sNot toPiC

* * * i hate hot topic because it makes it seem like punk is a glamourous thing, more like a fashion and thus a joke than something that the true punks are passionate about. they take bands like blink 182 and mxpx, at the drive in and good charlotte, and call them punk, when they're nothing more than boi bands with guitars. in my view, it's making a mockery of the entire scene, making glittery sid vicious shirts when he couldn't even play bass, and using the word "punk" as an excuse to mass market a lifestyle and make a fashion statement. the issue on prefabricated bondage pants is the same - it's something that i've done for years, something i've spent countless hours working on. i was proud of my results, and then a bunch of teenyboppers pay $70 and buy pretty much the same thing that i had put so much effort into, not really knowing or caring why, just using it as an excuse to be trendy. personally, i know for a fact that if i was a prep or this proverbial 'trendy' that everyone finds so fascinating, i would hate punk, and even hate 'punk rAWk'. think about it - what do these people *really* know about punk? they haven't been to the shows, they haven't felt the closeness and the unity of a crowd for the varukers or beat the shit out of each other in the name of the vandals - that might tear their $50 shirt or $550 pants - or god forbid, scuff their $4500 combat boots. why? because true punk is dirty and disgusting... but what would that sell? hot topic and their allies have to glamourize it, find something in it marketable - preps like SHINY STUFF ... safety pins and studs are SHINY ... WE HAVE FOUND OUR HOT NEW PRODUCT!... NEW and IMPROVED culture! * * *

* * * i think that's what gets to me the most - if the preps want to convert to punk rockers, i have no problem, (the more the merrier, rite?) but they're only doing it because it's the new "in" thing and don't really know much about the culture in general. half the "punks" i see are clad in glittery vicious shirts, purple plaid dogpile bondage pants with sparkley studded bracelets and belts, and yelling "PUNK ROCK" when the only bands they know are emo. emo isn't really that punk, it's like a punk version of country - "my girlfriend left me and now i'm going to sing this song so the world will know who woeful i feel." granted, i do like a BIT of emo, but if i didnt listen to oxy and gbh and the fits and unseen and such, i wouldn't wanna run around telling people i'm punk rock just because i like the ataris. i beat the fuck out of ppl like that. i think hot topic kind of spawned the whole trend simply because it is a trendy store, preps go in there, see something that's trendy, and buy it. it's meaningless to them, just a fashion statement, and hot topic has pretty much made it as such, as they enlist the help of MTV and M2 to spread the word that this is the next big thing. come on people, step up and say OI - don't buy your identity at the mall! * * *

.oh.so.punk.rock.

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.(what, the zippers don't open?).