u/Ecstatic_Ad3981

So yeah, you guys probably saw that I recently posted my thoughts on Bootleg, and after thinking about it more, I think I finally understand what my actual problem with this album is.

First of all, I genuinely like Bootleg. I don’t think it’s a bad album at all. Actually, I think it’s really well made. You can clearly hear how much The Garden have matured as musicians. The songwriting is more structured, the production feels more intentional, and everything sounds much more controlled.
And that’s exactly what makes me sad.

I discovered The Garden back in 2017, but I didn’t really get deep into their whole universe until around 2021. That’s when I started getting into everything: The Garden, Enjoy, Puzzle, Vada Vada, the whole aesthetic, their side projects, etc. So even though I wasn’t there for their early years as a fan, I became really attached to that particular version of their music.
What I loved about The Garden was the weirdness.
The goofy lyrics, the punk energy, the experimental electronics, the feeling that a song could suddenly go somewhere completely unexpected. Tracks like Banana Peel are obviously goofy as hell, but that’s part of what made them so charming to me. It didn’t feel like they were trying to make everything perfect. It felt spontaneous, strange and unpredictable.
And looking back, I think Horseshit on Route 66 was probably the last time I really felt that old identity strongly.
Even then, you could already hear them changing. There was still a lot of that experimental electronic side, but the music was becoming more structured and mature. At the time I didn’t think much about it, but now, listening to Bootleg, I can hear the progression.
It’s like Horseshit on Route 66 was the beginning of the transition and Bootleg is the full realization of it.
And honestly, I think that’s where my disconnect comes from.
Their music isn’t necessarily worse. It’s just becoming more “adult”, more polished, more conventional, and personally I miss the messiness. I miss when The Garden sounded like The Garden could do literally anything.
There’s also something else that makes this hit harder for me.
I finally saw them live in 2024, and if I’m being completely honest, I was a little disappointed. Not because they were bad live, but because I think I had this very specific image of what seeing The Garden live would feel like. I had discovered them through all these older songs, performances and videos, and I think I was unconsciously expecting to experience that version of the band.
But obviously, I couldn’t.
I was born in 2006. I literally couldn’t have been there during the period I’m nostalgic for. 😭
So there’s this really weird feeling of grieving something I never actually experienced.
I can watch old live performances and think, “God, I wish I could have seen them like this.” But I’ll never be able to. That version of The Garden is already in the past.
And now with Bootleg, I feel like I’m watching the distance between the band I fell in love with and the band they are becoming get even bigger.
I also can’t help but feel like some of the direction on Bootleg would have made more sense to me coming from Enjoy. It reminds me a lot of The Sound of Deceit. That more mature, melodic, structured sound feels very natural to me when I associate it with Enjoy.
And this is where I want to be careful, because I obviously don’t know how Wyatt and Fletcher divide their songwriting or composition. This is purely how I interpret the music. But I feel like I hear less of the Fletcher side that I personally loved in The Garden, especially because I really love the more melodic qualities he explores through Puzzle.
Maybe that’s completely subjective, and that’s fine.
The weirdest part is that I think they actually matured at the same time I did.
When I discovered them, I was obviously a different person. Their music was part of a certain period of my life, and now I’m growing up while they’re growing up too. The problem is that I’m extremely nostalgic. I have a really hard time accepting that people, artists and things I love are allowed to change.
Sometimes I think I want The Garden to stay exactly like the version of them I fell in love with, even though that’s obviously impossible.
So I don’t think I’m “quitting” The Garden because I suddenly think they’re bad. I don’t.
I think I’m just realizing that the direction they’re going in isn’t necessarily what I was looking for from them anymore.
I’ll always love their older music. I’ll always love Enjoy and Puzzle. I’ll always have a huge amount of affection for Vada Vada and everything they’ve created.
But I think Bootleg made me realize that I might not be as invested in The Garden’s future releases as I used to be.
And honestly, that’s kind of heartbreaking.
Because I don’t think I’m mourning a bad album.
I’m mourning the fact that the version of The Garden I wanted to experience live probably doesn’t exist anymore, and never will again.
Maybe that’s just what happens when you grow up alongside an artist.

To my VV fan reading this,

I genuinely love Bootleg. I think it’s a really strong album.
You can hear how much The Garden has matured. The songwriting feels more intentional, the songs are more cohesive, and the chaos they used to embrace is now much more controlled. It’s a beautiful evolution, and I completely understand why so many people love this direction.
But I also think Bootleg marks the moment I slowly stop being as invested in The Garden as I used to be.
Not because the music is worse. Quite the opposite.
What made me fall in love with The Garden was that weird, unpredictable mix of experimental electronics, punk energy, and goofy, almost absurd tracks like Banana Peel. It felt like anything could happen at any moment, and that’s what made the band so special to me.
Looking back, I think Horseshit on Route 66 was already hinting at this change. It still had that experimental electronic sound, but it was clearly moving toward a more refined and structured style, which eventually became Bootleg.
Ironically, I think Bootleg sounds like a natural continuation of The Sound of Deceit by Enjoy. That’s probably why I would’ve loved hearing this direction from Enjoy rather than from The Garden.
That being said, I still think their music is incredible. If anything, it feels like The Garden matured at the same time I did.
Maybe the real issue isn’t the band changing. Maybe it’s me.
I’m a very nostalgic person, and I tend to hold on to the versions of artists that made me fall in love with them in the first place. People evolve, artists evolve, and that’s a good thing. I guess I’m just still learning how to let go of what something used to be and appreciate what it has become.
I’ll always be a fan.

Bonjour,
Je suis étudiante et boursière du CROUS.
Cette année, je refaisais une L1. Malheureusement, j’ai été diagnostiquée avec une schizophrénie. Avant même le diagnostic, mon état se dégradait déjà, ce qui a eu un impact sur mes études dès le premier semestre.
Au second semestre, j’ai fait une grosse crise et je n’ai pratiquement pas pu suivre les cours ni passer les évaluations. Quand mon état s’est stabilisé, tous les examens étaient déjà passés et je n’ai pas pu les rattraper.
Résultat, j’ai raté cette deuxième L1.
Je suis très inquiète parce que ma bourse est indispensable pour vivre. Est-ce que certains d’entre vous ont déjà été dans une situation similaire ? Est-ce que le CROUS peut maintenir une bourse lorsqu’on rate une deuxième L1 à cause d’une maladie grave, avec des justificatifs médicaux ?
Si certains ont déjà fait un recours ou obtenu un maintien de leur bourse dans ce genre de situation, je serais vraiment reconnaissante d’avoir vos retours.
Merci d’avance.

Hello everyone,
I’m trying to find a Flemish family I stayed with regularly when I was a child and I would really appreciate any help or leads.
Between around 2008 and 2010 (I was about 2 to 4 years old), I stayed several times with a Flemish couple in the Flanders region of Belgium through a hosting/foster program. I am originally from France.
I used to call them “Tonton” and “Titine” (not their real names, just what I called them as a child). They were a childless couple and I remember we often went to places like Plopsaland De Panne.
Additional memories:
They had neighbours who were a family with a teenage daughter named Emily (brown hair with curtain bangs).
They also had a small dog, a Yorkshire Terrier cross Bichon (exact name unknown).
The last time we had contact was around 2015, when we briefly spoke on the phone.
These memories are very important to me and I would love to find them again or know what became of them.
If anything sounds familiar, please contact me. I can share more details or photos privately if needed.
Thank you so much.