Ninakix

“Being a nerd is about being so uncool that embracing one’s inner weirdo and showcasing that personality to the world without fear of repercussion is the only tenable path for achieving peace of mind. It involves dropping all pretense and attempts to construct a socially normal personality. It’s about letting the kooky shine through.”
― Kevin Craft, Grunge, Nerds, and Gastropubs: A Mass Culture Odyssey

“The denudation of authentic self-expression from popular music created the cultural vacuum which foodiesm now occupies. Foodies have become the natural heirs to the counterculture mantle. They proudly wear authenticity and DIY badges even as their interests trend towards the gastronomic rather than the aural. Authenticity in food is now the province of those who self-identify as genuine and who preach the gospel of anti-corporate self-expression.”
― Kevin Craft, Grunge, Nerds, and Gastropubs: A Mass Culture Odyssey

“What’s interesting about craft brewers’ proclivity for such elaborate exercises in branding is how this behavior so closely resembles the longstanding practices of the global beer conglomerates craft beer folk claim to despise. There’s an old and telling adage about business that says mass market companies, take Budweiser and MillerCoors for example, don’t sell products, they sell advertising.”
― Kevin Craft, Grunge, Nerds, and Gastropubs: A Mass Culture Odyssey

“But the move also erased the physical barriers (the dirty clubs and dingy record stores) that helped draw the lines between authentic music that sought to do more than turn a profit and commercial dross. All music suddenly came from the same space: the vast and mysterious online realm.”
― Kevin Craft, Grunge, Nerds, and Gastropubs: A Mass Culture Odyssey