And we’re back!

Still not sick of Pumpkin Spice.

Before we jump in further…

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LABOR DAY IS UPON US, GET OUT INTO THE WILD: A quick favor. A couple of friends and I have a side project called Bonnnfire showcasing how/where to get away and what gear to use to do it, even when getting away means sitting in your own backyard. Check it out here, pass along to your friends, or submit your own setup to be featured. We spotlight new locations and new gear weekly.

Deep(ish) Millennial Thought of the Week

I’m excited to announce that it is officially okay again for Millennials of all ages to wear graphic t-shirts.

Perhaps this is something I manufactured in my head, but at some point in my late 20s and/or early 30s, I was convinced that grown adults, primarily men, could not wear shirts with graphics printed on them. A simple Google search on the subject reveals that I haven’t been alone in my thought. While I can’t quite pinpoint the origin of this feeling, suffice to say, I did a whole lot of donating of my wide range of graphic tees to clothing shelters during this phase of my life. Additionally, I primarily wore dull, boring t-shirts composed of grey, blue, and black from years 30-37. That is until now.

Because graphic tees are back baby!

According to InStyle, we are now bringing back a ton of trends from the early ‘00s. I have always been a fan of trucker hats, but oh yeah, those are back, too.

Why is it suddenly okay to wear graphic t-shirts again? Well, for starters, I think the pandemic opened up the door for more casual wear and acceptance of not having to wear shirts with buttons. That’s a gift that hopefully isn’t leaving any time soon. Second, graphic t-shirts give us a chance to stand out in a world that seems to becoming more robotic by the day. We’re searching for personal differentiation we simply can’t get from the same black t-shirt you’ve been wearing every day. And oh yeah, we now have to battle artificial intelligence in our daily lives. I’d like to see AI try to pull off wearing a cool graphic t-shirt on a Zoom call. Okay, it can, but you get the point.

I’m sick of wearing shirts without any personality. I’ve abstained from getting tattoos due to my mom not wanting me to get any, so graphic tees are really the only way I can show off some “sick ink” bro.

For those Millennials unsure of where to start in the reintroduction of graphic tees to your wardrobe, here are some quick tips to get you inspired:

1. Find an old band from you youth and wear this shirt. When I say old, I’m talking mid-’90s primarily.

2. Dig up any leftover shirts you may have from your friends’ Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. They were too large then and they will likely fit a little snug now. That’s okay, you can pull it off.

3. Support local businesses and emerging brands. I love wearing gear from places I like to eat and brands that could use a little more promotional support to help with word-of-mouth marketing.

Honorable mention: Old wrestling t-shirts. Wear these selectively and know your audience before doing so.

As we get older, blanding ourselves because we think we need to tone down our style is simply silly. Find some fun in buying a new graphic t-shirt and wear it to your next board meeting.

THE VERDICT: Just like backwards caps, it’s okay to wear graphic t-shirts once again. Rejoice.

Less Deep(ish) Millennial Stuff of the Week

• TAYLOR SWIFT > 401Ks. Millennials are giving up on retirement goals to go see Taylor Swift live. I’ve heard good things about her show and no updates from my portfolio. (Yahoo!)

• MILLENNIALS ARE LOVE ANTIQUES. Giving up on trying to remain cool with younger generations, Millennials are going backwards in time through visits with Americana to be hip. (The New York Times)

• MILLENNIALS ARE BECOMING FULL TIME CHILDREN IN CHINA. Chores at home are replacing salaries. (BBC)

• BEER STILL POPULAR WITH MILLENNIALS. Here is a ranking of our cohort’s favorite brands. Yes, that one still ranks high. (Yahoo!)

• R.I.P. SOCIAL MEDIA. Group texts and messaging app participation is quickly replacing Instagram and X consumption. Sidenote: It still feels so stupid to call this platform “X” and I cringe every time I do so. (Insider)

Millennial Product Spotlight

I’ve been doing a little sprucing up of my desk. Succulents have now become a part of my workflow inspiration. But the seed for my love of floral desk companionship was truly planted from my youthful interactions with Rock N’ Flowers.

Released by the Tanaka company out of Japan and out of the craziness of the ‘80s, these sound-activated robots from the future dressed up in fancy bow ties and sunglasses while adorning a variety of musical instruments. If you flipped a switch and played music to them, they’d dance like there was no tomorrow. If you had multiple flowers, they formed a band.

Honestly, I could watch these videos of Rock N’ Flowers all day long.

It’s 2023, and I have yet to see flowers with talent and moves like this. Their only rival in the ‘80s perhaps was this infamous movie star.

Rock on, Rock N’ Flowers.

Millennial Album Spotlight

After sitting on the Curb Your Millennialism porch, we decided it’s time to share more on the music we love with our official “Still Rocks” stamp of approval for the best music of the greatest generation. Inspired by the previously aforementioned plants wearing cool big glasses and playing electric guitars, this week, our brain travels back remembering this “Buddy Holly of the ‘90s” moment in time and highlights Weezer’s first studio release, The Blue Album.

Ironically, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo does not wear his well-recognizable thick blame frames on this album cover, nor does he sport them in the band’s breakout music video/single linked above. But that’s besides the fact. The Blue Album bursted onto the scene in 1994 in a time period filled with the grunge sounds of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, offering a more ”nerd rock” sound that had inspiration from both The Beach Boys of the ‘60s and Kiss of the ‘70s. All in all, the uniqueness at the time of this debut led to a review score of a perfect “10”, as rated by Pitchfork.

As we close out summer, this is a perfect 10-track, 41 minutes, 17 second adventure that really highlights a fun era of ‘90s pop rock. Standouts include the opening song, “My Name is Jonas,” “The World Has Turned and Left Me Here,” “Undone - The Sweater Song”… okay honestly just listen to the whole thing start-to-finish and kiss the season goodbye with the outro of “Only in Dreams.”

Listen here.

BONUS Fact: The music video for “Buddy Holly” was included on the Microsoft Windows 95 install CD. Read why here.

That’s all for this episode…

Before I go, a little about me:

I’ve been in omnichannel marketing, business development, sales and operations for startups and big brands alike for over 15 years now. If you’d like to talk with me about consulting, find me on LinkedIn, Twitter X and now Threads or reply to this email. You can also book some time with me on MentorPass. Or you can get creative, I know you have it in you!

Thanks for tuning in. Soak up that last bit of sun this weekend.