Chrissie Hynde has never been one to hold back, and her latest Instagram post is no exception.
The Pretenders’ frontwoman shared a conversation she had with Johnny Marr, where the two agreed on a bleak cultural shift. That nobody calls anything “cool” anymore.
“We were saying how nothing is ‘cool’ anymore,” Hynde wrote. “It used to be, ‘That guy looks cool.’ Now it’s ‘That guy’s hot.’ So whatever happened to cool?”
To make her point, Hynde laid out a list of what she considers cool and uncool. According to her, cool means being “quiet and reserved” and “modest but mysterious,” while being loud, boastful, or oversharing is definitely not.
Classic sports cars from the ‘60s? Cool. SUVs and luxury cars outside overpriced hotels? Not cool. Low-key music in restaurants? Cool. Overproduced, blaring background tracks? Definitely not. She also took aim at people talking loudly on the phone in public, wearing sloppy outfits. Her personal gig-going pet peeve is people using a phone at a live show, “especially a Pretenders concert.”
It’s not just nostalgia for the old days—Hynde has made it clear she struggles with modern gig etiquette. Late last year, she sparked debate by criticising constant phone use at concerts, admitting she’s never adjusted to the “filming/picture-taking culture.” She even questioned whether it was worth continuing to perform if she had to deal with it every night.
She also addressed repeat fans taking up front-row spots at multiple gigs, asking them to move back and let locals get a chance up front. “We love to see people come back for more,” she said, “but we travel the world to play to a new audience each night, so it’s good to see the locals up front. Come one and all… but be fair!”
Hynde’s stance is clear—respect the art, enjoy the moment, and maybe, just maybe, we can bring “cool” back.
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