Intro To When Cool Becomes Anti-Cool

Two days ago I ran across this Slate piece on Al Gore TV. It offers this punk cultural indicator which I take as more rhetorical than true:

Now that it's been paired with a sport jacket on the torso of Max Lugavere, the CBGB's T-shirt has officially trickled down as far as it can possibly go, becoming the definitive anti-punk garment. You might have thought this point had been hit when Mark Ruffalo wore one as the huggable hunk in last year's tweener romantic comedy 13 Going on 30, but you would be wrong.

Last night a sales flyer in my mailbox offered a true and pure example of the definitive punk/anti-punk transitive moment. Check it out. "Licenced band t-shirts from Marley to the Misfits." And what a selection! That (worn by a) dope Skull Logo Beanie looks real stoopid (stupid).