Hot Topic does not equal punk

I think that recently the term punk has been widely over used and confused. I wandered into Hot Topic the other day (they sometimes have awesome tights and underwear... shut up I hear you snickering), and I was shocked at what I saw. Gone was the Marylin Manson posters, dark walls, gothcore music, and general (even if fake) scariness of the 90s. It was like Hot Topic was like, "F- it we aren't even pretending anymore." However, I was dismayed to see that the customers and sales people still referred to themselves as punks. First, if you are shopping in Hot Topic you are in a mall. There is nothing counter culture about a mall. In fact, it is the exact opposite, it is uber culture. Two, you are in Hot Topic... buying a 25 dollar Lady Gaga t-shirt. Glam? Loosely. Punk? Hellz no! Finally, you clearly care what other people think of you, a decidedly un-punk way of life. But as my old English teacher was say, I digress.
What I am really upset about is the apparent false punk explosion. However, I think that maybe this silver and shiny lined cloud has a dark inner rainstorm. I think that maybe real punk has gone back underground and is just reforming, returning to its roots. A band that I am pretty excited about because it reminds me of my own inner punkiness is Nico Vega. Lead singer Aja reminds me of a "Fever to Tell" Karen O and Brody Dale: growling voice, childish chants, shrieks. The rest of the band is drums and guitar, and it works. I highly recommend "Gravity." The chorus is a head banging dream, jumping and riotous.