Sh!t My Rockstar Says: "From Political Neurosis to Psychosis: Finding Sanity in an Election Cycle."

Jennifer Finch

1. HELLO

2. THOUGHTS/ESSAY: “From Political Neurosis to Psychosis: Finding Sanity in an Election Cycle”

3. EVENTS: L7 performing November 23, 2024 at the “Fast and Frightening Takeover” in Los Angeles - Discount code.

4. PHOTO GALLERY / ARCHIVES: 1980 Darby Crash Band

5. GIRL CAUGHT FIRE: Memoir style essays on my life / Childhood (coming soon)

6. Explaining the 90s to Jennifer Finch (essays on 90s culture - coming soon).

   ---

QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT: If you are here for the L7 live discount code BLESSINGS and Be Done:
USE “UNLOCK CODE” L7FF2024
L7 Festival (nighttime) Live Music Festival in Los Angeles, Nov 23, 2024.

for more info on the event SCROLL ⬇️

---

HELLO. my name is Jennifer Finch. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. I have dedicated my life to music and visual art and am now adding essayist to evolving list of interests. I love reflecting on cultural production, media, modern mythology, punk rock, fashion, society and self.

My musical credits include being the bass player, writer and co-singer in L7 (1986 to current), The guitarist and co-singer in Other Star People (1999 - 2003) and the singer / song-writer in The Shocker (2003 - current).

---

From Political Neurosis to Psychosis: Finding Sanity in an Election Cycle.

---

Every day for the last month, a friend asks me, “What do you think will happen?” referring to the upcoming November 5, 2024 presidential election. Honestly, my answer is simple: “I don’t know, and I’m okay not to knowing. I just here for it.”

We’re all feeling the tension, the constant buzz of election updates, the speculation - as doom beats her drum - and yet, I know we’ll survive as best we can, no matter what. Yes, this election feels like a big deal (because it is), but it doesn’t have to consume our sanity.

As November 5th approaches, it’s tempting to go all-in on political discussions, predictions, and worst-case scenarios. But here’s the thing: stressing over every twist and turn isn’t going to change the outcome, and it definitely is not going to make us feel any better.

I sometimes tell myself I’m “too smart to be affected” by all of this. But am I? I look around at good friends and family who have been through something I can only call political neurosis, coming close to the brink of political psychosis. Some are only just now healing from the manipulative whirlpool of media and algorithms that kept them in cycles of poor decision-making, just now awakening from hours of arguing online or a steady stream of doomscrolling, but others really got pulled in deeper. They damaged close relationships, stressed themselves sick, or doubled down on drastic decisions —moving off the grid, selling homes, even quitting jobs. The emotional toll of those years is real, and I think we all feel the radiating affects.

But here’s the hopeful part: recognizing it means I can choose a different approach. Rather than letting political anxiety define my day-to-day, I’m aiming for a more balanced approach.

Here’s how I’m planning to realign my reality and get through this election season with a little less stress and a lot more peace.

First, I remind myself that I’ve done a lot of work to understand who I am, where I come from, and what my values are. I’m not an “undecided voter.” My choices—whether I’m writing a song, creating art, having a conversation, or voting—come from a place of alignment with my values. Yes, I vote a specific party. And yes, sometimes I go to the polls, hold my fucking nose, and vote for the party that aligns best with my values, even if the candidate seems like a turd in a suit or lady-pants. But here’s what that gives me: pure sanity.

By focusing on my values, I free myself to think about other political issues, like local initiatives that actually impact my daily life. I never have to get worked up over a debate or a media scandal if I don’t want to. If a candidate has a bad interview or rolls around in a garbage truck, it doesn’t have to shake me up or change how I feel. I get to have peace.

”But what if the OTHER person wins?”

I usually shrug at this point and say, "What if they do?" We’ll do what we’ve always done: figure it out, regroup, and take the time to evaluate. We’ll take inventory of what really matters. And, most importantly, I’ll feel grateful that I didn’t waste all my good energy at the pre-election fear buffet. Instead, I saved it for what actually counts

—the choices, connections, and actions that make a real difference.

It’s the simplest yet most effective way I know to stay grounded. I know where I stand, and that lets me live through the political noise without letting it ruin the melodies.

---

See L7 and many other extremely hot acts live in Los Angeles at the FAST AND FRIGHTENING TAKEOVER FESTIVAL November 23, 2024

---

---

November 23, 2024
Fast & Frightening Takeover (Tickets)
Los Angeles, CA

Discount code ends: Nov 5, 2024
Paste the discount in the “unlock” box before searching available tickets.

---

PHOTOS FROM THE ARCHIVES OF JENNIFER FINCH (Negatives from the Crypt)

---

December 1980 - Darby Crash Band at the Starwood (Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood).

When I turned 14 in 1980, I had already been obsessed with punk rock for a year, if not longer. It wasn’t just the music that captivated me— the music was “okay,” but it was the fashion, the literature, the performance and the whole scene that set my young soul on fire. I couldn’t get into shows because of my age and the cost, but I started hanging out in the courtyard at Hong Kong Cafe, the parking lot of the Starwood, and on the sidewalk in front of the Whiskey. I was drawn to the people; the bands were just “beacons in the fog” to help find kindered flames.

At this point, my father had given me his old Pentax camera, and I was doing the usual kid stuff with it: photographing my friends, taking shots at the zoo, setting up weird still-lives. But I was eager to shoot live shows —I’d seen live photography, and it seemed like the next natural level-up. One evening in December 1980, while I was hanging out in the Starwood parking lot, The Darby Crash Band was playing. I had my camera with me and asked a guy I knew—he was also my neighbor—if he could take my camera into the show and snap some photos. He did: one photo came out clear, but Darby’s eyes were closed, and another shot was blurry. Since I hadn’t taken the photos myself and couldn’t remember my neighbor’s name, I never shared or spoke about the images.

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on how gutsy I was just to be there and to ask him to take the photos. I was a baby art director! Darby Crash died a few days later, and I was gutted; maybe that’s why I didn’t revisit the images. Or perhaps it was the usual feeling young girls often get—that we’re not expected to have the skill or value in the physical art or music scenes like our male counterparts. Not that it makes sense, but as a kid, I internalized that everything I did had to be perfect, that my skill had to be the best to be recognized as art (and to hold the copywriter) to be like the artist that “outsources their work” is a cop-out, weak - of course none of that is true nor real, just a story I believed for a long time.

For more info on Darby Crash, more info on his band the Germs and on the Darby Crash Band.

---

Below this line is the AUDIO VERSION of this Substack, available to paid subscribers or to those that would like an audio version of my ratchet voice due to accessibility. If you just prefer to hear by throat rattle, please consider a paid sub.