The last time I felt cool was in the second grade. I could beat the boys at computer games and didn’t give a damn if my underwear showed when climbing on the jungle gym. Since then, I’ve tumbled down an increasingly insecure and slippery slope, made slicker by awkwardness and self-proclaimed nerdhood. The one good thing I remember is learning to play basketball for the first time. And guess what: I wore Converse. High-tops.

Converse has been around since 1908 and has always tiptoed the line between practical footwear and fashion. Some designs were more successful than others. And it’s not outrageous to claim that more recently, Converse—particularly Chucks—has undergone a sort of renaissance of style due to various custom options: in color, pattern and stylized shoelaces. Write on the rubber. Pin things to the canvass. Once again, Chucks are the cool kids on the block. Give a boy a pair of Chucks and a track bike and I’ll swoon.

This summer, Converse gives us something else: a pumped-up campaign that bleeds its brand through indie music.

First, Converse knows its audience—the punks and rockers that have stuck by faithfully since the ‘90s grunge era. The brand has additional authority from the many musicians—including the Ramones—that have sported the shoe.

The campaign centers around "My Drive Thru," a song produced by N*E*R*D, featuring Pharrell (of N*E*R*D), Philly-bred Santogold and Julian Casablancas, the lanky vocalist/heartthrob from The Strokes. In the video, black-and-white paper-like cutouts of the artists dance vertiginously around a barren landscape.



Of course, Pitchfork bitched and moaned about it. Frankly, Pitchfork, I’m over you. The song presents an interesting collaboration by a group of very talented individuals. It’s energetic and catchy. It’s the music I might listen to if I lived in Brooklyn and worked in a vintage store and went on Bedford Ave. bar crawls—in my Chucks of course. It’s dancing-in-the-street music. It’s hip-hop in skinny jeans.

And this collaboration is just the beginning. Converse is promoting an eclectic list of musicians: Does It Offend You, Yeah?, MGMT, The Fiery Furnaces, Gallows, Kid Sister, Bradford Cox, Yacht and others. A motley crew, yes, but certainly an interesting mix. Converse’s "Connectivity" website let’s you "unfold" the musicians, with profiles, interviews, links and songs. Of course, you’re also given the option to design your own Chucks on the site. Who cares that Converse is owned by less-than-hipster company, Nike? I say, let the kids profit a little. They’re already wearing the shoes.

In other Converse news....