Hot Topic

A few months ago I picked up some extra work as a bartender at a huge corporate outing for CEO's of hundreds of the biggest companies in the country.

The CEO and VP of 'Hot Topic' were among the attendees I poured cocktails for. (side note, in a sea of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, these guys whom were in their 50's, were dressed in black jeans, one had a 'west coast choppers' T on, and the other, a black button-down with flames all over it, ala rockabilly)

All kinds of things were racing through my mind regarding what I wanted to say to these guys, but ultimately I just poured drinks, smiled, and said nothing.

If you were in my shoes, what would you have said to these guys?

Does jerking off in their coconut drinks count?

I wouldn't have said anything, but then I don't have anything against them really. I don't care one way or the other about Hot Topic.

free shots of bleach.

"Dude, can I borrow a grand?"

Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic
Please no not again with Hot Topic

i'd sarcastically say, "Wow, you guys have made it so much easier for kids to be cool and original!!" then i'd make some smart-ass remark cuz i was drunk and probably get fired.
but first i'd totally help the Tortoise fill 'er up!

If you were replying to the question in my post, Im certian if you repeated that 14 times to those guys while serving them drinks, they would have questioned your sanity.

Honestly . . . "If you guys discontinue the Nintendo related shirts, I'll kill you." Meh, so I give em my money, sue me.

nothing. they're just businessmen doing their business. c'est la vie.

OK, fair enough, I was just asking if we could please not talk about Hot Topic again, but you just watch how this thread turns out. ..

shush! now where is hel to send you to your room?!

See, I bring Hot Topic up, and get talks of being zotted. Someone else brings up Hot Topic and gets responses.

Insert melodramatic music here.



God, why is it so hard being me?!?!?!

okay here it is..... i don't think it's such a bad thing that a person with tattoos and piercings can actually get a job in a corporate type gig and be allowed to look the way they want to look, interact with the public, and maybe learn some job/management skills. even though hot topic gets a bad rap amongst indies, it is a way for people with a certain lifestyle/appearance to work for a large corporation and learn a few things. kids who might be getting their first job and who may not be able to find jobs elsewhere in corporate america. or adults. whatever. they may actually have some career growth with the company and what's bad about that? alright go ahead and kick my ass now.

wait - there's more. now that i'm thinking about it .... it's 2003 for pete's sake. alternative ain't what it used to be. (i'm old, i remember when people first started piercing their noses. i'm still bitter that it became a fad.)there are high paid marketing analysts targeting that cross-section of the buying public. i guess if i had a teenager i'd rather my kid buy a pair of corporate dickies than some god-awful britney spears looking crap. and that oughtta do it for 8 am.

nintendo like just the logo or with dumb mario on it
a gray shirt with the red nintendo logo would rock

[Edited on Sep 06, 2003 by fiendish]

a sega logo shirt would rock 2

I would have said "Can I get you gentlemen anything else?"

They're doing their job, you should do yours. What amuses me is that people slag hot topic to no end......BUT nobody says "boo" about the rediculously high priced shops on St. Marks place in NY City. They sell a lot of the same merchandise but at VERY different prices.

I bought a Lucky 13 brand shirt at Hot Topic a year ago on sale for $20. The same exact fucking shirt at Religious Sex in NYC was $60.

The thing is, stores like Hot Topic, Bang Bang, etc. let people who aren't lucky enough to live in the trendiest areas of town get the things they like at their local mall.

If I want a black t-short with a skull on it.....I'm going to drive the 15 minutes to the local hot topic. I'm not going to drive 50 minutes to Zipperhead in Philly to buy the same fucking shirt.

I long for the day when there is a Hot Topic, a Starbucks and an Empire Miusic on every fucking corner of every fucking town in America. I just wanna watch the subbacultcha snobs foamin at the mouth.

I like Hot Topic. Try living in a one horse town and trying to find some cool Bettie Page stuff.

Good boy, here's a milkbone

When companies like Lucky 13, Serious, and Lip Service sell to Hot Topic the articles are of a lesser quality than what they sell to the smaller shops. The material is cheaper, as is the construction. Also, it is less specific a fit. It sucks though when we have the good stuff and Hot Topic sells the same thing for almost as much as I get it wholesale.

Dogpile is the shit like that. They don't sell to Hot Topic and they make that abundantly clear. Not only that, but they also full on support roots punk culture.

Me too brotha!! Bring in Wawas and Hot Topic and The Wall galore!! Watch those snobs snarl! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

We don't get Hot Topic here.

hehe you said subbacultcha
i can see yr point.
I don't really care either way about hot topic.
I just stay out of there, and waste my money on other things. I have beef with the "fashion industry" as a whole. If kids want to walk into a store and spend too much money on a shirt that'll fall apart in a few weeks - more power to 'em.

to answer the original question, i don't think i'd really say or do anything to them either. cept maybe follow them out to their cars with a crowbar at hand and grab a wallet or two

Did dogpile USED to sell to hottopic? I could have sworn i saw dogpile bondage pants in there a few years back.
I dunno when it comes to "roots punk culture" what the hell happened to DIY?>!?