There are no Hot Topics in Manhattan, but I assume it’s in every mall of America. I visited a store once (Roosevelt Field, holla!), so I get the gist.
Anyway, reader Erin e-mailed:
Hello, I’m a longtime reader of Stereogum, and I was surfing the web when I came across the front page of Hot Topic’s website. I normally wouldn’t send stuff like this, but I thought you had to see what their idea of what indie kids looked like. Personally, I think their idea of “indie” is very reminiscent of the ’50s diner scene in Ghost World.
Nice find Erin.
Anyway, days later our mailbag was graced with a promo of MC Lars’ Graduate. How apropros:
MC Lars (Feat The Matches) – “Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock” (MP3 Link Expired)
Lars calls his music post-punk laptop rock. Good for a few chuckles, but it’s mostly not-as-clever Paul Barman.
So, we’ll leave you with Le Tigre. Has nothing to do with the counter-culture version of Spencer Gifts, but a classic must-download with a newly unfortunate moniker. Enjoy.
Le Tigre – “Hot Topic” (MP3 Link Expired)
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There actually is a Hot Topic in NYC… in the Queens mall. Sad, yes.
Hot Topic is beyond retarded, but whats even funnier is TORRID, which is a separate sister store that Hot Topic started for all the fat chicks that were too big to fit inot the REGULAR Hot Topic clothes.
Which is strange as it never seemed to stopped the circular Oompah Loompah mallhags with their tiny lunchbox purses and their stripey leggings and XXXL A.F.I. t-shirts.
P.S. Fuck Hot Topic
Also, does anyone have the new leaked MASSIVE ATTACK tracks?
Roosevelt field… word.
No, No Roosevelt Field holla. The only thing worse than a Hot Topic, is a Hot Topic on Long Island.
I have the new Grandaddy
people who really passionately hate hot topic weird me out. it’s not a bad store… tons of tshirts, cheap accessories, and a few skirts and tops any self-respecting indie girl could wear. besides, faux-goth has been in for years, thanks to interpol. really the only thing to hate about hot topic is that it’s all the way out in queens.
I agree with “j”, there is something strange about those who rail against something like Hot Topic.
In order to get all worked up about a store that sells a fake, commercialized version of indie culture to adolescents, one must first believe that somewhere there exists a non-fake, non-commercialized version of indie culture. To be clear: EVERYTHING is commercial, EVERYTHING is product, and EVERYONE is a sell-out.
Once you realize this, that desperate urge to stay one step cooler than the kids who shop at Hot Topic subsides, and you suddenly find yourself in a place where what other people are wearing and listening to just doesn’t matter to you anymore.
Funny. I was in a Hot Topic the other day, and the two girls behind the counter were talking about this website and how cool it was.
Good points, Joey. Self-actualization is a bitch and stores aimed at “lifestyles” like Hot-Topic and Abercrombie are positioned to satisfy the need to belong and still perceive oneself as unique and because of that need anything is fare game to be packaged and sold. But I have to agree with Jason in that I retain the right to point and laugh at everyone who overpays for faux vintage clothing and spends their afternoons and evenings slowly revolving around the Galleria like so many goldfish swimming in a bowl. Sheeple indeed.
hallelujah joey.
I hate Hot Topic because they make kids love Tim Burton for the wrong reasons.
Then again, my favorite film by him is and always will be Peewee’s Big Adventure.
I hate Hot Topic because the people who shop there regularly annoy the shit out of me. Not because they’re likened to shop there, just because they’re generally irritating and boring individuals.
I’m the one who sent the link above.
I have no REAL problem with Hot Topic, and have even shopped at a couple of their stores in the past myself. I recognize that the co-option of subcultures by stores like Hot Topic is inevitable, and there’s little I can do about that. But I thought that the image was funny, and so I sent it into Stereogum. However…
“But I have to agree with Jason in that I retain the right to point and laugh at everyone who overpays for faux vintage clothing and spends their afternoons and evenings slowly revolving around the Galleria like so many goldfish swimming in a bowl. Sheeple indeed.”
Ditto.
Nothing wrong with Abercrombie also owning Hot Topic…or is there?
Isn’t this pretty much the look Ultragrrrl cultivates?
Look to be perfectly honest, there is a Hot Topic at the Staten Island Mall, but who really cares. At the end of the day, Hot Topic shall pass, another fad will take its place, someone will complain and life goes on.
Personally, I like to shop at Barney’s if the money is right. That place also likes to take fad related items of fashion and sell them to the posers (but at a much higher price point).
I’m done.
Pookie Nutz
I have the new Grandaddy
Posted by: Rich at February 11, 2006 11:33 PM
yeah? how so?….i wanna know how you have that…
I dont care about the FAUX aspect of it.
I could seriously care less about the co-opting.
My problem isnt that Hot Topic is FAKE punk/indie/what have you.
My problem is that it’s GENUINE shit.
Good Charlotte and their ilk arent awful at being PUNK bands, their awful at being BANDS.
It’s importnat not to lose focus.
i like hot pockets
this isn’t as good as the irony of urban outfitter’s “die hipster scum” tee shirt. now, those I never hesitate to point and laugh at.
i dunno, man. we were all 13 years old at one point, right?
if youre over 20 and still going there, that different. but theres nothing wrong with a place for 13 year olds who “hate rap” and think “mom is an asshole”.
No, Ned, from the perspective of a high school student, it’s still horrifying. I avoid it as much as possible, because for some ridiculous reason, stupid suburban “rebels” think it makes them cool to shop in a chain store, buying mass produced clothing in order to be “different” and “unique.” Sorry, kids, you aren’t original, just repulsive.
oh god. hot topic should be the least of anyone’s worries. honestly.
also, i would love to knock kathleen hanna’s preachy mouth in with a frying pan.
Heh. If you think Roosevelt Field is bad, you should avoid the Smith Haven Mall at all costs.
Hot Topic for me is a dingy bus stop on the road that leads to being a complete, non-sucky human being. We’ve all sat at the bus stop at one point or another, but now we’ve all moved on, and so, too, will all the people who shop there now.
in the mall in my town, there is a store called hipster. oddly enough, they sell regular street clothes.
“oh god. hot topic should be the least of anyone’s worries. honestly.”
I have to disagree. This may all seem petty but it’s a precursor to a much bigger problem. Kids think they are being “individuals” and being” different” by buying into this faux coolness. They go there, see the “older” kids working there (25+ Rammstein fans) and think that’s something to inspire to be. It’s very sad. Kids need to learn how to be themselves. Hot Topic is definitely part of the problem.
the Urban Outfitters in Roosevelt Field actually refers to itself as the “Strong Island” location.
oh daaaamn that is fucking GAY
Well, as ridiculous as Hot Topic may be, the fact that this piece appears immediately following a contest touting the fucking Strokes, of all bands, is completely hilarious. My God, what other band so completely defines clueless hipsterism? Rich kids with guitars – they are the My Chemical Romance for the blogger generation.
I dunno, I kinda like the gritty Superman ‘S’ t-shirt I bought at Hot Topic. Of course, if I’d seen it at The WB Store while it was still in business, I probably would’ve gotten it there instead.
“GG Allin was punk rock” from the MC Lars’ song, hilarious!
Hey, thanks, Stereogum! Now I’m inspired to critize Hot Topic’s fashion models’ fashion problems for the next week.
I think I like Hot Topic better than Urban Outfitters. At least the people who shop there are at least somewhat aware of their unoriginality. I mean, if you’re buying band shirts and your favorite band is on the top 40 charts, then there’s no way you can fool yourself into thinking that you’re actually being original…
oh, frankie, why don’t you go back to convincing yourself that wolf parade make listenable music and leave poor kathleen hanna out of it.
HA! Bikini Kill ate Hot Topic years ago.
I didn’t know what Hot Topic was until we got one . . . in our Jackson, Mississippi, mall. My best pal called and drug me out to the mall, just to see how much I would freak out.
I, um, freaked out a little bit. Mainly because I thought they’d call the cops on the thirty-year old guy who looked like he’d clearly stolen half their merch and was, er, wearing it.
The one thing Hot Topic does do is provide access. Many communities in the South still have a Wal-Mart as their sole (physical) music “store.” (Thank the lord for the internets!). Growing up I was at the mercy of the Camelot or Sound Shop as to whether I’d ever get to hear Green River or the Pixies. If even one fourteen-year old buys one Clash record from a Hot Topic, it’s worth it.
As for the Strokes being the My Chemical Romance of the blogger set?? HA!! Priceless.
I can’t stand those beat offs that shop at JCPenney.
I mean, in there buying sheets and towels and shit. Who needs a damn pillow case? Why don’t you do what we do in the city and just sleep in your own vomit. Fucking poseurs.
THAT is funny!
We should all have better things to do than rip on 14 year old goth kids who buy their marilyn manson tshirts (sorry if thats so 10 years ago…excuse me, senses fail and MCR) at the mall. WELCOME TO THE SUBURBS!
I find the ad to be even more hilarious, “Indie Cool” is some chick with an adams apple looking like’s she’s OD’ed on heroin and gel bracelets leaning on some dude with nailpolish and a flock of seagulls haircut.
Woah! Steven, leave Wolf Parade out of this.
In Canada we don’t even have Hot Topic, I had to Google it to find out what it was. And its not like I live in a small town. I go to Uni. in Ottawa and my parents live about an hour oustide T.O.(Toronto). I’ve been to Urban Outfitters a couple times though and I would go back. From the looks of Hot Topic, its not really a store I would shop at, but to each his own I suppose…..oh by the way there are three Urban Outfitters in Canada and I’ve been to two out of the three. Looks like I’ll have to round things out by going to the one in Edmonton.
“oh daaaamn that is fucking GAY”
What, hot topic’s homosexual?
I guess indie really isn’t so indie anymore.
Kathleen Hanna rules.
While it maybe serve as an outlet for little teenie bopper newbies to discover some sweet classic bands, hot topic also creates a billion little teenie bopper poseurs looking for willy wonka and vote for pedro tshirts. i just wanna kick those kids in the face, sorry for my bluntness. indie cool? are you shitting me? theyre just moving from metal/evil dead/south park/family guy/catchphrase shirts to “indie”. consumerism at its best.
i think this is a pretty funny discussion. I write an mp3 blog that’s starting to get a good bit of readers and respect from the “indie community”, and i guess some of them would be amused to find that my day job is managing a (gasp!) hot topic. The interesting thing is the misconception about the people who work there. Or maybe it’s just my store. None of us are anything like the people you see on the website. Speaking for myself, I’m all about DIY culture, and I make a lot of my own clothes, and buy the rest from other DIY artists. I don’t listen to much of the stuff we sell…I don’t like hardcore, emo, metal, goth, or industrial. For that matter, neither do most of my coworkers (although there are a couple of kids who are into hardcore). I hate a lot of the stuff we sell, especially the ugly black pants with the ridiculous chains all over them. Anyway, I work there because I have to pay for the roof over my head and food on the table. Working at HT, we wear what we want to wear, and we listen to good music all day (when I’m there I usually play decemberists, shins, radiohead, queen, prince, rolling stones, and other stuff that is much better than Rammstein!…i recently requested that we add Tapes n’ Tapes, Fruit Bats, Man Man, and Voxtrot to our music selection…i’d love to expose these ‘mall punks’ to something new). It beats any other job I’ve had, in those respects. We don’t have any goth kids working at our store; it’s really not your typical Hot Topic, I guess. This could have something to do with the fact we are in a small southern town with no “scene” or “hipsters” to speak of. The kids around here who are into underground music are a lot more sincere in their love of this stuff, and not necessarily concerned with impressing their friends with their “cool” musical tastes. I think it’s pretty boring to care about what people listen to or how they dress. I like what I like because it is aesthetically appealing to me, and not because someone else thinks it’s cool, and in my ideal world, everyone would think this way. I think that the people who laugh at others because of what they’re wearing or where they shop should find something more constructive to do with their time. I never understood “indie snobs”, and I guess I never will.
I’m from Toronto and the only Hot Topic I’ve been to is the store located in Millcreek Mall, Erie PA. That being said, I see more “indiehipsterposeurssellouts” at Supermarket in Kensington Market in my home city on any given Friday night, than I did at the Hot Topic in Millcreek Mall on a Sunday Afternoon. Look up “Kensington Market – Toronto” on google, and you will find an a more substantial example of indie/underground cool being marketed and then consumed, rather than the suburban consumption of Napoleon Dynamite, Emily the Strange and My Chemical Romance.
Key word: Gentrification.
are people really serious?! i happen to work at the hq of hot topic/torrid and am appalled at people’s misguided negativity. to be very honest, we think stuff like that mc lars song is hilarious. if you can’t make fun of yourselves, who can you laugh at?! it’s a great company to work for; a place where people do not judge you for what you like, believe in or wear. you are genuinely free and encouraged to be yourself, whoever that may be. people who work there are passionate about music and do not fit this stereotypic “cookie cutter” mold of what some may think us all to be. there is also no big master plan of homogenizing or brainwashing youth. the reason we carry certain things is because there is a demand for them, pure and simple. there are many better choices for things to “hate” in this world. …and for the person making fun of “torrid”, classy move making fun of people who want to feel good about themselves because they are not always an “accepted” part of society. apparently you are perfect and have never felt insecure in your life about anything.
shannon – “I think that the people who laugh at others because of what they’re wearing or where they shop should find something more constructive to do with their time. I never understood “indie snobs”, and I guess I never will.”
I just want to clarify that I’m not laughing at what the kids are wearing or the places they are shopping at; I am laughing at the fact that the DIY concept has been fully co-opted and has become another facet of conspicuous consumption. Punk has been the new pop for a long time now and, as it was pointed out above, it was inevitable. That being said, conspicuous consumption has always been funny to me and I still retain my right to point and laugh at those who choose to live like cattle.
Moo!
:-p
Let’s get something straight…buying clothes is not conspicuous consumption. It is against the law to run around naked.
Hot Topic rules. I love that place. It sucked a lot more 20 years ago when there were no clothes like they sell at HT available. If you happened to be visiting a major metropolitan area and managed to find something cool to wear it was always out of your price range. I spent countless hours of my of my life in the 80′s searching through dirty clothes in thrift stores to set the way I looked apart from everybody else.
You are a real spoiled lot of children who don’t have any idea how lucky you are or how easy you have it.
Good for you!
people who take themselves too seriously make me giggle.
Come on, the time you just spent making a long, thought out rant/rave about hot topic could’ve been spent, oh, making your own clothes or music, tap dancing, jerking off, organizing your sock drawer…
I miss being 14 and picking out ugly t-shirts from the Hot Topic.
I think it’s important to point out that HT didn’t create the market. The market was already there. People were already making the clothes and they needed a place to sell them.
If you don’t like HT, don’t shop there.
Now that I’m done with that, I’m going to get back to making my own clothes and music, tap dancing, jerking off, and organizing my sock drawer.
I think people are missing the point in the argument in that hot topic is a horrible, dreadful retail store and brand. Stores like hot topic and urban outfitters are responsible for some of the largest atrocities in the fashion community. I’m not even talking ‘indie’ fashion, just looking presentable and interesting. Thank god the indie-words on a t-shirt fad is slowing, I always failed to see any irony or wit in wearing one. Seems comparable to those who think a bumper sticker = way to convince people of their personal beliefs. Saying that 13 year olds should be allowed to play into the marketing hands of 45 year olds with their fingers on the pulse of a dying beat of a generation is depressing. Nearly every hot topic fan/customer I have witnessed seems to play into the idea that they’re being unique, alternative and intellectually isolated-or whatever else they’ve been sold on a t-shirt. It’s kind of disgusting seeing such a weak minded target market play so far into the hands of a niche company. Urban, abercrombie and hot topic all seem the same to me and that’s incredibly sad. What happened to the cut of a nice suit? A collared shirt that is fitted? Not so much of an advertisment of personal beliefs, or an “witty” catch prase, or being ironically clashing. Just something that actually looks nice on you…
but guys if there wasn’t a hot topic where would I go to buy anime shirts and band shirts at the same time??
Ok, I guess I could go to target and then also get a fashionable Mossimo blazer and perhaps another white belt…
Nothing like a scathing post to bring out the Hot Topic apologists. If Shannon “never understood ‘indie snobs’, and…never will,” I’ve never understood sensible people from small Southern towns who justify a management position at HT as the next best thing to finding a job you’re not ashamed of.
but seriously, who CARES what people are wearing? Why does it matter? Why is it so fun to laugh at people who aren’t being enough of an “individual”? What are you, the laugher, doing to be such an individual? Do you make all your own clothes? Maybe you shop at a thrift store, like the “real” indie kids. Wait a minute. If all the indie kids are doing that, are you still an individual? Actually we used to sell this pin that was pretty funny; it said, “You non conformists are all the same”. Sums things up pretty nicely. It may very well be true for the kids who shop at Hot Topic, but it’s just as fitting for the ones who buy all their clothes at the salvation army. It’s even fairly trendy to buy DIY, or make it yourself. Please tell me, how can someone be TRULY original, unless they don’t care AT ALL what they are wearing? If you don’t care at all, then you won’t care what others are wearing either. Meaning, if you post about how stupid people are for shopping at Hot Topic, you are essentially the same as they are; trying to be COOL by talking about how UNcool someone else is. Besides all of that, most Hot Topic customers are a bunch of 15 year olds who are still trying to figure out who they are and where they belong. That’s just the nature of teenagers. Did you have everything figured out by that age? All of your integrity and indie cred firmly in place?
I’m an asst. manager at a Pac-Sun and my girlfriend is a keyholder at Hot Topic. I assure you we both realize the uselessness, hypocrisy, and bullshit associated with our employers. There are worse places to work and better. Offer us better jobs at better pay with better benefits, and we’ll take it. The truth is Hot Topic actually listens to what their employees say, and that’s much more than I can say for a lot of places. I’m sure it’s great to live in NY and have a myriad of choices, but HT’s prices are reasonable (especially with her 40%! discount) and there is nowhere else within an hour of here I could have bought my Smiths T-shirt, Faint button, and Portishead vinyl(!). I’m 25, and you can think that’s lame or cool or unhip or whatever, but I do what I like and want and judge who I like and want and everyone does and it’s horribly elitist to badmouth one place for their image or whatever then blah blah
Oh what’s the point?
I guess I?ll go hang out at the mall and talk about how stupid ranting on random blogs is.
fat people = lame
therefore
torrid = lame
Fashion attrocities? Fashion shouldn’t even be given enough weight in a society to justify using the term attrocity. When we settle a new planet you know who’ll be last on the list of people we need? Fashion designers and fashion critics. What a redeeming art form! It helps people feel fat, ugly, uncool and poor all at the same time.
As for insulting people who work for hot topic: A job’s a job. Get off it. They’re not making bombs for terrorists or selling crack to children, they’re just making a living. Some of us morlocks actually have to work during the day while the indie/fashion Eloi prace around the surface and spout their tired rhetoric about how nobody is an individual anymore and oh! think of the children. You know what I wore when I was a kid? The clothes my parents could afford to put on me. Spoiled brats.
Sorry if someone’s already mentioned this, but Hot Topic is going to be selling this MC Lars CD.
I feel like I’m watching the end of SLC Punk over and over again.
My favorite part is how some of these people are pretending that there’s any type of counterculture to be assiciated with today’s “indie rock.”
Indie my ass… Emo kids just call themselves indie now so they don’t look so pathetic.
jake, what are you? 13? grow the fuck up you meatheaded shitbag.
i think the only people who think they are “different” and “edgy” for shopping at hot topic are 14 years old.. and as we all know, 14 year olds are dumb as fuck.
my whole point is that it’s just completely pointless and ridiculous to care about fashion, subcultures (imagined or real…), trendiness vs. nontrendiness, whether or not someone spends too much time on their hairstyles, and so on. Just be who you feel comfortable being, and let others be who they feel comfortable being. If you take joy in making fun of people who aren’t the same as you are, especially when the subject in question is fashion or musical tastes, then you’re just an idiot who really needs to learn about maturity.
@sarah – Conspicuous consumption “is generally reserved for those forms of consumption that are motivated by societal factors.” So while it is illegal to run around naked the motivation for clothing purchases can fall under the the concept of conspicuous consumption.
@shannon – It was not my intention to come off as flippant as I sound. Look, I remember what it was like to be a shy awkward teen and yes I grew up in the suburbs. My point is more centered on the fact that many people, adults and tees alike fall into the trap of defining themselves by external factors. People use clothing as badges that indicate who they are, clothing is a costume, so a teen who shops at Hot Topic, like my niece, is no different than the mid level manager who shops at Ann Taylor. The troubling aspect comes in when these external factors become the sole anchor for self-identification, hence my comment about sheeple and cattle.
As for my indie cred, I have none. Fact of the matter is I buy clothes off the sale rack based on comfort and price but they do not define me. I define myself by what I do and what I think and getting to that point was a long road. Apologies if my flippancy was equated with arrogance but people are often a little to sensitive to perceived attacks on their sense of self worth. If self-worth was derived less from external factors and more on internal factors than maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Hell, all the laughter at my $3.99 Old Navy polo shirt isn’t so bad because I got a good deal, who cares if it is salmon pink, I sure don’t!
james, i must admit i have an unfortunate tendency to use words like “idiot” when talking to a stranger online, when in real life I’m much more approachable and understanding. The reason this whole thing has me so worked up is that I’ve taken it as a bit of a personal attack. Spending most of my time as an employee at Hot Topic, it would be difficult not to take it personally; particularly when I know that I’m not the kind of person that many people associate with the stereotypical Hot Topic worker/customer. I’m with you, a hundred percent, on this comment you made:
Fact of the matter is I buy clothes off the sale rack based on comfort and price but they do not define me. I define myself by what I do and what I think and getting to that point was a long road.
I see your point much more clearly, but honestly I didn’t single you out in my comments; they were directed at anyone who was making a big deal out of how much hot topic sucks. I agree that the kids who shop there are kidding themselves if they think they are somehow ‘different’ if they wear these clothes, stretch the holes in their ears to the size of watermelons, and dye their hair all colors of the rainbow. I went through that whole phase too, about 15 years ago. I grew out of it and realized just what you’ve realized, that who we are comes from inside, not the outside. I imagine that many of these kids will figure that out as they get older. And although you don’t seem to be laughing at them because you’re “punker” or “more indie” than they are, there are lots of people out there who do have that attitude, and they really do fail to see the irony this.
james, i must admit i have an unfortunate tendency to use words like “idiot” when talking to a stranger online, when in real life I’m much more approachable and understanding. The reason this whole thing has me so worked up is that I’ve taken it as a bit of a personal attack. Spending most of my time as an employee at Hot Topic, it would be difficult not to take it personally; particularly when I know that I’m not the kind of person that many people associate with the stereotypical Hot Topic worker/customer. I’m with you, a hundred percent, on this comment you made:
Fact of the matter is I buy clothes off the sale rack based on comfort and price but they do not define me. I define myself by what I do and what I think and getting to that point was a long road.
I see your point much more clearly, but honestly I didn’t single you out in my comments; they were directed at anyone who was making a big deal out of how much hot topic sucks. I agree that the kids who shop there are kidding themselves if they think they are somehow ‘different’ if they wear these clothes, stretch the holes in their ears to the size of watermelons, and dye their hair all colors of the rainbow. I went through that whole phase too, about 15 years ago. I grew out of it and realized just what you’ve realized, that who we are comes from inside, not the outside. I imagine that many of these kids will figure that out as they get older. And although you don’t seem to be laughing at them because you’re “punker” or “more indie” than they are, there are lots of people out there who do have that attitude, and they really do fail to see the irony of this.
sorry about the double post…my browser’s being screwy.
When Hot Topic sells a band’s shirt, how much $$ does the band get? (serious question for all you HT managers)
shannon – “And although you don’t seem to be laughing at them because you’re “punker” or “more indie” than they are, there are lots of people out there who do have that attitude, and they really do fail to see the irony of this.”
All the more reason to quote Madonna, “I just have to laugh to keep from crying,” because these are the same people who will grow up to believe that they are defined by how much square footage their house has and how wide the deck on their lawnmower is. Which reminds me, I really need to replace my lawmover…
For those of you saying where you buy your clothes isn’t important, fuck off. The owner of urban outfitter, Richard Haye, is this huge right-wing conservative who gives tons of money to the Bush administration and other Rebuplican campaigns. So I guess if you’re a republican I don’t really care if you shop there, but for all the young, liberal, hipsters who think they’re totally sweet buying their “The only bush I trust is my own” shirts from their local urban outfitters store, you’re complete tools.
As for Hot Topic, its owned by the Gap corporation, which is known for its child labor use in third-world countries.
Not to mention if I have to see one more t-shirt that says “vote for pedro” or “I’m unique” or “I’m on Tim Burton’s balls” someones gonna get shot.
I also think it’s important to note that just because 14 year olds are naive- doesn’t justify selling them a lifestyle that is for the most part repulsive and talentless. Both are at fault for it, but it would be nice to see a music movement or fashion movement that was innovative or interesting. For people saying fashion doesn’t matter, I’m sure you fall into the casual friday syndrome of America. I see no difference between art and a finely constructed garment. We seem to just be recovering from the 70′s in fashion. It’s all much larger than the “hot topic”issue, but for the age group in general. Things seemed a lot better even 10 years ago compared to how pop culture (which is really all most of them base their style/attitudes/music choices) has devolved. I noticed a phenomon that is kind of terrifying. Bands like Green Day and Oasis were on the radio 10 years ago to the day, and at the time they were young (somewhat) talented and a hell of a lot more relevant than they are now. But the thing is- they’re huger than ever… there’s something pathetic about an aging pop punk band that has made the same album only seemingly worse each time and with less interest. It’s a new generation of young teens aspiring the same way gen Y did through a group of aging irrelevant rockers. The advent of clear channel and the combination of retailers really nailing each niche of the market has just made it too simple for kids to play right into their hands and as a result really lose a lot of individuality – on a lot of levels.
Le Tigre’s “Hot Topic” was featured in a Telus (Canadian cell phone company) tv ad a few months ago and I couldn’t find out what the song was. Brilliant luck to find it here.
I can’t believe people are actually having a serious discussion about this.
Just FYI, Hot Topic isn’t owned by Gap. Hot Topic is a publically traded corporation. I don’t know if Gap owns any stock in Hot Topic (I doubt it) but that would be the only way Gap (or any other retailer) could ‘own’ Hot Topic.
Also, by the way, it’s really very frustrating for the rational teens of the world to have to put up with these morons on a daily basis. A lot of you may think Hot Topic’s hypocrisy and the world of fashion are a big deal, but for the most part, the kids who buy into this stuff are incredibly clueless. Suburban, southern high schools are absolutely bursting with stereotypical idiots buying their individuality at Hot Topic, but I promise, the people who are actually tolerablely different are the ones who are’t trying to prove this by being as much of a conformist as possible.
Saying Hot Topic isn’t punk is like saying Pizza Hut isn’t Italian. Likewise, saying Hot Topic isn’t different than anything else is like saying Domino’s and Pizza Hut aren’t different. Except when it comes to those hideous Tripp pants with all the straps. Those are just ugly. Especially the ones with the biohazard signs. Ugh.
Devin, I think you’ve made the best post on this so far, even though I guess I buy into at least a fraction of that “repulsive, tasteless lifestyle.” Well said.
Again, when Hot Topic sells a band’s shirt, how much $$ does the band get? (serious question for all you HT managers)
To all you Canadians:
Stop buying cheap shit crap at urban outfitters, just go to Holt Renfrew and make it happen. Buy the classic shit. No shirts with embroidery or crap like that + make sure it is made in a real country like France, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Canada or USA, not like Moldovia (Old Navy). Spend the money, or do what you need to do to get it, back to the classics, they never look dated.
Bye
REAL COUNTRY! what are you talking about. every country that has stated independence is a real fucking country you asshole
REAL COUNTRY! what are you talking about. every country that has stated independence is a real fucking country you asshole
is individuality really measured in one’s fashion? where do people get thier “facts”? first it’s owned by abercrombie, then by the gap. i’m surprised no one said martha stewart designs all the band t-shirts and that hot topic is operated by al qaeda in a terrorist funded manipulation of american youth. this whole debate should be centered around a company like wal-mart. christ ya know linens and things..that stuffs really over priced. hey kids how about we go down to pier one and get a 5 dollar wicker chair for $207.74. i’m getting off track. my point is why hot topic? why not talk b.s. about fubu or south pole? you have no idea what those companies business practices are yet you look into hot topic’s? are you people offended that someone is marketing a style that you called unique for yourself? sorry to generalize but this whole thing makes absolutely no sence to me. i think people are pissed that someone is making thier “original” style marketable. did i say original i meant uniform.
I guess it’s easier for me to think well of Hot Topic when they’re helping to put my girlfriend through school this summer and paying for her tickets to concerts.
Pizza Hut isnt Italian?
I just typed out this ridiculously long response about how stupid it is to be so elitist about someone’s damn CLOTHES, of all things…but then I realized how pointless it is to try and get through to said elitists. So I give up. I don’t care what you think any more than you care what I think. A few of you anti-hot topic people here seem to make reasonable points and are probably quite sensible people. Others are just being snobs for the sake of being snobs, while still others are relying on arguments with no basis in fact (re: the gap owning hot topic, right wing conspiracies, etc) and I don’t care about debating with those people. So whatever; continue on with your elitism if that’s what fulfills you and makes you feel important.
When someone said that Hot Topic was owned by The Gap the first thing that popped into my head was an image of all the mall stores coming to life after everyone leaves, and Hot Topic getting really, really, really drunk and passing out, and then The Gap coming along and pissing on Hot Topic saying, “You are so pwned, Hot Topic.”
Is there something wrong with me?
Boo Hoo, my scene got co-opted. All the naval gazers can shut up. You all sound like a bunch of hippies complaining that “the kids” don’t get the point of wearing tie-dye.
James: Who or what are you quoting?
Naval gazers = hilarious idea. I think immediately of the original widow’s walks, where sailor’s wives would wait for their husbands’ sunken ships to come in.
Nobody talks about Fubu because it’s not For Us OR By Us. It’s for them.
@sarah – I am quoting the Wikipedia definition of conspicuous consumption. The concept was first coined by U.S. economist Thorstein Veblen in The Theory of the Leisure Class to describe the concept of purchasing the accouterments of wealth to indicate status.
The definition has evolved to cover behaviors of consumption that are driven by social factors rather than by need. This is why I argued that much of the purchasing behaviors exhibited by the average consumer are in fact driven by social motives; Ann Taylor conveys a sense of middle class sophistication, Abercrombie and Fitch fulfills aspirations for blood that is bluer, and Hot Topic approximates the marketplace definition of outsider. People, by and large, are driven to consume based on patterns of the peer group they most want to emulate. So yes, while clothes are a need they have always been a means to indicate status and in today’s society of wealth and leisure they are the best means to indicate cultural memberships or aspirations.
ummm….my view:
hot topic= store
store= place where you buy things
things= things
why waste time and effort worrying about frivolous things? clothes? taste in music? is it really all that important? everybody has their own preferences and if they like the stuff at hot topic, let em shop there. not a big deal. i can’t believe y’all have actually had a conversation about this!
Roosevelt Field holla? Hofstra University holla!
Fascinating. I totally thought conspicuous consumption was, I’ll use my
own words here, obvious, over-acquirement of things; possession
overkill that emphasis that gap between the have?s and the have not?s.
Thanks for the examples, I understand what you are saying now. I wish I could disagree with your premise but, there is too much information confirming that the premise of target marketing works.
On the bright side, it is also well known that for target marketing to continuously work, companies must pay to keep their advertising campaigns in the public?s eye. That shows that people are not learning this contrived information in the same way that they learn say, how to ride a bike.
I think it is true that people make their clothing purchases based on emotional and psychological factors, as well as physical comfort. All these things are important to a healthy person?s well being. When you couple this with the fact that people have to buy clothes anyway, your deduction that ?people live like cattle? seems harsh.
good hot topic consumerism: oh look! 15 dollar clash shirt! why the hell not?
bad hot topic consumerism: so, hot topic got in a new “hawthorne heights” tshirt. wanna go buy that CD now?
I’ll concede that my statement “people live like cattle” is a bit harsh. That said, the simple fact that people can develop from the brand awareness phase to the brand allegiance phase bears out the conclusion that as a social creature we can be moved in particular directions with little or no critical thinking involved on the individual level. Prime examples of this are Apple/Windows/Linux evangelists and Ford/Chevy/Dodge purists whereby the brand becomes the foundation of lifestyle and cultural identification and questioning the loyalty to the brand is tantamount to heresy. So the issue at hand here is that needs are subverted to wants, a hallmark of a consumerist society which aarushi summed it up nicely with the “bad hot topic consumerism” example.
i am from australia and we don’t have hot topic but do have store quite lyk it but this shop called supre doesn’t even have “ok” clothes they have clothes that make people look lyk skanks, don’t get wrong sometimes i do buy the odd plain singlet from there to wear under things but other then that it is mostly clothes that make you look lyk a hooker
i am from australia and we don’t have hot topic but we do have a store quite lyk it but this shop (called supre) but it doesn’t even have “ok” clothes they have clothes that make people look lyk skanks, don’t get me wrong sometimes i do buy the odd plain singlet from there to wear under things but other then that it is mostly clothes that make you look lyk a hooker
for everyone that has read this or has responded i just wanna say damn not a single fucking one of u get it… in the late 70s early 80s something bigger then image happened a few groups of very different taste stood out to be different to rebel against no not “the man” but society itself.. they didn’t dress a certain way everyday they threw on whatever was beside them when they woke up and didn’t give a damn… and the term emo makes me sick honestly if u say ur emo u are a posser because the only tru emo’s wont admit it, u can just tell … and indie wow thats a posser term if i heard one what the fuck is that supposed to be i’m better then posser emo i’m indie unless u live in seattle or cali don’t talk about indie and i come from ohio so i’m not being a dick but thats where the true indie culture comes from
kpeace
Just for the record Abercrombie does not own Hot Topic. Hot Topic Inc. is its own company and no one owns it but them. I used to be one of the Hot Topic haters, and then I really gave the store a chance, and now I employed by them, and honestly they are one of the best companies to work for.
I think the song was pretty funny/catchy….And that we shouldn’t need to fight about whether or whether not Hottopic sucks or does’nt, It’s kind of like an art form i guess you can say…But what about all those people wearing there pants down to their knee’s i mean come on honostly….Were arguing over this when theres even bigger problems to worry about..
Frozen pop tarts rule
Pop tarts are not punk rock
Not that it matters anymore ‘cos everyone has left this topic, but marcus, the only “posser” is a person who calls out others when they themselves cannot even correctly type.
(ever heard of capitalization? punctuation? SPELLING? Are you in third grade?)