hard to better define the existential ennui of suburbia.

In July, Nick Pirrone and 3 friends were driving home from a St. Louis Cardinals game when they stopped at an Applebee’s in St. Charles, Mo., for dinner. It was after 22:00, and when the teenagers walked into the casual dining restaurant, they didn’t find the traditional family-friendly atmosphere they’d grown up with. Instead, they found a karaoke bar. “There were a lot of people drinking and singing Backstreet Boys,. The place was packed. There was even a DJ.” The 4 ate half-price appetizers and were so amused by the revelry that they returned a few weeks later with a group of 14. “It was actually kind of fun. I mean, there’s not much else to do around here. It’s the suburbs.”

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