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Jan.14,2009
Being a hipster is sort of like being grotesquely fat; everybody can see that you are, but it’s considered impolite to actually mention it.
Punks wear their tattered threads and studded leather jackets with honor, priding themselves on their innovative and cheap methods of self-expression and rebellion. B-boys and b-girls announce themselves to anyone within earshot with baggy gear and boomboxes. But it is rare, if not impossible, to find an individual who will proclaim themself a proud hipster. It’s an odd dance of self-identity – adamantly denying your existence while wearing clearly defined symbols that proclaims [sic] it.
Hipsters and indie kids try so hard to fit in, but it’s embarassing to have someone point out that fact. The punks would call them posuers, but punks put a lot of thought into their image, too. I guess fashion is always supposed to appear effortless, but the hypocrisy bothers me.
I thought I was the only one annoyed by the judgmental, hypocritical self-righteousness of hipsters, but Douglas Haddow’s adbuster’s cover story from July (forgive me, Hipsters, I am behind the times) is an anti-hipster manifesto brimming with insightful eviscerations of the hipster lifestyle without being too condescending or preachy.
But after punk was plasticized and hip hop lost its impetus for social change, all of the formerly dominant streams of “counter-culture” have merged together. Now, one mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior has come to define the generally indefinable idea of the “Hipster.”
So basically, hipsterism is the McDonalds of countercultures. It’s unoriginal, manufactured and monolithic. It can’t be reasoned with or defeated because it’s constantly morphing into whatever happens to be cool at the moment — but not too cool:
But the moment a trend, band, sound, style or feeling gains too much exposure, it is suddenly looked upon with disdain. Hipsters cannot afford to maintain any cultural loyalties or affiliations for fear they will lose relevance.
If it’s mainstream, it sucks. But what happens when hipsterdom goes mainstream? Your mom might not be a hipster, but if you’re 15 to 40 it’s likely you or one or more of your friends are a hipster (there should be a 12 step program). Hell, everyone you hang out with might be a hipster.
Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with a herd mentality — it keeps you safe. But there are several annoying things about hipsterdom that really bother me. A list:
- Denying what you are: If somebody calls you a hipster and you angrily deny it; you’re probably a hipster.
- Following trends while pretending to be a trendsetter: Are you consistantly cool and fashionably dressed? Well, trendsetters take risks, make mistakes and often look goofy; it’s part of the deal. If you don’t take the risk of being uncool, you are not a trendsetter.
- High school is over: 15 year-old hipsters notwithstanding, the Coolness Hierachy of hipsterdom is basically High School 2.0 — enough already! I thought you were rebelling against status-obsessed drones who are now working their way up the real power hierarchy.
- Smoking cigarettes is not rebellion: You’re a good little Democrat-Hipster, aren’t you? Then why do you smoke cigarettes? Profits from tobacco fund the right-wing hate machine you claim to oppose. Smoking Parliaments does not make you cool. If you want to be (somewhat) rebellious, smoke weed.
- Claiming to be so open minded, yet only listening to hipster-appoved music: Indie rock is full of great tunes and good bands, but there are tons of bands out there playing excellent music who don’t get love from hipsters because they don’t have skinny jeans, ironic trucker hats or bed-hed haircuts.
- Atheism-chic: As any hipster knows, atheism is “in”. But haven’t you noticed that hardcore atheists are just as annoying as fundamentalist Christians? Most Christians, while misguided, are nice people who respect others’ beliefs. Atheists should remember to do the same.
- Conflicting values: You can’t be both an environmentalist and a shopaholic. You can’t jump into the indie side of consumer culture and think that insulates you from the repercussions of materialism and consumption culture. Not driving an SUV does not make you green. Your fancy, designer shoes were probably made by orphan children in the Phillipines and then shipped over here at great expense to the environment… but not your conscience apparently.
- Loyalty means nothing, only fashion: Hipsters will often hide their love of uncool things, or cloak their love in a vaccinating veil of irony. This only causes more self-loathing and hypocrisy. There’s a whole generation of hipsters out there who love — truly love — AC/DC but would never, ever admit it, except through irony.
- Conformity kills: Okay, so let me get this straight… you’re rebelling against the conformist mainstream in the same manner as everyone else — by joining a subgroup that is undeniably mainstream in your age group. Congrats on being both a hypocrite and a conformist in one fell swoop.
What it really boils down to is hypocrisy and herd mentality. I’m not saying I’m immune to either, but they both bug me and I’m committed to avoiding them wherever possible.
I understand the need to form subgroups. I do. It’s 21st century tribalism and it has its benefits. Countercultures shouldn’t be blamed for going mainstream if it’s a positive force in the world, but I’m afraid hipsterdom has become a regressive force that’s more based on exclusion, ego-driven hypocrisy and ironic apathy than any positive force. What part of hipsterism is positive? Will anyone stand up and defend hipsters… or even admit to being one?
Update: A good friend has challenged me to live in Bismarck, North Dakota with all the “mouth-breathers” with no taste in music. Point made; hipsters are good for something and probably better than many alternatives. Still, I’m sick of being one-upped by him regarding musicians he claims are mind-blowingly awesome and yet doesn’t have on his iPod because he doesn’t actually listen to them. I listen to bands/musicians that I like, not those who have the best technical ability or underground/hipster credibility.
You can screech back, or trackback from your own site.
Interesting… I never gave much thought to the whole hipster deal. I’ve gotta admit that I have conflicting values, I claim to be a non-conformist, but at the same time I do kind of conform to certain things, like the herd mentality(I want to belong), but at the same time I want to do my own thing.About the only thing I can say about non-conformity is that you’re only a non-conformist in the sense that you only do what you want to, and no what others say, but you can’t totally be one, since everything is so mainstream these days.Great, thought-provoking post my friend. I tip my hat off to you.
I stumbled upon this because I was wondering if there was one of those blogs where people send in real pictures of ridiculous stereotypes specifically dedicated to the hipsters (and especially their skin-tight black jeans – and why don’t hipsters have leg muscles? ). Anyway, just wanted to say I feel ya and am glad to know I’m not the only one out there who gets this annoyed/disgusted at the hipster “culture.” I never realized how prevalent and damaging it was until relocating to the West Coast, although I know that hipsters seem to exist just about anywhere….
Most alarmingly about the hipster ‘movement’, or lack thereof, is that it is huge and it is widespread throughtout the West. It is not new and it is not progressive as you’ve stated. The West is in dire straights right now on all levels. Europe was effectively neutered after the second world war. The U.S.’s military suffered an embarrassing couple years that, after Vietnam, it really could not afford.We have this whole global economic crisis going on which was caused by what has been the most important goal of the West; TO MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE, NO MATTER WHAT, UNTIL THE DAY YOU DIE.And now we come to Western culture. Oh shit, my friends, we’ve got hipsters holding the banner of the West; apathetic hypocrits who are too cool to be proud or work hard which is what it takes to progress a society. If something doesn’t break soon we may be facing the end of Western civilization as we know it.
What would you do if Darkfold was blogged about as much as say Passion Pit and you actually made money from your music? I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t shun money from a Paul Frank wallet. In addition, blogging is super hip.
As a certified geek, I find the writing of hipsters funny. I don;t really care about them. I say leave them to their pre-supposed notions of apathetic superiority I have other things I’d rather do than worry whether I’m I “in” or out”. Maybe that’s my secret; I just don’t give a shit. I have some red chuck thompsons but they are over 20 years old…. I didn’t even know they were cool… not that it concerns me but I wore them because they were comfortable and I was oblivious to the coolness of them.
Now I have to tell my friends I was almost, sorta cool.
This is a nicely written, thoughtful article on the Hipster subculture, and I think it touches on a lot of central criticisms in the discussion at the moment. While I do agree that a portion of the Hipsters seem to be egoistic and exclusive, I can’t helping ignoring a lot of my Hipster friends, who are mostly intelligent, open-minded, loving, giving, hospitable people. I think we ought to acknowledge a divergence in the Hipster underworld: the poser posers, and the posers who can get away with it because they are decent people.
Why does everything have to be about a label, or conforming and not conforming? Why don’t we look at Hipster (or alternative fashion) as exactly what is “alternative fashion” to the main stream. It’s just an option, so what? Why do people care so much about this dumb shit. If you want to put on a flannel and some ripped up jean shorts with some aviators because you don’t feel like wearing a polo and slacks, so be it, and who the hell needs all the criticism? The main stream public who criticize the smugness of hipsters are just as smug and condescending. Regardless of fashion sense and taste in music, it seems the one thing universal among people is stupidity and intolerance.
I would admit it if I could, but sadly I am not hipster D: lol I do like indie stuff though…
I agree with Jake. We could all be a lot more pro-active in society if we weren’t so busy pointing fingers elsewhere and saying “My ideals and fashion and ways of life are correct.” Sounds pretty American to me.
However, this article is hilarious. Six Foot Tall Guy makes me laugh every time.
The reason why hipsters are annoying is not because of their fashion or whatever shit band they’re listening to, it’s because of their condescending behavior in public. Ever talk to one before? You might as well make hipster a synonym to douchebag.
Fuck hipsters.
I love hipsters. Not because I am one or appreciate their ironic mustaches and condescending attitudes. In fact those aspects of their existence piss me off. I just love their complete lack of work ethic. They institute a self-imposed vendetta against holding a job beyond being a cashier at Trader Joes or tattoo artist, therefore opening up the job market for people like myself. Keep it up hipsters. When you’re 45 and your parents finally cut you off and you come into my business looking for a job wearing your dick head tie and skinny jeans I’ll tell you where to shove those Elvis Costello styled glasses
This is interesting… personally I work as little as I possibly have to… on that note I work enough to support myself… as far as hipster’s being the end of the West as we know it, I surely hope so… if it’s something as dumb as a bunch of spoiled kids that finally takes down our ridiculous culture I’ll laugh my brains out. It’ll serve us right for letting them grow up watching TV 24 hours a day and never thinking critically about anything in their lives.
I wear red old school chuck taylors and wear a cabbie hat, but I also wear blue jeans that aren’t “skinny jeans” but aren’t baggy either, and chances are you’ll see me wearing some band t shirt. I’m also six feet tall.
Fuck I may be a hipster? :O
Fuck, I live in Fargo, North Dakota hahah
Ha! So true. All the aspects of their fashion sense are just derived from other shitty trends. It’s like they take the worst part of each group, and combine them into some piece of shit that they call ‘unique’.
Man, you’ve said everything. I agree with you one hundred percent.
Hipster kids think they’re so cool, but they’re actually living in a self-contradictory culture of false hipness and sugarcoated revolting. I always get extremely annoyed when hipsters I know talk crap about say, Iron Maiden, which while not exactly a mainstream band, is “not underground enough” for them.
One thing hipster infants have to understand is that you’re not a complete conformist merely for not posing as a revoltous counter-culture guy. They have to understand that “Normal” people also have opinions, sometimes opinions that even go against the “capitalist hate machine”, they’re just by far less annoying about them.
i’m 21; just moved to toronto in august to do an internship on a trading floor of a big insurance company (1 year of my undergrad left). im going to man up and be the first self-proclaimed hipster (ex-hipster) on this board.
i never considered myself a hipster, but if you look at the evidence, i was pretty damn hipster in highschool. skinny(ish… fuck skin tight, that shits not my thing) jeans, band t-shirts every damn day, took a lot of pride in the fact no one knew what i was listening to, etc.. it’d be safe to say most of my friends were pretty damn hipster too. most still are.
now i understand the comments about douchebaggery, laziness, hyprocracy, etc.. a good number of hipsters fit that description perfectly. but i also know a good number of people who are some of the most genuine, easy going, ambitious, and modest people you’d ever care to meet who fit the stereotypes (band ts, skinnies, crazy moustaches, high-tops, dumb tattoos, whatever) perfectly.
i still get a kick out of my hipster ways i suppose. i still listen to all my old unknown favourites (and the ones who made it), i still wear skinnier jeans (i’m not fucking ja rule, drop it), and i love to rock a baggy, bright blue and brown checked snowboard jacket to work over my suit and tie every day (if only for the raised eyebrows on the subway). but fuck it, im 21. all of that shits fun. if you went through your entire life without doing stupid shit that will seem hilarious later, i kinda feel for you. its part of it.
so, i guess what im saying (i’m slightly oblit [high] at the moment), is i feel ya, but be careful not to discriminate against people based solely on what you assess of their appearance when you pass them on the street (historically, that leads to problems).
wow… what a novel. i hope you enjoyed, or even read.
I have to disagree with #6. In my long life I’ve known many Christians who were not accepting of other’s beliefs. I see it now. It’s why I became an agnostic. Anyone who believes their way is the Only way….is delusional.
[…] Ironic Hipsters, I have a general disdain for many things “hipster” but the ironic aspect of this culture is the worst because their irony is really just veiled insecurity and hypocrisy. My belief is that beneath those vintage Hall and Oates t-shirts and gigantic, neon sunglasses is the hipster’s true but secret love for these things. Being the most insecure people on the planet, however, they can’t just come out and say they actually like them so they must drench everything in irony until its coolness is communally decided. It’s sad really. But as far as the stupid haircuts, god-awful pedostaches, and endless fixed-gear road bike babble go? Well, for that they must be annihilated. […]
I live just north of London and I am ashamed to say that a large demographic of people in my area attempt dress “uniquely” even though there is not much differentiation between any of them and listen religiously to “local bands” in a shoddy effort to break away from the mainstream society (even though all of their friends listen to the same shitty music). To be quite frankly honest with you I despise them and their smarmy pseudo-moral high ground with a burning passion. They all reckon that they are Gods gift on Earth.
I am SICK to death of seeing “Tumblr” and “Flickr” appearing on my News Feed on Facebook, which from what I have gathered, is where most of these mindless clones spend their lives. On the note of Tumblr I have noticed a gargantuon LACK of material which has actually been created by the user. The hipsters reblog each persons shit and passes it off as their own, in a sense, and reckon this constitutes being “original” or “edgy”. As for Flickr, they all believe that they are the next big thing in photography and that by spending their parents money on expensive digital SLRs or vintage cameras that they are part of some kind of “movement”. It makes me despair.
I really pray that they legalise firearms in England so that I am able to delete a few of these cunts from the gene pool.
Please people wake the fuck up and recognise the fact that you are NOT original and by copying your friends you are essentially opposing what you are meant to “represent”.
Apologies vemrion for writing such an essay.
its interesting how youre so passionate about this. honestly, the whole problem is that everyone labels each other, and maybe hipsters- or people you label as hipsters just dont want to be labelled, like punk rockers or whatever and thats why they deny it. generally the true posers are people who “claim” to be something. maybe if everyone stopped labelling each other and decide to just accept people for who they are, wether you agree or not is your problem. What have they done to you specifically to make you dislike them so much? also, a lot of this is just a phase people go through. and in any case, you probably fit into some stereotype too that you might not want to
subvert the dominant paradigm!!!!!! fuckin cool kids, who’d have em who’d be one bahahahahahahaha
also on another note, i find this really quite amusing, is that whilst listening to retro rock or metal or other type of music thinking its way cool, they have derogatory terms for the people who actually listen to this music for real, and live it and love it……ahhhh irony
Hipsters need to be labelled, condemmed and harrassed. They are the lowest form of humans, the most unoriginal and ununique form of rebellious behaviour since catholic priest started raping little boys.
In a year or so their trend will be over and done and completely forgotten about and the weiners will have their hard on pointed in a new more “progressive” direction, ya know.. just cause they are SOO passionate about what they “ARE”. Hipsters have no idea who they are and thats why they turn to their cheap, trendy, social scenes desperately clinging to anything that can consider then accepted and cool for a period of time, however brief it may be. People like this don’t deserve a break, or for people to cut them some slack. “Oh, their just expressiving themselves, don’t be such a dick”, fuck that. They are expressing that they are affraid act how they feel or to be different than the current trends, because without their trends where the fuck would they be?
Hipster Holocaust 2011, fuck those fuckers. Juggalos too.
Bring the hate faggarios.
Okay…. you guys are being a little rude. No one is making rude comments about other trends like being a “skater” who are much more disruptive than “hipsters”. you guys are the closed minded ones. Why dont you just let people live their lives they want to. Geeez..
you’re a shithead and you make me want to be a ‘hipster’.
if you’re mainstream, then it’s cool to rebel against you.
@Jenna
the reason everyone bags on hipsters is becuase they’re ignorant and hypocrytical, and “skaters” know they are skaters and are proud of it just like every other trends. the Hipster trend are different(guess they got what they wanted).
I actually find it kind of strange, how almost everybody commenting on this blog is swearing themselves not to be “hipster”, and definatly hating these individuals, because, as you say “they are being douchesbags, unoriginal and annoying”. Well, ain’t there these types in all subcultures, mainstream or not?
Remember, when the emos were a brand news thing, and everybody hated them for having so much selfpity, and just basically being annoying?
I think the same thing is happening here, and that actually pisses me off. You have no rights to judge a group of people, based on their appearence.
I am 16 years old, I live in this generation! There are som idiots, and there are some really nice people. So stop judging, I bet half of you is being hipsters yourself, but will not admit it.
[…] Hipster Holocaust: 9 Reasons Hipsters are Annoying […]
Vemrion:
Your friend is quite right, Bismarck, ND is truly nothing but uber-sheltered mouth breathers who have no taste in music, for I live here, and boy, does it suck. And I listen to the bands I like too.
Hipsters may be annoying, but a city like Bismarck practically devoid of them, or rather devoid of any other-than-mainstream culture to be specific, is even more so. In spite of their superficiality, they do serve a purpose as you mentioned, to keep things less philistinely white-bread picket-fence boring IMO, at the very least.
(I might know your friend here in Bis, what’s his name? 😉 )
Although I agree with 95% of what you are saying, I must come to the defence of a select variety of hipsters. The (for lack of a better term) “original” hipsters who wanted to be different and have stayed completely true to themselves and their style and core values deserve some respect. I believe that true “hipsters”/nonconformists still exist at the underbelly of this wild movement to be different by being the same. I doubt that it was ever the intention of this core group of hipsters to be made a mockery of by this up and coming set of plaking, nicotine induced, trend obsessed teens. I also feel that the crowding to atheism as a way of noconformity has been brought on by those newer sets of kids trying so hard to not fit in that they became the latest “thing”. I firmly believe the original hipsters (also from knowing one.. who has never lost sight of themself or core values in this hipster ordeal) were peace seeking, weed smoking rebellions, wishing to be their own person in a society that needed a refreshing change.. What being a hipster was about has been fogged by this latest outrageous trend of children trying to be badass by conforming to nonconformists. Disagree with me as you wish, but the people who are truely hipsters, deserve to have some respect. It’s not fair to them that they have been taken over and forced into some annoying mainstream movement.
For the post. My got… I’m an introvert. I’m not a people person. I’m also an individual who I just themselves. I like mainstream shit because it is good! I listen to all kinds of shit I like. And I wear J Crew that matches. Muahahaha! I’ve had the most trouble with hipsters. For example I web to go sell some clothes as at thrift store. The hipster was all angsty and treated me like I was approaching the all knowing god of my soul and fashion. Stupid girl probably can’t stand the fct that she doesn’t know everything. If I had chosen to argue w her shed learn her lesson most likely. But frankly arguing with a hipster is arguing with someone who already believes themselves a victim of you, the put together person’s oppression. My clothes match. I like it that way. The only thing I hate about them is their ridiculous attitude and victim mentality. I am not a masochist nor a sadist. I am not an oppressor nor a victim. I look nice. I have clean hair. I shower. I watch the news. I read Nietzche. Go cry about it.
This piece was clearly written by a total hipster.
OK, I admit it, I honestly LOOK enough like a hipster. I listen to indie music, and have been dissing the mainstream for, uh, 18 years. (Yeah, I’m old – old enough to have worn skinny jeans in 1991.) I’m also a nerd.
It seems like nowadays, anything goes. The 60’s had hippies, the 70’s had punks, the 80’s had new wavers, the 90’s had grunge. What does this new millennium have to offer, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry?
If that’s what these kids are rebelling against, I don’t blame them. In North America, we really don’t have a culture. Rebellion against a culture can only be true rebellion if there is a culture to rebel against.
When it comes right down to it, it’s difficult not to be a hypocrite. Can you really be a true hippie/hipster/indie/nerd-person and live in North America? Can you avoid everything that would seem against your own philosophy? I have tried, it is hard; read: impossible. (Unless you are a vegan and live in a commune and don’t buy anything plastic and & ampersand.)
So my advice to you, if you MIGHT be a hipster is: know what you believe in. Research it. Stand up for it. Change by staying the same, if you are old like me, and what you are will eventually come into fashion. If you are young, change until you find your niche. If you are a nerd, don’t pretend you’re not smart for the benefit of others: believe me, you’ll get too good at it. That’s it. Be yourself.
Hipsters have taken over brooklyn. Its upsetting cause I like to go there to see shows. I just wish they wouldn’t be so judgemental of me. I don’t understand why they are so cold and dress like charles dickins even in the summer.
Most hipsters do not understand who they emulate.
Hipsters are a cult. The are bullies. Indie kids are a synonym of hipsters.
Independent music, just means unknown, and unsuccessful.
What gets me most is Brooklyn hipsters. They made New York City lame..
[…] “oh you’ve never heard of this band? That’s why I’m cool” hipster kids, but it’s the honest truth. Although I now have an assortment of owl inspired goodies to […]
I believe most hipsters are young people who have little real responsibility, which is why they have the time to focus on their sense of fashion, and riding their single speed bicycles with brakes through trendy cafe and urban record shop filled areas. I can say proudly, that I am not one. I have other things that I have to do (like take care of my kids and work)…not that it wouldn’t be nice to be a bit selfish some of the time…but its become the norm for the youth these days. I’d be willing to bet that the majority of these hipsters are spoiled children to rich folks. They sport the tattoos and the skinny jeans and loathe the term hipster because they are “more unique than a term”…no, you’re not. Sorry. None of us are special. None of us really want to be seen as different, so we fit in where we can. We all know how to stand out, and being a hipster isn’t it. And if you think I’m being overly judgmental, sure I’ll admit it. But the hipsters are too. They’re the type that would laugh at someone for looking different or “falling out of line.” Guaranteed.
I think number five on that list was directed at hard core fall out boy fans circa 2005. Skinny jeans- Pete wentz. Trucker hats- Patrick stump.
I grew up in the land of hipsters—Anchorage, Alaska. I never fit in because I could never find a genuine person among the group. I have found these are some of the most fake people I have ever encountered. Glad to say I now live in the midwest, where hipsterdom is not so prevalent. When I see them in downtown Minneapolis though, I do laugh. I can’t help it. I’m from Alaska, and I know what it is. I encourage anyone who is a hipster, to truly find themselves.
Let them go to Soho in New York and meet some artists that could teach them how to be real individuals and be non-conformists without having to join a subculture. As far as I am concerned, hipsters are not cool, they are not individuals, and they wouldn’t know how to be a non-conformist if it bit them in the butt. They need to stop pretending to be something they are not. Sorry, but Nutella and Pizza were around a lot longer than they have!
I’m basically a hipster. If somebody on the street yelled “Hey Hipster!” I’d hardly be the only person on the street (in Brooklyn) to turn around, but I’m the one who’d say “WHAAAT!?”
I like the things that I like, and enough of these things will automatically make people assume I’m a hipster, so there is no point in denying it. Is it my word for myself? No. Is it accurate? Sure.
1. I like people to think I’m cool.
2. I like to be a nonconformist, but not so nonconformist that I’m out there all alone and nobody gets me.
3. I like to dress crazy, but for the occasion, and with the goal in mind that about 1% of people who see me should think it’s inappropriate, say something, and then get shut down by someone else.
4. I dig music. And art, and stuff. I actually make all of these things, albeit badly, except for my karaoke, which is stellar. My African hand drum sounds pretty good, but its nothing special.
5. I am not only an atheist, but I’m an atheist who dabbles in the ideas of numerous world religions, which I think is more hippy than hipster but, you know, whatever.
6. I have read more than one book in the Duluoz Legend, and I know what that is. I am writing a science fiction novel, slowly and lazily, the way it should be.
7. I consider myself an intellectual, but I only own one suit and it’s not even hemmed; it’s kind of a backup in case I have to get a real job.
8. Finally, I am a student at NYU,
9. …who can only just barely afford to be a student at NYU.
10. There is no tenth thing.
[…] songs they have done. When I was Making this playlist in my head I thought of what [hipster crap](http://weblog.timoregan.com/archive/2009/01/hipster-holocaust-9-reasons-hipsters-are-annoying/ “The site name is unfortunate”) I knew and the first two things to jump in my head were […]
I think the only thing that annoys me about Hipsters are the fact that they wear band t-shirts and probably can’t even name more than one of their songs; it’s so irritating. Why wear a God damn t-shirt if they have no idea who the band is? Is it because no one knows who they are and they want to be ‘original’? There’s a girl in my school that came in with a Nirvana vest top on, but she’s a complete Barbie. I went up to her and had this very interesting conversation with her: “Hey, do you like Kurt Cobain?” I asked her. “I’m sorry, who?” I started laughing and asked her again, so she’s replied again with “Who?” So I said to her, “Well, you’re wearing a Nirvana vest top, so I’m assuming you would know who the lead singer was.” She went red in the face and said this: “Oh yeah, I know who he is…I met him a couple of years ago.” She is 14, which would make it impossible seeing as though he died way before she was born. This is something a Hipster would do. And only a Hipster.
If you truly want to be on the slimy edge of hipsterdom, move to Austin (which I’m sure most you have already). Austin is my hometown, I was born and raised there. I’ve seen firsthand what happens when this and other cultish movements takes over a town like a poison vine and strangles the life out of it. Ugh, give me the good old days of Willie Nelson and ZZ Top.
I’m not sure about really what a hipster all is, but if they are people that are constantly looking for underground music….. I think it helps these groups that have something to give to the world, but haven’t really made it yet a chance to build a fan base and to start growing.
I think we all want to be unique, but also be liked and sometimes we as people put others in groups and most of us want to be a part of a group, so we can feel less lonely, so sometimes we as people will do things to fit in. Anyways, that’s what I think, but hopefully we can all be individuals and not judge everyone and just wear what feels right and what really makes you feel good and bring the best out of you and just spread the LOVE 🙂
Oh so, SO true. Hipsters have so many good ideas, so much potential… Yet they waste it by being so… Crazy. That’s the best word I can think of, and it’s true.
On a side note, saying Christians are misguided is a bit of a personal opinion, isn’t it? In the end… They could be right all along 😛
Oh this is an excellent summary of an uninspired and cloyingly self aware fake fest . I have had years of maneovering myself around these twits at uni and the worst offender ,art college ( Edinburgh u suck big style) Its so rewarding to hear another person sum up my years of exclusion and loneliness in such an amusing way. Its sad really because this sort of behaviour is completely bereft of personal expression ,but it is also so damaging to the people who are creative . I feel concerned for the teenage population these days , that they don’t have enough positive role models – like one -offs like Prince ,Tina Turner, Ryan Adams ,David Bowie or Debbie Harry.
I find the fair share of hipsters are excessive carebears, or hypocrites who take the role of the proverbal devil’s advocate only to oppose anything remotely centered or right.
For example take unstable members of society, such as junkies or predators. Some hipsters will virtually excuse almost any foul deed or crime by threading together a whole list of excuses and reasons, using those to explain why someone did something really bad and why therefor these people should not be held accountable. Those particular hipsters will say that these troublesome figures only need a listening ear and some positive coaching. But what those hipsters don’t realize is that they don’t care about the person in question at all, they only care about speaking for any person that is opposed by the rest of society.
That makes a hipster emotionally immature to me. Like a stuborn teenager, who gets told to go to bed at 10 by his parents because he has school tomorrow, who then stays up all night just to oppose his parents. The next day, he is exhausted. His opposing of his parents’ advice did not serve him any purpose at all, he only gets ill now because he robbed himself from sleep.
I think if you dress like any style group, you lack maturity. If you think lace is sexy, then wear a black lace dress, you don’t need to pronounce yourself a goth just because you like lace. Or if you like the feel of a leather collar around your neck, just wear one, you don’t need to suddenly associate with punks.
You’d be surprised how accepting people are of any kind of fashion, as long as you wear it because you like it and admit your liking of that fashion without further reason. Leave the stylegroups and their matching political views behind, because chances are that when you feel the need to share certain views just to not be alone in something, those views really aren’t your personal views anyway.
I was born in 1975 and grew up in New York when those who had not left already wanted to. I wrote graffiti, stole everything I could, was involved in a few gang fights and threw a few fair ones with a sprinkle of arrests on top. With the explosion of hipsters in the city I found my self a dinosaur, a relic from a bygone era surrounded by street art and rich bearded kids slumming it while instagram-ing and taking (gag) selfies. I gave up the sculptures and photography (an outlet I discovered while on probation for painting clean trains (google it)) and started doing construction. I found myself wanting to distance myself so much from these caricatures of people (e.g. the woodsman, the graffiti guy) i now identify closely with the values of the greatest generation. I work full time in construction, get close cropped hair cuts and bought a house in Jersey where I raise my three kids and fly the American flag. This was a good article, pardon the rant but better I let loose here then on Bedford Avenue while wearing clown makeup sporting a firearm and listening to Black Moon.