“Civicore”

November 5, 2018

Listen: Volunteers by Jefferson Airplane

Happy Midterms Eve, everyone. We all ready to vote? As you prep, fire up with a little throwback from Jefferson Airplane: “Who will take it from you / We will and who are we / We are volunteers of America.” Listen to the track alone, or as a part of this generally solid protest playlist that illuminates how relatively simple these songs were in the 60s– lyrics are for the most part condensed and fairly unspecific, in sharp contrast to today’s protest songs that name names and specific issues. Same stuff, new era.

New hot thing: local politics

As voting time approaches, something interesting is happening on the sidewalk: Streetwear brands have started to embrace local politics. Included on the list of things that are hot right now: parks department apparel (created in partnership with streetwear brand OnlyNY), sanitation hats, and let’s not forget last year’s Supreme Metro card. It’s happening just enough that it’s been given a name: “Civicore.”

 

So, yeah, why? 1. Local pride is and has always been a thing. 2. (this one’s longer)  Streetwear is all about rebelling against the institutions that surround us. The organizations celebrated under the Civicore umbrella largely aren’t doing so great (the NYC subway, for example, is famously broken). So, an embrace of our failing institutions must be a rebellion against their failure, a demand that cities serve their citizens better. Or, at least, that’s what this writer at GQ thinks. You weigh in.

 

Is streetwear dead though

Just when we thought we were making progress (cult clothing as political tool, yes please), here’s an alarmist article from Highsnobiety (what a phrase) wondering if streetwear is over. Read the whole thing if you want– it’s smart– but I’ll give you the answer in a word: yes. As the aesthetic has caught on over the last few years, institutional fashion brands have embraced and breathed ever more life into the sales machine, expading the streetwear bubble beyond the core of skateboarders and hip-hop people to reach corporate types and kids who don’t even live in cities. So, classic story, the subculture has been subsumed by the mainstream, which, as a rule, equals the death of something once cool. Give it a year.

 

Art

So back on politics, artnet made a great roundup of some of the political art that’s going down around the midterms. Some events are past, but there are a few key things around the country that you can do today and tomorrow, and some installations will be up through the week, the month, or even the presidential term.

 

But until tomorrow at 6 a.m., throw your last-ditch energy toward volunteer time. Activities are easy to find with swingleft, and everybody’s polling place is listed at iamavoter.com.

Volunteer & vote, volunteer & vote.

Margot