Friday, April 07, 2006

"Ironic" tee saturation point

I have reached it.

I discussed these tee shirts with my brother yesterday. I forbade him from buying any except maybe the dinosaur one. I am appalled at some of the utter cheese he mistook for humor.

I can deal with some amount of pre-fabricated vintage-style items (brother-of-Zuppe suggested Knight Rider tee shirts, which would RULE) but this ... this I cannot stand. Also, a lot of them are just not funny, and questionable in terms of ethnic/racial imagery.

Patti White once said that postmodernism explores the concept of the "photocopy without an original" (yes, BRILLIANT) -- these tee shirts are exactly those photocopies, except that they are the photocopies people make of their own butts when they are drunk.

They are f-ing trucker hats in tee shirt form -- why don't people freaking recognize?!

In other news, I continue to by mystifed by the term "emo". Of course, I consulted Wikipedia, forthwith (when did Wikipedia come about as the wonder that it is?) It answered some of my questions, and could quite possibly make me interested in listening to rock music again. Of course, it piqued my interest in bands from 15 years ago (because Fall Out Boy scares me a little and Dashboard Confessional scares me A LOT), and I may have to read this book to ease myself out of my G-Unit phase.

8 comments:

starbright oogi said...

so cheesy-- reminds me of delia's or urban outfitter's misguided attempts at wit. the dinosaur one is cute-- reminds me of denver the last dinosaur.

emo--interesting. i really dislike the current "emo" bands, but i do like fugazi and sunny day... bands which weren't derivative. another reminder that i am stuck in the 90s.

aging cowgirl said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
aging cowgirl said...

wasn't irony so gen-X? aren't we post-irony? and does that put us in the emo camp? maybe irony is the perpetual domain of adolescence and we are getting up in years now . . .

aging cowgirl said...

I just got the t-saturation point reference! Are we talking titration here? and that cool really pale pink color? I loved doing that. Lilbunny, please advise.

zuppe said...

I didn't mean to make a chemistry reference, but let me give myself props for my scienterrific subconscience :)

I think I remember titration. And something pink.

I like irony. I consider myself Gen-X (is that fear of the post-"Clueless" and emo generations talking?) ... but these tee shirts are like Gen-X poser-style. That must be what I abhor. They are like the Ben Stiller character in 'Reality Bites'. I can imagine him wearing them and perhaps marketing them via the reality show in the movie.

zuppe said...

and oh wait ...

I love the 90s. I think it will forever be part of my aesthetic and nostalgic yearnings.

*sings* Denver! the last dinosaur / he's my friend and a whole lot more!

I can't believe I store stuff like this in my head.

To prove I'm not alone in the world:
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_theme/2/

jblogs said...

i'm so out of it. i don't really follow what "emo" is. checked out the wikepedia link but still am contextually clueless.

ditto on the delia's etc tshirts. i definitely consider myself the very tippy tip end/gen-xer....(as most popular journalism does...those born in 1978 is the cut off...that's us!)

we're probably so post-irony it's fresh to be sincere.

zuppe said...

J, you are utterly quotable.

"we're probably so post-irony it's fresh to be sincere." will have to be my new e-mail signature.