There is one dividing line between the Scene generations. There are those from the postmodern, sleekly designed Hot Topic Stores. Then there are those of us from the old-school, scary Hot Topic stores.
And let me tell you, some songs unlock something in your brain and make you miss those steel gate days. When they come on the radio, you can almost see the lyrics scrolling through your mind in that chiller-esque font.
When I die, bury me in a 2000s Hot Topic store. Until then, these four songs will always make me think of those days.
“Helena” by My Chemical Romance
Don’t get me wrong, I love The Black Parade. But I associate it more with the remodeled Hot Topic design. If you want that real guy-liner, emo s**t, you gotta go one back: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.
And while we could argue all day about the best or most emo songs by MCR, I will die on the hill that “Helena” is up there, on both accounts. It’s music to buy a studded belt to.
“The Taste of Ink” by The Used
I genuinely didn’t mean to put these frienemies next to one another, but it’s undeniable that both belong.
A few years before MCR became the Scene darlings in the mainstream, that role was held by The Used. Hell, I remember when their first big song “The Taste of Ink” came out, it was EVERYWHERE. It was also all over the radio and on MTV, and it was certainly playing in Hot Topic every time I went in.
“The Dope Show” by Marilyn Manson
The late 90s goth years of Hot Topic almost feel like a fever dream now. Between artists like Orgy and Marilyn Manson, the BDSM-lite section of their collection has to have been the biggest money-maker. Look, I get it, Manson is a hot topic himself these days, but the truth remains, he WAS Hot Topic in those early days.
I personally remember buying a pair of pleather pants and almost-knee-high combat-style boots so that I could mimic that 90s goth style and be the coolest little douchebag at the Christian teen nightclub I DJed at (true story). But secretly, I was all about the nu-metal and shock rock.
On Friday nights, I was spinning P.O.D. and Switchfoot, but Saturdays were for “Freak on a Leash” and “The Dope Show”.
“Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence
The Venn Diagram of people who know all the words to “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence and people who shopped at Hot Topic during their “industrial rave aesthetic” days is a circle.
What Manson was to Hot Topic in the 90s, Amy Lee and Evanescence were to Hot Topic in the 2000s. The correlation was seamless. It’s as if they became the spiritual successors to the Mall Goth lifestyle overnight.
(I love Evanescence, and I know they did not get popular overnight. They put a lot of hard work into achieving prosperity in the music business. But their domination came swiftly and with little heraldry.)
To this day, I cannot hear “Bring Me to Life” and not be mentally taken back to that bygone era.
The post 4 Songs That Make Me Miss Walking Around the Old-School, Scary Hot Topic appeared first on VICE.
