, takes a quick look at one of the oldest music festivals around. What he finds is that the song remains the same, that the momentum that started it all is still there, and the bands that helped it happen are still around. That either sucks or kicks ass, depending on who you are.

That’s the funny thing about the Warped: As we age through our cycles and styles, progressive from indie that’s now classic to classic that’s now indie, there’s always an ear to bend, and the pull to be among throngs of fellow fans has never been stronger. There are literally hundreds of music festivals to choose from, most of which too expensive for many and out of reach for the rest, but there are still those that actually come to you and with a ticket price you can swallow and a lineup that just might not suck. And that’s why we keep coming back and they keep coming.

Jeff Lawrence, DigBoston Publisher + Editor

OH, CRUEL WORLD

Dear Amateur Food Photographer,

You and your kind have taken your ridiculous and meal-ruining (for the rest of us at the table at least) behavior to the extent that mocking you has become quite cliche, but I don’t care. This Fourth of July weekend was insufferable with all your Instagrams of lobsters and corn, bloated wannabe gourmet hamburgers and whatever else. You’re like rappers who brag about smoking weed—SO WHAT? ANYONE CAN BUY A LOT OF WEED AND SMOKE IT. THAT DOESN’T MAKE YOU SPECIAL. I’ll just never understand how a picture of anyone’s personal food stash makes for compelling content. But I guess that’s what makes me different from individuals who think that a candid of a plate of colon cancer is worth disseminating on social media.