• by December 4, 2003

HOLD THE MUSHROOMS, PLEASE - Just when the Riff was getting a little down about all the doom-and-gloom (you know, the still lagging job market, terrorism and the war in Iraq) the culture buffs at Euro RRSCG Worldwide have turned up some surprisingly upbeat consumer insights. To be sure, the agency says new research has identified a "planetwide outbreak of pleasure seeking", including flash picnics to psychedelic mushrooms, raunchy fashion to 'smirting' (smoking and flirting) on sidewalks. "Kids always want to have fun, but the information we've collected suggests that more and more adults are looking for youthful, active, community-based kinds of pleasure that used to belong only to young people," Ira Matathia, managing partner of Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners, says of the agency's findings. "There's a saying attributed to La Rochefoucauld: 'Neither the sun nor death can be looked at with a steady eye.' We're seeing that now. People aren't allergic just to bad news, they're sick of everything that smells fake, phony, or contrived. And so they turn to available, affordable pleasure -- the more authentic the better. These days, 'real' rules." Never mind that the Riff is embarrassed not to know who (or what) La Rochefoucauld is, but many of the insights contained in the agency's white paper, "The Power of Pop Culture," left us feeling as if, well, we had just eaten some mushrooms. Here, according to the report, are the top 15 cultural trends:

1. Urban Beaches: These surreal gathering places were all the rage in Europe this summer. In Paris they closed the main roads by the Seine, dumped some 3,000 tons of sand everywhere, placed a few hundred deck chairs and beach umbrellas, and created "Paris-Plage." Urban beaches have also been spotted in Brussels, Amsterdam, and Germany.
2. Child's Play: Enjoying a return to the simple innocence of youth is the new activity of choice for hip adults. In Finland, sing-alongs and sledding are favorites among the grownup set.
3. Flash Picnics: Picnics have become very fashionable and specially designed plastic dishes are selling like hotcakes. "Flash picnics" are also organized: A bunch of people text message each other via their mobiles about a meeting place and time, and gather for picnics anywhere. In France, it's not unusual for more than 50 or 60 people to gather at once.
4. Girls Kissing: Madonna and Britney may have enjoyed greater visibility, but girls (particularly young girls) kissing in public has been a big thing for a while now in Norway. The fad can be seen in music videos, ads, on the dance floor, and at parties.
5. Drum Circles: What used to be relegated to the hippie-anarchist crowd has suddenly become "family friendly." Drum circles are cropping up everywhere from urban clubs and coffee houses to parks and Fortune 500 companies. Beyond sheer fun, practitioners claim that drumming has the power to heal body and mind. Also on the rise, drum circles' second cousin: belly dancing.
6. Pop Culture Exhibits: More and more museums are taking a cue from the Guggenheim's "The Art of the Motorcycle" by creating exhibits that draw upon pop culture themes. Among the options available in the U.S. this past summer: "Monster Trucks: The Science of Extreme Machines" at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and "Chocolate: The Exhibition" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
7. American 1980s: Retro-'80s style and culture is back and being adopted in countries that never experienced the Technicolor, asymmetrical fashions the first time. Miniskirts, heavy jewelry, and brightly colored shoes are all in right now. Any recent visitor to St. Petersburg has noticed that leopard-spotted hotpants and high heels are all the rage. And retailers like Express, Bebe, Esprit, and Hennes & Mauritz are stacking shelves with such '80s style icons as off-the-shoulder, belted sweaters and leggings. Plenty of websites have sprung up around the trend, including http://www.80snostalgia.com and http://www.nostalgiacentral.com.
8. Drug culture goes retro: Our trendspotters report that speed is the new old drug on the party scene. In mellower locales, drugs are going organic with the reemergence of mushrooms. And in the most retro move of all: Alcohol is the new black.
9. The natural: Perfect teeth? Perfect nails? Perfect is passe, natural is new. Everyone loves the Cuervo Gold Girl with the big gap in her teeth. Unkempt, disheveled, askew: a clear rebellion against the manicured look we've seen for so long.
10. Russians: Definitely "dirty hot," they are popping up more and more in trendy nightclubs and hot spots in the major capitals of the world, particularly London.
11. Provoke me: T-shirt companies with offensive taglines on the front ("Gettin' lucky in Kentucky" sold out at Urban Outfitters) and very short skirts have people talking. Lingerie boutique Agent Provocateur brings spice and excitement to cities like New York and London.

BUDGET LIVING PARTIED LIKE IT WAS 2001 - Okay, so they weren't Velveeta and Triscuits, but the cracker and cheese canapés served at Budget Living's first anniversary/pre-holiday party weren't far off. For that matter, the rest of the event lived more up to the mag's namesake than to the chi-chi event the Riff was led on to believe. Honestly. If the frugal fare didn't hurt the heavy attendance, the Riff would like to know what the rest of the crowd thought about the "good bags galore" that were handed out upon departure: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup-flavored lip gloss, fake reindeer ears, candy necklace, and a key chain toy.