A Letter from the Editor on the Be Quiet and Drive Issue

3 hours ago7 min read2 comments

This article is taken from VICE magazine, v29n3: THE BE QUIET AND DRIVE ISSUE. You can subscribe to get 4 print issues of the mag each year here.About a year ago, I started seeing the signs everywhere, a cultural shift as subtle and pervasive as a new bassline creeping into the underground clubs. It was tattooed on the arms of teenage drainers at dive bars in Warsaw, a cryptic script for those in the know, and stickered on the lampposts outside trance nights in London, a visual mixtape for the city's nightwalkers.This wasn't just a trend; it was the opening riff of a generational anthem, the kind of moment that Brian Eno might describe as a scene coalescing before it has a name. The 'Be Quiet and Drive' ethos feels less like a magazine theme and more like a curated soundtrack for a world learning to move again, a collection of stories that hum with the restless energy of a late-night drive on an empty highway.It’s the sound of isolation giving way to momentum, of personal playlists becoming manifestos. I’m reminded of the way certain albums—like Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’ or My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’—captured a specific technological anxiety and turned it into something beautiful and distorted.This issue operates on that same frequency, exploring the spaces between the notes, the quiet moments of introspection in a hyper-connected world that’s finally learning to sometimes just shut up and feel the road. It’s a deep dive into the subcultures that soundtrack our journeys, from the post-punk revival in Berlin basements to the hypnotic electronic pulses guiding gamers through all-night sessions.These aren't disparate scenes; they're different stations on the same dial, all broadcasting the same urgent, quiet message to keep moving forward, to find your own rhythm amidst the noise. It’s the most compelling cultural narrative I’ve encountered since the garage rock renaissance of the early 2000s, and it deserves your full, undivided attention, like the best drop in a perfectly mixed set.

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