acamus
07-19-2006, 06:31 PM
Every once in a while I read a review that asks or outright claims the boys are creeping toward irrelevance. I'm a fan, no doubt, so I am ... fanatic? Biased? True, but here's what I've seen:
TT5B debuts at #1 on the Billboard album charts.
TT5B goes platinum in three weeks (doesn't sell as fast as HN).
TT5B (as artwork) is prominently featured in several Apple ads. (for example: http://www.apple.com/itunes/ and the ad with the flurry of records building a city)
Disco fonts are used by Madonna, Wolfmother, etc.
A few weeks after the start of the Pageant tour, places like Foot Locker, Pacific Coast and Target start carrying yellow/green and navy/sky track suits (Foot Locker carries Adidas, Pacific Coast and Target stock knock-offs.) Either way the boy's tour costumes invade the consciousness of mass market America. Soon followed by hipsters hanging out in Borders with Adidas track suits. Then this year, Adidas pays tribute to them with Cey's designs.
Allan Light's book "Skills to Pay the Bills" and 33 1/3s book about "Paul's Boutique" are published.
Just this month, target features lamps, pushpin boards, etc. with line urban line drawings similar to Matteo's work featured as the art on TT5B.
I'm sure the pathways of influence are more complex than what I'm presenting, but this is what I've seen. While the boys joke around about hiring cool hunters and knowing what kids are into (I say it's Apple Jacks), they do seem to still be among the arbiters of taste. It's understandable that they treat journalist's questions on this topic so flippantly; they do claim that they just do what they like. And who would have guessed that for 20 years you could fill albums full of jokes about shit that only a hand full of people are privy to, obscure pop culture references, junk culture and often things that are out of style and still have this kind of influence. Besides, only they get to see how they come upon their ideas and so laugh at being considered fashion forward. Are they just avid observers who beat others to the punch by a couple weeks or months (or as in PBs case years)? You can tell that they latch onto something (like we all do when we see something new and cool) and ride it for awhile. They were dropping the "IMDB me./Google me, fool." joke in several interviews. Mike used the "we're middle school" answer until Yauch started the "Weird Unkle" response on "Fresh Air" to answer questions about where they fit in the history of Hip Hop. They live in NY, grew up around art, hang with the royalty of smarts, so I guess it's no surprise.
My interest is, however, more about how ideas (memes?) spread; talking about it through the lens of the boys is one way to get at it because we all spend so much time watching them. Aren't there any ad execs/cool hunters on this site that have a thought? What have ya'll seen?
TT5B debuts at #1 on the Billboard album charts.
TT5B goes platinum in three weeks (doesn't sell as fast as HN).
TT5B (as artwork) is prominently featured in several Apple ads. (for example: http://www.apple.com/itunes/ and the ad with the flurry of records building a city)
Disco fonts are used by Madonna, Wolfmother, etc.
A few weeks after the start of the Pageant tour, places like Foot Locker, Pacific Coast and Target start carrying yellow/green and navy/sky track suits (Foot Locker carries Adidas, Pacific Coast and Target stock knock-offs.) Either way the boy's tour costumes invade the consciousness of mass market America. Soon followed by hipsters hanging out in Borders with Adidas track suits. Then this year, Adidas pays tribute to them with Cey's designs.
Allan Light's book "Skills to Pay the Bills" and 33 1/3s book about "Paul's Boutique" are published.
Just this month, target features lamps, pushpin boards, etc. with line urban line drawings similar to Matteo's work featured as the art on TT5B.
I'm sure the pathways of influence are more complex than what I'm presenting, but this is what I've seen. While the boys joke around about hiring cool hunters and knowing what kids are into (I say it's Apple Jacks), they do seem to still be among the arbiters of taste. It's understandable that they treat journalist's questions on this topic so flippantly; they do claim that they just do what they like. And who would have guessed that for 20 years you could fill albums full of jokes about shit that only a hand full of people are privy to, obscure pop culture references, junk culture and often things that are out of style and still have this kind of influence. Besides, only they get to see how they come upon their ideas and so laugh at being considered fashion forward. Are they just avid observers who beat others to the punch by a couple weeks or months (or as in PBs case years)? You can tell that they latch onto something (like we all do when we see something new and cool) and ride it for awhile. They were dropping the "IMDB me./Google me, fool." joke in several interviews. Mike used the "we're middle school" answer until Yauch started the "Weird Unkle" response on "Fresh Air" to answer questions about where they fit in the history of Hip Hop. They live in NY, grew up around art, hang with the royalty of smarts, so I guess it's no surprise.
My interest is, however, more about how ideas (memes?) spread; talking about it through the lens of the boys is one way to get at it because we all spend so much time watching them. Aren't there any ad execs/cool hunters on this site that have a thought? What have ya'll seen?