Photo by Lastnightsparty
I think that products unify people. Some products last forever, staying relevant with each new generation. For example, most ‘normal people’ have eaten at McDonalds during their lifetime. I am trying to identify products which unify the alternative community. One product that I think most ppl have owned and built their brand around is the Chuck Taylor All Star. Not sure if ‘high tops’ were for every1, but I think most people who have wanted to build an alternative personal brand sometime in their lives’ invested $20-40 in this simple show that isn’t as comfy as people pretend it is.
Can’t believe they played basketball in these shoes back b4 I was alive. Probs resulted in a lot of shin splints/stress fractures. But I don’t think ‘black people’ were ‘flying above the rim’ back when these shoes were ‘athletic’ so maybe it was more manageable.
Just glad that this timeless, humble, unisex shoe is there for all of us. Any time I want to look like a humble, approachable alt who isn’t ‘too intimidating’ and is probably open to any sort of experience or genre of music, I put my lowtop Chuck Taylor All stars on. Think it’s kinda keut when girls wear them. Think it’s keut when mainstream tweens who are experimenting with altness wear a pair of these shoes.
Can yall think of any other products that unify the alternative population? We just have a lot in common sometimes with all genres of alt, like ‘black t-shirts’, or ‘blank CD-Rs’ or even ‘Macbooks.’ We all kinda just want the same thing, and we all have the same tools to achieve our social goals [via mall in suburbia].
“We’re all kinda the same, if u put all of the purchases during our lifetime into a big Excel spreadsheet.” – Jesus
Previous Shoe Coverage
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2008/08/which-shoe-company-represents-u.html
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/01/product-review-kanye-wests-new-zany-shoe.html
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2008/10/should-i-be-nike-4-halloween.html
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2008/08/kute-azn-of-the-day-snkr-edition.html
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IAmCarles.com
26 Comments
yeah man, then i found out that nike bought out converse and i got so disenchanted with The Man and i threw them away, and then i just fell off the wagon and started wearing zany-color limited-edition nikes. my footwear purchase life is basically like that intervention episode with the meth addict girl :(
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still waiting for more alt breast posts
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I remember when chucks used to be cool. The dirtier the pair, the more broken in the pair, the more rancid looking and smelling the pair pinpointing just how long you’ve had them was the way to judge your higher status among the “alts.” Now you just see a bunch of lame-o’s wearing sqeaky clean chucks scared to get just one speck of dirt on them. We bought the shoes cause they were made in the u.s.a (anti-slave labor/anti-corporatism) and they only cost $15-20. Now they cost starting at $40! Are made in china! And are owned by nike! You should be ashamed if you wear modern day chucks. I still have all my old pairs (nostalgia and it continues to be a status symbol when people visit my place and see them all) but I will never be caught dead wearing them in public ever again. I will refuse to be associated with all the lame ass lemmings who dish out $40 plus bucks because they want to create this image that they are “cool.” I am not one of those people and never will be. I am me. Nowadays it’s only about portraying an image. With no substance behind that image. And it’s sad when you have to change who you’ve always been just because someone else stole your image. It sucks when something you felt so strongly about comes shattering down. Oh Chuck Taylor…. you have let me down.
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//////////Reply by jah
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
@shouldertothewheel, caring isn’t alt. oh noes the poor chinaese man. o noh nike is subjagatting my feetz and my childhood
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:24 am
@jah,
o noh @shouldertothewheel gets more replies on his replies than mine. He’s so much Alter than me. It’s so Alt to be Not Alt again
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//////////Reply by xavier
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@shouldertothewheel, you suck.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:42 am
@xavier,
He’s just pissed off he can’t afford his Alt diet.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:46 am
@HRO
Why does the symbol for “at” appear B4 the name who you are replying to happen when you click “Reply” followed by the button “Post Comment.” Am I Commenting or Replying?
//////////Reply by smithsmithsmith
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
@shouldertothewheel, least alt post evr
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:41 am
@smithsmithsmith,
I so digg this reply.
(two G’s, not a typo). Typos are so Alt though.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:50 am
@smithsmithsmith,
He just needs to listen to the New Hit Single by the B’MO Crazy entitled “Protest Song”:
http://www.myspace.com/bmocrazy
-Also, The one called “Tetra Pack” would be my recommended next listen.
-I cannot stop replying/commenting
-Alt-est “Band” EVR
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 1:00 am
@heroin,
I cannot stop commenting on comment replies. I’m so Alt I just plugged a song by its previous title because I’m so with-it and hip I cannot see past my pelvis but am comforted to know I knew about B’MO Crazy before this guy (@shoulderwheel).
Hey @shoulderwheel,
I’m so alt-er than you I knew about the song titled “Protest Song” before it was called “People’s Elbow” Check it out and go back to Alt-School.
//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:25 am
@smithsmithsmith,
most Alt post ever (@shouldertowheels, not yours).
I think. I’m so behind.
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//////////Reply by (p)ossum
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
@shouldertothewheel,
<3 u 4 making a difference
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//////////Reply by brian
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
@shouldertothewheel,
2 long, didnt read
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//////////Reply by yamyams
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
@brian,
werd. skipped to yours, found validation.
h8 long posts. sooooo confusing.
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//////////Reply by zoey
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
@yamyams, where wtvr u want. isn’t that wut being ‘alt’ is all about yall?
//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:28 am
@yamyams,
Skipped to yours, found validation. THANK YOU.
//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:29 am
@yamyams,
plus the gist is that he just needs to blog less and journal more. OR blog more and journal less.
//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:07 am
@yamyams,
Did you also not read the blog post all these posts are about? I’m so Alt sometimes.
//////////Reply by *
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
@shouldertothewheel,
0-felt like quoting this comment
1-who cares about exploited azn kids?
1.5-that’s what they’re made for (am I right? AM I RIGHT?)
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//////////Reply by King Baeksu
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
@*, dude, get with the program.
China and Japan own America’s ass — and by extension yours, too.
You are so American 1.0. Try reading a newspaper for once and have a gander at what’s happening in the “real” world.
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//////////Reply by anony69
//////////Posted March 9th, 2009 at 9:51 am
@shouldertothewheel,
shouldertothewheel=HACKSTER????
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:26 am
@anony69,
No, he is not nearly with-it/clever/hip enough. He needs to go back and study at Alt-University about it so he can not-afford to eat Organic Fair Trade Certified Macaroni and Cheese again. I think I just found the guy who is responsible for the Velcro All-Star shoes I recently saw featured in a hip-downtown core store window…
Do I need to go and purchase Fair Trade Velcro Gazelles now or something? (PS. The shoes were likely silent Velcro, I was to baffled to check. And frankly too not-surprised about this. I know. )
-Fascinating!
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:26 am
@heroin,
-And confusing!
//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:19 am
@shouldertothewheel,
This is my reply to you.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:19 am
@heroin,
Reply.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:33 am
@shouldertothewheel,
U need 2 read more HRO.
U NEED TO READ MORE HRO
Is there any way to “follow this blog” via my blog?
@shouldertothewheel,
DO YOU HAVE A BLOG?
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:34 am
@heroin,
YOU CAN REPLY TO YOUR OWN REPLIES?!
uh oh.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:34 am
@heroin,
YOU CAN “CANCEL” YOUR OWN REPLIES?!
//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:37 am
@heroin,
BUT THE BUTTON SAYS “POST COMMENT”
The internet is a fascinating and confusing place.
IS THE INTERNET A PLACE?
HELP ME, HRO!
IS THAT AN ACRONYM OR SOME SORT OF ALT LINGO I AM NOT HIP ON YET FOR THE WORD “HERO?”
Fuuuuuuuuck (multiple multiple u’s there I really feel i need to emphasize here with a follow up sentence about.) (eeesh.)
//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:39 am
@ shoulder to the wheel:
I’m confused by my own replies. I think I’m lost.
WE ARE SOO POST-POST-MODERN!
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:10 am
@heroin,
IT IS SO ALT TO REPLY TO YOUR OWN REPLIES
“Post Comment (button)
Click to Cancel reply (link)”
What internet Browser is most Alt to use these days?
chucks are a perfect example of the mainstream/alt fashion cycle:
mainstream->
anti-fashion cool->
alt-fashion->
alt default->
mainstream
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//////////Reply by *****
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
@MS, does this mean I don’t have to read HRO anymore?
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//////////Reply by MS
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
@*****,
dont worry!
for HRO it would be:
alt fashion [via HRO memes]->
alt default [via AmCo post]->
obscurity [via post-post-irony]->
alt fashion
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:30 am
@MS,
via post-post Irony?!
Yes! Thank you. I sooooooo “get this” now!
Maybe I should take over an African country, pillage its resources, and murder its citizens, so I can have an altShoe named after me. miss U liberia
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:32 am
@CogInSystem,
Miss U AdBusters.
ANYONE REMEMBER THE BLACKSPOT SNEAKER!?
If you don’t you need to read more Hipster Runoff Yall. (Y’all?) (Apostrophe or no?)
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I haven’t been in the U.S. for a while.
Are Jack Purcells still alt-alt, or meta-alt? Or not?
“Can yall think of any other products that unify the alternative population?”
I think product differentiation is the main product that unifies the alternaverse.
(I made that last word up to differentiate myself from your quote, obviously.)
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:32 am
@King Baeksu,
You need to copyright the word Alternaverse and capitalize the A on it. Totally witnessed that one. I feel unique and special.
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//////////Reply by King Baeksu
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:56 am
@heroin, don’t get ur alter top in a twist.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:11 am
@King Baeksu,
WHOAH
except I only wear Boy’s/Men’s tank tops in the Winter.
//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 6:24 am
@King Baeksu,
Oh and way to .com your name before someone else did. I’m SO BEHIND!
//////////Reply by King Baeksu
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 6:50 am
@heroin:
Mate, heroin.com is still up for grabs!
what about girl jeans for alt guys?
i know that back in the day [two years ago] i totally rocked the girl jeans. no homo though.
however, since the style has faded i relentlessy converted them into JORTS.
i also don’t hook my keys to my belt-loop anymore.
PROGRESS.
but really, girl jeans, checkered vans [or any vans slip-ons] white plastic frame sunglasses, bandanas, keys on the beltloop, and band t-shirts [for credibility purposes]
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//////////Reply by oh,
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
@alterNATIVEamerican, hello 2k5
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//////////Reply by beeflogz
//////////Posted March 9th, 2009 at 4:50 am
@oh,@alterNATIVEamerican,
frealz, get off the reservation and quit listening to teh bl00d broz
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:41 am
@alterNATIVEamerican,
Go to Bali, Indonesia for the cheapest Alt sunglasses (5 dollars and less depending how well you bargain, or how Alt you already look and how much they like you). There are way more colours available than White. Like Fluorescent fake Ray-Bans. You just need to diversify a little again. You can be a unique snowflake if you want to.
Also, Corey Hart (Heart?)
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:43 am
@alterNATIVEamerican,
Also, they were not just “girl jeans” it was SO not Alt to go buy girls’ jeans. You had to steal your girlfriends’ for that one. HUGE cred marks if it was a one-night stand.
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oh boy, you should probably read thisz.
http://antpants.tumblr.com/post/84608797/piece-of-shit-hipsters-i-dont-know-how-much-of-a
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:15 am
@a,
oh boy, I’ma be up all night now. It is so Alt to miss the sun entirely because u were up all night blogging and/or Facebooking…
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@smithsmithsmith
My post was the least alt post ever because it wasn’t an alt post to begin with. It was intended to be an indie post.
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//////////Reply by h8rbro
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
@shouldertothewheel, very INDIE way of respondin
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 6:19 am
@h8rbro,
CAPITAL I-N-D-I-E NOW?
GAWD!
Is that an Acronym now? I wonder what it STANDS for
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Fuck those shoes. I’ve seen ringworm make a better pair of footwear.
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nver done lows THEY ARE FOR THE PUSSIES AND THE FUCKS
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//////////Reply by a
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
@DICKS DICKS DICKS, werd
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those shoes are for ramons loking as motherfuckers
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i remember they used to be so cheap when i was a tween.
yes, i owned a pair and i wore it until the everything fell apart.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:18 am
@qcsky,
Good stuff. the cred in these shoes is in the receipt of purchase (date). Hope u kept ur receipt.
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god i fucking hate those. i have never owned a pair and will never own a pair of these, or those vans prison shoes/slip on crap/gay shoes that everybody thinks are cool. the chuck taylors and the vans prison shoes are probably the worst shoes (besides timberlands) to stock in the back room of a shoe store. they always fall off the shelves cuz the boxes they come in suck and then you have to spend hours figuring out what shoe goes in what box, and inevitably you end up putting the wrong shoe in the wrong box and selling it to a customer who comes back the next day to complain and return their mismatched shoes.
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//////////Reply by sandi
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
@cumputer, kenny shoes. so hardcore.
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HM? THE ? is what to wear instead?
Are vintage shoes authentic enuff?
Don’t really want to associate with Nike anymore.
Do you know what kind of shoes JACK KEROUAC/ CHARLIE BUKOWSKI/OTHER KEUT WRITERS were wearin? Think of buyin some o theirs, what ya say?
I think sneakers are “2 black” for me//
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:19 am
@altCreep,
did you just racially slur the letter two?
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my first brunt CD started with the Kim Possible theme song.
missyounerdiformativeyears.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:20 am
@submasheen,
we’re talking about burnt cd’s? Is this blog post about Napster? I thought it was about shoes. It is so Alt to be a jock now isn’t it.
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when i was burning my first cd it almost contained a bunch of songs with the girls’ name in the lyrics (”the wind cries mary” by jimi, “now mary” by the white stripes, “buddy holly” by weez, and “hey” by pixies).
luckily i didn’t commit this social faux pas. but she did end up breaking my heart neways and ive been socially retarded ever since. h8 u mary.
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//////////Reply by oldbro
//////////Posted March 8th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
@anom, In high school we didn’t have CD burners, we made mix tapes. It felt like more of an art because you had to record the tapes in “real time” – and you would decide exactly how much silence to put between songs based on what felt right while you were making it. And you made sure to use Type II high-bias Chromium Dioxide cassettes. Type I normal-bias cassettes were what you kids would call entry-level. Whether to use Dolby “B” (or even “C”) noise reduction was controversial.
Why am I so fucking old? Fuck me.
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//////////Reply by gene
//////////Posted March 9th, 2009 at 7:45 am
@oldbro, <3 high-bias mixtapes
need to read high fidelity again :)
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:22 am
@gene,
It is so Alt to be Old. and it wasn’t silence between the tracks.
soviet union made a copy of them “chucks” as u call them, and they were used in gym class and such, but after the union’s collapse, the western world took over and those copies were history.
they were cool though!
we still have some Neki’s, Adibas’ and RedBook’s lyin’ around..
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“We’re all kinda the same, if u put all of the purchases during our lifetime into a big Excel spreadsheet.” – Jesus
OMFG just LAWL’d at werk
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:52 am
@White Blipster,
WHERE DID YOU FIND A DIRECT QUOTE FROM JESUS? You need to site your sources according to MLA style. Wait is it Alter to MLA or APA these days? I’m still working on my Alt school Degree. Wait I might have dropped out of Alt school to be more Alt. I don’t know yet.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:54 am
@heroin,
Plus, don’t you know that it’s so not Alt to make fun of Jesus anymore? That is so old. Everyone, let the guy rest in peace.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:04 am
@White Blipster,
Your work hasn’t blocked HRO? You can HRO at work? Are they hiring? It is so not Alt to be unemployed anymore.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 5:13 am
@White Blipster,
Whoah I’ve just discovered that the Jesus quote was in the original posting. Soo Alt 2 not read what the hipster runoff guy writes before commenting about it.
-Not sorry for any confusion that may have caused.
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the jesus quote was awesomes
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:55 am
@panchizzy,
See above reply about awesomes Jesus quotes.
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d00d, lo-tops r 2 mnstrm, any bro can wear them b/c they are so easy/inoffensive. it takes authenticity/vulnerabilty 2 wear a pair of hi-tops every day. not as alt as loafers, but close.
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its awesome how you quoted Jesus. do you think he is still ‘relevant’. maybe you should blog about how Jesus is really just the ultimate altbag.
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//////////Reply by King Baeksu
//////////Posted March 9th, 2009 at 1:50 am
@joe taco, “lol”!
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:00 am
@joe taco,
Fuck. Jesus is here?!
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 2:00 am
@heroin,
He keeps no-showing my Alt Events.
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My professor is making us buy chucks n’ draw on em for class. Something about “representing r personal brand using a shoe.” I go to a school where u talk about branding urself. I go to a school.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 12:55 am
@brandwhore,
Are you a Brandwhore or Bandwhore? Is that a typo or something? What Alt School do U go 2?! You need to tell your professors about how they need to be the one to buy you Chucks. They cannot force you to consume! Are Alt Schools the new Man or something?! GAWD.
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//////////Reply by heroin
//////////Posted March 10th, 2009 at 3:26 am
@brandwhore,
Are you telling me Kalle Lasn sold Adbusters to become an Alt school TA?
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it is soooo Alt to advertise American Apparel on your blog for money huh.
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itunes Shuffle is the new mixtape. So NOT Alt either. Everyone needs to do that more.
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I don’t know why, but here in Sweden… everybody wears a pair of converse shoes. It’s everything from the classic ones to lupe fiasco-models. No matter if you’re a 6 year old girl or if you’re an old man… you’re supposed to wear converse. It’s just like that in Sweden. I own a pair of green converse, and that’s all I need at the moment. Without converse, there would be no me. Hahahah, take care!
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