The Death of the Underground
21 Apr
This is totally “off topic” for me, but I found this interview with former Club Kid and convicted murderer, Michael Alig via love you in the fall.
I was really intrigued by the following:
“Rudolf was always at the forefront of everything. In 1989, he saw this coming, and that’s why he named his club Quick. He said that things were going to be happening very, very fast from now on—satellites and MTV were just the beginning—that it would be impossible to keep anything secret and the notion of the underground would be flipped on its head. And that’s exactly what happened. Rudolf predicted that the Club Kids would be the last large subculture to come out of Manhattan, because a subculture needs time to germinate and build. And there won’t be time anymore, because as soon as something happens it will be assimilated instantly. I think the Misshapes are a good example of that because they became assimilated instantly. And if the Internet had been around in our time, the same thing would have happened to us.”
This is quite amazing if what he says is true…that this gentleman predicted the death of all things underground. It extends beyond this and translates to music, fashion, trends, slang. Nothing stays “cool” for too long anymore. Thoughts?
This is true and very, very scarey…
I disagree. Although there is greater access to the “underground” elements of music, fashion, trends, slang, etc. people have even more on their plates now than they did years ago. Having access to more information does not always translate into people intentionally seeking more information. I think the internet will keep trends flipping over at a quicker pace than ever before, but there will always be room for the trendsetters. I think that the internet has opened doors into other cultures that may prove to be the new breeding grounds for what we think is “cool.” If so, we’ve got a lot of time before we run out of inspiration.
Nothing stay cool for too long and nothing stays quiet or secretive.
Everyone is too connected, which has positive aspects and negative ones.
What I find a bit scary is that the reaction to something not being “cool” very long might drive fads to the extreme, such as we see very often in Youtube videos. Why else would youth video tape themselves robbing a store, or vandalizing a car and then post the video if not to try and join the cool and the popular?
The whole idea of “underground” or “sub-culture” (IMO) is to stray from the commercial, the popular, and the typical. If anything, the internet has taken this idea to a whole new level. You can see it most in the music industry. Radio, MTV and record companies are struggling because younger consumers do not want to listen to anything that’s forced upon or marketed to them. The internet, itunes, youtube, etc.. give them all the choices in the world.
The internet allows anyone to find, start and participate in whatever sub-culture they’d like, whether they are in Boise or Brooklyn – how cool is that?
Btw – Michael Alig and the rest of the Club Kids were all over Geraldo, Jerry Springer and other day time talk shows in their heyday. Not so underground. NO ONE wanted more attention than a Club Kid. The real sub-culture there was the people passionate about the music and dancing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY0V4O7ErJ0
I’m going to have to disagree, to a sense. Of course trends are changing almost everyday. You turn on the TV or flip a page in a magazine and there is some new fad coming out of the woodwork. But just how new is it? Look at fashion today. It is a mash-up of the past present and future. For example: I’m currently wearing an 80’s muscle-tee with the face of the band T-Rex on it, and a red 50’s skirt. not gonna lie I pull it off somehow, but I’m not original in this sense at all. Yet, tomorrow it could be considered the new fad. And technology will always be new and growing. I suppose all we can do is try and embrace it.