Although I don’t necessarily agree with “In on the Killjoy” (10/17), I still would like to thank you for it. I personally am interested in evolution in biological systems, but I am also interested in nonbiological evolution, such as the evolution of music. I agree that rock ‘n’ roll can be an irresponsible bludgeoning orgy of drugs and sex. Even if it has always been that way—heavy drug use in the early jazz scene, and of course “devil-music” roots—why can’t music, even rock, diverge from it roots and redefine what it is?

I grew up listening to Fugazi, but I also listened to many of the other bands listed in the article, both of the Dischord and non-Dischord type. I appreciated punk when I was a kid because, even within a tight genre, there were so many different types of bands with an array of messages, from straightedge, to pure nonsense, to activism.

I agree that emo is a tragedy, and I hate to admit that Rites of Spring kicked off this Dashboard Confessional-type sound, but it is all part of a greater evolution. But I have a choice: I can choose to listen to it or not. I choose not to listen to Dashboard but do listen to Rites of Spring. When I want to listen to punk that is funny, I don’t listen to Fugazi.

I found the Minor Threat/Fugazi message to be refreshing. I can be drug-free and not be a Republican, and I don’t have to sleep with and use women to be popular among my peers. I also found it to be positive example.

I don’t know when Michael Little moved to D.C., but its scene most likely already had a particular reputation. Maybe he should consider using choice and moving to Washington state, where the scene is heroin, whiskey, rock ‘n’ roll, rehab, and overdose.

D.C. has something special and unique. Why should it “change for the same”?

Berkeley, Calif.