Tribal Alliances

May 2, 2003 7:57 AM

When Teenage Tribes Attack Which tribe do you (or your kids) belong to? As a new parent, this kind of stuff alternately makes me giggle and keeps my pop-culture critical faculty in business (and it's good to know that Siouxsie & the Banshees still have some audience). Somehow I can't imagine a US media outlet exposing its unhip side in the Post-Grunge Hoax media environment. But kudos for the tidy design, in any case.
posted by chandy72 (13 comments total)

The Indie-Kids one definitely hit home the most.

Love
7" vinyl
70s badges
John Peel
Obscure independent record labels
Hate
Anything popular
Boy Bands, especially if they are trying to look a bit 'indie'
R&B
Not being working class
When their favourite band jumps from obscurity on a cool independent to a major label
When someone knows a more obscure band than they do
posted by Space Coyote at 8:08 AM on May 2, 2003

Thankfully I don't fall into any of those categories - I suppose it's because I'm not 16.
posted by tomorama at 8:19 AM on May 2, 2003

But I'd bet dollars to donuts, tomorama, that you could think of analagous tribes from when you were 16, eh?
Me? I was a Squid (still not entirely clear what exactly the parameters were except that we weren't as prone to pot smoking as the Burnouts -- even though both groups were allowed to listen to the Cult alot).
posted by chandy72 at 8:23 AM on May 2, 2003

What if I don't or don't want to fall into any of the lame, media produced, bullshit cookie cutter molds? Maybe I won't be popular?
posted by Pollomacho at 8:28 AM on May 2, 2003

I love Siouxsie & the Banshees ....
posted by oissubke at 8:31 AM on May 2, 2003

Pollomacho: so I take it you were an indie kid then? ;)
posted by PenDevil at 8:40 AM on May 2, 2003

You're in the grocery store. You ask someone where's the cereal aisle. The person points you in the right direction. What do you do? You make a mother fucking mix tape.

genius.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:52 AM on May 2, 2003

I was more that long haired guy that was kinda stoned all the time and listened to bad (and I do mean BAD in retrospect) 60's music, was on the debate and trivia bowl team, president of the science club, but also started on the soccer team and worked out with the enormous black football linebackers and hung out in my spare time with the band nerds, gay theatre guys and the D&D freaks, who I introduced to the enormous black football linebackers, who in exchange for help in classes would ensure that no one gave them even the makings of any shit. So, which group is that?

(Incidentally, I have some very interesting stories about my public school days, that is before the racial riots closed my school down and I had to go to boarding school)
posted by Pollomacho at 9:09 AM on May 2, 2003

We are Esquimaux. None of these groups of young people appear to hunt the Walrus.
posted by jfuller at 9:40 AM on May 2, 2003

What happened to calling them 'cliques'?
posted by Cerebus at 9:41 AM on May 2, 2003

Oh how far we have fallen. In my high school years, I was a Rude Boy (or, as we referred to ourselves, Rudies). A far cry from the Rude Boys, with a "Mobile phone (the smaller the better) constantly glued to their ear" and "a new found love of Bling, Bling (jewellery)."

We wore suits and listened to ska.
posted by the.omega.concern at 11:47 AM on May 2, 2003

I was a punk goth...all the attitude and twice the eyeliner.

Good times...good times.
posted by dejah420 at 11:58 AM on May 2, 2003

i kind of wish this were more like the grunge hoax
posted by ProfLinusPauling at 2:16 AM on May 6, 2003