"[S]o widespread has the ironic impulse become that the only thing about irony that really startles anymore is its longevity as an American style, the fact that, a full thirty years after Andy Warhol's heyday, so many still look out at the great heaps of failed culture-industry products that surround us and conclude that they have no choice but to marvel at the process of cultural mass production itself, to snicker at the various fads and stars and tastes..."

"Alternative to What?" Tom Frank, The Baffler #5, 11/93:

"So as they venture into the dark new world of hip, they should beware: the natives in these parts are hostile, and we're armed with flame-throwers. We will refuse to do their market research for them, to provide them amiably with helpful lifestyle hints and insider trend know-how. We are not a convenient resource available for exploitation whenever they require a new transfusion of rebel street cred; a test-market for 'acts' they can someday unleash on the general public...."