Ep. 49: McBling

McBling is a mid-2000s aesthetic characterized by tacky displays of wealth, celebrity culture, fake tans, and bleach blonde hair. According to Vogue magazine it emerged in “2003, following the American invasion of Iraq, and ended with the onset of the Great Recession in 2008.” McBling arose organically in popular culture and was only later identified as an aesthetic by the Consumer Aesthetic Research Institute, and this is the first Silent Generation episode to cover an aesthetic identified by their organization. Amongst other things on this week’s episode, the boys discuss how the term McBling first came out of a poll in a “post-Y2K” Facebook group, how Gen Z’s interpretation of McBling favors Von Dutch too heavily, how the mid-2000s reality TV show Bad Girls Club captured the McBling zeitgeist, and how TikTok accounts like Bronzedupbrat are making McBling reach record popularity in 2024.   Links: McBling Pinterest board The Consumer Aesthetic Research Institute McBling CARI description The original McBling Facebook Group Evan Collins’ McBling “joke” post Brittney Spears’ half Y2k/ half McBling outfit The second poll in the McBling Facebook group What Is McBling and How Is it Different From Y2K? by Abrigail Williams McBling on Google Trends The Antisemitic History of Early 2000s Fashion Brand Von Dutch by Sam Miller Paris Hilton changing her voice to sound more feminine Paris Hilton’s “stop being poor” meme Bad Girls Club Tanisha slamming pots and pans in season 2 Bad Girls Club Judi Jai breakfast cereal fight in season 7 The Y2K Attitude Era - A Cultural Middle Finger How do you stay so authentically 2000s? by Bronzedupbrat 4Chan mannerisms displayed by Boxxy The McBling Subreddit Trashy McBling Spotify playlist NGSUNC by Ayesha Erotica Do I Look Like a Slut by Avenue D OlderBrotherCore Tiktok McMansion Hell   Artwork: Paris Hilton   Recorded on 11/17/2024