Subcultural smorgasbord in the LA Weekly
I just read ‘The Secret Lives of Boys‘, the LA Weekly cover story featuring an array of LA teenage boy subcultures, or at least an array of teenage boys that the writer presumes to be representative of subcultures. I’m glad to know about Old Spirits, Indie F–ks, Gay Best Friends, and whatever subculture the athletic Jewish kid is supposedly in, although I have to say that the wide-eyed tone of the piece reminds me a little bit of the New York Times lamestain scandal.
I talked to the kids who skateboard in front of my building in Silver Lake about the teen scene, and here are some subcultures I hope the LA Weekly covers in the follow-up article: Smock Goths (Goths with a lot of hand-me-down clothes from their Topanga Canyon hippie parents), Craigslist Cruisers (self-explanatory), and Barrista Sistahs (African-American teenage girls who work at Starbucks). The kids tell me that’s the real deal, and I’m sure they wouldn’t pull my leg while I’m trying to make incisive-but-hiply-irreverent commentary on the Los Angeles youth scene. Nor would they exaggerate any aspect of their lifestyles. Because they really relate to me.
