WHAT KILLED HOT TOPIC??
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
- What killed Hot Topic? A few things I touch on:
* How Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Korn and nu-metal and industrial fashion put Hot Topic on the map
* Jnco, Tripp, UFO, Kikwear and other "phat pants" brands
* The Emo Years, when Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance were on MTV and Gerard Way and Pete Wentz were in teen magazines
* The Scene Years, when scene kids in neon skinny jeans and crazy hair were everywhere
* How nerd culture items like Funko Pops, Star Wars, K pop, gaming and anime has replaced band merch at Hot Topic stores
* Their legacy, such as songs like Lil Aaron "Hot Topic"
* Spencers Gifts, Zumiez, Pacsun, Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, and other mall retailers they compete with
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yo you messed up at 13:32 you said the geek years were from 2004- 2008 in the txt on screen. just letting you know
“Part 4” yet displayed “part 5”
Yes please Marylin Manson video
Your year stamps have glitched out, lol
Yeah the timeline dates got stuck on 2004-2008, but this was a great video Finn.
What REALLY killed hot topic was when: they switched the black/red painted walls for wood panels, screwed all the light bulbs in rather than skipping 2, and stopped hiring people that regularly went to shows.
@That Flippin Guy Wrong. They hired people that were regularly at punk shows. I know cuz I recognized almost every employee from backyard gigs.
Right? I'll never forget the day I walked in and was blinded by lights. I knew then HT was dead.
raymond terrones ours still has black walls, but it looks like a pop culture flee market.....🤷♀️
I used to work at Hot Topic and I think the wood was put in to hide the indents in the wall that was needed for all of the shelving and pegs and to give them more support. I could be very wrong about that though XD.
I can also say that people who went to shows often were more likely to be hired though but let's be honest here... If you work at Hot Topic you can't afford to go to shows anyways. Only my managers would be able to afford to go to warped and concerts on the regular and even then she still lived at home and didn't have as many bills or worries as most of us there had :') there was a program where you could apply for a concert and they would pay for you to go, but you'd have to be working that time taking notes on the popular fashions and a bunch of other things at the concert and it was extremely rare you'd be selected for it too.
I’ve shopped at their for years then when I applied they wouldn’t even give me a call back. Yeh they don’t care about their costumers of their original demographic anymore, they rather hire someone who’s “safe”.
What killed Hot Topic: They turned on the lights
Yes!!! Notable light change lol. It went from back of the club or dark alley to Sears and Roebuck as time went on
...From black lights to fluorescent lol.
Yessss!!🤣🤣
FOR REAL LMAO
100%. One week it was dark and pumping out something heavy. Next week it was as bright as the breezy way playing cheery music...
This is why vampires don't go to Hot Topic anymore.
Seeing Hot Topic devolve from angsty alt gear to geeky fandom shit broke my emo heart.
I'm a weeb but I don't get my merch from there. I'd rather they stuck with their old ways.
I can relate. My heart broke when it devolved into emo.
Emo... yep!
Same and I wasn’t even into that stuff at the time. I feel like I missed out big time. Fml
I heard that they have pins that said "owa owa" and " bussin bussin" so yeah I'm probably not going there when I get older
When he said “music isn’t the center of their lives anymore” I felt crushed.
Most people grow out of music through out their 20's.
@ÅGËÑTøfØBŁiViØÑ I don't know, it's not that intellectually stimulating anymore and kind of boring. It has it's moments, parties, bars, social events I tend to really like it. Music was my life late teens / early twenties I just don't have the patience for it at home and prefer the un-interrupted thought process without the emotional influencing of how I feel. If I listen to music it usually has no lyrics because I don't like it affecting my thoughts or making me think about song related imagery words. I guess it's like a drug that I don't need anymore because I have found a good mental space and like being there. It sort of developed as I grew away from partying or drugs, weed etc. I do enjoy music when working though in a physical job moving a lot sometimes. I was that guy that had headphones on 24/7 for a few years too.
That hurt for sure. We're getting old. Times are changing.
@@thecanadakid7622 I feel like that's how the majority of middle aged people feel. My dad listens to music but it's rarey anything after the 90s and my mom listens whatever is played at the moment. Whenever I want to show them some new songs I'm 100% sure they would like they just refuse to listen to it. At least they have good taste lol.
@@thecanadakid7622 not me, I'm still into music as much as I was as a 6 year old as I am now😎🤘
it just seems like hot topic culture died and got replaced by whatever disney and netflix put out
@@Comments_From_All_Channels I mean, I still buy them. So that if shit ever hits the fan I can listen to CDs. I also buy music on Bandcamp and burn it onto CDs. Preserving music is important.
@@Comments_From_All_Channels They should start selling vinyl since that's back.
Dude the name of the store is HOT TOPIC- y’all ok? Y’all can read?
@@shutuph0352 What they're trying to say is. The old hot topic was more about what was cool in the counter culture. Believe it or not, scene and emo culture wasn't main stream. But more of a counter culture for alternative kids. Now Hot topic is what's cool in the main stream.
I agree
I remember my parents forbid me to step a foot in Hot Topic. One day, I wandered off at the mall and for the hell of it, I went inside Hot Topic and came out as a Goth. I'm still Goth to this day and unfortunately Hot Topic isn't the same anymore.
Haha, that one experience can change your complete life
Same!!
I'm glad I never had to deal with that when it came to my parents. Even when I was in elementary school, we would go to Hot Topic every time we went to the mall. They both loved going there too and my dad even got both of his ears pierced there, twice.
that's because eveyone that was emo or scene at that time changed to basic now in these times, or maybe a little on the rocker side but no more than that, i definitely don't see emo fashion much anymore
@@user-km1on8ot3s i see a lot
"This is not a contest about who was the most underground when they were 13." should be written on a big sign in every music venue.
I was the most underground tho
🤣
I was a hot topic manager from 2006-2010 and you nailed it dude. I lived in a little shit town and seeing the kids come in and feel accepted was awesome. The entire staff knew our customers by name and I really watched some of those kids grow up.
Its an “edgy” disney store now.
Pretty much, yeah.
Don’t forget the 40% Rick and morty crap.
I'm emo and they hardly have any emo clothes anymore it's mainly e kids now cringe
😂😂😂 I believe this belongs to you🏆
That is exactly what I thought!
The problem with "the geek years" era of Hot Topic is that geek culture isn't "alternative" anymore. It's actually the norm to like geek things these days. Nobody gets made fun of for liking comic books or anime anymore. I asked my 16yr old brother about it and apparently younger kids get ostracized when they don't like these things. There are also plenty of stores these days where you can get pop culture merch, comic book merch, and Funko Pops. The alternative kid that would have been bullied for going to HOT TOPIC back in the day is now finding themselves shopping at the same store as their bully. These days there are people covered in tattoos, body piercings, and random colored hair that have never listened to a punk, emo, metal, alternative song in their lives. Music isn't center of the culture anymore. In fact, I don't even know who the alternative kid is anymore. It's not the people that shop at HOT TOPIC, that's for sure.
I'd say that the public has become just more accepting of being all kinds of alternative. Hence, the inside/outside group dynamic that we at some point thought to be an important part of being alternative, is now almost gone. Which is actually a very good thing.
So if you're looking at "alternative kid" as somebody who's not going with current trends and has their own non-mainstream interests, than any "scene kid" from any undergroundy "scene" will do. It's just that the geek culture build a bridge between all the different scenes and the assumed normies, giving a common ground of sorts.
If you're looking for a pre-2010's "scene kid" who suffers just for liking non-mainstream things? I don't know. The scenes have changed, the cultures and economy within those scenes changed. Kids/Teens still are going to bully you for being different, regardless of the reasons or group belonging.
The only thing that comes to mind are groups related to LGBTQ community. I mean the media likes to make it appear as if it's all fine and dandy when the "acceptance" is only surface leveled and only there, where the law can enforce it. And if you look closer at it you'll see a lot of parallels with how alternative people have been treated prior to 2010s.
The "homosexuals are spawns of Satan that will corrupt our youth" (aka the "Metalheads and Goths will make your kids into Satanists"); the bullying of kids who don't act like the gender they were born, either by dressing differently or by having interests that are attributed to the opposite gender (aka the bullying of scene-kids who dressed according to the gender-dress-code of the scene, including long hair and eyeliner for the males and not excessively feminine fashion for females). The total lack of information on homosexuality making parents "disapprove" and "forbid" anything gay-related to their teen children (aka. the fights over dumb clothes, horrific music and terrible haircuts with a scene-kid).
The social awkwardness when you try to make it all casual, while people asking you dumb stereotypical questions about "the gays/the lesbians/the trans" etc. (the dumb questions on whether you cut yourself if you're an emo/goth kid, stupid inquiries about the "violent metal music" etc.).
And last but not least - "Oh, I totally understand you! I kissed a girl once when I was 16!" (aka "Cool! I went through a goth-phase in highschool too!).
I mean it's not quite the same - most of the scenes revolve around some combination of music, fashion and hobbies, while the starting point of LGBTQ is rather internal and rarely impacts your musical tastes and fashion choices. But ironically, the struggle that members of this community once had (and still have) to go through created some sort of scene with it's own idols, fashion tropes etc. The inside/outside dynamic can be crazy from both sides.
The only thing we don't have is an equivalent of HotTopic. The Gay-Parades and gaybars may fullfil similar functions - that's where people find like-minded friends and support which they lack in their families. During bigger gay-parades (or pride month) one can get LGBTQ-themed everything, for almost every branch of this diverse community.
I guess no-one needed this response, but being both alternative and gay I just had to :D
I agree, my homegirl’s boyfriend is a piercer with colored hair, gauges, piercings and tattoos and legit never listened to heavy music he’s really into EDM and Trap music. Funny enough I don’t have have piercings tattoos or long and or colored hair or even dress like your typical metal head or punk and yet that’s mainly what I listen too, I had long hair in high school and wore band shirts but that’s about it. I’m glad we live in a more accepting time and I honestly still go to hot topic because I enjoy the experience of being able to buy a band shirts and anime collectibles all in one store
The new alternative kids are the ones without tattoos and colored hair who go to church and both their parents are still married.
'Nobody gets made fun of for liking comic books and anime anymore'. You obviously don't read a lot of social media comments, especially the ones here on youtube when someone either has an anime profile pic or mentions liking anime! People still get made fun of for liking anime, by fucktards. And people still get made fun of for liking comic books, I once saw a guy get talked down n by a bunch of women for liking comic books, and how he needs to grow up because that's for kids. So, you're wrong; 'geeks' or 'geeky' things still get people picked on because there's still plenty of idiots out there. I bet there's at least a few of those people who will read this comment and be like: 'Shit, this reminds me of the guy I bashed last month for liking anime.'
@@darkcarnival1805 it was hyperbolic to say 'people /never/ get shit for liking those things anymore' but it's not a lie to say that geek culture is much more mainstream. A lot of 'normie' people are on board with Marvel and Game of Thrones etc
When I was a senior in highschool, the year was 2003. I asked this punk rock girl out to go to prom with me, and was shocked and amazed when she said yes. We went to prom and I asked her about hottopic cause I had just saw it at the mall. She talked shit on it saying that's where posers get their clothes. I asked her, "where do you get all your alternative outfits?" she said she gets it from thrift stores and makes it herself, ie buying band pins, and going to shows to get shirts from bands.
So like in 2003 this punk rock highschool kid was calling out hotopic as a poser store.
Originally in the punk scene, the 90s age of the goth scene, and probably the early emo scene; one of the culture would make or alter their own clothes and attire, get spiked collars from pet stores, stuff for bdsm or porn shops, generally made stuff work, before stores like HT made a cash grab for it.
Thinking about it now; it almost seems like gate-keeping to had call those who bought all their merch from places like HT, calling them posers, or as we goths called them; mall goths. Some were, though.
@@ItsDaJax “mall goths” omg I remember that term haha
@@heidenwut7393 it used to be the other way around back in the day
That’s what I always knew it as 🤷🏻♀️ (I’m 34)
I did too. Hot topic was a poser store.
One of my first jobs was at Hot Topic. It's like a rite of passage for goth kids. They reimbursed you for a portion of concert tickets and you got a 40% discount.
In 1998 I worked in a second hand record shop in the mall. The hot topic emoyees would trade merchandise with me. Like, I'd trade 2 albums for a wallet and a pair of earrings lol.
We talk about Hot Topic as though it was only for "mallgoths" who "didn't know about real metal and industrial," but Hot Topic was one of the only places selling Skinny Puppy shirts, Christian Death shirts, Mayhem shirts. It was a really cool store for anyone into alt music, unless you were super anti-corporation.
Meh... their selection was weak for me 😂... could never find gorgoroth, marduk, suffocation, belphegor etc @ HoT ToPiC
Wow you brought up Skinny Puppy
@That Flippin Guy ya bro malls are gay
only posers go shopping
Goths and metalheads are not the same thing. 🤦
Also Goth Culture is about the music not the looks.
I remember buying skin tight jeans, bullet belts, and wristbands while my parents waited outside because they didn't like the metalcore playing inside. HT died the day their logo changed from spiky and on flames to neutral block letters.
I still feel weird looking at the new logo, and it's been years!
I remember buying a korn shirt. I was a small kid, like at most 110 lbs type kid & that was still a small shirt. But I wanted it bc I was going to a korn concert the next day. Put it in the dryer once, & it went from small to like xxtiny. It basically became a mid drift shirt. I wore to it school once & that was pretty much it. I left in my car when it was raining & I didn't bother w/ the windows bc I was lazy af. The next day was sunny & the shirt pretty much collected mold
I discovered hot topic when they already had the block letter logo haha. It was like summer 2016
They died when they started selling skinny jeans instead of Skinny Puppy 🙄
Hot Topic will always have a soft place in my heart. I shopped there in ‘96-‘99. Clothes and band shirts. But drifted away for years. Became a dad. Never stopped being a metal head. Now, in 2021-2022, I’m taking my 12 year old daughter there for anime clothing. I’m 43 now and have bought some bands shirts there yet again. Written some suggestions on their suggestion lists near the shirts. A ways back, we were in the store when Slipknots ‘Iowa’ album turned 20 years. I bought the anniversary hoodie and when checking out, I made the comment, “I remember buying this album when it came out.” Which the employee replied, “I wasn’t born yet.” We had a good laugh and my daughter called me ‘old’. Lol.
It's all about the anime!!
the slow death of hot topic is one reason i'm glad i live in a rural area that seems forever stuck in the late 90s/early 2000s...our hot topic is still small, dark, and at least 2/3 band merch. there's 4 cases of body jewelry and all the disney/fandom stuff is crammed at the front near the windows just to catch enough eyes to draw in customers
damn bro where is this at
Where do you live?
The dislikes are from dudes whose *rawr xd* got left on read
That, sir, is a fucking great comment hahahaaha
Honestly the dislikes have got to be the editing
It said 2004-2008 on like three different phases
lmao i'm fuckin dead
I fucking cackled, my guy
???
I was totally a Hot Topic kid. I just couldn't afford it. As a 35 year old man, I'm still into it and still can't afford it.
Bruh same, except I'm 20 lol
This hit me in my soul
Sad.........................................
I'm 35 and same
That sounds horrible...
I miss the Emo/Scene kid days of concerts and HotTopic. My heart will always live in that area.
Old ladies used to run out of Hot Topic freaked out, now they go in it without being scared away.
"...this is not a contest about, like, who was the most underground when they were 13." well said.
gnarzikans Reminded me of the bumper sticker, “I’M SO GOTH, I’M DEAD “ 💀
I only got into underground stuff in year 14.
I listened/listen to The Cure, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Siouxie and The Banshees, Sisters of Mercy, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, Mira, Faith And The Muse, Audra, Voltaire, Unwoman, Diva Destruction, Unto Ashes, Human Drama, etc. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's Hot Topic sold their CDs too.
I remember buying a Marilyn Manson CD from Hot Topic, and then shoved it down my pants to hide it from my parents. Good times.
Where they huge hot topic pants with red zippers?
I bought my first Marilyn Manson CD from Caldor (The 1990’s Wal-Mart) it wasn’t edited either
I got Anti Christ Superstar in a second hand CD sleeve from a pawn shop when I was like 13 and I put it on my stereo so quite I had to put my ear to the speaker to hear it bc I wasn't sure what kind of hellish satanic sounds would issue forth. I was slightly disappointed it was merely rock music but I was too young to appreciate it at the time...
Manson would be proud.
@Adam Rutherford It's a rite of passage
Hot Topic switch in merchandising is what allowed it to survive honestly
Yeah if you don't stick with the times you get left behind. Imagine if Sprint stuck to landline phones instead of cellular for example.
@@ath85 all the more reason to rebel and start a proper punk movement
@@nerdymom2 cool bro! The only prob tho is that I'm prolly old enough to be your dad.
@@ath85 I’m 27 my profile pic is old
Hence the name HOT TOPIC. They went with the WOW hot trends (topic) of the era...anything not considered “mainstream”. Genius!
I'm convinced that Tumblr and Comic con took over after 2010
It's a massacre now...
Hot Topic was so edgy that they went through 15 years of culture in just 4.
Isaac Peachey "it's not a phase mom!"
@Vicodyn I went from shitty pop """""rock""""" when I was 5 (no I actually was 5) to nerd when I was 9 to skater when I was 11 to emo *and* hardcore *and* pop punk at 12 then the same as 12 except back to being a skater again at 13
Excellent!
what killed hot topic:
kids forgot about invader zim
I never forgot about him I’m new to the scene kid style so I haven’t really heard of him please don’t make fun of me
NEVER FORGET
@@mo2wheelz74 all the episodes are on hulu you are welcome young padawan lol
not me lmao
"I'm gonna sing the Doom Song now" 🤣
I work at hot Topic & it’s the best job I’ve ever had! I stick out like a sore thumb but I love everything there! & our best sellers are still band tees next to pops 🥰 oh & by the way you can still let managers know what bands or merch you want & we let corporate now & we get them 😁
omg really that’s cool yeah i get my merch from hot topic lolll my parents hate it
The last time I went to hot topic I saw cardi b shirts and I literally wanted to cry ;-;
that's fucking awful, I saw too many stranger things and riverdale t shirts the last time I went. Although, I was able to find Black Craft sock there...
@@raidexe RIVERDALE 😕
@@wolfie__7610 no I'm being serious lmao
@@raidexe I HAVEN'T GONE TO HOT TOPIC SINCE I'M NOT OLD ENOUGH BUT IS IT REALLY LIKE THAT? I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOTH STORE NOT A STRAIGHT PEOPLE STORE
The only thing I liked was that they had doja cat t-shirts but you can easily get that at spencers
If you’ve never been called a poser at HT in the early 2000s have you even lived?
Agreed.
Ugh the poser term is what I dont miss. Kids didn’t want anyone to live the life they wanted. They had to pick everything apart.
When I was 16 in 1999, I was riding a skateboard and a bunch of kids on a school bus called me a poser! Different thing, but your comment reminded me of this. Cute kids, they must have learned the word “poser” that day, and had no clue what it meant, lol.
Everyone in Hot Topic was a wannabe or poser. It was pretty great. I was pretty much done with that stuff when I graduated in 2005. Had to get a job that wasn't Hot Topic cashier so I had to change my style somewhat.
The emo and scene years were the years of thinking that a girl was cute, approaching them, and finding out that they are a guy.
Hehehe
Err... That problem hasnt stopped. In fact its gotten far worse :-\
@@instrumentalist28 lol chill go be depressed somewhere else
isaac thrash emo is a fashion sub category inspired by the music genre. Just because people have a emo style does not mean they are depressed or that they are ”acting ” depressed.
Yeah. Wasn't it great?
as a nu-metal/metalcore kid in the early 2000s, I have to give HT credit for making buying band shirts easier. when you're 15 and don't have a credit card or checking account, it was easier to go to the mall and buy your Slipknot or Killswitch Engage shirt with cash than it was going to the bank, getting a money order, sending it in to Burning Airlines/Rockabillia/Infinity1/Gesner Legion and then waiting three months for your shirt to arrive in the mail. it was also awesome to find Trustkill comps there for like $5. most record stores didn't have them.
When you wear that flame shirt, wear it loud and proud like Guy Fieri
Those were great Manhattan nightclub shirts
Roses are red, violets are blue, I'ma eat that boots like I'm Guy Fieri at a barbecue.
What killed Hot Topic was when they started to sell Justin Bieber T-shirt’s
And disney shit
One of my buddies says they died when they started selling 1D shit.
i miss the old hot topic :’(
And Billie EILISH shirts
When they started selling sponge bob pajamas in the late 90's is when I knew it was dying Lol!
I have to LOL at the idea of Hot Topic "selling out". They're a store. In a mall. They sell merchandise to suburban teenagers. They're doing exactly what they've always done.
Yup 😉
Right! The store is literally called Hot Topic. They sell whatever the fuck is popular at the moment. Right now it's Rick and Morty, Disney Properties, My Hero Academia and Funko. Rock music is out since Rap and Hip-Hop became king. A few years from now people will be saying, "maaaan remember when Hot Topic was the best place to get funko pops, they sold out???" Lol
i was always torn between an inclination to make fun of it and check out all the cool shirts etc
Yeaaaaah
@@megababy80 it's fun to window shop there. Most stuff is way to overpriced, sadly. Not about to spend $25+ on a shirt when walmart has character tees for $7.50. Usually I just pick up a pop or two but I've shopping there on and off for over 15 years.
"Too cool for hot topic" no, just too poor ...back in the day.
I remember getting my summer job and spending most of my money on hottopic.
buying walmart jeans a few sizes too big instead of jnco
Lol kinda true. I thought it was cooler that I made my own trip pants and printed my own punk patches though. Cuz I was poor lol. But I still went to Hot Topic. Thrift stores were cheaper
I spent a summer working at Hot Topic as a teenager. I had bleached blonde dreadlocks and wore Jincos with 60" circumference legs that I bought with my employee discount. The staff was pretty eclectic, so we played all different kinds of music. Not a bad summer job. Basically got paid to hang out and fold t-shirts. I was into metal, played in hardcore bands, and went to raves, so I checked all the demographic boxes. 😂
I used to go there, now that I’m 37 I get all giddy when target has a sale on lint rollers
43... still banging my head. That said, stopped going to Hot Topic when the Bronies (I thought MLP was cute until I met the fans) and Harry Potter fans (enjoyed HP, but the fans can be obnoxious) took over.
@@DrTranofEvil You gotta see the fans and the shows as two different things. I love MLP but the fans can be annoying!
At 32, there are a FEW merch I've bought that either I could mix and match (surprisingly their special editions clothes can be worn for work i.e. a Rey-Star Wars Sweater Cardigan) or vintage tees for old bands. Downside, it's becoming more like Spencer's w/all those Funko pops
jessica m I agree, don’t get me started on Rick and Morty fans. Love the series, I don’t talk to the fans. R&M is brilliant (albeit, at times, incredibly lowbrow) comedy, that doesn’t require a massive intellect to ‘get’. Some folks don’t seem to understand that. Rick is supposed to be smart, but that doesn’t make watching him educational.
It’s cool to like a thing, it’s cool to be excited about a thing, but dear lord, don’t be a gatekeeping, pretentious, creep.
Oh, and i have a long story about the Brony giving me the death stare. I was a corporate traveler, staying at a hotel that hosted an MLP event. Long story short, I rode up from Portland to Seattle on my motorcycle and my biker-looking (tattooed, bearded, etc) self was very out of place when I was leaving to go to work for the day.
This dude gives me a death stare as he’s heading out to his car. I swing a leg over my bike, he reaches into his car and pulls out a Princess Celestia plush that took up his whole back seat, tucks it under his arm, gives me one last glare and marches back into the hotel.
The only thing going through my brain was ‘dead lord, I hope that thing ain’t anatomically correct’. 💀
lol same!
It's so weird walking into Hot Topic these days and not seeing all the studded belts and rainbow hair extensions. Back in 2013/2014, me and my friends fell deep down the rabbit-hole that is Scene culture. All of the stuff violated our school dress code so we would change after school and hang out at the fountain by the Hot Topic at our local mall.
Crafty Fox yeah it’s so weird lol when I do walk in one I feel so out of place I just leave 🤷🏾♀️
i think they’re starting to bring that all back because last time i went i saw studded belts and weird accessories that i usually don’t see 😳✌️
I miss the days when you could go into a high school and find the scene kids with their fun styles. I was working at a high school last year and I remember how all the kids looked and dressed the same /:
@cactusnacks - Same. People are talking about five years ago as if it's an eternity. I know I'm old, but my HT years were 1999-2003. It was dark, grimy, and the only place to get goth/punk-ish clothing, music, and jewelry. The employees at my local store actually knew and loved the music they played in store. I remember the early 2000s, when the focus on music started to fade to be replaced by the cartoon focus -- SpongeBob and Invader Zim were taking over, and things were getting "happier." After I left for college, I never stepped foot in HT again. Looks like I'm not missing much. Those light-colored walls alone are terrifying.
omg you guys were fucking cool
You didn't update the years text, they were stuck at 2004-2008.
I thought it was just me that noticed. :)
They died when they decided to stock up on stuff you can find in all the other stores (many of which were cheaper) instead of focusing on the more music based subcultures and alternative fashion. So it became less unique for different choices and just overpriced (some items also were hit or miss in quality). I didn't get many items from Hot Topic as I looked for clothes that were cheaper and altered at times if I could or at times just made my own clothes since it's not like I had tons of money back then and the closest mall back then also was a few towns over; but did like some of the clothing and all that that they used to sell.
Everything is soo expensive there now. I remember when the shirts where only $15 but now they're $25
Right?!! It's why I stopped going it's so expensive
The Hot Topic at my mall sells shirts for almost $40!
thats Why you gota steal em 🥰
It was always expensive lol.......and all my Tripp pants fell apart within a year or less.
@@matxalenc8410 right!? ugh its a huge reason why i gave up on it
We all matured out of the hot topic scene but lets just accept we all went there at once in our life and bought something.
yeah coz its where you start unless you have an alternative older sibling. but some people stay in hot topic and others move deeper into subcultures
“It’s not a phase, mom. This is the REAL me”
Lmao there’s no hot topic here in Guam.. so no 😂😂
Shit I bought a Whitechapel and cannibal corpse shirt at hot topic back in the day
ya man we all, gen x, sold out to ties button downs dockers
I visited a HT for the first time in almost a decade a couple years ago. I honestly got a little sad thinking that part of me had died at some point. It’s kind of good to know that the store and I have just grown in different directions as people.
I remember being legitimately afraid to go into Hot Topic in middle school... come High School it was my favorite store in the mall
I remember going in hot topic as a kid, and theyd be playing like actual death metal on the stores sound system, and all the workers looked like they should have been working in a tattoo or piercing shop instead of a retail store in the mall lol.
Now when you go in there, they're playing the same musaak music that the rest of the mall has on its speakers. All the workers are basically weebs. And they don't have any new and current underground metal band merch.
Kinda sad, but whatever.
I went into a Hot Topic and they where legit playing country music, not like Breaking Benjamin country esque stuff or the good pre 9 / 11 stuff but legit tractors, beer, my dog died, I hate women but I fucked my cousin country music. The guy working there was a brony and tipped his fedora at me. Also the band merch was a print on a normal shirt not a band shirt if that makes sense?
So sad
@@michellepatterson3573 F's in the chat boys
Lesson is, normies and weebs ruin everything
@@xx-yd5mm for 25 bucks what a bargin
I LOST IT WHEN HE SAID THAT SPENCERS IS “military wife demographic” LMFAOOO
pretty clever lol
Accurate.
Because they need something to fill that void they call a marriage.
To me, it was more of a fratboy store. But I get what he said.
@@breanntheartist1989 wow! You don’t sound bitter at all. I can’t believe a person would want to share something as great as having a husband or wife and growing a family together. What a disgrace, what a joke! These are the scum of the earth! How dare they want to be in a loving relationship with another human being!
Grow up bro. Not all marriages are void of love, like apparently all of yours are. Turn your nose down. Your not that great that anyone takes your opinion to heart. 😘😁
I worked at Hot Topic in 2001. I feel that was a transition time. The “look” of the emo kid was changing at that point. It went from cuffed jeans, sweaters, and thrift store shirts; to blending in the mall goth style. That’s the beginning of the emo haircut when people were trying to look like they were in Orchid.
“Phat pants” were almost required attire in South Fl. at late “90’s” raves
Same for Chicago ravers and juggalos
Can Fin take us all on a field trip to Hot Topic now
Got Topic? Never been there...
Yes!!! He should get a hot topic CEO or manager or something on the podcast!!
"I'm here to take all of my MBA students on a tour of your facility"
Actually once the “Back Street Boys Reunion Tour” disappears a meet up state by state at a Hot Topic for all the Punk Rock MBA fans would be pretty chill
@@grungyperry7530 LOL OMG YOU TOTALLY GOT ME BRO!!!!!!!!!
This is why I like this channel. It's an honest, fair analysis with no bullshit. Smart and perceptive.
MooseMan Checkout Company Man which has less snark and better facts.
Mister E I’ll be sure to check that out, McKenty has said some questionable & biased things in the past 🤦🏻♂️ still a cool guy though
MooseMan same.
Great video.
Sometimes I wonder. I was there in the 1990s and I don't remember everyone wearing wigger jeans and bondage pants.
I enjoy the entertainment value around here and believe Finn is a good guy.... total revisionist history though.
Now that gothic fashion / alternative fashion is slowly gaining popularity all over social media.. ESPECIALLY TIK TOK I hope hot topic will start to change their merchandise. As a person (especially young) who is into punk rock, alternative indie music, Rap metal, and other types of genres It’s so hard finding those kinds of band shirts or any type of scene or goth clothing. I’m into anime but I’m also really into music too. Most of those clothing are online but are still pretty hard to find. Uh yeah
It’s cool you bring up their music selection. Because of a compilation cd/dvd set they put out I found out about bands like The Warriors, The Human Abstract and Between the Buried and Me.
I remember my dad refused to go into hot topic for the longest time when I was a kid. Then once he finally did he said "You know the people that work in there might look weird/scary but they're the nicest employee of any store in the mall."
That usually was the case with people like us; I remember travelling up to preppy-ass Delaware with my dad, step-mom, and step-sister after my dad and I went to Ozzfest; EVERYBODY at Ozzfest was chill as fuck but then you had the stuck-up assholes in preppy-ass Delaware.
DontTouchMeTherePlz we heard that from a ton of the naysayers or preppy kids that would stand outside the gates and laugh us people inside. We would coax them inside and show them a good time and so many people would comment on how nice our employees were and how disarming that was, how it was just not what they expected. Good times.
Did anyone else notice that “The Scene Years” and “The Geek Years” both said 2004-2008?
Yes! Might have been others too, there were definitely a few sections where the visual info didn't match what he was saying.
I noticed too!
The scene years he said was always 2004-2008 lmao
@@JinxMoody 10:26
Someone stayed up too late editing.
"the emo years" was literally my high school years 04-08 🥴😆
How does it feel to be living my dream 😩 (as a 19 year old girl lol)
9:54 the way you described all those stores has me dead. 💀🤣
I suspect that the death of malls and the rise of online retail was also a factor. Now you can buy t-shirts and other merch online, like everything else.
There is nothing “alternative” about liking Harry Potter 😂 or most of the other fandoms featured at Hot Topic now.
I actually bought some shirts of this wrestling stable called Bullet Club from Hot Topic
Mmmm....depends. Harry Potter isn't exactly in the mainstream anymore. It's almost like a nostalgic niche thing. Most younger kids I talk to about it are like "I've never even seen any of the movies. Seems stupid."
Granted, Harry Potter is still my shit👀💀
@Morgue Idk if you know this, but the first HP book was released in June 1997, aka 23 years ago. The first movie was released in November of 2001, almost 20 years ago.
I was one of those kids that went to see the premiere with my mom because we had read the books as bedtime stories, and I'm in my mid twenties.
Harry Potter IS nostalgic to most of the world, and therefore the current hardcore fans are considered alternative. The main craze is over, but the nostalgic love still remains.
You have to remember that people can visit the HP World for other reasons than HP being relevant and mainstream popular today.
There is nothing alternative about fucking Riverdale palettes 😭😭😭
Hey man, you’re killing it! I find your vids and whole channel character to be informative, smart, insightful and fun. You’ve done an excellent job of making genres I’m either not aware of or are just not super into-honestly, that comprises 90% of the music you cover-accessible in a way I’ve never encountered. Really interesting; all of it! Respect.
Thanks man!
DUDE, you took me back when you mentioned Evansville, Indiana. I actually live 45 minutes south of Evansville in Owensboro, KY and the scene we had around 2006-2012 was absolutely insane when I look back at the times. All the shows at Boney Junes, The Brothers Pizza and all those places. I was definitely scene AF in high school and your videos take me back everytime hahaha. Great shit bro
I wish they still focused more on music and alternative stuff. Idk what the heck Harry Potter and Riverdale is doing in there. I still love the atmosphere. It’s got a kinda comforting presence and I’ve always loved the employees. Just sucks that I can’t find a lot of band tees and things I could only a couple years ago. There isn’t as much there for me anymore but I still love it.
Same I feel pushed out of my alternate culture a lil because they have mainstream artists rather than alternative artists.
“The scene kids of 2009 became the hardcore kids of 2013”
*sheepishly raises hand
Same tho 😅
Can attest, that is absolutely true
Some became ravers
Present 🙋...
Yeah definitely targeted me on that one
Such a great video! You simplified everything so articulately.
Omg I had a teacher in high school that always joked about being scared of me if she saw me in a dark ally because of the Hottopic merch I wore. I used to get called in the principals office all the time to take off my accessories.
I applied to hot topic last year and I was told I looked "to alternative" my hair was purple and I had three piercings and stretched ears-
Isn't that what they represented lmao
Did their policies change?
You've GOT to be shitting me.......
in 2007 they did
Aren’t they trying to be “Instagram goth” now?
😮
It’s weird how GameStop kinda fell into a similar spot with selling mostly geeky pop culture shit. The digital world is changing Malls in general.
Unfortunately, in that war... I feel like GameStop is gonna lose just given how horrible their financials are right now, whereas Hot Topic are still surprisingly thriving.
Except GameStop, unlike HT, never cared about their customers. The employees sure as hell did, and they were the only reason people kept coming back after digital sales started to tank GS, but the company never did, and every attempt to prove the contrary has been excruciatingly transparent. Actually they never cared about their employees, either. When the shit started to hit the fan, instead of finding some graceful way to move with the times, they just leaned on their employees really hard and lost a ton of personnel due to people just straight up quitting. Just a garbage company all around.
Metaldude X yet hot topic is still in business unlike game stop
You mean killing malls
And no one besides the biggest fans/people with more money than sense actually want that shit
You explained the transition from like,,,, 2004 to now so well, I love these videos, you totally get it :)
Great channel. As an old punk who used to be in a band, run a label, do a zine and so many more DIY things and then move into being a digital marketer for some small businesses this is really sweet. You should do one of these on Spencer's...who I happen to work for now on the ecomm side
I worked for HT part time for 7 years, our discount was phenomenal, we could get anything we wanted from the other stores sent to our store for free and then use our discount to buy it, they paid for one college book and one college class per semester(reimbursement) they also would reimburse for our tickets to shows(up to a certain amount) which was very extremely awesome, if you worked there and played in a band they would carry your bands merch in the local stores if you wanted! It all started to go downhill in about 2008-10 when they started to take the music(first vinyl then cds) out of some of the stores-eventually all the stores and started to focus on denim, it was a real bummer.
lifeisterrible they started to focus on denim? What do you mean?
They never gave me all that stuff. But I did work there in the late 90s so perhaps those perks were added on later.
lifeisterrible that’s cool that they would reimburse for a college class and especially tickets to shows! It makes sense when you think about it, like it’s good for a sports memorabilia store to have sports fans to work there. Same idea, I guess. I worked retail for a bunch of years, but none of them were so generous with the perks!
@Re Up While CDs and vinyl decreased in popularity across the board, they were still popular in the metal/rock scene. I feel like they pulled an apple and got rid of the headphone jack when they got rid of CDs
I honestly didnt know they offered all those perks for just working, that's super dope to know!
They used to sell gothic clothing,amazing Goth compilation CDs,Goth magazines, H.R. Giger art books and Bloody Mary makeup. They used to play industrial and Goth music. It wasn't just Mall Goth stuff.
It made me happy seeing you went to the Hot Topic at Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted. I frequented that one and the Parmatown Mall one growing up. Love the videos dude!
I remember shopping at Hot Topic which is two and a half hours from where I live and bought some anime, Harry Potter, video games, and some band t-shirts. Wish I was a 2000s teen again.
I was the poor kid. Most of my clothing came from people who left there stuff at the laundry mat my Mom worked at. So mostly shit that was worn out and didn't fit very well. When you got a hair cut your getting it buzzed because its getting done with clippers at home or that one at the barbershop at the beginning of the year.
I remember my freshman year of high school some kid asked me what my favorite grunge band was. I had no clue what that was, so I just said Poverty. He actually believed it was a band, so I was the grunge kid.
@Lay Smith haha hecks yeah!! Same thought!!
Are you still poor? I hope not because I want you to have new clothes that fit and I want you to be happy and get any haircut you want.
Lmao
Clothes or hair don't mean anything.
This is simultaneously the saddest and most hardcore comment ive read.
Hottopic used to have gargoyles sitting outside its doors, now they took away those features and now it doesn't look so goth anymore
It was supposed to be. They go with what is trending currently, why don’t people realize this? Emo was dominant in pop culture so they maximized it
In junior high and high school . I was really hip hop goth . YES THERE'S SUCH A THING 97- 03
You mean juggernauts?!
You mentioned Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, OH...I used to live right around the corner from there near Columbia and Lorain. Used to put band flyers up in that store. I miss Cleveland.
Absolutely killed it. This gave me blockbuster level nostalgia.
BIG FACTS
From Slipknot to Dragonball Z: The Story Of Hot Topic
@Mason Watkins Both are. Or were, at least.
@Mason Watkins that's not the point tho, it is cool but dbz merch shouldn't be sold at a punk shop,and neither should rap merch
@@thechief8754 Hot Topic was counter culture stuff. In the early to mid 2000s anime and comic merch was as niche as heavy metal was. Today, that's not the case and such stuff is mainstream.
@Mason Watkins I like some rap. Some people just cant extend their taste
😂😂😂
Shout out
Mount Vernon, WA!!
But that mall closed a few years ago. I worked there as a teenager.
I sense that you didn't grow up on the east coast, but I'm around the same age as you and in NJ alternative stores were on the "seedier" beach boardwalks in the 90s. They were always combinations of head shop gear (pipes, incense, those colorful striped pullover hoodie hippie shirts), band t shirts (about half counterfeit), posters (band and velvet blacklight!), stickers, patches, everything a preteen could want. I got my first Smashing Pumpkins T shirt and a Bjork poster. I have fond memories of my dad taking me in these stores and feeling so cool. It was such a good age too, young enough to be excited about winning a stuffed animal at a boardwalk game and then walking into the punk store to see what bands I should check out based on how the merch imagery grabbed me. When I saw Hot Topic in the malls, it was like the boardwalk came inland.
"I saw Marilyn Manson wearing black hair dye and black fishnets so I bought black hair dye and black fishnets"
@sk3l3t0nz So Manson fans were basically the goth version of all the middle school girls in the early 2000s that wore ties, fishnets, and multiple wristbands on their arms just because Avril Lavigne did, she even called them out for slavishly copying her style 🤣
Mean girls
I understand that reference.
Mearlen Manson made me want to be goth when I old even if he was under confict I had like that he was not afried to be him self
One of my favret songs was the dope show because my doctor miss diagnosed me
“Music just isn’t the center of their universe anymore” “hot topic didn’t die but the alternative youth culture we knew died” If I wasn’t emo in the early 2000’s I definitely am now because ouch that hurt me right in the feels. RIP classic alternative youth culture that I have so many fond memories of 😢
Youth culture just got really lame. I'm not just saying that as an old 36 year old. Youth culture was cool before I was born. It's recently got REALLY lame. Like, 60's-2000's was pretty fucking awesome. What the hell happened?
Bruh some people are still emo
Bro! Just recently found out about this channel. Especially since I’m all about “genre’s.” Lol But I felt this one hard. In the late 90’s I loved it. Willobrook kid here. I will say this though. I was in the 8th grade in 98 and 99 was a breakout year for me. I was a Korn head at the time & Nu Metal was definitely my scene. I found out about Industrial 🏭 music through them. It was considered a “goth” place to go to and goth was definitely not my scene, but they had everything I loved. UFO’s 🛸, JNCO, thrash band shirts. wow time changed. Recently I have gone in and it’s just as you described, with a baby section in the back of shirts. My girl couple of weeks ago got me a Deftones Ohms shirt from there, and I’m happy about that. You can’t go to just any store and buy a band shirt. Well maybe now you can. Idk I’m older now ha
ìts so weird feeling that the styles that i wore when I was 14 is almost gone. I enjoyed it so much
I bought a 'Nightmare Before Christmas' G-string at Hot Topic. My ex-boyfriend stole it.
Why would a guy steal a thong?? Was he mad you was going to do it with another guy while wearing? Or did he want to secretly wear it?? Lol
Lol
@@stillamitchinmybook6320 We may never know
Did it smell like butt crust?
@@MrCamel2humps hm. Creepy.
ha joke's on you, I was a scene kid _and_ an anime nerd
SAMEZZ =^w^=
Oh gawd you were so cringy or at least the ones I knew were cringy asf but I'm totally still an anime nerd
I'm currently in this phase haha. I be watching MHA, jojos bizarre adventure, overlord, and high school dxd, and also listening to slipknot, bmth, t.o.p, brand of sacrifice, tool, etc
Dorian Camp I’m now getting into anime and I LOVE Jojos Bizarre adventure, Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Haikyuu, and Mob Psycho 100! I’m not too much of a metal head but more of Classic Rock :>
Also I got a JJBA shirt from hot topic with the quality not what I thought it would be, it felt cheap, but I’m going to add a bit more to the shirt cuz it is a little boring, n fix up sum stuff 🤧
Your killing it Finn I love your channel , cheers man.
Great video Fin! This brings back so many memories of being in highschool and worshipping this store haha. wow, I wonder which willowbrook mall's hot topic that guy in the clip worked at. I'm from Jersey and am very familiar with that one, in fact my mom got me a whole bunch of cds and other cool stuff from their hot topic. Keep up the good work!
I worked at HT for about a year and a half, around 2004 and was a customer before I worked there. I was more on that industrial/goth train and remember even before working there putting Lip Service, Illig and Morbid Threads stuff on layaway! The store always had Metropolis, Cleopatra Records, and Asleep By Dawn compilations, which was really cool because when the kids would ask "Where do I start to learn more about goth/industrial music?" you could literally just hand them a CD and send them on their way. The company even reimbursed me when I went and saw Frontline Assembly and NIN shows- you had to fill out this hokey sheet about what fashions you observed and blah blah but it was pretty rad they did that. I left once the vibe of the merchandise and customers really started to shift into emo. As a goth kid, it wasn't my thing. After HT I left and worked for five years at the local alt shop that catered more to the punk, goth and fetish scene. While it wasn't as relatively glitzy going from unpacking merchandise on a daily basis and being busier around the holidays, it was more fulfilling for me to separate from working for a corporation. But, I will say all things aside, HT was by far the most fun job I've ever had. Many of the friends I have today I met working there, and I even still have lots of clothes from my time there and before. RIP goth HT.
Jared Genova Metropolis CDs were my jam! Expanded my exposure to music. Truly miss those times :(
I loved those goth compilation as a teen. It was a great way to learn about goth before spotify. And I have so many memories of picking out morbid threads items from the clearance rack. Those were really formative moments for baby teen me. Especially being one of the only people who was dark and alt at my school.
@@Sirenasenlaluna Funny enough last weekend I was going through old boxes at my mom's out of state and found my hard copies of Metropolis '03, '04, '05', and '06. '04 and '05 had a lot of rad songs and remixes on them you can't find on Spotify or Bandcamp, or anywhere anymore. Not sure if you have given them a listen but after the Metropolis compilations I got hooked on the Endzeit Bunkertracks compilations. There are a few on Spotify or you can find playlists from them still on UA-cam if you're still interested in EBM/industrial/aggro tech
@@MW-nc8dp Do you remember the Morbid brand makeup? Mostly eye shadow and nail polish from my memory? I'm sure they're hot garbage compared to the much better makeup that's easily accessible today but booooy was that ever a moment lol
Hate on Hot Topic all you want, but even for this guy who has never been part of their demographic, it was still the place to get the good metal releases since the "real"record store in the mall didn't have a good selection of Metal, Punk and Hardcore, and mail order was still VERY slow and sketchy
I bought a Job For A Cowboy CD after listening to them on the listening station with the giant headphones. I was a thrash guy and when I heard that, my brain exploded. All of that sounds like it happened in an alternate universe.
Back when hot topic had cds
@@beanythompson1460 they also had vinyl records for a while
I bought a Funeral Mist and Slayer cd from them. Loooong time ago
I always had the local record store order albums for me. It took about a month but I didn’t have to pay until it got there.
I shopped at hot topic as a teen in the mid-90s. Like 95-01. And what blows my mind is my 10 y/o daughter now shops there. I'm old.
Great video! OK, dating myself at 45, but in pre HT days (internet was not like now), if you wanted cool shirts/clothes or CDs then you had to find merchants out of the back of cool indie mags to order a catalog to then order from. HT carried some Cleopatra Records CDs, and some cute/slightly overpriced (for the demographic) clothing. In my 20s I bought some CDs, a Ballgown and some weird fuzzy pants (it was the 90s, don’t at me). It was/is a novelty store, but I still pop in on my rare mall appearances to see what they have.
Honestly, good for HT for staying ahead of the curve. Part of me wishes that there was still a store that was for the 2000s emo scene because there are still quite a handful out there, we just arent that loud anymore. Not as common as it once was but like punks and metalheads, I do think this one may stick around too. Some may say I am wrong and that everyone looks back and cringes, but a few people, like myself look back and feel nostalgic about it. I still go to emo nites (21+) and see the rooms packed full with grown ass adults that still deep down have a love for the culture, despite having to adapt to professional culture attire. It is a lot like how it was pre-hot topic now. You gotta DIY, you gotta thrift and hope you get lucky to find those minimalistic paint splattered floral swirl vector band merch or a Bleeding Star shirt. We are just lucky to have the internet for it, and I am STILL seeing kids today doing the look. There's kinda a very small second wave of the 2000s alternative community revival and maybe it will completely fizzle out again, but at least we got something. Hot Topic back in the scene/emo days was a peak teenage memory for me. I'm glad today's alternative kids are experiencing that too. Hopefully some person will set up a local or online buisiness to cater to that 2000's nostalgia again.
Hell yeah!! Totally agree with everything you said. I see the second wave right now too. It’s def happening and I’m here for it 🙌🏻
They were one of the first companies during the pandemic that said they were closing and paying their employees the entire time. Respect.
D3clin3 Gaming
Right on, it’s nice to hear about retail chains that are decent to their employees. That’s good to hear
Wow no shit? Thats righteous A.F. I may wanna actually go buy something there once we're back to normal..the new normal we'll need to adjust to anyway . Can't even remember the last time I went there.
Ok, that's fucking awesome. When Christmas comes around this year I know where I'm buying my baby sister's Doctor Who merch. And maybe find something for myself too.
You mention Evansville Indiana a lot. And that’s really close to home. Thank you 😂
The most important lesson I learned as I aged out of my twenties: you're never too cool for anything. Hot Topic included.
Agreed.
Hell, I am 40 and I still love going to Hot Topic.
Well said.
@@Thymeburns ummm can I have your ig?
I remember when hot topic was just a store that sold CDs and rock shirts.
You’re really good at what you do, homie.
Loved this. I was an early 90s sub/urban teen (Baltimore), so I've never been to hot topic bc we had real punk shops in the city and dc and I outgrew the goth aesthetic, (except black is always the most flattering color)...My first cassette was the Smiths and first show was 7 seconds, both in 1987. I'm in a rabbit hole of your videos!
"Braden, Jaden, Kaden!" Literally every boy/girl's name in my daughter's 3rd grade class.